It's pretty obvious DTC has an exposé & ending for Dean thought up already, but because the actor has been asked to stay on for a while it's been put "on hold" & will be returned to when the time is right.

it seems as though they are just forgetting about it and letting Dean get away with it, which is a disgrace..

See my post above.

From the looks of the spoilers emerging about Roxy & Shabs Dean isn't about to leave anytime soon.

I agree that the rape sl has been done poorly though.

Linda has been ignored in her own rape plot which is a disgrace, it quickly became all about Dean & Mick. Women's voices are drowned out.

Agree

^ Me too.

Consent is not the absence of a "no", it's the presence of a "yes". Can't believe an adult has to have that explained to them.

Possible spoilers for December 25th 2020

- Mick and Linda are shocked when Dean and Shirley walk in to The Queen Vic.
- Shirley stands by Dean and warns Mick and Linda to leave him alone.
- In heartbreaking scenes, Shirley breaks down and confides in Denise about the appalling way her family are treating her.

Why is Dean being always being shown in a sympathetic light???

Controversially I think its because the producers fancy the actor so have allowed their judgement of the characters actions to be overshadowed. DTCs twitter used to be full of ''ohhh Dean is Shirtless tonight'' which was always baffling to me and in ill taste given the character is a rapist.

That is in really poor taste,

I Guess rapes fine if your good looking

This storyline was an absolute failure from start to finish. But then I knew it would end up in disaster when it ended up stealing all the focus from Linda, the victim to focus it on Dean and his manpain.

It's just another example of how misogyny still affects storytelling that this could be viewed as acceptable. That stories about women's suffering become all about the men in their life (poor Mick, having his wife violated and poor Dean and his unreciprocated lust for Linda and his own trauma).

This should've been about Linda as a victim slowly come to terms with her attack and HEALING. Who the eff gives a toss about the perpetrator? Lol, he is irrelevant.

This also could've opened up a dialogue about the importance of clear consent since clearly there are men out there willing to take anything except a direct no as a yes. And even then, they might still try it on. It's disgusting and shouldn't be happening. I find it frightening that men still do this. Especially as a past victim of abuse myself.

Dean mourning his granddad was genuine and understandable as he was close to him and him caring about his daughter is also understandable. EastEnders ere just trying to break the stereotypes by showing different aspects to Dean's character.

I have though this for some time to be honest.

It's a bit-AWKS

It'll all come out in the wash

It might be in poor taste, but it doesn't make it untrue.

That's a controversial opinion (which I share) but it would go some way to explain why Dean has been allowed to develop despite his character reaching what is normally a dramatic dead end.

Having Dean shown Semi naked was bad enough before the rape reveal, but it occurred AGAIN a few weeks ago. There was a scene with the express purpose of showing Matt DA half naked-absolutely no other reason for it. The same thing was done with Paul Coker the other day.

Sorry to sound like some old prude but it IS exploitative.

If that was done with young actresses we'd hear accusations of "sexism" and "exploitation" & there'd be a public reaction to it.
With young male actors it seems it a free for all.

Well we've had thoses same scene on repeat for 9 months nearly wouldn't put it past them to keep it going.

This storyline has been pathetic. Dean STILL hasn't come clean, admitted or been found out and as usual TPTB are taking FOR-ever to end a storyline!