Well, watching this slightly intoxicated, slightly teary from the Time of the Doctor (I loved it, by the way)... this episode was a fine Christmas episode. As always, EE Christmas usually stands above the rest, and tonight was no exception (although, kudos to Emmerdale. They put on a good show themselves!)
This episode was half a two-hander between Janine and David and half... well, everything else. And thank God it didn't try and pack too much in. This episode was Janine's epitaph. Everything about this was brilliant; the acting, the writing, the suspense. Janine trying to commit full bloodied murder, then realizing she couldn't. David trying to send Janine down, then realizing he couldn't. I think this was the perfect way to show us one thing: Janine has killed people, but she's not actually capable of murder. Both Barry and Michael were not premeditated, and Danielle was an accident. When she actually does try to kill someone in cold blood, she can't.
I loved how they, basically, scene for scene, had Janine leaving exactly the same way she did back in 2004, this time it being Pat's son, David, that is the reason for it. However, in 2004 I felt sorry for her. Here, I didn't. She was willing to let Alice take the rap, and she simply had to get caught out. I was hoping that she'd get away before the Police turned up, but this is a nice way for her to exit, and it's a cliffhanger ending in itself. No way will Janine be facing life. Somehow, some way, she will get out of this.
I did find it funny, though, how Joey was twiddling that phone in front of her. The stupid plonker could have dropped it at any second. Now, I guess, Alice is going to, urm, get out scot free? While she didn't kill Michael, she's not exactly innocent. Oh well. Both Alice and Joey didn't really matter here. Janine did.
It was good writing as well, involving Carol's cancer. I'm so glad they didn't actually have the episode about that, but used it as a way of David trying to justify his actions. It didn't work, and I'm glad it didn't. But I'm also glad David's still around.
In other news... OK, no. It's forced, forced, forced drama between the Beales and the Mitchells. So, Phil doesn't want his granddaughter near a Beale? OK, first off, Peter is her uncle!!! Second off, Peter is the grandson of the woman who you married and claimed to love nearly 20 years ago, or have we just forgotten that? There is just too much history being ignored here for me to get behind this storyline, and as such it's going to annoy me very quickly. So now we watch Ian shooting nervous glances at Phil, trying to split up Peter and Lola. Still... at least we can route for them as a couple. If this involved a certain Miss Branning... it would be a different story.
Spraggons... urmm... yeah. Bianca the selfish bitch strikes again. Bianca the child. Bianca the woman who throws kids out onto the streets on Christmas day. Things didn't go Bianca's way, so everyone suffers. Urgh, moving on. Maybe Sonia will help the dynamic here.
Kat's pregnant. Lovely. Let's just forget the whole of 2012/13 happened? That that awful Shagger storyline never got passed the writing room, and Kat and Alfie never split up? Please?
And, finally, the moment of the hour. The moment we've all been waiting for. Danny Dyer as Mick Carter. First impressions? Well, my family sure where chuffed! Me? Well, I've been excited about this since I heard about it, so it was good to finally meet him. At the moment, I'm just seeing Danny Dyer playing Danny Dyer, but to be fair he had like 3 scenes, so I'm reserving proper judgement until we get to know Mick a little more. But, the family's excited, and so am I.
Well. A fine Christmas offering, thanks to the superb Charlie Brooks and Michael French. I really, really hope this is not the last we see of Janine (isn't DTC bringing her back for a coda or something?). Janine will be missed and David... best come back in YEARS. The guy's practically leading the show. Now we enter 2014, I'm predicting the Carter, Stacey, Ronnie, David show. Meh, could be a lot worse I suppose. As long as it's not Lauren's.
You just automatically assume that, no matter what Janine does, she'll somehow get away with it. I was gobsmacked to see her arrested, and even more surprised to find out the file hasn't been deleted from the phone or the phone lost or something.
Still, the police don't have it, yet, so anything could happen...
Not sure what Danny Dyer will bring to the show but willing to give him a chance.
David slipped it into Tiff's coat so he would not have it with him when confronting Janine, however it fell out of Tiff's coat when she went outside and Tiff handed it to Carol.
I really loved the episode tonight. It was a true enjoyment watching janine finally getting caught for what she did. This episode was also interesting because the viewers actually got to see the glimpse of how things will be from now on, and it really does look promising. I have to admit that EastEnders tonight were able to excite me after a long time. I'm looking forward to watching it in the new year too, hope it stays as interesting.
This was a good xmas episode but not a great one. However given the dross of 2013, I have to hand it to the show for giving us a decent Christmas episode under the circumstances.
It was a dam sight better than xmas 2011 and 2012.
As for Janine, I did feel sorry for her but I wasn't rooting for her. She is a great character to watch, flawed and no denying Charlie is excellent but I do believe in Karma. It did bite her in ass tonight and I felt this had to happen.
I'd love to see her again at some point.
I'm no Kalfie fan but I did find the pregnancy reveal heartwarming.... and I had to LOL at Bianca throwing the turkey into the xmas tree.
Tonight felt like the begining of the a new era with seeing Mick in the Vic. This is the start of a new chapter for the show.
excellent ep 10/10, was gripped throughout. Credit were its due to all actors involved. (except Joey)
& remember this is only the beginning of what DTC has in store...
Roll on new years ep!
The recording is inadmissable evidence. The trial will take place and Janine will be found not guilty, she'll be reunited with Scarlett and go off for a new life, calling it now.
The fact that David heard her confess is not inadmissable. The recording will support his evidence. In addition we will have Alice remembering what happened, Janine's presence at the scene and, unlike Alice, she will have a motive to kill him.
Janine has killed people, but she's not actually capable of murder. Both Barry and Michael were not premeditated, and Danielle was an accident. When she actually does try to kill someone in cold blood, she can't.
Janine is capable of murder. She already ran David down once, trying to kill him. If his head made contact with the car, he could have died. She just got lucky he survived then couldn't bare to run him over again.
The writer tonight just ripped off her original exit with David acting as Pat.
Not a fan.
Ashdown wrote that one in 2004 too.
Brilliant episode, I can't fault it! I loved all of it, great mix of characters and the performances were top notch. (Charlie, Michael, Lindsey, Patsy)
My heart broke for Janine at the end. :(:( Thankfully MBB cheered me up. Don't know if I'm biased because Janine is my fave character and I think Charlie is a great actress so I was bound to love her taking centre stage.
Even the subplots were enjoyable. (food fight/Kat's pregnancy reveal/Peter & Lola/new landlord) You can tell they put everything into the episode and it paid off.
I hope this isn't the last we see of Ashdown. He can still write a great script! I think this was my fave since 2010 where the shoe was on the other foot for Janine.
I'm a spoiler **** but I was gripped from the start! Kudos to all involved and thank you Sir Dom for favouriting my tweet.
Arrests, pregnancy, attempted murder, kisses, blackmail and flying turkeys. That was one good Christmas Eastenders episode. I want the next episode NOW!!
I could have been someone
Well, so could anyone
You took my dreams
From me when I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you
-Fairytale of New York
It’s always nice in a soap when you are spoiler free for certain parts. I knew Janine ran David down, but I didn’t know what came after that. Someone at Eastenders has brains, hurrah! Firstly for using Janine, David and Carol as the three major players in the prominent Christmas episode storyline. That’s always going to be a bankable bet though. Three fantastic characters played by three top notch actors, it’s not exactly a bad bet, is it? Secondly, for giving them storylines that are wonderfully interwoven and full of twists and turns. That did take skill and courage.
Before David’s return in 2012 I felt a bit of a loon over how much I adored the character. He was in it a relatively short amount of time in the 90s, only a few years, and it had been 15 years since the last time he had been in it, so a lot of people I spoke to either didn’t remember him that much or weren’t watching during his first stint. It still feels slightly bizarre that he’s back after years and years of willing it to happen. Within minutes of his return in 2012, I knew he was still the character I adored during his first stint, and this episode fully displays why. The contuity of character from his mannerisms to his relationships has been spot on. I was so afraid and convinced beforehand that it wouldn’t be. He’s been in a different league to most other characters since his return and absolutely commanded the show. Plus…you know…clippy cloppy shoes
The brilliant thing about David is that he can manipulate and expertly blackmail Janine, but he is absolutely genuine when he talks about caring for Carol and wanting to be there for his family. The character is multi-faceted, there isn’t a black and white reasoning for his actions. He’s not a ‘bad’ character, even though he does some nasty things. The genuine care and rapport he has for and with Carol and for his daughter/grandchildren is what makes the character work; what gives him depth. However, to hustle and to lie is imbedded into his nature. Half of him is getting the money because it’s in his instinct to do so, and half is due to genuinely wanting to do right. With David it’s all about whether his better angels can fight off his demons. He took the money from Janine, but he was also willing to let her get away, which he didn’t have to. Janine is such a bankable character though, even when she’s had bad writing. No matter what she does, you can't help but feel sorry for her in the end. I’m sad Charlie is leaving, and she gave a more than stellar performance tonight. Was this her last episode?
I didn’t expect Carol to be so involved within this episode. I adore watching her and David together. They just click, whether it be in a sweet moment or a more combative one. I really don’t mind if they’re together or not, as long as they keep having scenes together. They do always have things in the way that stop them from being together. Often it’s because of other people, but sometimes it’s themselves too. I’m glad they’ve thrown another road block in the way of their relationship, even though I did have a bit of a ‘Christmas Aww’ moment when she said she loved him. I think it would have been easy for the show to just have thrown them together and left it at that, but this adds another twist in their relationship, it adds to the dynamic and the 20+ year narrative. I don’t think Carol changed her feelings within the hour after finding out about the recording, but I do think she put up her defences again, like she did when he returned a few months ago. David’s never found it easy to manipulate or charm Carol, like he has other women. She absolutely knows all his faults, I don’t think they change her feelings for him, but she’s stubborn, feisty and determined and can (for a little while at least) resist him. It’s what makes them so interesting to watch, and a lot of the reason I liked them in the 90’s. I loved the contrast between how David managed to easily manipulate Janine, and how he couldn’t for one second manage to do the same with Carol. Oh, and as much as Michael French is completely stealing the show at the moment, Lindsey Coulson is also. They both do brilliantly with ‘okay’ material, but once they’re given great material they really shine brightly.
“You scum bag, You maggott!”
I love a good Eastenders Christmas dinner fight! You could argue that Bianca pretty much ruined Christmas for herself. However, after spending hours cooking this morning, had one of my family dared to suggest the turkey was dry I would have shoved it up their nostrils. So I don’t really blame her for chucking half a jug of bread sauce and four kilos of poultry over Terry’s Ex. I did feel sorry for her though, and the scene where David was comforting her was very sweet.
“So Happy Christmas, I love you baby”
I don’t know about you, but frankly I was disappointed this morning when I didn’t unwrap a present to find a gift that someone had peed on. Imagine my jealously, watching this episode and seeing Alfie unwrap a stick with piss all over it. I should imagine the stench of urine probably does remind a lot of people of a family Christmas. So, Kat’s pregnant. That was quick, Alfie must have super quick sperm…oh wait…he doesn’t. We wont dither over the fact though, as it was actually a nice scene, I liked it a lot. I really enjoyed the Moon/Slater little family interactions and glad they gave them a happy Christmas.
“You were handsome, You were pretty”
My other ’Christmas Aww’ moment goes to Lola and Peter. I can’t say I’m particulary invested in them as a couple, but I like both their chaarcters and they are cute together. Phil and Ian giving glares to each other while wearing hats from a cracker was pretty great. Phil and Ian scenes are always fun to watch. They have one of the most rich dynamics on the show due to having so much history together.
“I’ve got a feeling this years for me and you”
Oh…and of course…The Dyer has landed. I’m actually quite impressed that they didn’t over cook him too much in the first episode, especially considering the hype. They just had him stalking around the square in a coat that made him look like he was on the way back from a Sherlock convention. Apparently it’s easier to buy a pub in Walford than it is to make a property purchase on Monopoly. I might go into my local tomorrow, carrying a laundry bag full of loose change, hand it over, bat my eyelashes at the owner with whispery tones in my voice, smirk, and leave. Hey presto I’ve got myself a pub! So far, so good though, with regards to Mr Dyer, but his appearance was short and sweet.
OTHER
- Is David a complete luddite? Couldn’t he have just copied the file on to a sourse that wasn’t his phone. He lives in a house with 85 children, surely one of them must have a computer he could have borrowed! Also, don’t use it as a screensaver!
- Phil can cook a meal for 10 without even breaking a sweat. He’s in the wrong career! Ian and Jake can’t even cook a bit of sirloin without turning into blithering wrecks.
- Janine: “What would Phil do?”
I’m designing WWPD wristbands as we speak. Anyone wants to buy in bulk, just meet me in the middle of the Square with a laundry bag full of cash. Does 15 minutes give you enough time?
- Alfie’s shirt matches the wrapping paper on his present. I expected it to change colour every time he unwrapped a new layer, like a fashion challenged chameleon.
- The lights on the Square look so pretty!
- I’d forgotten about Masood until he turned up. By the looks on Carol’s face, she had too.
- Loved, loved loved how David’s first reaction to finding Janine rooting around in his room was to hang his suits back up. He looked more disgusted at her for wrinkling them than he did when he found out she killed Michael.
- Mowing someone down in a car isn’t the most sure fire way of killing someone is it? Janine has had a 100% success rate with that technique before though, and there weren’t any near by cliffs nearby. I assume shoving him off a high kerb wouldn’t have really had the same impact.
- David’s a real trooper. He’s walking around with is hand in a claw shape, a battered head and barely being able to stand and all he did was put a packet of frozen veg on his hand. I think the most shocking thing was that they had vegetables of any kind in their freezer! I would have actually have stood up and clapped if he’s have put a packet of nuggets on his battered hand. It would have probably destroyed the dramatic mood though…
- So really the person who comes out of this situation best is Max. I assume David’s gonna plump up the cash for the car lot now he’s minted. Max could be getting quarter of a million for a portacabin that hasn’t been decorated since David’s first stint!
- Have we got a ‘David Wicks Drinking and Eating’ drinking game set up yet? I swear we would have been half cut within the first 10 minutes of this episode.
- Bianca’s gold coat and zebra leggings. That fashion course really worked wonders.
- I’m so glad they didn’t kill David off! I was all ready to put together an angry mob, grab some pitchforks and march round to the Eastenders offices if they had. He’s never allowed to leave. Ever. Lock and bolt the doors if they have to.
What a fantastic episode! That has to be my favourite Christmas episode since 2007. It has been a bit of a rocky year, to understate it slightly, but in terms of quality, this episode was full of it. Brilliant central performances by Charlie, Michael and Lindsey, and enough scope and depth in the storylines and script to have me aching to see the next episode. I give this an A+ (It is Christmas after all!)
I hope Janine doesn't get sent to jail. It really pisses me off that Stacy got to get away with no comeuppance for murdering Archie. And Bradley's death doesn't count. 5 minutes after his death, she was screwing Ryan behind his wife's back.
Thank you for the great thread Dan2008, hope you and everyone had a brilliant, peaceful and happy Christmas.
Can't post regularly as got a house full;-) but HAD to come on this morning and say how much I enjoyed yesterdays! it's was almost a masterclass on how to write a Christmas Day episode.
The plotting and acting were fantastic, the right people were given the starring roles, and there was just enough of the rest of the cast to make it feel natural, not too cluttered yet not like the main cast were existing in a vacuum, which is always a danger with the Christmas ones..
The acting was sublime from Lyndsay, Michael and Charlie, even though Janine is a bitch etc, there is something about how her that makes you root for her! I know we should be glad the right person is going to jail, but who didn't hear the police sirens and think "quick Janine, get in the car and run"! totally irrational, but that is down to the writing and the brilliant way Charlie plays Janine, they really did her proud with this exit, and who would have thought Billy would develop a backbone:o
The Carol/David storyline with the money was also good, she finally admitted she had feelings for him, he finally became a family man! wanting to do right by Bianca so she could have a good life and to give Carol the best chance with private treatment, to quote Kirsty, he did the wrong thing for the right reason.. I've so enjoyed Michael's return and the way his character hinged the two storylines together to provide the twist at the end was great writing.
Although Kat and Alfie were supposed to be main players in this episode (remember in August how we all moaned about them hijacking the Christmas eps! How wrong we were!), they were almost a sideshow, yes we had their reveal that Kat was preggers but it was just one more good scene rather than them dominating (nice to see Mo and Charlie there too).
Bianca I actually liked in this ep! When she screamed at them to get out after finally realising Nicky was a fixture instead of an irritant, you could feel her frustration and anger, very well acted by Patsy, (I liked how,Terry turned on Nicky when they left though, so maybe not seen the last of him?..) leading to the lovely scene in the kitchen of Bianca with her parents, and how natural they are in that role even despite all the years of being apart.. you feel that whatever David's original reason for returning, he has genuine love for his family now.
Philth up to his tricks again who would have thought Phil Michell cooked a mean Christmas Roast which even Ian Beale admired! (although we never found out if Phil got to taste Ian's honey Chipolatas ).
So we had pathos (in spades), sadness, joy, light comedy, heartbreak, shock twists, police chases.. even Danny Dyer was good
I hate how Janine never got away with it and Stacey did. What an odd moral compass EE has at times. I felt sorry for her at the end, I hope Stacey returns baby-less and goes in the slammer, doubt it.
Danny Dire...sorry Mick Carter is a smarmy smiley idiot.
Comments
This episode was half a two-hander between Janine and David and half... well, everything else. And thank God it didn't try and pack too much in. This episode was Janine's epitaph. Everything about this was brilliant; the acting, the writing, the suspense. Janine trying to commit full bloodied murder, then realizing she couldn't. David trying to send Janine down, then realizing he couldn't. I think this was the perfect way to show us one thing: Janine has killed people, but she's not actually capable of murder. Both Barry and Michael were not premeditated, and Danielle was an accident. When she actually does try to kill someone in cold blood, she can't.
I loved how they, basically, scene for scene, had Janine leaving exactly the same way she did back in 2004, this time it being Pat's son, David, that is the reason for it. However, in 2004 I felt sorry for her. Here, I didn't. She was willing to let Alice take the rap, and she simply had to get caught out. I was hoping that she'd get away before the Police turned up, but this is a nice way for her to exit, and it's a cliffhanger ending in itself. No way will Janine be facing life. Somehow, some way, she will get out of this.
I did find it funny, though, how Joey was twiddling that phone in front of her. The stupid plonker could have dropped it at any second. Now, I guess, Alice is going to, urm, get out scot free? While she didn't kill Michael, she's not exactly innocent. Oh well. Both Alice and Joey didn't really matter here. Janine did.
It was good writing as well, involving Carol's cancer. I'm so glad they didn't actually have the episode about that, but used it as a way of David trying to justify his actions. It didn't work, and I'm glad it didn't. But I'm also glad David's still around.
In other news... OK, no. It's forced, forced, forced drama between the Beales and the Mitchells. So, Phil doesn't want his granddaughter near a Beale? OK, first off, Peter is her uncle!!! Second off, Peter is the grandson of the woman who you married and claimed to love nearly 20 years ago, or have we just forgotten that? There is just too much history being ignored here for me to get behind this storyline, and as such it's going to annoy me very quickly. So now we watch Ian shooting nervous glances at Phil, trying to split up Peter and Lola. Still... at least we can route for them as a couple. If this involved a certain Miss Branning... it would be a different story.
Spraggons... urmm... yeah. Bianca the selfish bitch strikes again. Bianca the child. Bianca the woman who throws kids out onto the streets on Christmas day. Things didn't go Bianca's way, so everyone suffers. Urgh, moving on. Maybe Sonia will help the dynamic here.
Kat's pregnant. Lovely. Let's just forget the whole of 2012/13 happened? That that awful Shagger storyline never got passed the writing room, and Kat and Alfie never split up? Please?
And, finally, the moment of the hour. The moment we've all been waiting for. Danny Dyer as Mick Carter. First impressions? Well, my family sure where chuffed! Me? Well, I've been excited about this since I heard about it, so it was good to finally meet him. At the moment, I'm just seeing Danny Dyer playing Danny Dyer, but to be fair he had like 3 scenes, so I'm reserving proper judgement until we get to know Mick a little more. But, the family's excited, and so am I.
Well. A fine Christmas offering, thanks to the superb Charlie Brooks and Michael French. I really, really hope this is not the last we see of Janine (isn't DTC bringing her back for a coda or something?). Janine will be missed and David... best come back in YEARS. The guy's practically leading the show. Now we enter 2014, I'm predicting the Carter, Stacey, Ronnie, David show. Meh, could be a lot worse I suppose. As long as it's not Lauren's.
Merry Christmas DSers!!!
You just automatically assume that, no matter what Janine does, she'll somehow get away with it. I was gobsmacked to see her arrested, and even more surprised to find out the file hasn't been deleted from the phone or the phone lost or something.
Still, the police don't have it, yet, so anything could happen...
Not sure what Danny Dyer will bring to the show but willing to give him a chance.
Great episode!
David slipped it into Tiff's coat so he would not have it with him when confronting Janine, however it fell out of Tiff's coat when she went outside and Tiff handed it to Carol.
It was a dam sight better than xmas 2011 and 2012.
As for Janine, I did feel sorry for her but I wasn't rooting for her. She is a great character to watch, flawed and no denying Charlie is excellent but I do believe in Karma. It did bite her in ass tonight and I felt this had to happen.
I'd love to see her again at some point.
I'm no Kalfie fan but I did find the pregnancy reveal heartwarming.... and I had to LOL at Bianca throwing the turkey into the xmas tree.
Tonight felt like the begining of the a new era with seeing Mick in the Vic. This is the start of a new chapter for the show.
8/10
Can't believe you posted that ENTIRE post just to post FIVE words... goodness.
& remember this is only the beginning of what DTC has in store...
Roll on new years ep!
Well said
I agree. Janine has been a bad girl.
Are you referring to Silly Billy ?
Two households, both alike in chaviness,
In fair Walford, where we lay our scene,
That's how it always used to be.
It's a sad day when you can't trust the good old NHS
Everyone in the East End knows Philth.
The fact that David heard her confess is not inadmissable. The recording will support his evidence. In addition we will have Alice remembering what happened, Janine's presence at the scene and, unlike Alice, she will have a motive to kill him.
What hypocrits ?
Walford Social Services will sort it out.
Would you have preferred more words from me ?
Janine is capable of murder. She already ran David down once, trying to kill him. If his head made contact with the car, he could have died. She just got lucky he survived then couldn't bare to run him over again.
Poor Scarlett.
Ashdown wrote that one in 2004 too.
Brilliant episode, I can't fault it! I loved all of it, great mix of characters and the performances were top notch. (Charlie, Michael, Lindsey, Patsy)
My heart broke for Janine at the end.
Even the subplots were enjoyable. (food fight/Kat's pregnancy reveal/Peter & Lola/new landlord) You can tell they put everything into the episode and it paid off.
I hope this isn't the last we see of Ashdown. He can still write a great script! I think this was my fave since 2010 where the shoe was on the other foot for Janine.
I'm a spoiler **** but I was gripped from the start! Kudos to all involved and thank you Sir Dom for favouriting my tweet.
I'll miss you Janine but this is only au revoir.
10/10
It’s always nice in a soap when you are spoiler free for certain parts. I knew Janine ran David down, but I didn’t know what came after that. Someone at Eastenders has brains, hurrah! Firstly for using Janine, David and Carol as the three major players in the prominent Christmas episode storyline. That’s always going to be a bankable bet though. Three fantastic characters played by three top notch actors, it’s not exactly a bad bet, is it? Secondly, for giving them storylines that are wonderfully interwoven and full of twists and turns. That did take skill and courage.
Before David’s return in 2012 I felt a bit of a loon over how much I adored the character. He was in it a relatively short amount of time in the 90s, only a few years, and it had been 15 years since the last time he had been in it, so a lot of people I spoke to either didn’t remember him that much or weren’t watching during his first stint. It still feels slightly bizarre that he’s back after years and years of willing it to happen. Within minutes of his return in 2012, I knew he was still the character I adored during his first stint, and this episode fully displays why. The contuity of character from his mannerisms to his relationships has been spot on. I was so afraid and convinced beforehand that it wouldn’t be. He’s been in a different league to most other characters since his return and absolutely commanded the show. Plus…you know…clippy cloppy shoes
The brilliant thing about David is that he can manipulate and expertly blackmail Janine, but he is absolutely genuine when he talks about caring for Carol and wanting to be there for his family. The character is multi-faceted, there isn’t a black and white reasoning for his actions. He’s not a ‘bad’ character, even though he does some nasty things. The genuine care and rapport he has for and with Carol and for his daughter/grandchildren is what makes the character work; what gives him depth. However, to hustle and to lie is imbedded into his nature. Half of him is getting the money because it’s in his instinct to do so, and half is due to genuinely wanting to do right. With David it’s all about whether his better angels can fight off his demons. He took the money from Janine, but he was also willing to let her get away, which he didn’t have to. Janine is such a bankable character though, even when she’s had bad writing. No matter what she does, you can't help but feel sorry for her in the end. I’m sad Charlie is leaving, and she gave a more than stellar performance tonight. Was this her last episode?
I didn’t expect Carol to be so involved within this episode. I adore watching her and David together. They just click, whether it be in a sweet moment or a more combative one. I really don’t mind if they’re together or not, as long as they keep having scenes together. They do always have things in the way that stop them from being together. Often it’s because of other people, but sometimes it’s themselves too. I’m glad they’ve thrown another road block in the way of their relationship, even though I did have a bit of a ‘Christmas Aww’ moment when she said she loved him. I think it would have been easy for the show to just have thrown them together and left it at that, but this adds another twist in their relationship, it adds to the dynamic and the 20+ year narrative. I don’t think Carol changed her feelings within the hour after finding out about the recording, but I do think she put up her defences again, like she did when he returned a few months ago. David’s never found it easy to manipulate or charm Carol, like he has other women. She absolutely knows all his faults, I don’t think they change her feelings for him, but she’s stubborn, feisty and determined and can (for a little while at least) resist him. It’s what makes them so interesting to watch, and a lot of the reason I liked them in the 90’s. I loved the contrast between how David managed to easily manipulate Janine, and how he couldn’t for one second manage to do the same with Carol. Oh, and as much as Michael French is completely stealing the show at the moment, Lindsey Coulson is also. They both do brilliantly with ‘okay’ material, but once they’re given great material they really shine brightly.
“You scum bag, You maggott!”
I love a good Eastenders Christmas dinner fight! You could argue that Bianca pretty much ruined Christmas for herself. However, after spending hours cooking this morning, had one of my family dared to suggest the turkey was dry I would have shoved it up their nostrils. So I don’t really blame her for chucking half a jug of bread sauce and four kilos of poultry over Terry’s Ex. I did feel sorry for her though, and the scene where David was comforting her was very sweet.
“So Happy Christmas, I love you baby”
I don’t know about you, but frankly I was disappointed this morning when I didn’t unwrap a present to find a gift that someone had peed on. Imagine my jealously, watching this episode and seeing Alfie unwrap a stick with piss all over it. I should imagine the stench of urine probably does remind a lot of people of a family Christmas. So, Kat’s pregnant. That was quick, Alfie must have super quick sperm…oh wait…he doesn’t. We wont dither over the fact though, as it was actually a nice scene, I liked it a lot. I really enjoyed the Moon/Slater little family interactions and glad they gave them a happy Christmas.
“You were handsome, You were pretty”
My other ’Christmas Aww’ moment goes to Lola and Peter. I can’t say I’m particulary invested in them as a couple, but I like both their chaarcters and they are cute together. Phil and Ian giving glares to each other while wearing hats from a cracker was pretty great. Phil and Ian scenes are always fun to watch. They have one of the most rich dynamics on the show due to having so much history together.
“I’ve got a feeling this years for me and you”
Oh…and of course…The Dyer has landed. I’m actually quite impressed that they didn’t over cook him too much in the first episode, especially considering the hype. They just had him stalking around the square in a coat that made him look like he was on the way back from a Sherlock convention. Apparently it’s easier to buy a pub in Walford than it is to make a property purchase on Monopoly. I might go into my local tomorrow, carrying a laundry bag full of loose change, hand it over, bat my eyelashes at the owner with whispery tones in my voice, smirk, and leave. Hey presto I’ve got myself a pub! So far, so good though, with regards to Mr Dyer, but his appearance was short and sweet.
OTHER
- Is David a complete luddite? Couldn’t he have just copied the file on to a sourse that wasn’t his phone. He lives in a house with 85 children, surely one of them must have a computer he could have borrowed! Also, don’t use it as a screensaver!
- Phil can cook a meal for 10 without even breaking a sweat. He’s in the wrong career! Ian and Jake can’t even cook a bit of sirloin without turning into blithering wrecks.
- Janine: “What would Phil do?”
I’m designing WWPD wristbands as we speak. Anyone wants to buy in bulk, just meet me in the middle of the Square with a laundry bag full of cash. Does 15 minutes give you enough time?
- Alfie’s shirt matches the wrapping paper on his present. I expected it to change colour every time he unwrapped a new layer, like a fashion challenged chameleon.
- The lights on the Square look so pretty!
- I’d forgotten about Masood until he turned up. By the looks on Carol’s face, she had too.
- Loved, loved loved how David’s first reaction to finding Janine rooting around in his room was to hang his suits back up. He looked more disgusted at her for wrinkling them than he did when he found out she killed Michael.
- Mowing someone down in a car isn’t the most sure fire way of killing someone is it? Janine has had a 100% success rate with that technique before though, and there weren’t any near by cliffs nearby. I assume shoving him off a high kerb wouldn’t have really had the same impact.
- David’s a real trooper. He’s walking around with is hand in a claw shape, a battered head and barely being able to stand and all he did was put a packet of frozen veg on his hand. I think the most shocking thing was that they had vegetables of any kind in their freezer! I would have actually have stood up and clapped if he’s have put a packet of nuggets on his battered hand. It would have probably destroyed the dramatic mood though…
- So really the person who comes out of this situation best is Max. I assume David’s gonna plump up the cash for the car lot now he’s minted. Max could be getting quarter of a million for a portacabin that hasn’t been decorated since David’s first stint!
- Have we got a ‘David Wicks Drinking and Eating’ drinking game set up yet? I swear we would have been half cut within the first 10 minutes of this episode.
- Bianca’s gold coat and zebra leggings. That fashion course really worked wonders.
- I’m so glad they didn’t kill David off! I was all ready to put together an angry mob, grab some pitchforks and march round to the Eastenders offices if they had. He’s never allowed to leave. Ever. Lock and bolt the doors if they have to.
What a fantastic episode! That has to be my favourite Christmas episode since 2007. It has been a bit of a rocky year, to understate it slightly, but in terms of quality, this episode was full of it. Brilliant central performances by Charlie, Michael and Lindsey, and enough scope and depth in the storylines and script to have me aching to see the next episode. I give this an A+ (It is Christmas after all!)
The writer was Simon Ashdown, a fantastic writer always love his episodes!
I'm pretty sure that I heard that Simon will be leaving EE, is this true? What a shame if so as he's a great writer.
Who will now get custody of Scarlett I wonder...
Can't post regularly as got a house full;-) but HAD to come on this morning and say how much I enjoyed yesterdays! it's was almost a masterclass on how to write a Christmas Day episode.
The plotting and acting were fantastic, the right people were given the starring roles, and there was just enough of the rest of the cast to make it feel natural, not too cluttered yet not like the main cast were existing in a vacuum, which is always a danger with the Christmas ones..
The acting was sublime from Lyndsay, Michael and Charlie, even though Janine is a bitch etc, there is something about how her that makes you root for her! I know we should be glad the right person is going to jail, but who didn't hear the police sirens and think "quick Janine, get in the car and run"!
The Carol/David storyline with the money was also good, she finally admitted she had feelings for him, he finally became a family man! wanting to do right by Bianca so she could have a good life and to give Carol the best chance with private treatment, to quote Kirsty, he did the wrong thing for the right reason.. I've so enjoyed Michael's return and the way his character hinged the two storylines together to provide the twist at the end was great writing.
Although Kat and Alfie were supposed to be main players in this episode (remember in August how we all moaned about them hijacking the Christmas eps! How wrong we were!), they were almost a sideshow, yes we had their reveal that Kat was preggers but it was just one more good scene rather than them dominating (nice to see Mo and Charlie there too).
Bianca I actually liked in this ep! When she screamed at them to get out after finally realising Nicky was a fixture instead of an irritant, you could feel her frustration and anger, very well acted by Patsy, (I liked how,Terry turned on Nicky when they left though, so maybe not seen the last of him?..) leading to the lovely scene in the kitchen of Bianca with her parents, and how natural they are in that role even despite all the years of being apart.. you feel that whatever David's original reason for returning, he has genuine love for his family now.
Philth up to his tricks again
So we had pathos (in spades), sadness, joy, light comedy, heartbreak, shock twists, police chases.. even Danny Dyer was good
And best of all? No Lauren!!!!
I hate how Janine never got away with it and Stacey did. What an odd moral compass EE has at times. I felt sorry for her at the end, I hope Stacey returns baby-less and goes in the slammer, doubt it.
Danny Dire...sorry Mick Carter is a smarmy smiley idiot.
:eek:
How can you possibly disrespect the shows main star
The Patron Saint of Pouting and The Queen of Twitter Selfies