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Episode Discussion - Thursday 5th July 2018; Part 1 (7:30pm) and Part 2 (8:30pm)
Topic Started: Jul 5 2018, 06:16 PM (865 Views)
Angie's Den
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Jamie Borthwick and Bonnie Langford were fantastic in that last scene.
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TellyAddict
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That was such a strong, powerful ending. Beautifully played by Bonnie Langford and Jamie Borthwick.

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Jamie Fowler
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Wonderful final scene between Jay and Carmel. Bonnie was amazing but I think Jamie deserves some serious praise for his understated supporting performance there. Phenomenal stuff.
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Dave the Cat
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Angie's Den
Jul 5 2018, 07:57 PM
The difference in quality between Dean Gaffney's performances and Lisa Hammond's is staggering.
Yes I agree, it's a great shame she is leaving.
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Jamie Fowler
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"No sense..."
"....No"

That was the most poignant moment for me. Carmel summing up the waste of life that has happened, with Jay's solemn agreement quietly echoing back to his own sense of loss due to a love one being stabbed to death - and likely a stark reminder that the same thing could have happened to him all those years back. Who says EastEnders can't do nuance and subtlety anymore.
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PurpleRain
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I have so many amazing things to say about that phenomenal episode, but everyone else has already said it. EastEnders is pitch perfect at the moment and I despair at never getting to watch it live anymore due to work commitment JUST as it's most worthy of me doing so.

Also, would that count as a Jay duff-duff? Must be the first in a while if so. Jay is doing beautiful things at the moment, isn't he? So much nuance in the show right now, one of the best possible elements of soap.
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Mystic Mo
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Jamie Fowler
Jul 5 2018, 06:45 PM
Love Jean and Hayley's relationship. Absolutely brilliant.
Oh yes. Isn't it wonderful how they're developing Jean's relationship with a girl she isn't related to and has never mentioned before this year, whilst ignoring her own relationship with her daughter?
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Jamie Fowler
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Mystic Mo
Jul 8 2018, 07:32 PM
Jamie Fowler
Jul 5 2018, 06:45 PM
Love Jean and Hayley's relationship. Absolutely brilliant.
Oh yes. Isn't it wonderful how they're developing Jean's relationship with a girl she isn't related to and has never mentioned before this year, whilst ignoring her own relationship with her daughter?
Yep!

Stacey and Jean are in a solid place, relationship wise, and have had some really nice scenes together since Jean returned. We don't need to see much development for their relationship because it's been built up very well over the last decade and a half.

Hayley's a newcomer in an established family, giving her an immediate disadvantage from an audience point of view, so the fact that we're getting to see her build relationships with these women she's living with for the first time is great.
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The Other Slater Cousin
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Mystic Mo
Jul 8 2018, 07:32 PM
Jamie Fowler
Jul 5 2018, 06:45 PM
Love Jean and Hayley's relationship. Absolutely brilliant.
Oh yes. Isn't it wonderful how they're developing Jean's relationship with a girl she isn't related to and has never mentioned before this year, whilst ignoring her own relationship with her daughter?
Jean and Stacey's relationship received six years of solid and consistent exploration, and, more sporadically, four more since. Stacey's troubled childhood, Jean's illness, Stacey's illness and everything in between. Nowadays, Stacey and Jean are in a good place. Jean is there to tell Stacey how good Martin was for her, and Stacey is there to fight her mum's corner and keep her calm when she gets overwhelmed. It's nice and its only stemmed from all those years of foundation work that was built between them on-screen over the past fourteen years. What is left to develop and explore in relation to where the characters are now? Unless they fabricate needless drama or regress the characters back to a point that isn't necessary, there isn't anything I need to see in some central spotlight in relation to their mother/daughter relationship. It's there, it's nice, it's real and that's all it needs to be, for now.

Jean caring for Hayley both centralises Jean as a maternal figure of kindness the audience enjoy and empathise with, and also provides Hayley with a source of love and care that we know she has never experienced in her life, which gives her a more stable role in the Slater dynamic. Both characters, and the narrative they are part of, benefit from this relationship being developed.

It's not a case of either or. I'd rather see this relationship help Hayley develop and grow as a character, whilst presenting fresh dynamics to the audience, than to see them tread over old ground with Jean and Stacey yet again for no narrative purpose. At some point, Stacey and Jean's troubled past or close bond will lead to a central focus on that dynamic, but does the fact that it hasn't been done immediately diminish the quality of the focus on Jean and Hayley? Soaps are a long game, and there's room for it all. Just not all at once.

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Londongirl89

See You Slater
Jul 5 2018, 07:52 PM
It’s been nice to see more focus for Denise and Kush too.
Am I allowed to say that I shocked by this comment? :O :O :O

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