EastEnders: the SPOILERS thread!

[Southeastdweller]

Welcome to the EastEnders spoilers thread, where we post and talk about any EE spoilers we've read about, including those in early release episodes on iPlayer.

Link below to watch episodes on BBC iPlayer - these are usually dropped at 6am on broadcast days - and you can read brief synopses of upcoming episodes:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m86d

Everything makes sense with Nigel after watching today's episode bless him.

Phil is annoying me so much !
Nigel isn't fit or well to run a gym.
Even ' sleeping partners' is still a commitment and Nigel just isn't the right person to sell to.
Hopefully Yolande will tell Sharon or Phil and he'll stop the transfer.

I don’t think EE has ever done dementia before? Maybe with Ethel.

Can't remember if it's been done before.
I can remember Ethel , but not about any dementia diagnosis?
It was a long time ago though
Dot helped her to die :(

I think that George is lying about punching someone Christmas night
Lauren is clearly suffering.
Nigel and his dementia diagnosis.
Reiss was strange asking Phil to go to Sonia's trial hearing too.
The flowers mix up was funny though
Kim saw Dee with Ravi , but still didn't twig it might be him she's sneaking around with 🙄

@the80sweregreat I always feel very sorry for Lauren. I feel she has no one who is really looking out for her and the only person who really noticed her was Cindy and that was all for her own benefit. Her parents are still alive but are never in touch with her it seems, and Peter is completely useless.

No, I agree that Lauren is a tragic character
She seems to be constantly punished for exposing Max and Stacey that time
She hasn't anyone on her side

Natalie Cassidy is going to be taking another break soon. Or fitting this in with EE:

deadline.com/2025/01/alan-cumming-natalie-cassidy-boarders-season-2-1236251061/

Hopefully Sonia will go to prison for ages and quietly be written out ! What's the point of her if she is never there ?

Maybe Natalie is as bored with EE as we are with her character.

South, plenty of opportunities now to be written out ! She could be ' sent down ' down for murder or move away ( if found innocent )
All the back and forth is just silly

Easties Those drops look like spatter from hitting something, if George turned Cindy over it would give blood smears.

That is very true 80s that Elaine was a bit younger when running a pub, but could easily hire a manager.

Oh dear not a dementia storyline. It will be so sanitised it will really annoy me (I've had two close relatives with dementia). It is not about being a bit dotty and forgetful.

EE has done dementia before. Mo Butcher, played by Edna Dore (Frank’s mum), and more recently Sylvie (Stan Carter’s wife). Sylvie was glam, red hair. Her death was memorable, she was electrocuted in the bath. And that is the problem with soap dementia storylines, they meet a convenient abrupt end.

South that is interesting about Natalie. Surely Sonia won't go to jail, that would let Reiss go free. I wonder if she leaves the Square to stay with Bianca for a while. I could see them wanting to support each other and Bianca could help with the baby. It would give Sonia an open ended exit. (I wouldn't mind if she stayed gone!)

They should have washed the blood stained shirt and hung it up with his other ones

One thing about sonia is they don't seem to have evolved her character much

There's no way on earth that cool sonia, who dated Jamie and Martin, would be with reiss, sorry

And they keep on bringing up her trumpet, I think it's time to let it lie

Will phil kill himself?

Or there will be another 'it's a wonderful life' style episode where he decides to choose life

I suspect he'll try and then grant will save him

Not seen the latest episode about dementia. I hope they don't sanitise it either. I have a son with ASD and LD and it annoys me that they don't show the real struggle with that. I expect there are battles accessing services and it is exhausting caring for someone with dementia. They never really show the true extent of things. I thought Louis was supposed to have dyscalculia, but they haven't gone into that yet.

I don't mind Sonia. They just need to give her a decent storyline. I liked Reiss before as he was a bit of contrast on the other character's personalities, but the storyline with him being a murderer and kidnapper isn't very plausible, even in soap land. They really messed up there.

I don't give a shit about the vote either. It's obvious how people will vote. Would rather have Jack and Ravi get it on for a laugh.

I think someone (Nigel?) will notice Phil is on the edge and contact Grant. I guess Julie will come and take Nigel home so we will never see him beyond early stages.

Surely Sharon and Phil are going to get back together (eventually).

They haven't done much with ollie's character and his asd tbh

Kojo gets on my nerves and I suspect he will be the person who hit cindy but is absolved due to being vulnerable which is just a crappy trope applied to autistic people

I thought reiss would be a good portrayal as someone who has autism, given his difficulties with social situstions but I feel that portraying him as a killer has done harm tbh

Is it just me or was there a lot of tea slurping today?

Sylvie ?
She was married to Stan (Timothy West ) who was introduced as Micks Dad before we found out that Shurl was his Mum. (So not Sylvie)

There was a lot of rivalry between Sylvie and Aunt Babe , and a lot of spite .

Was it Nigel who slurped his tea?
They will never show the real problems with having dementia or Alzheimer's
It's just too harrowing for a soap.
I remember Sylvie and Aunt Babe
Babe was a great villain!

Reiss isn't autistic - this has never been mentioned and on the balance of probability is much more likely to be neurotypical. Many neurotypical people are awkward and not very nice.

I find the harm comes when people presume that anyone who is rude/socially awkward/quirky etc is automatically autistic. We're not a bunch of weirdos and we don't want Reiss as one of us, thanks.

I'd like to see far better portrayal of autistic people in terms of those of us who are thriving in our lives because we understand our diagnosis. I've been high-masking all my life (as our many autistic women), have a high-level job in education, and don't come across as socially awkward at all (quite the opposite). I have sensory issues which I manage in ways others wouldn't even notice, I have restricted food intake, and need to plan my days carefully. I have interests that I know a lot about, but if I were neurotypical they'd be called a hobby not a "special interest". If I was a TV character no one would assume I was autistic, but the easily irritated, egocentric male with an odd dress sense and who can't relate to others is so often subject to the question "Are they autistic?"

Im also autistic and was so pleased to have someone who struggles socially on the square as I thought they might make a positive impact on the judgment many socially awkward people face

Autistic people come in different shapes and sizes don't they, and I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest reiss is autistic

I think what ticked me off is, knowing how hard it is being seen as 'odd' - then reinforcing the stereotype that people who don't present neurologically are weirdos, freaks and secret murderers

In this day and age, it's lazy

Thank you for your reply @mumofoneAlonebutokay - I appreciate your perspective. I do see what you mean. But for me Reiss has always from the outset been labelled as a "weirdo" by viewers and other characters, and I'm just so tired of "weird" somehow always being equated to being autistic. Sadly there is very unlikely to be a properly positive portrayal of autistic characters in mainstream drama, because the autism always has to be seen as a plot device or learning opportunity for the viewers.
The best portrayal I've seen is in the CBBC show A Kind of Spark which shows a diverse representation of autism. But that has an autistic writer, autistic actors and autistic crew members at its heart. Non-autistic writers and actors are always going to portray autistic people as "other".