#rainiecross

Thursday 17th December 2020

Hello everyone! Sorry for the late post, I've been away from my laptop and TV once again over the weekend and this has been the only time I've had to catch up on EastEnders! I apologise for this being late but I'm hoping I'll be able to squeeze in two posts tomorrow in an attempt to catch up! Firstly there is a little bit of news I need to mention, at the end of last week it was revealed that Jake Wood had filmed his final scenes as Max Branning! Even though I knew Max was leaving the soap, I feel a sadness that EastEnders has lost one of it's greats! I'm sure I heard that the door will be left open for Max to return one day in the future! Even though Jake has finished filming, Max's final scenes are due to be aired in February 2021!!

Wow! What another jam packed episode it was! A little bit comical as well as having so much drama! There are a few main things I'd like to talk about but they are kind of all linked together in some way, shape or form! Let's start with the comical moments surrounding Stuart and Rainie! After Stuart revealed to his wife that he potentially murdered Callum's boss, DI Thompson, we've been made to believe that Thompson is in fact dead, and all honestly, I was thrilled when I thought he was! It gave me hope that Callum would be able to forget everything that had happened and move on with his life. When we first see Rainie and Stuart, they are both sat in the hearse with the coffin behind them, both look tremendously nervous as it looks as if they're about to bury a dead body without any form of funeral. Only things are made a lot more tense when Stuart can't get the vehicle to start, he's trying his absolute best to get the vehicle going when suddenly Callum appears. Callum notices that they can't get their car to start and insists that Ben takes a look at it whilst they all go for a drink. Stuart and Rainie both decline his offer in unison, looking almost like a comedy double act! But Callum insists and even points out that the dead body they're carrying isn't going anywhere so what harm could it do? Later on in the Vic, they both look completely awkward as they try to smile their way through the drinks. To pass the time, Stuart questions his brother whether he's seen or spoken to DI Thompson recently, Callum at first confirms that he's not seen him the past couple of days - however - he drops the big bombshell that Thompson was in fact seen at his disciplinary hearing the day before! Both Stuart and Rainie look in absolute shock as they hear this news, what the heck is Callum talking about?! Later on they take it upon themselves to double check the coffin, Rainie is furious with her husband for not checking, as they should do, that DI Thompson was in fact deceased. They look inside the coffin together and we can very clearly see that the box is completely empty! What the hell does this mean for Callum and Stuart? Could they potentially be in more danger? Does this mean that Thompson won't be out for just Callum, but Stuart also? As much comical this section was, I do fear for the Halfway brothers now. I fear Thompson might be out for revenge, I hope he'll get his comeuppance eventually! 

The second thing I want to talk about is Ben, at the beginning of the episode we see him just about to enjoy his breakfast just as Suki walks in the door. Interesting that as soon as she enters the Cafe, he leaves and claims to have lost his appetite. As he leaves he pulls as face as if to say that he knows that he's up against a brick wall. He knows he needs to give Suki the money she's asking for in return for her silence about the CCTV. Later on, after calling Suki to meet her in the Aches, they meet up and Ben throws her a plastic bag containing the money she's seeking. However, when he asks her for the CCTV footage she has of him, we can see on her phone that she appears to have a made copy which looks much more clearer and sharper. He questions how he can trust her not to give up the original copy, but Suki is another one who's hard at playing games and states to him that he actually can't trust her. However when he states he wants the original copy of the footage, she plays just as dirty and informs him that she wants more money, only this time she's increasing it by another zero! Instead of £10,000, she wants £100,000 for her silence! Ben is completely and utterly stunned by how much she is asking for as later on in the episode he feels he has no choice but to seek help and advice from his Dad, he simply has no where else to turn, it's then he admits to his Dad that he's "Done something stupid!". It looks as if then Phil calls Kathy over to help come up with some kind of alibi for their son, however Kathy admits that she's not going to lie to the police, Ben swears on his daughter's life that he did not attack his brother. But then Kathy asks the very interesting question, if he didn't attack Phil - then what the hell was he actually doing? And why does the CCTV show him leaving the Queen Vic?! 

I'm going to return to Suki and the Mitchell's shortly but another section I want to focus on this episode is Mick and Katy. Katy seems to visit Mick at his house, at first their conversation is pleasant, she appears to be asking how he is and how he's coping. It's then that he reveals to her about the fall out he'd had with Tina the previous day and how low it has made him feel. It's then that Katy starts to twist things and starts to manipulate him just that little bit more, she's snooping through his house and belongings and notices a postcard from his daughter, Nancy, from New Zealand. She compliments how good it must've been for her to move away, Mick acknowledges his pride in his daughter and how he's proud of all of his children. He even voices that his children are simply his greatest achievement in life. Katy then seems to twist things and acknowledge that all his children are doing great now that they've moved away from Walford, and voices her opinion that maybe he should move away in an attempt to have a fresh start and it'll maybe help all the thoughts that swirling through his mind. She even has the audacity to mention Ollie and that maybe he not being around his son during this tough time he's experiencing isn't good for the little boy. But Mick sees red, he states that he could never be too far away from his little boy, so when she puts forward the suggestion of him moving away, for a moment I think that he think that she's overstepped the mark - as a viewer I am disgusted that she's even used Ollie to get to Mick, she's so twisted and manipulative! I am happy to hear when Mick tells her leave, only as she does - the look in his face is once again, fear, is he speculating that what's just said could be right?! We know Mick is not in the best place right now, mentally and emotionally, so I'm sure it'll be understandable for her words to play on his mind. Later on in the episode, Shirley goes to visit her son with an early Christmas present in attempt to make amends to her son. However Mick just isn't impressed and isn't even interested in the present she's bought for him. He tells her that whatever has happened, it's not going to take a Christmas present to make things right, he simply throws the gift to the floor and tells her to leave. Right now, does anyone else feel for Shirley? I feel she's trying her absolute best to make it up to her son, but just keeps getting things thrown back in her face. Obviously, no other members of the Carter family know what's going on with Mick right now, only that something is bothering him and no one knows what. One by one he has pushed them away and they are no closer to finding out what's wrong with him. Surely things have got to come to light soon, haven't they? We know that Mick contemplates taking his own life - could that be the moment that the Carter's rally around Mick once again and plead for him to tell them what on Earth is going on?! Will him attempting to take his own life be the only thing it'll take for them to realise things are more serious than they realised! 

Returning to Suki and the Mitchell's like I said I would, during the episode, Jack visits both Suki and Kheerat and informs them that the blood that was found on the van was actually Ian's blood. Now something tells me that the Panesar's are looking more and more guilty as time goes on. Interestingly, we have another flashback which shows Kheerat handling Ian and possibly throwing him against the van, however Ian is awake and sitting up at this point, although he looks dreary, he's awake and we see Kheerat standing over him. The interesting thing is though is that this is happening OUTSIDE of the Queen Vic, when Ian was actually found inside! Could this altercation cause Ian to have collapsed inside the pub? After hearing the news about the blood, Suki is furious with her son as she questions him on why he wasn't careful. Did Suki maybe put her son up to attacking Ian?! Could they both be to blame?! Meanwhile, after Ben has revealed everything to his Dad, Phil takes it upon himself to break into the Panesar's offices with a baseball bat, and smash everything in sight! In typical Phil style, he smashes everything from tables, chairs, computers, filing cabinets - everything, you name it, he smashes it! After being alerted of a break in, Suki goes to office to see what's happening and eventually comes face-to-face with an angry Phil. He knows exactly what she's got over his son, Ben, and demands for the CCTV footage, even stating that he won't just be hitting computer screens to get it. Now this is where things get really interesting, after mocking Ben, stating that he's not very clever, she goads Phil into hitting her with the baseball bat - "Go on then! Hit me!" - even though he raises the bat, he doesn't swing. - I don't think Phil has ever hit a woman, has he?! At this point, it seems worrying that Phil may have met his match in Suki, who knows?! What is going to happen now though? With Phil being a powerful individual, I'm sure he won't let Suki get away with threatening his son. 

The final thing I want to focus on is Gray and Tina. Before Shirley delivers the Christmas present to Mick, she's at the Atkins household, contemplating whether to deliver it or not. Tina is against the idea, considering she's still upset regarding the way Mick spoke to her the previous day. She points out that Mick hasn't been right for months and it doesn't seem like an early Christmas present is going to fix things, she tries to persuade her sister to leave it until Mick is feeling a bit more normal. However, regardless of her opinion, Gray decides to take it upon himself to try and convince Shirley to deliver it, he thinks that it'll show Mick that she's at least trying to make amends. We can see from Tina's look on her face that she's a little annoyed with Gray's opinion. It's clear that Tina is still worrying about her own alibi regarding Ian's attack, as she still hasn't managed to track down the pizza delivery boy, she voices her concerns to Gray, who tries his best to persuade her that everything will be okay (even though he seems to say with a sarcastic smile, I thought anyway). Later on in the episode, after Shirley has attempted to deliver her present to her son, she's sat in the Atkins household confiding in Gray about Mick rejecting the gift. It's then she begins to question what kind of Christmas it's going to be for them all if they can't be with the ones they love, Gray responds by saying that they'll be able to sort things out whilst living in at Atkins household together, however he then mentions that the one thing that could make it a better Christmas, would be for Tina to stop leaving things a mess and stop having her so-called "tantrums", only as he says these words, Tina is listening to their conversation and can hear everything they're saying whilst she's stood on the stairs in the hallway. Even though Shirley promises to have a word with Tina, it seems that these words play on Tina's mind. She goes to find Kheerat and asks what he actually meant when he warned her of Gray. Kheerat voices his concern about the grieving widower, he states that he has no proof over what happened in that household when Chantelle was living there, but he makes his opinion very clear that he's convinced that there's more to Gray than what people think! 

Tuesday 10th November 2020

(Part 2)

Hello again folks! Hope your week is going well so far. Today's blog is going to be reviewing the second episode which aired on Tuesday evening. The first part ended with a big cliff-hanger where Rainie asked Tiffany to be a surrogate for her and Stuart. Will Tiffany agree? I'm certain the majority of you are well ahead compared to me, but I hope you'll enjoy reading this blog regardless.

Anyway, let's jump right into. The episode begins with Tiffany, Rainie and Stuart in the Café. This clearly looks to be the day after Rainie asked Tiffany the biggest favour of her life. Stuart and Rainie are eager to hear whether Tiffany has made a decision on whether to be their surrogate. Tiffany admits she still hasn't come to a decision as she admits that there's a lot to take into consideration. It's understandable that she'd be worried about Keegan also and what he'd say. I mean, £10,000 is a lot of money, Tiffany and Keegan would be able to make such a good life for themselves with that money, how could she say no?! Plus she'd be giving a couple something they've always wanted, don't they deserve to be parents? As Rainie and Tiffany are discussing the situation, Keegan makes his way into the Café, he briefly acknowledges Stuart, but Stuart can barely look him in the eye and leaves without saying a word. Keegan looks instantly suspicious, why would Stuart avoid him like that?! As Rainie follows Stuart out of the Cafe, Keegan approaches his wife and asks basically what is going on and mentions how weird Stuart acted towards him. He questions whether it was because they were still angry about Rainie's accident, but Tiffany assures her husband that that's not the case, she then feels like she has to come clean, he'll only find out eventually, so it's probably best if she tells him now, it's then she admits the truth that they've asked her to be a surrogate for them.

Meanwhile, Denise has taken young Raymond to the park, it's incredibly sweet how she's trying to bond with her son. It's understandable why the boy is so shy and timid, he's been swooped into a new environment and - as far as I know - has no idea where his Nan or parents or siblings are, how can a young boy his age understand what's going on. Denise is unknown to him, she's just this lady who has taken him in, but of course he's not going to know that she's his Mum, and probably won't know for a long time. I love how Denise is so gentle with him, talking to him even though he doesn't respond. As she's talking to the young boy, Jack turns up as he's running through the park. Even though they have split up, they remain friendly as Jack asks how little Raymond is getting on, Denise confirms that he's settling in slowly but he still doesn't talk very much, she mentions that she's going to take him to a specialist just to see if it'll help as she doesn't feel ready to put him into a nursery yet. Jack mentions perhaps he could socialise with other children - which I think would be a brilliant idea, the amount of children on the Square, I'm sure it wouldn't be long until he made friends. Maybe Denise might let him play with other children eventually?

At the undertakers, Keegan is livid about what the Highway's have asked of his wife. He accuses Stuart of wanting to sleep with his 17 year old wife (Also I had no idea that Tiffany was just 17! I thought she was at least 19/20!) ... Anyway, Stuart and Tiffany both reassure Keegan that Stuart wouldn't have to sleep with her for her to carry a baby, Stuart confirms that it's all done in lab, and the baby biologically would be Stuart and Rainie's, they simply just need someone to carry the baby for them, someone they trust. Everything would be above board and legal. Keegan sighs as he seems to understand everything but he informs Stuart that they're going to have to find someone else - the next line I didn't really like the sound of "My wife's body is not for rent!" - I'm amazed how Keegan can even see it like that! Like seriously, how does his brain work?! Tiffany would be doing a wonderful act for a couple who can't conceive and who are desperate to have a child, I think it's probably the most honourable thing you could do for someone. Tiffany is speechless as her husband walks out leaving Stuart devastated.

Meanwhile on the Square, Phil walks past Kat on her stall, and once again she's winding him up as she's still wearing his West Ham football shirt. Phil has had enough of her games and tells her to give him his top back. But I love how Kat winds up him up even more, questioning whether she should take her own clothes off or strip Phil of his clothes. As Phil walks up to her she warns him not to come any closer as she will scream, but Phil doesn't believe as the closer he gets, she warns him further and further. Suddenly she lets out this blood curling scream for the whole Square to hear. The only thing is, as she screams, Denise can be seen walking down the street with young Raymond - has she seen everything? Something tells me that she is going to completely get the wrong end of the stick. She'll question as to why Kat was screaming as she won't believe Phil's side of the story and stop him from seeing Raymond.

At the Atkins household, Shirley is watching as Gray finishes a phone call with Karen. He reveals to her that Karen wants to meet up with him in the park. Shirley believes it's a good thing and that he should, it's been quite a while since he's seen his children. She persuades him that the children should be back living with him, but Gray seems to think that they're better off with the Grandparents. It's then Shirley tells him of her experience being a Mother, she still believes that she hasn't been the best parent, even though she thought she was doing the best for her children. But she does give Gray some really good advice, the longer he leaves it the harder it'll get.

Back out on the Square, Stuart approaches Keegan on his sandwich stall and tries to apologise. He describes that he and Rainie are like kids in a sweet shop once they get an idea in their head. Stuart acknowledges that Keegan has had it tough the past few months regarding the death of his sister, Chantelle and him trying to make a name of himself. It looks like that they both have a mutual understanding with each other and Keegan admits that it just feels weird for him knowing that - to put it politely - a part of Stuart is going to be inside his wife. Suddenly Tiffany approaches them and I can totally understand what she's saying her husband. She tells Keegan that the way he is speaking about her is awful, it's her body and she can do what she likes - why is it that he's making the decisions? And she is telling the truth, Tiffany hasn't even given them an answer yet, it's a though Keegan is making the decision for her, when it actual fact, it's completely up to her at the end of the day. Keegan apologises to his wife and she tells him that she actually does in fact like Stuart and Rainie and part of her does want them to be happy and have a family. She tells her husband that £10,000 could change their lives! She pleads to him to just sit down and talk/think it through, Keegan once again takes another big sigh and promises he'll think it through, for his wife's sake, he says that he'll try and support her and stand beside her, but at the end of the day she will be the one that's giving birth ... I don't understand why that's such a big deal, babies are born every day! Women give birth every day! The human body is an incredible thing and what a woman's body goes though is astonishing, being able to carry a tiny human for 9 months and then give birth is a wonderous thing. There shouldn't be anything fearful about it ... BUT ... (And my mind has gone a completely 1-80 here!) - What if something tragic happens during the birth and Tiffany dies in childbirth? What if there are complications with the pregnancy?! As much as this story could be beautiful, I do (Now) have a feeling that something tragic could happen.

Returning to Denise at home, she appears to be on the phone to someone, a specialist I'm assuming? It looks like she's trying to get help of trying to build a bond with her young son. She's trying to get through to them and trying to explain that she's his birth Mother and the poor boy has no idea who she is. It looks like she's pleading for someone to help her whilst she's trying explain the situation. I do feel for Denise, she's trying her absolute best to support and be there for her son, but of course he's been through something traumatic and everything he once knew has all gone. It's hard for a little boy his age to understand completely what's going on or what's happening. I'm hoping in time, he'll come to open up to Denise and eventually they'll be able to build a bond with each other.

At home, Tiffany looks as if she's watching birthing videos online - which is probably not the best idea. Labour and giving birth is a different experience for every woman. Some have really easy births, some have it a lot harder - it simply depends on the baby. But of course watching videos like that are going to terrify her and perhaps scare her into going through with it. Outside on the Square, Mitch finds his son in a world of his own. In not so many words, Keegan tells his father that he and Tiffany are having a disagreement - I kind of liked the way they were describing things by magic and pulling rabbits out of a hat - it was quite a clever take on things. Mitch sits along side his son and gives him some really good fatherly advice, he asks Keegan whether he has heard of the phrase "Happy wife, happy life!" - to which Keegan shakes his head. Now I think sometimes that phrase can be a a bit shady, but Mitch describes in such a lovely way, mentioning his Grandparents having a happy marriage which lasted over 50 years. He says that if your wife is happy, it should make you happy and as he says all this to son, it look as if Keegan completely understands what he has to do.

Back in the park, Whitney approaches the Atkins children, Mack and Mia as they play football. As they play they ask whether their father will be joining them. Whitney informs the children that unfortunately he has to work, this disappoints the kids as they tells Whitney that he hasn't played with them since their Mum passed away. He spends all his time with Shirley now and not them, Whitney is surprised to hear this and informs the young girl and boy that their father loves them dearly and would do anything for them. It's then as they continue to play, Whitney takes out her phone - is she going to convince Gray to make some time with his kids? Meanwhile at home, Gray and Shirley look as if they're doing work, Gray is on his laptop and Shirley is looking at paper work while Tina is sat in the living room behind them, (I loved Tina in this scene, I loved her clumsiness)  She's complimenting the house that Shirley has found herself in. I loved how she asked whether the cushion on the sofa was filled with feathers, Shirley's response was brilliant - I'll fill you with feathers if you don't be quiet, and then of course when Tina switches the television it blares through-out the whole household. Tina then asks whether it's possible to stay there for a while as the place she's living at is just constantly full of arguments. Shirley informs her sister to grab her coat as she's going to walk her back to her place, as they leave Gray's phone pings and as he looks over he can see that he's received a message from Whitney telling him that his children want to see him, along with a picture of his children.

At home, Denise appears to be juggling a few things, trying to sort out little Raymond's tea whilst trying to sort out appointments with the salon on the phone, so much so that she burns her finger on the burning hot oven tray. Suddenly the doorbell rings, Denise is surprised to see Jack standing there. She hangs up her phone call and invites him in. It's then that Jack holds out to her an envelope full of money, he admits he wants to help contribute with the expense of Denise seeing a specialist. Denise, at first, is reluctant to take it from him as she explains that it's not his problem and she can't take money from him. But Jack admits that he still cares about her and begs her to take the money, as it'll mean she wont have to bother Phil and also it would be a friend helping out another friend. Denise smiles and thanks her ex-boyfriend for his kindness and accepts the money. As she offers him a cup of coffee, they both smile - do you think her and Denise will rekindle their romance? Will Jack be able to stand by Denise and support her in bringing up Raymond? I'd like to see them get back together, it's clear they still care for one another.

Meanwhile, at the Slater household, Kat returns to find the household empty but is surprised to hear Phil's voice coming from the living room. She is stunned to see him sat in a chair and asks him how he entered their property, to which he reveals that the door was left open. She threatens to call the police if he doesn't leave the house but Phil is quick to respond. He tells her that he's come for his shirt and Kat questions him why he wants it back so desperately, it's then he admits that the top has sentimental value and it was going to be a gift for young Dennis for his 18th birthday. Kat is quick to apologise and admits she only took/wore it to get his attention and assures him that she was going to give it back. Kat then proposes that she'll only give him the top back if he goes and checks out the job she mentioned to him a while back, Phil can't believe what he's hearing. But Kat tells him that if he was to go with her, he'd see she wasn't as stupid as he thought. Something tells me that Phil will only go through with this dodgy robbery job just so he can get the shirt back? What do you guys think?

Returning to Jack and Denise, Denise informs him that trying to sort things out over the phone she's facing a battle of questions that she doesn't know how to answer, because unfortunately she hasn't got the answers to give them. How is she supposed to know if Raymond knows he's adopted, when he won't even speak. Jack throws in suggestions maybe asking a family friend or another family member or someone she might be able to contact, and it's then he recalls that Raymond's adoptive father was a vicar to which Denise reacts positively and recalls which church he was registered at. Okay - something is giving me a very bad feeling - I'm sure you guys remember that Denise's ex-husband Lucas was a pastor of some kind, or was a holy man and had something to do with the church - what if Denise goes to this church and finds that Lucas is now out of prison and back at the church. We know Lucas is returning to the Square, I feel this may just be the start of his return, what do you guys think? Personally, I am SO excited for Lucas and Chelsea to be returning and I hope their return to the Square will be a permanent one. But it feels that this build up into helping Raymond will be the most brilliant way in bringing them back into Denise's life, of course it may be unfortunate for her, but it'll be SO interesting. How is Chelsea going to react when she finds out she has a little brother and that her Mum slept with Phil Mitchell?! It's going to be brilliant I'm sure!

Back out on the Square, Phil bumps into Isaac and asks him why he hasn't updated him on Raymond in recent weeks. Isaac admits that Denise knows so unfortunately he can't continue giving him information, to which Phil tells him to give him his money back. But Isaac reveals he spent the money on treating Raymond to pizza and a toy, to which Phil can't really react to. He knows that if the money has been spent on his son, he can't really be mad. Isaac tells him that if he's so desperate for information on his son then he can speak to Denise, there should be no harm considering he is his father.

Returning to Tiffany and Keegan, she reveals to her husband that she's watched a video online of someone giving birth, but she couldn't finish it. But then she admits that she forced herself to watch the video till the end and she admits to her husband that she found it beautiful. She tries to persuade her husband that they can go through with this, they can treat it like their doing a job and/or a favour to someone, Rainie and Stuart will have the baby they've always longed for and Tiffany and Keegan will be able to use the money to evolve Keegan's business, they'll be able to get all the equipment and supplies they need to really make his business take off. But Keegan, once again, is so mopey thinking that people like him don't deserve to be successful and have dreams, but Tiffany then tells him that his sister wouldn't want him thinking that way and they would both want him to achieve his dream and be a big success.

Back at the Atkins household, Gray is finally reuniting with his children as they show him their drawings they've done of their Mum. Gray is incredibly touched and praises his children for drawing such gorgeous pictures. He suggests to them that they do some more drawing and eagers them to get their drawing supplies so they can do some together. As the children leave to grab their things, Gray thanks Whitney in bringing the children back to him and helping and it's then she tells him that if he ever needs any more help or if he needs her to look after the children until he feels ready to have them back permanently, she's willing to help whenever she can. Gray smiles and thanks her, to which Whitney smiles back.

Above the undertakers, Rainie is fast asleep on the sofa, but Stuart wakes abruptly as he announces that they have visitors, slowly Tiffany and Keegan appear from the staircase. This scene well and truly touched me, I began to well up! Tiffany begins to apologise for what happened earlier in the day, but then she softly reveals to the couple that after a long discussion with Keegan and thinking long and hard about it, they want take them up on their offer and will happily help them have a baby. Everyone is silent as they take in the news, both Rainie and Stuart tear up and Stuart asks whether they're being serious, and Tiffany confirms that she will carry their baby for them. Rainie is tearful as she thanks the red-head. Stuart excitedly states that between the four of them they will make a beautiful baby and he rushes to embrace his wife. Tiffany excitedly joins them and everyone is incredibly happy and excited. But as the three of them embrace in a huge hug, Keegan is left standing and watching, he looks towards the camera and appears less excited than anyone else.

Urgh ... Why can't Keegan see that they're doing something wonderful for the couple?! Of course he's bound to have concerns, is he jealous maybe? Or does he simply not want his wife to do this? I don't know, I think, personally, Keegan needs to realise that this is adult stuff, he's not a kid anymore. He can't mope around because he hasn't got his way, he needs to put on a smile and remain positive. Will Keegan eventually come round to the idea? Could this maybe even break Keegan and Tiffany? I mean this is EastEnders, as much as I want and hope that Stuart and Rainie get the baby they've always longed for, I fear that maybe there could be tragedy along the way. Could Tiffany lose the baby? Will she die in childbirth? Who knows? But this is another story I think is really going to touch people and will end up being gripping, it'll either have a wonderful or devastating ending. What do you guys think?

Friday 6th November 2020

Hello again folks! Finally after this blog post I'll be completely up to date with EastEnders. I know I was only one or two episodes behind, but after today I'll be completely caught up. Regardless of being in a second lockdown, I will be still be working my every day job as well as doing my blog so I hope you'll all be patient with me, as you have been so tremendously and I can't thank you guys enough. I also just want to say thank you to anyone who has ever liked a post or commented on a post, please know that I do see you and I my heart soars every time I see you hit that "Like" button! It means the absolute world and I can't thank you enough for your ongoing support.

Anyway, enough with the mushy stuff, this week has been such a good week for EastEnders, secrets have been exposed and it's been quite a dramatic one full of secrets and lies and outbursts. I'm sure this episode is going to leave a great start to next week. I'm feeling excited about this one. So without further ado, lets jump right into it. The episode starts pretty much starts from where the previous one finished. Oooo I feel this is going to be brilliant episode between Shirley and Mick, I can just sense it! Shirley is pushing for answers from her son about Frankie. After witnessing a huge block approach Mick and warn him off of contacting Frankie, Shirley's mind is reeling. She's convinced that he's having an affair with her, but then who can blame her, considering he did have a fling with Whitney, but if Mick isn't going to tell her the truth about who she is, what else is she supposed to think?! Mick harshly says to her that even if he was having an affair with Frankie, her wouldn't come to her for help as she has never helped him in his life. I do feel that that was a bit harsh, but as soon as Mick walks away demanding that he doesn't want to hear another word from his Mum, she simply just says "Okay, I'll go and have a chat with Linda!" - now THAT stops him in his tracks! We all know that she means she'll tell Linda he's having an affair, and now that would make the situation even more awkward wouldn't it?!

Above the undertakers, in their flat, Rainie is still packing her stuff after telling Stuart she's leaving him. Of course something tells me she doesn't mean it, she just perhaps feels she needs to get away after realising she was never actually pregnant. Stuart can't understand and is desperate to stop her. He tells her that it doesn't make sense as they were both looking forward to the future with their baby. It's then that Rainie reveals to Stuart, not the full truth, but that she lost the baby in the accident, there is no baby anymore. Stuart can't believe what he is hearing, he appears absolutely devastated by the news. To me, it feels that Rainie is kind of making an excuse to leave, he does not smother her at all - Stuart has been the only person to ever show her true love. I know it sounds silly but I do think that Stuart and Rainie are meant to be together, they make the perfect couple and it was just wonderful how fate brought them together. Two lost souls who everyone looked down on, found company, solace and love with each other. He's shocked to hear that his wife was happy when the nurse told her about the baby, she is absolutely lying to herself and Stuart though, is she doing this because she doesn't want to hurt him and tell him the truth, being cruel to be kind, I really can't tell.

Returning to Mick and Shirley, Mick comes up with the explanation to his Mum that he was trying to get in touch with Frankie, for Katy. He tries to explain that Frankie had gone missing and he was trying to help because he felt he owed her Mum. But something doesn't make sense. Why would Mick do that for someone he hasn't seen or heard from for over 30 years?! It's then that Mick makes the awful dig at his Mum that Katy was the one who brought him up and did his Mum's job for her. Shirley is slowly starting to break, she has been trying to make it up to her son ever since she put him into care and no matter what she does, she feels it's just not enough. What else can she do? She looked after the pub and Linda and even went to prison for her son, but Mick just can't seem to forgive his Mother. We know that deep deep down, he feels she is to blame for his sexual abuse whilst in care, as if wouldn't have happened if she hadn't given him up. But of course, Shirley would never known it was happening, the only one that is to blame here is Katy. Shirley tells her son that something about Frankie is important to him, he has been speaking to him like dirt for weeks and it's now time that he needs to tell her truth!

Oh, I feel this episode is going to be completely focusing on these 4 characters, Mick, Shirley, Stuart and Rainie! Literally a 4-way episode between these incredible characters. Returning to Stuart and Rainie, Stuart is stopping his wife from leaving the apartment, literally standing in the doorway. Stuart is adamant that his wife is lying about not being happy. He knows full well that she is only saying that because he thinks she's lost the baby. What Stuart says next is completely and utterly true and very touching, and quite frankly, I believe what he's saying - they belong together like a jigsaw, they are actually meant to be together, its as if fate writ it in the stars for them. As Rainie continues to deny that what Stuart is saying is true, Stuart can be seen getting angrier and angrier, he starts to blame Keegan for the loss of their baby. He storms out of the flat and across the Square, Rainie following telling him not to take it out on Keegan, but it falls on deaf ears as Stuart bangs and hollers for Keegan at the front door. Rainie is pleading for her husband to stop, but Stuart says he wants to hurt Keegan as he's the one who's caused them to lose their baby, but then Rainie shouts out the devastating bombshell that there never was a baby, she completely breaks down as she finally admits the truth. Now I just want to comment on the amazing camera work during this split second, Stuart approaches his wife to hug her and console her, but Rainie lashes out and tells him not to touch her. I want to comment on the camera work and angle, of course EastEnders actors haven't been able to have close contact with each other due to the Covid-19 pandemic, did they use a stunt double for when Rainie slapped Stuart? I believe I read somewhere that cast are working with people from their own households to step in to do the up-close shots, I could be wrong though however. But I just wanted to say the camera work on that slap upon Stuart was very very clever!

Back at the Atkins household, Mick is searching for alcohol in Gray's cupboards. I feel like this is a very important scene, this is where Mick is telling his Mum exactly how his life was when he was being brought up in care. As they sit down at the table, Shirley listens to everything her son has got to say, she asks why Katy is so important to Mick, after so many years of not seeing her or being in contact with her? Mick begins to explain that he was the one who was always being picked on by other kids in the care home, but that Katy was the only one who looked out for him, as he describes it, she found something in him, potential maybe - something special? She'd feed him information about other children in the care home, even though that it was against the rules, she put her job on the line for him. To me, he's describing the act of being groomed. She groomed him while he was in child care, which must've let him to trust her, and feel like he was a somebody, which she took advantage of and ended up sexually abusing him, but of course being groomed, he wouldn't have seen it that way. He would've thought that she liked him, when actual fact it was something much more darker, which is what he's having to come to terms with. Of course whilst Mick is describing how amazing Katy had been towards him, Shirley is teary - does she maybe feel that it should've been her bringing her son up? Does she feel guilty for putting him into care? Maybe she feels a sense of jealousy towards Katy, thinking she gave him the upbringing that she never could, and that is why Mick has been so cold towards her lately?

Back at their apartment, Rainie explains to her husband what has happened and what the nurse has told her, that she has actually suffered the symptoms of a phantom pregnancy. She's had all the signs of pregnancy, missed periods, bloating and sickness, and her mind has tricked her body into thinking it's pregnant, when sadly there was no baby at all. Stuart is trying to get his head around what he's being told. He asks whether she took a pregnancy test, and Rainie confirms she did, however there are times that if you leave the test too long it can give a false positive reading. I am feeling absolutely devastated for the couple right now, this is really tugging at my heartstrings, it's making me well up. How Rainie states that she doesn't deserve a happily-ever-after just because of the bad mistakes she's made in the past, I felt like shouting at the TV screen "YES YOU DO!" everyone deserves to turn their life around and live happily, everyone deserves happiness and to have a family. Rainie feels broken and devastated, also because she knew how much her husband wanted their baby. Stuart pleads to his wife to let him help her, let him in and together they will get through this. Rainie breaks down into tears as she flees to their bedroom. My heart is totally breaking for the both of them.

Once again, returning to Mick and Shirley, they are sit sat at the same table discussing Katy. Shirley is fishing for more information on Katy and his upbringing. However, the discussion takes a nasty turn when Mick confesses to sneaking out of the care home just to go and see her. Something instantly doesn't feel right to Shirley, why is Katy having him sneak out when she should've really been looking after him. Mick then also admits to her giving him alcohol and getting him drunk, now that really doesn't sit well with Shirley! Why is she getting him drunk at such a young age? As Shirley starts to voice her opinion on Katy, Mick lashes out at his Mum. Warning her not to talk about Katy in such a way, how dare she! Once again, he points out that Katy was the one who was there for him, she was the one who didn't abandon him! He shakes the table violently, causing Shirley to jump in her seat and feeling his rage eating him up inside him, he leaves the Atkins house, leaving Shirley teary once again.

Returning to the undertaker's apartment, Stuart quietly walks into the bedroom to find Rainie asleep on the bed. As he goes to look out of the window, Rainie softly wakes, surprised to see her husband still with her. But of course he would be, why wouldn't he?! The next section of speech from Stuart is very interesting, it's made me think of something which I will explain in just a moment, he mentions his time in care - being told he'll always be the wrong-un, he'll never be loved. Now hear me out, Mick has also been speaking about his time in care, their stories being quite similar, being told they would be the wrong-uns, be the troublesome child ... am I right in thinking that Mick and Stuart were in care together? What if there was a huge twist in the story here, and that Frankie was in actual fact Stuart's daughter?! What if Frankie has mistaken the identity of her Father and thought it was Mick when in actual fact, her Father is Stuart? Just putting it out there - of course I might be jumping the gun and I could be completely wrong, but an interesting turn of events that would be!!! Anyway, back to the plot at hand, Stuart reveals to his wife that she was the one who actually saved him and as Rainie slowly lifts herself up, Stuart rummages for something under the bed. Eventually he pulls out a small cardboard box and hands it over to his wife, she takes a little look inside and pulls out a handful of small receipts and Stuart reveals he's been keeping a little box of trinkets of everything they've done together. (Which is incredibly romantic!) Rainie is visibly touched and informs her husband that no one has ever done anything so nice for her before, Stuart comforts his wife and tells her that no matter what they will face their demons as a family, whether that means it'll just be the two of them to which Rainie agrees, they gives each other a smile and Stuart simply asks his wife one little question, "Cuppa?" ... Absolutely wonderful script writing I have to say, this episode has completely blown me away!

Mick has finally returned to his own apartment, the buzzer is heard and he lets the person in. His Mum appears from the stairs and enters the room. Mick is very blunt with his Mother and just simply asks her straight out, what does she want. I feel sorry for Shirley here, after everything he has told her about Katy, maybe she has misunderstood. It had sounded as if Mick has been desperate to get in touch with her, wanting to see her. Shirley confesses that Tina had an emergency number for Katy on Frankie's employee form. She reveals that she actually gone and given Katy a call, saying that Mick might need to see her. Mick is absolutely mortified, he can't believe what he's hearing. I do feel sorry for Shirley as she is trying her absolute best to help her son, unfortunately she's only gone and called his abuser up and asked her to come and see him. Mick demands his Mum leaves the apartment immediately, he yells at her to leave, leaving his Mum once again in tears - in her mind, she's done nothing wrong and just simply trying to help her son. How could she have been more wrong?!

Oh the final scene between Stuart and Rainie is absolutely beautiful, Stuart puts together a nice cup of tea and bowl of ice cream and ketchup for them both as they watch a movie on the sofa together. Rainie is dressed up in her pyjamas as she makes herself comfortable, eating her bowl of ice cream and ketchup. The camera turns to Stuart and he has a huge smile on his face, these two are so adorable I can't stand it! Interesting fact:- Tanya Franks did actually eat ice cream and ketchup together, just so she would feel more in character - what an absolute trooper!

The final scene  of this episode, Mick is slowly walking across the Square, in the background we see a black cab drive around the gardens. As Mick walks through we hear the car slowly pull up and a female voice thanks the cab driver. Suddenly a woman with long brunette hair walks towards him and says his full name, Mick turns to see Katy, the one person he has been dreading to see. What is going to happen now she has rocked up on the Square?!

Tuesday 9th June 2020

Good evening everyone! Hope you've had a good day! It's just hit me that after tonight's episode, we'll only have two episodes to view until the soap goes off air. I'm feeling a touch of sadness but I'm really hoping it won't be too long until the soap will be back on our screens. We should enjoy the last few episodes while we can! I just hope that come the last episode, it won't end on such big cliff hanger - i'll be so frustrated that I'll have to wait for such a lengthy period of time to find out the outcome! I'm sure you guys feel the same way? Let's just hope we're not waiting for months on end!

So tonight's episode was quite full packed wasn't it? I'm going to briefly start with Rainie and Max, it's really nice to see Rainie in a completely different light. I do fear that she will always been known as the terrible drug addict, and I guess there is always a possibility she could go back to her bad ways, but it's so nice to see her living a happy life. She's not interested in taking Max for his money. As she said, she has a good job and stable home as well as someone who loves her for who she is, plus she's clean, she's living her best life right now! Why would she need Max's money? She will find the money eventually for her wedding to Stuart and hopefully they'll have a happy life together. I thought it was really sweet when she said to Max that she actually wanted him to be happy to, I think that's all everyone wants. Max has had his fair share of women on the square but I believe only 2 of those women have made him genuinely happy - Tanya and Stacey! I do hope in time Max will meet someone and he'll be able to be happy, properly, once again.

So, does this mean Dotty and Peter are going to make a go of things? Even regarding that Dotty knows about Ian's secret. It's obvious that Ian is not going to approve, but in all honesty, what can he do? He can't threaten Dotty to leave his son alone, she will only threaten to reveal his secret. Ian is just going to have to suck it up and deal with it and hope to God that Dotty doesn't spill the beans. I know I've mentioned this already, but I can't help thinking about Bobby - even though he's not been seen in recent episodes, he was the one who started off having feelings for Dotty in the first place, how is he going to feel now knowing his brother has gone off with her? I didn't really know what to make of the scene where Dotty was trying to impress Peter by going for the jog ... I guess she wasn't trying to impress him, maybe just get his attention?! Again, like their flirting, I found it a bit cringe-worthy. But you know, each to their own? Do any of you guys ship Dotty and Peter? Or would you prefer to see them with other people? Perhaps you would've preferred Dotty to be with Vinny? They did start up a good, close friendship ... let me know what you guys think! Only thing now is, I have a feeling that Ian's secret isn't going to be kept secret for much longer?

Speaking of ships - does anyone else ship Billy and Karen? Poor Billy! Okay, the flour bomb was funny, but I did kinda feel that somehow, maybe he doesn't belong with the Taylor family. Mitch has done everything in his power to make him feel uncomfortable - even saying that he and Karen won't last for long and that Karen always goes running back to him. Mitch is clearly jealous! But I do feel that Billy does deserve happiness - however, what is going to happen when Honey returns? I'm assuming she will at some point, I don't think we've seen the last of her. But what is going to happen if Honey comes back and finds out that Billy has suddenly moved in with Karen? Isn't that going to break her heart? I mean, okay, Billy did cheat on her and she attempted to move on with Adam, but look how that turned out for the poor woman. She lost her self-esteem and confidence which caused her to relapse on her eating disorder, she then decided she had to leave the Square until she felt herself again, leaving poor Billy on his own. It's nice to see Billy happy with someone but I don't know whether he'll be able to commit to Karen, or whether he'll be able to feel he belongs with the Taylor family, especially with Mitch always at the sidelines, watching in on his relationship with Karen. What do you guys think? Do you think Billy and Honey will be meant to be? Or do you think he can gel well with Karen and the Taylor's and be a part of their family?! Also - yes! I am going to mention that EastEnders did make a comment about the size of Billy's manhood!!!!!! Sorry, but we don't want to know that, thank you!!!

Swiftly moving on ... I do wish that Phil and Sharon would come to some form of understanding with each other. I can understand both sides of spectrum ... Sharon made a terrible mistake of firstly, cheating on Phil, and then secondly giving up her own baby, but now she's trying to do the right thing and bring up her son with the man she loves. However, I can understand Phil's perspective aswell, he was heartbroken when he found out that Kayden wasn't his, considering he had adopted Sharon's elder son and became a father to him, to then lose him in awful circumstances, I guess he can't help but blame Sharon for Dennis's death. I do kinda think Phil is right, if she hadn't have slept with Keanu and got pregnant, none of this would've happened and Dennis would still be around now. It's clear that they do deeply still love each other, but Phil can't find it in himself to bring up another man's baby. When Ian came to collect Sharon's things, I love the way Phil put him in his place, its been obvious that Ian has been swooning over Sharon - Phil isn't stupid, he can see what he's trying to do! Hopefully Sharon will come to realise that also and will find out the truth about Dennis's death. I loved the scene between Linda and Phil, I think the words that Linda rang truth - you can't break a bond between a mother and their child, Phil and Sharon should be able to work things through because of their love for each other, if they want to be together, they should be able to be strong and make it work. However, I was surprised as Phil's revelation! So he is going to be moving into the Vic?! Is that going to be such a good idea, considering his past with the building? I mean, it was once his home also, but Sharon also lived there, could this mean they could end up fighting for the property? Or is Sharon going to remain living with Ian or will she live in the Mitchell household while Phil moves into the Vic?! I'm really eager to see what happens with that one, but I do feel we're going to have to wait a while unfortunately.

Uh-Oh! I have a bad feeling that things could be going from bad to worse for Chantelle. After asking Gray if she could use his car to do an errand for Kheerat, Gray was already annoyed that she was doing Kheerat favours, why is she still doing more? He made it perfectly clear that he didn't want her running around after him. I kinda panicked when Suki asked - wait no - told Chantelle to do those favours for her, it was just going to put her in an even worse situation with Gray. Even though I did think to myself after Chantelle missed her phone call from Gray whilst in the car, after Suki left, why didn't she just ring him back and explain? - But I know, that would've been too easy! - This is EastEnders after all and nothing is ever straight forward as that! So Gray has a tracker on his car, was he watching where Chantelle was going or had been? Then he realised it had been driven someone on a day it was supposed to be at the garage. Us viewers know that Ben used the car last week to drive himself to the job Danny and Phil were at. Gray has already asked Chantelle where she went that day and obviously, Chantelle has nothing to do with it, but Gray unfortunately doesn't believe her, he is going to be jumping to all sorts of conclusions, even possibly thinking that Chantelle is cheating on him? Is he going to become violent with her again? This is why I worry for Chantelle so much, she can't put a foot wrong otherwise Gray will hurt her, physically. The violence that he has put her through is horrific, I fear that until Gray finds out the truth about his car, he's going to become physically abusive towards her again. But even though Gray is paranoid about his wife's whereabouts, he's the one who kissed another woman - well technically she kissed him! Gray has been an absolute rock for Whitney in recent weeks as he's taken on her case. She's currently staying with them and over time, Whitney has become more and more infatuated with Gray. He's been so kind to her, saying all sorts of nice things to support her, even though - I do feel as though he was pushing and pushing her for more information when he took her back to the scene where Leo died, he kept saying "Go on! Carry on!", pushing her and forcing her to relive the moments when Leo died. I kinda found that a little hard to watch, I mean it was brilliant acting from Shona McGarty, but Whitney has already been through so much and she's told the story over and over again, why should she have to relive it? - Anyway she's become so in awe of Gray and his kindness towards her, she suddenly kissed him. Now we knew this was coming, but what does this mean now? Will Gray respond and act and perhaps have an affair with Whitney? Will Whitney be completely apologetic and try and forget the kiss happened? Will Chantelle find out?

Tuesday 12th May 2020

Evening folks! As promised, I am back with a second blog of the day, following tonight's episode. Can someone clarify for me, I'm hearing lots of different bits of news right now ... If someone can let me know for sure i'd deeply appreciate it! So, over the weekend the news was announced that EastEnders would have to be taken off air due to the cast and crew unable to get back to filming, so in time ... the soap will be off our screens for a while. However, i'm sure I saw something mentioned today that apparently the soaps Coronation Street, Emmerdale and now EastEnders have all been given the go ahead to resume filming. Either way, I'm hoping they will be back to the Square soon and they can get back to the story-lines we're all loving right now!

Anyway, let's focus on tonight's episode ... Can anyone tell me what's going on with Isaac right now?! I get he's still reeling from the information his Mother told him about Patrick being his biological father. But I think he's acting completely childish and as soon as he gets caught doing something he shouldn't, he sulks like a kid! First, he decides to call in sink and avoids going to work and looking after a group of school children. It's clear he's drinking his sorrow's away, but seriously, that's not going to help is it? He sneaks into Denise's hair salon and swipes a bottle from the cupboard, and even then when Denise caught him, she knew he was up to something! THEN he goes to pee in the middle of Square, almost being caught by children ... it was lucky Denise caught him before they did! But bloody hell! What is going through his mind? I get it's probably a lot to take in, and the fact that Sheree and Patrick are away at the minute to give him a bit of space, with Denise only looking out for him at the moment, I feel like he's just going to go completely off the scale. Is he going to lose his job because of skiving so much? I mean, I don't think he's been to work once since finding out the truth about his Dad. He offered to tutor Tommy for a few free sessions, but other than that, he's not done much else. I don't really know what's happening with Isaac and i'm unsure what's going to happen when Patrick and Sheree return. Hopefully Denise can keep him in line and look out for him while they're away, even though he is not her responsibility.

Okay, so Rainie targeted Habiba in getting her to fish for information about Max and how much he owns of the restaurant. Maybe they'll come up with a plan? Will Habiba be able to get the information that Rainie needs? I'm intrigued to see how this one will go down! Will Max eventually click, or will he be oblivious to Habiba's sneakiness and Rainie's plan?!

Uh-oh! Turns out that Phil knows the exact plan that's going to happen with this dodgy deal with Danny. Money is going to be hidden somewhere in a building that the police are going to raid once they know the money is going to be nicked. I got a bit concerned for Ben when Phil mentioned that the building will be dark inside, so that means even more cause for concern for Ben ... if he's involved and he goes with Phil to the site, there's a chance he may not be able to see and hear what's going on around him. I hope Ben realises that he can't do it, he'll be getting himself in more danger if anything goes wrong and he wont be able to find his way out! I'm trying to think ahead as to what we might see, that is, if we get to see, this event happen. Will Phil be okay? Could he be caught in the crossfire because he brought Ben along? There's so many things that could go wrong, is it bad to say that i'm kinda scared for both Ben and Phil?! Even Callum?! What if he does know what's happening and he finds out Ben is involved, could he get himself caught up in it, trying to either help his boyfriend or try and do his job! It's an interesting situation! Tonight, Ben was in this hospital waiting for his operation to take place, Callum said to him that he'd be there every step of the way. It was only when Ben started pushing his partner for information that Callum eventually realised what his boyfriend was really up to! It's sad that Callum is feeling used. I do believe that Ben wants the best for Callum, but the fact that he's doing a dodgy bit of business, which Callum may know about, and realising that he could be putting his job on the line if he were to tell him certain information, it's the worst thing he could've asked him to do. Do you think Ben even wanted to do it? Was he just trying to impress his Dad to prove he could get information from Callum? There are many ways in which you could look at it, I think it's just a shame that Callum felt used and decided to leave Ben there to have the operation on his own! Will his op be a success and will Ben and Callum be able to get past this? But most importantly, will everything go to plan and will they both be okay?

Oh Jean!! Does anyone else have a feeling that Kush and Shirley might have accidentally given Jean an overdose of her medication?! They might be unsure as to how much she's supposed to take, plus the fact she's not been taking any for weeks, to then be given some at such a rapid amount, it'll be a big shock to the system, surely?! She was struggling for breath and she was losing her balance and feeling dizzy! Could it maybe be the lack of medication she's taking (or not) and her body is desperate for more? I'm unsure about bipolar medication, but i'm just assuming what could happen next. One thing for sure is that Shirley and Kush are going to be feeling guilty, perhaps, in upcoming episodes? Guilty and more worried for poor Jean? Will she be okay? Will we find out what caused her to have a seizure?!

Oh no! Keegan! What are you doing?! After Jack tried to help up and off his own back, risking his job, managed to get a video from a witness of the night in question regarding Keegan. Keegan has been sulking for what feels like weeks now after being arrested by the police, after being accused of throwing a brick and restricting arrest. Everyone around him is trying to keep him upbeat and remain positive for him and he's just refusing to let anyone help him. Tiffany is seeing to his business for him, putting together and selling sandwiches, because he's started to give up. Jack has taken them both in after they found out they've been kicked out of their apartment, and yet Keegan is still remaining miserable. Denise seems to understand the young lad, mainly that she's also experienced the same thing in her life, which she mentioned to Jack. She made it clear to Jack that Keegan, Mitch and herself have all been treated differently, just because of the colour of their skin. It was then that Jack realised and he did something, he really shouldn't have done! Fair enough, show them the footage, but giving them to the USB stick was definitely a bad idea! It's fair to say that Keegan wants to clear his name, but the way he's done it, by sharing it on social media, is certainly the wrong way! He's literally just jeopardised Jack's career! Once Tiffany and Jack find out, they are going to be livid with him! What's going to happen to Jack now? Could he get suspended, or even fired? Will Keegan still get the justice he's so longing for? I feel sorry for Keegan, but I think he's gone about it completely the wrong way, only time will tell now what'll happen!

Monday 11th May 2020

Good Afternoon folks! I apologise that this post is late, it's due to my current work hours, I'm afraid. But I'm happy to tell you that there will be two posts today! This afternoon's post will cover last night's episode, and later tonight i'll do another post reviewing tonight's episode! But first, I'm sure you've all been made aware of the news which broke over the weekend. Due to the current pandemic happening right now, the cast and crew of EastEnders have not been able to announce a date as to when filming can continue, this will mean, that eventually EastEnders will come off air! It is still unsure as to when the soap will resume filming but also it's unsure how many episodes the soap still has to run until it comes off air. I, for one, am deeply saddened to hear this news, I understand, but I find it incredibly sad. A part of me kind of hopes we wont forget where the last soap finished off, before it can continue to the current story-lines. Also a part of me will think that they will try and find a way for them to get back on air as soon as possible, but of course, it's easy said than done. The safety of the wonderful actors and actresses and crew members comes first! It is sad news to take in, but we can only look forward to what they will have in store for us once they can continue with the soap!

Now, enough talk of the sad news. Shall we focus on last night's episode ...  Ooooo I feel like I have so much to cover and talk about. I'm going to start with Stuart and Rainie. It's obvious the Rainie is desperate to have the wedding she is dreaming of! She's never really had the big white wedding has she? I guess it's only fair she should, she deserves it more than anyone! But unfortunately both her and Stuart can't afford a lavish wedding, even though Stuart is eager to give her the day she deserves. But, it looks as if they're going to come up with a plan to take Max for half of what he has, through his and Rainie's divorce to pay for their wedding. Only the thing is, will Max still agree to the divorce once he realises that's what she wants, or could he stop the divorce proceedings and prevent Rainie from having the wedding she's always wanted. I think there's going to be a bit of a battle going on within the next few episodes to see whether this divorce will go ahead. Did anyone click onto the moment Rainie mentioned when Tanya locked Max in a coffin and buried him alive?! I remember thinking back to that episode and I couldn't begin to even imagine what it must've been like, I know it's only a soap, but blimey ... I think that was one of the most horrid things I've ever seen on EastEnders! Hopefully Stuart and Rainie will get the wedding they deserve!

It looks as if Keegan is still struggling, he is convinced that the police don't believe him about not throwing a brick at a police car and resisting arrest. Could it be true that there are some racist police officers accusing him just because of the colour of his skin? It's taking it's toll on Mitch, seeing his son getting increasingly upset and frustrated about it all, he's desperate to help his son out in some way. Now, he's persuaded Denise to have another word with Jack about getting the footage back from the broken body-cam. It's nice to see Denise trying to help out, but could it leave a strain on her relationship with Jack? Even though Keegan is technically family to Jack now, will he be able to help him clear his name? I'm hoping so! I know it sounds awful, but this is the main story-line I don't really understand, more in the way of, believing that racism in the police force is a thing? You'd think nowadays that that wouldn't even come across anyone's mind. But who knows? Being a viewer and watching it from a personal point of view, I find it shocking that racism is still happening in this day and age! Hopefully justice will be done for Keegan and he'll be able to clear his name and prove the police wrong!

Ooooh, okay! I feel I have a lot to cover when it comes to Phil and Ben now! Firstly, Ben announced that his operation for his hearing will be tomorrow! Big question is, will it be a success? I happened to notice that when he told Callum, he said it would not be a quick fix, but when he told his Dad, he told him he'd be able to hear again. I'm guessing he only said that to his Dad, so that he'd be able to prove to him that he's not weak and that his disability won't make him weak. Phil has had a lot to deal with in recent weeks, losing Dennis as well as learning that his son's hearing is deteriorating. When those football tickets arrived, Phil was clearly hurt and again the feeling of guilt, grief overtook him again. I thought it was incredibly sweet of Ben to offer to go with his Dad to the game, even though he doesn't like football! Ben is really trying to be there for his Dad, as well as dealing with his own problems! That scene where they were both sat together in the kitchen talking about Dennis, it felt really nice to see, it's been a while since we've seen a scene like that with Father and Son laughing together, but of course, with Ben trying to really hear/focus on what his Dad is saying, it took Phil to realise that if Ben's operation won't work, that will be what it's like from now on ... Ben having to ask him to repeat himself and then trying to communicate with others. Now ... when Phil and Danny were sat in the pub together, I was really hoping that Phil wasn't going to get involved with him again, especially after what he did to Louise! So Danny has some money he wants being moved before the police find out about it, however as much as he wants Phil involved, he made it perfectly clear he didn't Ben getting involved, even having the audacity to insult him in front of his own father. You could see it struck something inside Phil when he said those words. Later when Danny arrived in the Arches, my gut feeling was "Oh no! He's agreed!" ... but when Phil walloped him and said "No one has a pop at my boy and gets away with it!" I was like ... YES!!! GO PHIL!!! After what Ben has been through in his life, struggling with his hearing disability, being the victim of a gay/hate crime and also being abused by his step-mum (Stella) ... I was so thrilled that Phil was sticking up for his son!! Yayyyy! GO PHIL!!! .... But then ... oh-no ... he went back to Ben and said to him he wanted him to be involved if he wanted to, which Ben agreed to. But now my thoughts are ... What is Callum going to say when he finds out? Will Ben go through with his operation? Will Ben get into even more trouble or danger because of this dodgy deal?! Will Callum be put in danger? Will Phil regret getting involved with Danny again?! Ah so many questions! I hope nothing bad will come out of this, but then again, when do dodgy deals ever go to plan?! This is EastEnders after all! Let's just hope Phil and Ben will be safe and hopefully nothing will come in between Ballum!

Is anyone else feeling more and more concerned for Jean? Shirley has now been made aware of what's been happening now Kush has informed her. They learned that while Whitney had gone missing, Jean had called the police 46 times! Now something is getting confused and maybe perhaps she was thinking of Stacey while phoning the police? I mean, think about it ... she hasn't seen or heard from Stacey in months, and in recent weeks she's been saying she misses her and at one point she called Whitney by the name "Stacey". Something is telling me, she's phoning the police because she wants to know where Stacey is. Even though it's Whitney, she's thinking it's Stacey. If that makes sense?! Even during that scene where she had a go at Whitney in the restaurant, both Whitney and Shirley looked confused. She blamed Whitney for making her look a fool in front of the police, which of course was not Whitney's intention at all ... but it kinda all makes sense, if Jean was seeing Whitney as Stacey, she'd technically, in her mind, be having a go at her daughter for making a her look a fool in front of the police, now she's safe. I don't know whether i'm making much sense her but I hope you all can get what i'm saying. Jean thinks Whitney is Stacey! That's what I believe! I could be wrong, but i'm convinced that due to her lack of medication, she's starting to see and/or believe that Whitney is actually her daughter. That end scene though were Kush explained that there may be no other way of getting Jean to take her medication, you could see in Shirley's eyes, it hurt her! It's awful that they're having to drug someone they dearly care about, but I guess they need to be cruel to be kind, how else are they going to be able to get her to take her medication without knowing?! The tears in Shirley's eyes really got to me, she doesn't want to, but she knows she has to, she and Kush are the only ones able to look after Jean right now ...... which brings me to the big question I just realised ... where the hell is Martin?! Martin is also a big part of the Slater family! He's technically Jean's Son-In-Law! Shouldn't he made aware of Jean's current state?! Can anyone remember where he may have gone or what he's doing? I can't recall the last time we saw him? Was it when Bex left? I'm not so sure, but I feel Martin should be around at the minute to help Kush and Shirley look after Jean! I'm looking forward to seeing more of this current story-line ... Gillian Wright is such a fantastic actress, she never fails to amaze me in her role as Jean, she has smashed every single story-line she's been given. I hope Stacey will come back eventually and come to her mother's aid, I feel once she and Kat come back, things will get easier for both Kush and Jean, but of course, only time will tell.

Monday 20th April 2020

Good afternoon folks! I apologise once again that this post is late because of work ... However i'm back and i'll be talking about last night's episode! How has your week been? Hope you've been able to occupy yourself during this lockdown! I believe that this will be carrying on for another 3 weeks or possibly longer? Who else is looking forward to this being over! I sure am! Anyways, enough of what's going on the world, were here for what's happening in Albert Square of course! Firstly I have little spoiler for you, new pictures have been released of Bobby collapsing on a night out with Dotty and Peter. It is not yet known what causes Bobby to collapse, but it's revealed that he sneaks out to join Peter and Dotty in Ruby's club as his feelings for Dotty begin to grow. After Dotty invites Peter on a night out, Bobby ensures that he too tags along. As the night continues Bobby collapses and suddenly Lola, Peter and Dotty spring into action to make sure Peter's brother is okay. What could've caused Bobby's collapse? With him entering a club full of flashing lights, could he possibly have epilepsy? Or could be something completely different? Only time will tell! I'm really looking forward to this story-line, it could be an interesting one that combines with his feelings towards Dotty. What do you guys think could be the cause of Bobby's collapse?

Anyway, shall we focus on last night's episode, I felt it was a little bit humorous regarding Stuart and Rainie and yet a bit dark where Whitney was concerned. Lets focus on Iqra and Ash to begin with. After what happened at Vinny's party, Iqra is clearly still reeling over the events and how Ash treated her and how she dealt with the situation. I do think Iqra and Ash make a lovely couple, they seem to really suit one another, although we know Ash is due to show a dark side to her character ... how is this going to affect their relationship? Could Iqra potentially be in danger? Ash told Iqra that she loved her, and vice versa, but I'm guessing Ash only realised it after they way her Mum spoke about her in the way she did. I've said it from the beginning but I don't like Suki, I feel as if she has it in for Iqra, she doesn't like her for some unknown reason and she's trying to perhaps spoil her daughter's relationship? Ash mentioned that Iqra loves her and values more than anyone in her "Twisted" family ... what is it that makes them so twisted? Something dark has definitely happened in their past and soon I believe we will know what! I'm looking forward to seeing what dark twists happen with the Panesar family, it's been a long time since EastEnders has had a family brought to the square with a dark past! What do you think it could be? Where do you think this storyline is going to go? Especially with Ash and Suki! I'm feeling pretty excited about this one!

Okay, so Keegan is still struggling after finding out that both he and Tiffany are being evicted, he's still angry at the police for arresting him for something he didn't do! I feel Tiffany is trying her best to support her husband, but she also has Whitney to worry about and I feel Keegan isn't supporting his wife as she's supporting him. Know what I mean? Keegan is so caught up in his troubles that he's not really showing his wife any support. I think Keegan and Tiffany are in a very difficult situation right now, and with the way they are both acting, it's going to take a toll on their marriage before it's even begun. I feel sorry for the young couple, Keegan hasn't had it easy, trying to get his business up and running while being harassed by police and treated poorly to the extent that he believes it's because of the colour of his skin. Tiffany on the other hand has been trying to look out for Whitney, as well as trying to be there for her husband, she's doing everything she can to help and support Keegan but I feel small cracks are beginning to show. The way he kicked off was, I think was the tip of the iceberg for him, it was inevitable with everything and everyone getting on top of him. What's going to happen with Keegan and the police? Will Jack allow them to stay with him? But most importantly, will Keegan and Tiffany be able to get through this and could there be some light at end of the tunnel for them?! What do you guys think is next in store for the young couple?

Can we just focus on Stuart and Rainie now please! I have to be honest, I have loved these two since day 1! They make a fantastic couple, their personalities just gel incredibly well together. They have both been seen as the worst of the worst by their family, friends and a few residents of the Square. Neither of them have a brilliant reputation, but I love the way that they have been brought together and found happiness with one another. Stuart's proposal was hilarious ... a little bizarre, but hilarious! It's what we need at this moment in time, a little bit of humour! I'm so happy that they're no engaged to get married, although Callum did bring up a good point, will Max give Rainie the divorce she needs so she can marry Stuart?! I mean, she hasn't been involved with Max for quite a long time now, so why would he have the need to deny her the divorce? I'm hoping Rainie and Stuart can find a happy ending together, I think, regardless of their past, they both deserve some happiness and a happy ending. Don't you agree?

Right, so the main focus of the episode was Whitney, who has now become the target of online trolls after Michaela posted up stuff about her murdering Leo. I feel Sonia was only trying to do the right thing and protect her by taking her phone so she couldn't see it, but in time, she was going to find out, whether it be from someone else or until she saw it herself. Being trolled online is horrible thing to endure, it can affect people mentally and emotionally. Whitney is clearly still feeling vulnerable, and being targeted in such a way is just an awful thing for her to go through, it's just another thing that she can't take control of, another person of the same family is torturing her! However, I loved the chat she shared with Max, it's quite rare we see these two characters share a scene together, but Max will possibly be able to help her in some way. Fans will remember Max was sent to prison for something he didn't do, he was accused of killing Lucy, which he was not guilty of! Whitney did, on the other hand, stabbed Leo ... but it was in self defence! Max was right in telling her that she's strong and she needs to fight, she has so many people in her corner and willing her to win this war against Leo and Tony, only she has to take the stand and be strong and face it head on. At the end of the episode, we saw her grab her passport, is she planning on running away? I hope not, as it'll only make the situation worse for her! It'll make the police believe she is guilty and she'll definitely be put behind bars. Will Gray be able to help her though this? Can he stop Michaela from harassing Whitney? I feel sorry for Whitney, I really hope she'll be able to fight this and in time, Leo and Tony will be seen as the psycho, sickos that they really are!