Didn't find it as bad as everyone else but the people at the Housing Authority being annoyed at the babies crying was SO ridiculous. As IF they would? I'm sure places like that are full of nothing but babies crying tbh...
Didn't find it as bad as everyone else but the people at the Housing Authority being annoyed at the babies crying was SO ridiculous. As IF they would? I'm sure places like that are full of nothing but babies crying tbh...
The housing officer was horribly unsympathetic too, but then officials always are in EE.
I can't see why they wouldn't be - I know you're not allowed to sublet council houses but as far as I know, as long as the tenant is living at the property they can have who they want staying with them (don't think we live in a society where the council can dictate who you live with). And with the 'bedroom tax' now in force if Mo didn't have them all living with her she'd be considerably worse off or looking for a one-bedroom flat by now (that was a 4 bedroomed house wasn't it?)
I don't think the episode was awful, it just didn't meet the high standard that has been set in the past couple of months.
I hated Alfie tonight, but did I think he acted out of character? No. Did I think the writing for him was particularly bad? No. The Alfie we saw tonight wasn't new, he's always been quite arrogant, believing his "charm" is enough to get him through anything, expecting people to bend rules for him because he's "Alfie Moon". He's also someone who gets angry when things don't go exactly his way, always acting like someone is doing him wrong if he doesn't do what he wants. Obviously that's not all there is to him, most of the time his positive traits mask all this, but in the desperate situation he's in, one entirely of his own making, these negative traits are magnified and are worse than ever. He was too proud to get actual help before it was too late, which I think is believable imo because of who Alfie is, we've seen Kat claim maternity benefits and Stacey suggesting it to Alfie, but he's too proud, too stubborn, he once again believes he can find his own way out of it. Then when he's really desperate he just expects help to be given to him, he thinks he entitled to Masood's generosity, he expects the housing worker to bend the rules for him and is angry when they don't do exactly as he wants them to do. It's the worst of Alfie without any of the good to mask it, and I think he's only going to get worse as he gets more desperate, and given that this is only meant to be the start of this storyline I'm wondering just how low he will go. I don't particularly like this storyline which is why I didn't really enjoy the episode, but I don't think it's as bad as people are making out.
What is interesting though, is that I thought this would be storyline about Kat and her injuries, which will of course still play a part in it, but I actually think the main storyline is now Alfie's breakdown, as he realises that everything he got by on in the past is no longer good enough, I think we're going to see him keep sinking lower and lower until he's lost everything. Hopefully he'll come out of it a better and more interesting character, one that doesn't rely on the whole "cheeky chappy" thing.
The Rebecca stuff was a bit too cute for EastEnders but I kind of liked it as it balanced the Alfie stuff, it reminded us that these characters still have lives off-screen with Charlie's guitar lessons. I also liked how it helped Ronnie/Charlie, after finding out the worst in each other on Tuesday they saw the good in tonight's episode which helped push them together. I didn't like Sonia tonight, but I think this will be explored as I think it will lead back to her and Martin's problems and his arrival in the square.
There were other little things that bothered me like Dexter, I think they should split the younger characters up a bit. Have Johnny, Nancy, Tamwar interact like tonight but without Fatboy/Dexter, keep Fatboy with Dot (where he's bearable) or with the others (Peter, Lauren, Jay etc.) I don't think the young cast are bad apart from a couple, I just think they need to be used better. Also I groaned at the contrived proposal from Kat, especially after Charlie's on Tuesday, which was actually sweet and much more effective.
- Alfie's seemingly increasing obsession with immigrants/Muslims! and
- Shabs's mysterious 10K
The two storylines will overlap somehow. Maybe she's involved in an illegal immigration racket, helping people to live in the UK, and getting paid for it?
That would be controversial for a soap, but if done well it could work, especially if the people she's helping are people who've suffered abuse, violence etc. in their home country.
On another note - now that there is this 'spare' 10K lying around, I wonder if Tamwar will use that to help Alfie out.
I don't think the episode was awful, it just didn't meet the high standard that has been set in the past couple of months.
I hated Alfie tonight, but did I think he acted out of character? No. Did I think the writing for him was particularly bad? No. The Alfie we saw tonight wasn't new, he's always been quite arrogant, believing his "charm" is enough to get him through anything, expecting people to bend rules for him because he's "Alfie Moon". He's also someone who gets angry when things don't go exactly his way, always acting like someone is doing him wrong if he doesn't do what he wants. Obviously that's not all there is to him, most of the time his positive traits mask all this, but in the desperate situation he's in, one entirely of his own making, these negative traits are magnified and are worse than ever. He was too proud to get actual help before it was too late, which I think is believable imo because of who Alfie is, we've seen Kat claim maternity benefits and Stacey suggesting it to Alfie, but he's too proud, too stubborn, he once again believes he can find his own way out of it. Then when he's really desperate he just expects help to be given to him, he thinks he entitled to Masood's generosity, he expects the housing worker to bend the rules for him and is angry when they don't do exactly as he wants them to do. It's the worst of Alfie without any of the good to mask it, and I think he's only going to get worse as he gets more desperate, and given that this is only meant to be the start of this storyline I'm wondering just how low he will go. I don't particularly like this storyline which is why I didn't really enjoy the episode, but I don't think it's as bad as people are making out.
What is interesting though, is that I thought this would be storyline about Kat and her injuries, which will of course still play a part in it, but I actually think the main storyline is now Alfie's breakdown, as he realises that everything he got by on in the past is no longer good enough, I think we're going to see him keep sinking lower and lower until he's lost everything. Hopefully he'll come out of it a better and more interesting character, one that doesn't rely on the whole "cheeky chappy" thing.
The Rebecca stuff was a bit too cute for EastEnders but I kind of liked it as it balanced the Alfie stuff, it reminded us that these characters still have lives off-screen with Charlie's guitar lessons. I also liked how it helped Ronnie/Charlie, after finding out the worst in each other on Tuesday they saw the good in tonight's episode which helped push them together. I didn't like Sonia tonight, but I think this will be explored as I think it will lead back to her and Martin's problems and his arrival in the square.
There were other little things that bothered me like Dexter, I think they should split the younger characters up a bit. Have Johnny, Nancy, Tamwar interact like tonight but without Fatboy/Dexter, keep Fatboy with Dot (where he's bearable) or with the others (Peter, Lauren, Jay etc.) I don't think the young cast are bad apart from a couple, I just think they need to be used better. Also I groaned at the contrived proposal from Kat, especially after Charlie's on Tuesday, which was actually sweet and much more effective.
Great post. Agree with everything you say.
Ronnie and Charlie were my favourite part of the episode. It may have been "too cute" but like you say it balanced all the revelations on Tuesday. I also think that it is scenes like this that have made Ronnie and Charlie's coupling feel natural despite it being build up over a short period of time (considering that Ronnie, Sam was off for the whole summer).
I have never like Alfie but this is not new for him so I don't think he was written out of character tonight. I didn't like the proposal. I think it was mentioned earlier in this thread too, but Charlie's proposal on Tuesday highlighted even more so how forced Kat and Alfie's was in comparison.
I am struggling a bit with Shabnam. I have been an irregular viewer for quite some time now so I might have missed something but does she have any redeeming features? (this is not pertinent to this episode)
I am struggling a bit with Shabnam. I have been an irregular viewer for quite some time now so I might have missed something but does she have any redeeming features? (this is not pertinent to this episode)
Ronnie and Charlie were my favourite part of the episode. It may have been "too cute" but like you say it balanced all the revelations on Tuesday. I also think that it is scenes like this that have made Ronnie and Charlie's coupling feel natural despite it being build up over a short period of time (considering that Ronnie, Sam was off for the whole summer).
I have never like Alfie but this is not new for him so I don't think he was written out of character tonight. I didn't like the proposal. I think it was mentioned earlier in this thread too, but Charlie's proposal on Tuesday highlighted even more so how forced Kat and Alfie's was in comparison.
I am struggling a bit with Shabnam. I have been an irregular viewer for quite some time now so I might have missed something but does she have any redeeming features? (this is not pertinent to this episode)
Shabnam says it how it is. She takes it a bit far at times, like when she first returned, but she has since referred to Max Branning as a dog (I don't think anyone would disagree), and when Donna complained about the prices in the Minute Mart, she pointed out that you pay for the convenience.
She also gave up a pharmacy job that was offered to her because she recognised that Denise was struggling with Patrick and didn't need to be dropped in it by her quitting.
I detested her when she arrived, but she's grown on me.
Like I said not so much pertinent and exclusively in last night’s episode but she is generally abrupt and undermining, verging on bullying especially with Masood. Like I said I haven’t watched regularly for some time ((perhaps not the best person to comment on this)), so there may have been episodes that have shown other sides to her.
Comments
The housing officer was horribly unsympathetic too, but then officials always are in EE.
If it was up to our current government they'd be a million times worse......
They're probably taking notes.
Lol Lola's social worker springs to mind...
That's exactly who I was thinking of!
True!!!!
I don't think Masood was devout ...
I can't see why they wouldn't be - I know you're not allowed to sublet council houses but as far as I know, as long as the tenant is living at the property they can have who they want staying with them (don't think we live in a society where the council can dictate who you live with). And with the 'bedroom tax' now in force if Mo didn't have them all living with her she'd be considerably worse off or looking for a one-bedroom flat by now (that was a 4 bedroomed house wasn't it?)
I hated Alfie tonight, but did I think he acted out of character? No. Did I think the writing for him was particularly bad? No. The Alfie we saw tonight wasn't new, he's always been quite arrogant, believing his "charm" is enough to get him through anything, expecting people to bend rules for him because he's "Alfie Moon". He's also someone who gets angry when things don't go exactly his way, always acting like someone is doing him wrong if he doesn't do what he wants. Obviously that's not all there is to him, most of the time his positive traits mask all this, but in the desperate situation he's in, one entirely of his own making, these negative traits are magnified and are worse than ever. He was too proud to get actual help before it was too late, which I think is believable imo because of who Alfie is, we've seen Kat claim maternity benefits and Stacey suggesting it to Alfie, but he's too proud, too stubborn, he once again believes he can find his own way out of it. Then when he's really desperate he just expects help to be given to him, he thinks he entitled to Masood's generosity, he expects the housing worker to bend the rules for him and is angry when they don't do exactly as he wants them to do. It's the worst of Alfie without any of the good to mask it, and I think he's only going to get worse as he gets more desperate, and given that this is only meant to be the start of this storyline I'm wondering just how low he will go. I don't particularly like this storyline which is why I didn't really enjoy the episode, but I don't think it's as bad as people are making out.
What is interesting though, is that I thought this would be storyline about Kat and her injuries, which will of course still play a part in it, but I actually think the main storyline is now Alfie's breakdown, as he realises that everything he got by on in the past is no longer good enough, I think we're going to see him keep sinking lower and lower until he's lost everything. Hopefully he'll come out of it a better and more interesting character, one that doesn't rely on the whole "cheeky chappy" thing.
The Rebecca stuff was a bit too cute for EastEnders but I kind of liked it as it balanced the Alfie stuff, it reminded us that these characters still have lives off-screen with Charlie's guitar lessons. I also liked how it helped Ronnie/Charlie, after finding out the worst in each other on Tuesday they saw the good in tonight's episode which helped push them together. I didn't like Sonia tonight, but I think this will be explored as I think it will lead back to her and Martin's problems and his arrival in the square.
There were other little things that bothered me like Dexter, I think they should split the younger characters up a bit. Have Johnny, Nancy, Tamwar interact like tonight but without Fatboy/Dexter, keep Fatboy with Dot (where he's bearable) or with the others (Peter, Lauren, Jay etc.) I don't think the young cast are bad apart from a couple, I just think they need to be used better. Also I groaned at the contrived proposal from Kat, especially after Charlie's on Tuesday, which was actually sweet and much more effective.
'You're too kind for this world' Yep. I feel the same way sometimes.
10K SHABS?! Where'd you get that...
She was polite, patient and asked the right questions. Moon declined to answer them.
I've got to agree - as a lifelong EE fan this is up there with the worst! Was DTC on holiday when this was written?
Awful
Alfie's always been a self-entitled prick / con-man, though.
I wonder what with:
- Alfie's seemingly increasing obsession with immigrants/Muslims! and
- Shabs's mysterious 10K
The two storylines will overlap somehow. Maybe she's involved in an illegal immigration racket, helping people to live in the UK, and getting paid for it?
That would be controversial for a soap, but if done well it could work, especially if the people she's helping are people who've suffered abuse, violence etc. in their home country.
On another note - now that there is this 'spare' 10K lying around, I wonder if Tamwar will use that to help Alfie out.
Tamwar is daft enough to do that
Great post. Agree with everything you say.
Ronnie and Charlie were my favourite part of the episode. It may have been "too cute" but like you say it balanced all the revelations on Tuesday. I also think that it is scenes like this that have made Ronnie and Charlie's coupling feel natural despite it being build up over a short period of time (considering that Ronnie, Sam was off for the whole summer).
I have never like Alfie but this is not new for him so I don't think he was written out of character tonight. I didn't like the proposal. I think it was mentioned earlier in this thread too, but Charlie's proposal on Tuesday highlighted even more so how forced Kat and Alfie's was in comparison.
I am struggling a bit with Shabnam. I have been an irregular viewer for quite some time now so I might have missed something but does she have any redeeming features? (this is not pertinent to this episode)
I don't understand this. What does she do wrong ?
Shabnam says it how it is. She takes it a bit far at times, like when she first returned, but she has since referred to Max Branning as a dog (I don't think anyone would disagree), and when Donna complained about the prices in the Minute Mart, she pointed out that you pay for the convenience.
She also gave up a pharmacy job that was offered to her because she recognised that Denise was struggling with Patrick and didn't need to be dropped in it by her quitting.
I detested her when she arrived, but she's grown on me.
Like I said not so much pertinent and exclusively in last night’s episode but she is generally abrupt and undermining, verging on bullying especially with Masood. Like I said I haven’t watched regularly for some time ((perhaps not the best person to comment on this)), so there may have been episodes that have shown other sides to her.