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EastEnders - Great episode, but unrealistic storyline?


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Old 05-09-2016, 20:49
lou_123
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Would you really get 4 young British lads in this day and age behaving the same way these 4 'gangsters' were tonight?

Yes, hate crime still happens, however all of this fuss, including the death of a gay man just seems bizarre and unrealistic to me. It's not a very positive message to put out to the gay community either in my opinion.

Am I being naive, or is this storyline a bit silly?
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Old 05-09-2016, 20:54
BadLadAsh
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I think they've gone too far with them killing Paul, it would have been more realistic to have them just beat him up and maybe ended up in a coma or something.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:02
Samhinchliffe93
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Well them 4 guys I am pretty sure Jay and Ben could of beat them up 4 vs 2. No way could they of got them both into the van without nobody noticing and also lock Phil up in a closet and none of them had any hit marks on there face or anything. It is like Ben and Jay wanted to be kidknapped? Also the massive rumours of Grant dying, if this is how he dies it is really poor at least get guys who look like gangsters to kill him.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:05
M_J2
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As per usual with soaps, good subject to deal with but poorly scripted and cast (as usual with Eastenders). Its all been rushed. Just like there teen gang/stabbing storylines.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:08
M_J2
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Well them 4 guys I am pretty sure Jay and Ben could of beat them up 4 vs 2. No way could they of got them both into the van without nobody noticing and also lock Phil up in a closet and none of them had any hit marks on there face or anything. It is like Ben and Jay wanted to be kidknapped? Also the massive rumours of Grant dying, if this is how he dies it is really poor at least get guys who look like gangsters to kill him.
Yes, really bad casting. only one of them had real intent in doing damage and the other 3 looked like they do not want any part of this. yet they managed to go into the Big Bad gang familes house in a fairly swift manner....Aggggghhhhhh. this is the stuff that annoy's me about the soap world.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:10
sorcha_healy27
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I take it people don't remember the 16 years olds who were perfectly capable of killing Gary Newlove

It's perfectly feasible that a drunken fight could lead to a death.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:16
lou_123
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I think they've gone too far with them killing Paul, it would have been more realistic to have them just beat him up and maybe ended up in a coma or something.
It's just been done poorly really. You'd think it was still the 90's the way it is being written.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:17
sorcha_healy27
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It's just been done poorly really. You'd think it was still the 90's the way it is being written.
It's the only storyline I'm interested in. well that and Denise.

People have been killed on nights out. I'm looking forward too seeing Grant taking them apart
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:19
0...0
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Would you really get 4 young British lads in this day and age behaving the same way these 4 'gangsters' were tonight?

Yes, hate crime still happens, however all of this fuss, including the death of a gay man just seems bizarre and unrealistic to me. It's not a very positive message to put out to the gay community either in my opinion.

Am I being naive, or is this storyline a bit silly?
Young lads can kill. A few years back a girl was murdered just because she wore Goth clothes and make up. Also going back a bit the alleged Stephen Lawrence killers were young. I'm sure there are sadly many more examples.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:22
Aiden James
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I take it people don't remember the 16 years olds who were perfectly capable of killing Gary Newlove

It's perfectly feasible that a drunken fight could lead to a death.
Agree with you again.

I hate to say this as its going to sound so offensive but I get the impression so many on these type of sites don't spend too much time in the real world to see whats really going on. I dont wish to cause a row with this statement but its true.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:28
Noxy
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None of it makes any sense, it's just soapy rubbish - which is actually quite offensive given the very serious nature of the storyline. Has any research been done as to why homophobes commit acts like this? What drives them to it, what were their backgrounds, what what was going through their minds before, during and after? Such research would inform the writing and therefore make it more credible. There's a similar but less severe storyline going on in Pobol y Cwm right now and that too is total crap.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:32
lou_123
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None of it makes any sense, it's just soapy rubbish - which is actually quite offensive given the very serious nature of the storyline. Has any research been done as to why homophobes commit acts like this? What drives them to it, what were their backgrounds, what what was going through their minds before, during and after? Such research would inform the writing and therefore make it more credible. There's a similar but less severe storyline going on in Pobol y Cwm right now and that too is total crap.
I just find it quite offensive. None of Ben's close friends or relatives, along with even Paul's relatives even seem concerned or bothered by the nature of the attack. It's Asif the writers are trying to portray it as normal behaviour.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:50
bass55
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EastEnders cannot write 'gangsters' any more. All of their efforts to do so in the last 10+ years have been hilariously bad.
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Old 05-09-2016, 21:54
xTonix
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Are Paul's killer/s really gangsters though? I thought they were just 1D rejects.
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:05
attitude99
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Are Paul's killer/s really gangsters though? I thought they were just 1D rejects.
Exactly, to me they just looked like a bunch of d*ckheads who didn't like being called out on their homophobia.
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:14
ritch
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That was hilariously bad, I watch eastenders for the comedy these days. We had a right laugh, those gangsters were as scary as a bag of kittens and bens scrunched face trying to look all hard. Comedy gold
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:25
sorcha_healy27
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That was hilariously bad, I watch eastenders for the comedy these days. We had a right laugh, those gangsters were as scary as a bag of kittens and bens scrunched face trying to look all hard. Comedy gold
The blokes weren't gangsters. They were 4 homophobic youths who beat a young man to death because he was gay.

A polish man was murdered only the other day by a few youngsters. It happens.

Tbh I think that these guys showed well how people can be so seemingly unthreatening until it's too late.

It's perfectly feasible that 4 men can kill someone.
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:39
Belpry_1
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The blokes weren't gangsters. They were 4 homophobic youths who beat a young man to death because he was gay.

A polish man was murdered only the other day by a few youngsters. It happens.

Tbh I think that these guys showed well how people can be so seemingly unthreatening until it's too late.

It's perfectly feasible that 4 men can kill someone.
Well put
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:40
STEVE 03
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I was amazed they managed to beat Phil and lock him up under the stairs. I know Phil is supposed to be ill but Phil of old would have took them on no problem and would have probably won hands down. I guess Phil's not the tough guy he once was.
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:55
Noxy
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The blokes weren't gangsters. They were 4 homophobic youths who beat a young man to death because he was gay.

A polish man was murdered only the other day by a few youngsters. It happens.

Tbh I think that these guys showed well how people can be so seemingly unthreatening until it's too late.

It's perfectly feasible that 4 men can kill someone.
Nobody is saying it isn't, but where is the context in this storyline? Who are these blokes and what lead them to do this? Why did they abduct Jay as well as Ben when it's nothing to do with Jay? They would probably have got away with it had they not burst into the house, assaulted Phil and abducted Jay and Ben. It's just bollocks.
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:59
MissingMitchell
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I think there are quite a few weaknesses in this particular storyline, but specifically tonight's ep for me fell down with the ridiculous rip-off of Taken initially and poor casting and or lines/lack of, for the kidnappers.

Having Grant's character recycle eight year old movie lines was deeply frustrating. Handled in a different way that beat/scene could have been much more interesting. If you are going to so obviously reference Taken, then do it with humour, have Courtney pull Grant up for it NOT being Taken, rather than play it straight as a direct parallel and make us feel like idiots while watching it.

In terms of casting, there is no getting away from it, the four stooges that supposedly beat Ben, Jay and Phil up before kidnapping the first two, didn't look capable of punching their way out of a wet paper bag. Some of the problem here is that the action is all offscreen so as viewers we are not able to make an informed judgement on capability, but the lack of menace or believability coming from the group when they were onscreen, was obvious.
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Old 05-09-2016, 22:59
sw2963
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They're not supposed to be gangsters just homophobic idiots
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Old 05-09-2016, 23:29
kitkat1971
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I find he initial crime, beating Paul so badly that he died horribly believable. Homophobic attacks do still happen quite frequently and it can be all too easy to kill somebody in a fight, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Where i think they have taken it too far, as they always do, is in having them break into the House, take Ben and Jay plus hitting Phil and seemingly be happy to kill them as well.

And why? Because Ben is a witness apparently. But now so is Phil, he saw their faces so are they going to come back for him as well?
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Old 05-09-2016, 23:33
Noxy
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I find he initial crime, beating Paul so badly that he died horribly believable. Homophobic attacks do still happen quite frequently and it can be all too easy to kill somebody in a fight, either intentionally or unintentionally.

Where i think they have taken it too far, as they always do, is in having them break into the House, take Ben and Jay plus hitting Phil and seemingly be happy to kill them as well.

And why? Because Ben is a witness apparently. But now so is Phil, he saw their faces so are they going to come back for him as well?
Exactly! Absolutely dreadful.
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Old 05-09-2016, 23:48
Keibro
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The death of a gay man
Sadly this happens still, even in this day and age.

Not a positive message to send to the Gay community
As a gay man, I don't want to be patronised and patted on the head and told "everything's ok" Sure things are better than what they were, but when young LGBT are bullied at school, a gay couple beaten coming home from a night out, lesbians being threatened with mutilation and men being thrown from rooftops, homophobia needs to be highlighted. It's still very much part of the present day.

The kidnapping. Yes completely unrealistic. And in broad daylight aswell. I mean come on. The Grant Mitchell "Taken" parody was just utter cringe aswell.

This particular storyline originated in a very harrowing, yet realistic and well written story of homophobia culminating in the tragic death of a young man. Unfortunately, as is the case with EastEnders all too frequently, they need to go one step further by having Ben kidnapped by the murderers. The same people who don't want to be identified as Paul's killers, but yet think nothing of breaking into a house, assaulting and kidnapping three men, all in broad day light.
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