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The General EastEnders Chatter Thread
Topic Started: May 21 2018, 08:38 PM (2,855 Views)
PurpleRain
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Just stumbled upon this Q&A video from 2010 with Jake and Lacey. I'm screaming at how bored/ tired they seem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0sW_OXKb4M
Edited by PurpleRain, Jun 15 2018, 02:48 PM.
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Jamie Fowler
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Lest we forget who was the real winner of the Dress like Kat night
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See You Slater
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Did you forget to attach the picture of Martin looking FINE?
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The Other Slater Cousin
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Obviously, there has been a lot of theories being thrown around about whether Mel and Hunter's material is leading to an abuse storyline with Ray and Hunter. In many ways, it stemmed from one single scene of Hunter trying to contact Ray to no avail, and that could of course simply be signposting a sense of abandonment he feels. However, to consider the concept of that storyline on paper, it shamelessly screams "EastEnders" into your face.

Mel's return has been rooted in her need to protect her boy. She came back as something of a mobster, but at the heart of that, it was a mother trying to keep her son safe. Mel Owen of 2018 is a hardened and steely figure, because the past 16 years have been a mother fiercely shielding her cub from the world that hurt her so badly. So in going forward, what would break down the walls and bring us to the core of this woman more than the realisation that she failed? She had a tunnel-visioned view of how to keep Hunter from being hurt, and whilst she was doing so, it was happening under her own roof, in her own family. To bring back a Mel that became a figure of ice in the name of maternity, there has to be a moment in sight where she cracks. I think this would be the perfect arc to portray that.

And beyond just the prospect of Tamzin and Mel getting the huge "Leading Lady" cornerstone moment, the exploration of Hunter becomes so incredibly powerful and nuanced if sexual abuse was explored. The building up of Hunter Owen as a chip of the old block feels redundant, but it feels like we are being told to think that. To agree with the characters looking at him and seeing a psycho who has come from the big, bad Steve Owen. And then, we are proved wrong. Maybe that isn't the case, and the "Sins of the Father" concept is all we are getting, but to see Hunter be built as a figure of evil, before being revealed as a traumatised victim feels powerful. It feels topical. It feels EastEnders.

Of course, it would be uncomfortable to watch. It would be difficult. But it would be real. It would take this unit and make it something that reflected the issues in the underbelly of our society, and does so through an arguably iconic character and the son that stemmed from one of the biggest powercouples. It would draw attention to the show and make it a platform that gives us material that aims to educate as well as entertain. There's so much power in it, particularly when you consider the hinted abuse Steve endured from his own mother, which made the front page of all the papers. The foundations are there, and of course it may not come to fruition in any way and I have gotten carried away, but just to think of it, it feels like one of those gems of a story, that hits heights and hearts we often forget can be reached.
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See You Slater
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Fantastic post TOSC. I definitely agree that it would be such a powerful and exciting direction for both Mel and Hunter to go in. The exploration of Mel the mother has been really interesting, and I think that a big story like that would really be the icing on the cake.

Autumn 2018, let’s go. Imagine a story like that running alongside a big story for the Slaters, and for the Foxes, and for the Carters. Along with the resurgance of Sharon Watts, of course.

I’m crossing my fingers.
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Angie's Den
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An iconic (yet vastly underrated moment) in EastEnders history.
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See You Slater
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I stan that scene so much!
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Jamie Fowler
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Been thinking of Jay, shocker I know, and I'm torn between the ideal storyline I'd give him.

On one hand, Jay's had a lifetime of misery and disappointment and as shown back in 2016 there is always an element of misery porn whenever he does, rarely, get a storyline. So I'm very aware that literally the only thing that has kept Jay from a Carla Connor-esque fate of being killed by misery overload is that the show goes for long periods where it forgets Jay even exists. So, a big part of me wants Jay to have a storyline that's not necessarily a happy one but not totally miserable either. The longest running and most consistent aspect of Jay's character over the twelve years we have known him is his status as a loner - both out of choice; he's never wanted or needed a million friends but also the enforced isolation life has dealt him. He's an orphan with no real extended family - a grandfather who would callously lie to him for a quick buck being his only known living blood relative - and an unsteady support system in the Mitchell's who talk about Jay being one of them but cast him out at every opportunity. Jay, essentially, needs something in his life that gives him both a purpose and unconditional love.

My first idea, based on that, is that Jay has a one night stand or a brief fling with a girl (he needs to get laid let's be real) that doesn't come to much and they fall out of touch but nine or so months after their fling, he wakes up to find a baby boy on his doorstep. His son. Left to raise him single-handed, I think it would be a really interesting journey to see Jay have to consider the stinging reality that he's not in the best financial or practical situation to look after a child mixing in with, what I feel, would be immediate paternal instincts and a desire to provide his son with the childhood he never had. Seeing Jay struggle through single fatherhood would be a very relevant, down-to-earth and character driven story that in a way begins to bring Jay's time on the show full circle. I've always said that like 2000-2005 Kat, Jay is a character who's story has a very obvious ending. Kat's was to find her "Man in the Moon" and shake off the traumatic ghosts of her pasts (which she did, if we ignore 2010-now) whereas Jay's would be to find his own, blood, family and realize his worth away from the Mitchells. I'm not saying I would use single fatherhood as a way to write Jay out, as I would never do that, but as the next step in his journey.

Then, my second idea is a bit more "depressing" but really quite classic EastEnders. Jay as the victim of an abusive relationship. Female-On-Male domestic abuse has been tackled by soaps in the past to varying degrees of success (though I'd hesitate to call any outright successes as the male victim always seems to end up being sneered at) but never really by EastEnders and I feel like it would be a very "EastEnders" thing to tackle and to tackle right. For all the reasons listed above, Jay is in a way a very obvious choice for a victim. He'd be coming into the relationship already fairly isolated which would allow his abuser to really cut him off from his final few ties - Billy, Honey, Phil - and I think Jay's lonely and isolated enough that he would probably readily accept and refuse to believe his new girlfriend is anything less than perfect. It would be a sad tale, but it would be an important one, and a use of one of the more under utilized but ever present (in a nuanced way much of the time, thanks to Jamie) Jay characteristics - his isolation and loneliness.
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Tomski12

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Jun 18 2018, 11:39 PM
Obviously, there has been a lot of theories being thrown around about whether Mel and Hunter's material is leading to an abuse storyline with Ray and Hunter. In many ways, it stemmed from one single scene of Hunter trying to contact Ray to no avail, and that could of course simply be signposting a sense of abandonment he feels. However, to consider the concept of that storyline on paper, it shamelessly screams "EastEnders" into your face.

Mel's return has been rooted in her need to protect her boy. She came back as something of a mobster, but at the heart of that, it was a mother trying to keep her son safe. Mel Owen of 2018 is a hardened and steely figure, because the past 16 years have been a mother fiercely shielding her cub from the world that hurt her so badly. So in going forward, what would break down the walls and bring us to the core of this woman more than the realisation that she failed? She had a tunnel-visioned view of how to keep Hunter from being hurt, and whilst she was doing so, it was happening under her own roof, in her own family. To bring back a Mel that became a figure of ice in the name of maternity, there has to be a moment in sight where she cracks. I think this would be the perfect arc to portray that.

And beyond just the prospect of Tamzin and Mel getting the huge "Leading Lady" cornerstone moment, the exploration of Hunter becomes so incredibly powerful and nuanced if sexual abuse was explored. The building up of Hunter Owen as a chip of the old block feels redundant, but it feels like we are being told to think that. To agree with the characters looking at him and seeing a psycho who has come from the big, bad Steve Owen. And then, we are proved wrong. Maybe that isn't the case, and the "Sins of the Father" concept is all we are getting, but to see Hunter be built as a figure of evil, before being revealed as a traumatised victim feels powerful. It feels topical. It feels EastEnders.

Of course, it would be uncomfortable to watch. It would be difficult. But it would be real. It would take this unit and make it something that reflected the issues in the underbelly of our society, and does so through an arguably iconic character and the son that stemmed from one of the biggest powercouples. It would draw attention to the show and make it a platform that gives us material that aims to educate as well as entertain. There's so much power in it, particularly when you consider the hinted abuse Steve endured from his own mother, which made the front page of all the papers. The foundations are there, and of course it may not come to fruition in any way and I have gotten carried away, but just to think of it, it feels like one of those gems of a story, that hits heights and hearts we often forget can be reached.
Just wanted to say what a fantastic post this is. For Mel to have become so insular and icy as a need to protect her son from being hurt the same way she was, only to discover whilst she was fighting the world off from her son, she really needed to look closer to home. Very EastEnders, and a story to cement Mel 2.0 and Tamzin right at the centre of the show.
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Kelly Minige
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I've finally caught up on the last 2 weeks worth of episodes since returning from my holiday, and I have to say I really enjoyed them. Lots of great character moments and there seems to be a lot of stuff bubbling along nicely. Stuart's storyline is great and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all unfolds over the next few weeks. I'm a bit confused about the negativity of the episodes on some other forums though. It seems as though unless there is sensationalism or the ratings aren't over 318371§ million, they are mundane and crap. Maybe it's just me lol
Edited by Kelly Minige, Jun 25 2018, 12:23 PM.
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