When my sister was born 15 years ago I, at four, was tickled pink with it all. Did I see myself as a victim of that classic usurping that countless older siblings claim plagued their childhoods? Not even a smidge. But I do remember my mother being that touch more attentive towards my brother and I than before, as if all the baby-lit she had read had brainwashed her into believing we would otherwise feel displaced. I hadn’t ever gotten to grips with this surge of parental paranoia, but this week I experienced a minor epiphany. It came to Monday evening, around nine, when something about my night (spent thus far captivated by “Grimm”) suddenly felt monstrously offbeat. Then I grasped it: "EastEnders". I’ve been a notorious Walford fanatic since birth (my first word was “Rickaaaaaay”. Maybe…) and I had neglected my Monday night calling in favour of this newfangled, flashier project; I grappled, on Monday, with that acute sense of guilt my own mum must always have been petrified of. I resolved, flicking off “Grimm” in a state of intense shame, to atone for my ills by turning to iPlayer immediately, and dedicating my next post to the following night’s "‘Enders" offering.
 |
| Unconventional brotherly bonding: A murderous Ben opened opened to Ian |
All self-condemnation and making amends
aside, Tuesday’s episode was "EastEnders" gold. It picked up on the cliffhanger
Monday’s had closed with: Ben had just announced to half-brother Ian that he
was responsible for the murder of Heather Trott. So how did Ian take it? It
could have gone better. He first dismissed Ben as a liar and then, when
realization dawned, fled the house. One of the listless reasons I think soap
operas are such unsung heroes in 21st century telly is their surprising
use of subtlety; being ongoing rather than snipped into series blocks, writers
can sow elements of future storylines weeks ahead and cultivate them to
culmination across months. The Ian-time in last night’s show was such sowing at
its best, and verified last week’s rumors that Ian is to bow out of the show
for a stint later in the year following a mental breakdown. Granted, he'd just
discovered his former angelic, Billy Elliot-wannabe little brother was now into
caving in heads, but Ian’s flight to the allotment (where else?) was marked
with incoherence and tangible distress, not to mention Phil’s later whispering
“What’s wrong with you?” when catching up with the brother duo. The Ian/Ben
scenes on Tuesday came up trumps, too, with Ben finally talking about his remorse for doing in Miss Trott (other
episodes have underlined his eeriness at the cost of his humaneness), and when
he lamented “She was my friend” it was far more manageable to see the Ben that
father Phil has been crazed to protect than it was to see the picture-frame
wielding demon we’ve been lumbered with since February.
Speaking of Philip, he was another big-league
player on Tuesday night thanks to a long-overdue showdown with Shirley. I think
this pairing is superb, and Tuesday showcased why. Notoriously thorny towards
their E20 neighbors, it’s always welcome to see the two of them grapple with
more sensitive, lovey-dovey stuff behind closed doors (another asset of soaps,
by the way, is that we’re in on both public and private affairs
simultaneously). Shirley has, naturally, been having a rough few months coming
to terms with the death of her lifelong pal, and Phil’s haven’t been a bed of
roses spent harboring her assailant, but up until Tuesday they’d each have
given Victoria Beckham a run for her money in the void-of-all-emotion stakes.
Last night witnessed Shirley collapse on her friend’s bed and Phil uncharacteristically
yet tenderly talk of his fondness for the late Heather. He also proved himself
quite the charmer when he begged Shirley to move back in with him and the boys:
“I don’t know how you’ve done it. I don’t know how you’ve worn me down. I love
you.” Shakespeare it wasn’t, but it did the trick. As titillating as it has
been to see the pair of them fight it out in recent weeks without being able to
pick a clear villain (a relative rarity on the Square) I’m relieved Shirley’s
back at Casa Mitchell for now; it means the show can get back to exploring
Ben’s unease at being locked up with his victim’s oldest friend. Equally
fascinating, if not a little dodgy, about these scenes was Phil’s Usain-Bolt
speedy ability to sober himself up. Monday night (set a couple of hours before
last night’s viewing) saw him comatose and clutching a bottle of scotch, yet
here he was skillfully pacifying Shirley, outpacing Ian and Ben to the cop shop
in the episode’s final five minutes and (worryingly) driving. There’s a man that
can hold his drink…
Elsewhere in the Square the Brannings had
gathered to meet and greet Derek’s estranged daughter Alice, and things went
off in customary Branning style. I cherish this family’s get togethers; whether
its affairs being uncovered on Christmas Day via video cameras, an edge-driven
Tanya deciding to bury Max alive or Lauren mowing him down, they know how to
put on a soiree with a bit of class. Alice arrived before her long lost dad
because he was busy having his home searched by police for stolen booze (not
what you’d call the right foot) and
the awkwardness between the newbie and the veterans was tangible. As good ol’
Dot endorsed Derek’s stand-up attitude and (brilliantly) fashion choices, Tanya
ploughed her way through the pinot (bravo for the top-notch example-setting to
the binge drinking daughter, there Tan). Clearly a girl of sublime intuition,
Alice sought five minutes alone with Tanya to get the unabridged version of her
father’s character and henceforth understandably proceeded to do her own
vanishing act, Beale-style. Slimy as Derek came across on Tuesday, duping the
police rifling through his house by stealthily tucking his knocked off absinth
in the bins outside, "'Enders" once more rustled up that bit of ambivalence towards
him. It would have been taxing to sit through twenty minutes of his itching to
get to Alice and not feel a touch of benevolence when he failed to do so. The
emerging dynamic between Lauren, the aforementioned lager-swilling college
dropout with a penchant for hit and runs, and her butter-would-freeze cousin
Alice provided yet more promise for "'Enders" plots on the horizon. I pray Lauren
invites Alice into her fold and introduces her to the rest of the gang. Her
responses to the prostitute, the exams cheat and the backstreet antiques
dealers would make must-see viewing. Things weren’t going much better behind
the scenes of number 5’s shindig, either; an intoxicated Jay seemed a hair width’s
away from confessing all about Hev’s nasty end to Abi. I hope the writers at
the soap carry on avoiding too much
“Romeo and Juliet” style Mitchells versus Brannings escapades with this pair. They
provide that once in a blue moon youthful relationship in soap land not
dominated by false pregnancies and playing away, and despite being amongst the
Square’s most unseasoned residents add to the mix one of its most credible
couplings.
 |
| Time to get serious? Kim struggled with Ray's paternal duties |
In my last "EastEnders" post, “The Bianca”, I
applauded the soap’s sly escalation of humorous characters and situations into
issues with a bit more grit. Frankly, I found the farcical Kim drama on Tuesday
too much of a contrast and distraction to the weightier storylines. To recap,
she had donned a military-style number as a treat for beau Ray and prepared her
own booty-camp when he showed up with a daughter in tow, and subsequently fled
to the Minute Mart (what is it with these characters’ choices of bolt-holes?)
It was, as I say, mildly funny if not slightly out of sorts with the rest of
the episode, but Kim’s final admission that “I got chocolate body paint and
everything at home yeah? I’m interested in you. I just don’t do kids” paved the
way for heavier storylines in future. It would be captivating to see party-girl
Kim have to occupy a maternal role without all the frivolity and excessive
lightheartedness, and it looks like the bigwigs at "'Enders" are preparing to show
just that.
After how unsettled I felt on Monday, and
the jewel of an episode Tuesday’s "EastEnders" turned out to be, I’m
wholeheartedly recommitted to my religious following of Walford’s residents.
Sorry, “Grimm”, but these are the ties that bind.
One Line Wonder
Dot (to Alice, in the midst of Lauren and Abi squabbling about alcoholism, Jay’s dad’s death and general cheerful Square goings on): Would you like a piece of sponge?
The Fortune Telly-er
I don’t see Ian going to the police about
Ben’s grisly activities just yet; it would be far more worthwhile to use the
set-up to explore old tensions and rivalries with Phil. As for Derek and Alice,
I see them getting over their differences with more haste. I thought the
Jonny/Ruby father-daughter dynamic about five years ago was ace, so here’s
hoping the writers use what was done well there.
No comments:
Post a Comment