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

He still has mileage because of Linda and Annie - he doesn’t know about Annie. I find him very unappealing, but Jake Wood is very capable of bringing out Max’s different sides, and credibly.

I think the problem is they brought Max back for a mini-return, I struggle to see the point of it. They involved him with Zoe just for shock value, and they wanted him to have a scene with Stacey, but Jake Wood isn't free to return permanently yet. As South says, the real point (aside from mending fences with Lauren and Oscar) is surely going to be Linda and Annie, and they weren't even there.

Max does crack me up with the fake tears and broken voice. He is his own worst enemy though !

Does Max's return mean Linda - and Annie - are imminently due back?

I think Stacey will be back. Lacey needs a very delayed mat leave and some time with her young family
Poor Oscar, so desperate for his dad to notice him.
I want Max to stay for a bit he's a great character.

@OpalescentFruit Max has gone again though! He is back later this year and presumably Linda will arrive back in the meantime.

I did think his scenes with Lauren were good. He is wrong about Lauren, she is like him in some ways but she has some self awareness and a sense of responsibility, whereas he just sinks into a swamp of self pity.

As a character the writing and acting of Max is bang on point. Jake Wood is excellent 👌

Has Kaff (Gillian T) had ‘work’, do you reckon? She looks tremendous for her age (and a very attractive woman whatever her age!).

Agree poor Michelle Ryan has got a terrible script to work with. They should pair her up with Junior. He’s another schemer and hasn’t had a decent storyline since the Cindy affair.

Good to see Max back. Is he staying? I predict another tryst with Linda (poor woman!) and some shagging around with younger women (Priya? Gina?) and possibly naughty Nicola.

Sad to see Stace go. She will be missed! Although her departure is a huge safeguarding red flag…bipolar mum takes kids out of school and off to Brazil on a whim, leaving her 14 yr old daughter with a baby in the care of bipolar nan and dodgy Mo. What could go wrong? 😑

Max and Stacey have that ability to make you feel sorry for them despite the fact they are really flawed people ( in different ways) and with Stacey it’s mostly a product of her upbringing. Jean was a nasty to her in the very early days ( I know she had bi polar ) but it definitely affected Stacey and Sean and their relationship.
Max just needs people around him to boost his ego. At least stace didn’t fall for his dubious charms this time around ( far as we know )

Now, a Junior / Zoe hook up may work! Cindy won’t be happy and they are similar with their manipulative ways.

Stacey will be very much missed. But I am very glad she is not getting involved with Max. I couldn't take another round of Stax!

I agree Opalescent, Max was written well, including putting the knife into his own daughter to distract from his own failings. Really horrible man. I'm glad he's gone, sorry he'll be back.

I don't think Gillian T has had work? If she has, it's fairly minor. She has always looked really young for her age. My gran was the same, people used to think she was my mum.

Junior/Zoe ... I wouldn't complain, I could fast forward through the wonky acting😆

Yes she obviously has very good genes , but I'm almost 100% sure she has spoken about the work she has had done in the past .

I agree as well, that sort of man who leaves trail of destruction behind him can be exactly like that with the regrets and the tears, I need to do better blah blah - and then puts the knife in to people who love him as he continues on his way. Max is a good actor, he almost carries you along with it all at times and you can sort of see why Stace is tempted by him, but fortunately had more sense this time around.

I've found this from a few years ago.

Gillian is now in her late 60s and still has the same glam and confidence she used to have in her younger days. Do you think she did something to maintain her glam? She has been involved in numerous rumors till now. She is said to be having cosmetic procedures such as a facelift, a lower facelift, and a neck lift. She has always been an open person when it comes to admitting the rumors.

The only thing I can find is that she had a non-surgical facelift when she was 60 - ten years ago.

I agree with shelling she has always looked youthful. As time has gone on, she’s often looked the same age or a bit older than Adam Woodyatt (the difference is 13 years). Nowadays she looks younger than him! She has also always been slim, which helps.

Yes she's never really looked old enough to be Ian's mum! I don't notice it nowadays as I am used to the idea.

I did think it was good Jean said it was wrong Stacey was her carer as a v young child, sadly it's far too common

Very difficult for Michelle Ryan, returning after 2 decades, to breathe life into an amateurish, wooden, script,
Max's lines in Stacey's house were, on the other hand, incredibly well observed and insightful.

True. And we're all remembering a Zoe from 20 years ago. None of us are the same as we were 20 years ago. At least she hasn't grown a new head during the interim.

I can remember Jeans first scenes with Stacey and how horrible she was. I also thought ‘ what a good actress ‘ too. Her scenes with Stacey at times were so good.

I think Zoe is very much like she was 20 years ago (I didn't like her then either!)

She repeated exactly the same pattern with Max-Stacey as she did with Dennis-Sharon. Knows the guy is in love with the other woman but tries to 'force' him to stay with her. She's 41 and behaving like she's 18, but I suppose leopards don't change their spots!

I thought the bit when Max started criticising and goading Lauren was really sad. What an arsehole to attack your own child on her wedding day because you’re feeling crappy about yourself. He used to do the same to Tanya.

Say what you want about Stacey but she’s clearly a super mum. She managed to get two sleeping kids up, dressed and in the back of cab within an hour or so and packed everything they’d all need for a new life in Brazil in a couple of bags. Both kids smiled happily in the cab as if moving to South America in the dead of night is completely normal.

Max’s tirade at Lauren really was quite evil. Imagine trying to destroy your own daughter on her wedding day, knowing she is still quite vulnerable with her addictions and everything she has been through with Jimmy (does he even know about Jimmy..) They might be gearing up to a who killed/attacked Max Christmas as Cindy is also looking for revenge and I’m sure he’ll make more enemies when he returns (Slaters, Linda..)

Stacey leaving was badly done , it felt a bit all over the place plus she washt even sure that Max was staying in Walford. She could have waited for Jean and rearranged the flights.