I put it down to lack of attention span due to the age of technology myself

I concur.

Well said.

It could also be that people are frustrated (be it good or bad), want Linda to have justice and are getting impatient with the protracted narrative. A common response if you have empathy with the character.

Let's just hope that the producers are not saving it to Christmas as the Carters have enough to reveal at that time. I'm surprised I don't have a secret about the Carters!!

This would cheapen this s/l I think as opposed to the others.

Sadly justice doesn't always happen

What is commonly known as the gnat disease by our training team!!

looool. it's the same with the Lucy storyline aswell

I suspect a form of justice will be forthcoming but it won't (or can't) be via the criminal justice system.

Agreed. Personally I can watch for the long haul but I'm just expressing a view that some people might feel more frustrated by the pacing of it due to Linda and a denouement be it Mick attacking Dean.

I don't think people are impatient and or incapable of enjoying a long or drawn out story line. I'm actually quite offended by the constant accusation of this tbh. I feel the point has been made very clear that some people are questioning the reality aspect. I appreciate Mick is now very much switched on to there being something wrong with Linda but he undoubtedly has a very bad habit of jumping in and speaking for Linda and jumping to unhelpful conclusions. Then lo and behold, after doing what might seem the right thing and bringing in Linda's mum, she does EXACTLY the same thing.

My problem is that EE are perhaps unrealistically elongating this story line for the increased effect of the eventual reveal and it leaves a bad taste quite frankly.

That's what I think if the reveal is at Christmas. But this is no different to any other soap.i.e. Corrie's Carla

There are posters also who feel its difficult to watch . I have expressed that I find it painful to watch Linda in such distress
I would like it resolved soon , not because I have no patience but simply because I am not sure I can watch her distress till Christmas . It stresses me to watch her
I think its quite judgemental to presume people have a short attention span because they are finding this hard to watch for a long period

Well, unfortunately some people are impatient and/or incapable of enjoying a long/drawn s/l, I afraid. Those kinds of people do exist on these forums.

I appreciate the questioning of the s/l's reality. But I see the writing of it a litlle differently. It depends on whose POV or lens you are seeing the events.

Mick et al jumping in and speaking for Linda, for instance, is something I admit irritiated me but I also had to see his interruptions in light of what was happening to Shirley (his mother and member of the family) from his POV. The shooting was the main event to affect the family and, like all the people who Linda sought to reach out to, every member of the family (mis)read Linda's behaviour through the lens of the events of that day: the wedding (drunken Maid of Honour) and the shooting (Shirley Carter, a family relative). Even Sharon thought Linda her friend came over to see how if she (Sharon) and Phil was OK, and it was through that lens/perspective that Sharon spoke with Linda. So I can understand the jumping in bit, however annoying it was. And it does make sense.

As for Elaine, remember that she would have known about Mick's 'daliance' (sp?) with a hooker. That was the last time she and Linda left things. So Elaine comes to the family thinking it was still an on-going drama about her daughter's marital relationship with Mick. Hence, her thinking that the problem was to do with Linda having an affair/fling of her own as some kind of revenge. So again from her POV it makes sense that Elaine would assume that position, especially if Linda isn't that forthcoming on things.

It also makes sense from Linda's POV. Every conversation she has with someone, every little gesture is magnified in light of what happened to her. She now reads meanings in everything she sees and hears where there are none. So again I can understand how the whole s/l becomes elongated. It also adds to the idea of why rape victims find it difficult to talk about what happened to them. It's not just the violation of the physocal act but the psychological one which is not something that can be got across/represented on the TV screen easily.


Actually, I am not judging people's attention span. Nothing in my post suggested or hinted at that. If anything I mentioned people's impatience. I admit I should have said said 'some' people are impatient tbf (because they exist) and not give such a broad generalisation of everyone. Like you, I hate watching Linda's distress and I hate more the jumping to conclusions by some characters. But that's only because I sometimes fail to see the s/l from the POV of all the characters invloved and not just Linda. This s/l will after all affect every member of the Carter family once the truth is revealed. And i think that it is the whole point this s/l is making: it is not rape by a stranger, but familial rape (rape within the family by a family member).

Applause, applause.

Claiming that this story is being dragged out is just far too simplistic.

Every single member of the Carter family knows that something is wrong, clearly. It's silly to suggest otherwise.

I have to admit that I'm very impatient and don't feel entertained by the constant 'almost reveals' of this storylines and similar ones. If Linda had just told her Mum tonight, made her keep it a secret and sent her on her way, it would've revved up the suspense more.

Nihonga has it spot on about the character's POVs (both your posts are excellent and have explained the storyline perfectly,) I think some are letting what they know affect how they view the actions of the other characters, which is understandable but shouldn't be used against the storyline imo. I don't think anyone has acted out of character as of yet, and have all been acting in a reasonable way given what information each character has.

so at the end did Linda tell Mick what happened to her..She was pulling faces and he was grasping the bed sheets..?

She isn't allowed to


She will have to...roll eyes


Poor Nancy



He shouldn't need to work anything out. She should have told him immediately.


Tis true. What sort of message does this send out to real victims.


Poor Roxanne...not.

She already knows he has a wife and family.

Based on Elaine threatening Dean in bathroom, she's got to suspect he did something to frighten Linda, even if Linda wouldn't admit to it. My guess is Elaine suspects something along the lines of Dean groping or kissing her, but she seems to accept that Linda isn't ready to tell anyone. I wonder if Elaine's chat with him is the reason Dean tells Linda that he wants to break off their "affair"?

I felt so bad for Mick and Linda at the end, Mick confused as to what was wrong and Linda unsure how to tell him.

Linda needs psychiatric treatment the woman's unhinged

Max's character always goes round and round in circles the character has reached his shelf life.

Clearly there are reasons to be found as to why Mick and Linda's Mum have acted the way they have but this is a drama and the reveal of this rape is never going to be a natural occurrence. It has been decided when the reveal will occur and therefore things have to be put in place to prevent the possibility of an earlier reveal. These things are plausible or not and in my view the dramatic nature of the stumbling blocks to Linda just saying or at least getting closer to just saying what has happened are way too big and way too clumsy for it to look realistic.

It's a pity as I don't think it had to be like this but EE clearly wanted Linda to have a full on break down and at the same time to find devices and reasons why people couldn't get to the bottom of it and it's just ended up a silly mish mash in my view.

I personally think Linda has been stellar but the writers etc, as ever, wanted it all: the breakdown and the usual talking over and misunderstandings that soaps do all the time in order to delay the reveal of something

As for impatience and the inability to enjoy a long drawn out story line I think a variety of reasons have been given why people aren't enjoying this story line and impatience as a reason seems to have only really been given by the critics of those not liking it.

Strong episode! So much going on!

Elaine should be made a permanent character!