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LOTS GOING on this month, Easties, and not a lot
of it good, but what concerns us the most is that poor Dot is
being terrorized by a gang of young thugs. But first ...
Chelsea is released from prison ... Ian draws
closer to Steven, and convinces Jane to let him move in. She
agrees, but seethes, and tells Steven that she knows his true
colours, and will tolerate him for now because she knows that
eventually Ian will see through his game as well. Also, Jane’s
long lost gay brother, Christian, shows up. At first Ian wants him
gone, but quickly realizes that there’s money to be made in a
business venture catering gay weddings. Steven reveals himself to
be a homophobe, but we suspect that his persistant anti-gay
remarks mean he’s hiding a wide stance in his closet ...
Elsewhere, Ronnie and Jack are now a couple,
horrifying the Mitchells at the thought of an ex-copper in the
family. And, against all advice, Phil goes to see Louise himself,
not waiting for the lawyers to do it. When he approaches her in
the schoolyard, he finds she has a new daddy. A heartbroken Phil
beats Jack to a pulp in revenge.
Minty and Hazel are still planning their wedding,
deciding on a cowboy/line dancing theme, which treats (?) us to
the sight of Minty and Garry dancing to Achy Breaky Heart in the
Vic. It’s embarrassing enough when Americans do that! And speaking
of embarrassing, Dawn decides to choose between Garry (who loves
her) and Jase (who only wants a tumble), and through a series of
mix-ups and basic stupidity, chooses Jase, of course, because when
you’re looking for a new baby-daddy, why not choose an ex-con,
whose only other kid is a juvenile delinquent?? It only stands to
reason ...
Across the Square ... Those cut and shuts that
Phil was forcing Kevin to move through the car lot tragically come
home to roost, when Kevin, trying to dump them, gets the last one
(the one mistakenly sold to Yolande) and takes it to disappear.
But Shirley jumps in the car, and, in her adolescent way, goads
him into driving recklessly, and they crash and he is killed. But
like a cockroach, she survives. Deano is temporarily let out only
of prison to attend the funeral in shackles. Typically, the hearse
breaks down on the way to the crematorium, and so Kevin must be
carried by his pallbearers.
Shirley shows up to the funeral drunk, natch.
Afterwards, Carly leaves the Square for good with tickets that
Kevin had bought for and Deano and himself. She takes Denise with
her, leaving Libby and Chelsea to live with Patrick and Yolande.
Darren wants revenge on Phil for Kevin’s death, and tries to
stitch him up, wearing a wire and getting Phil to admit to the
dodgy motors, at the behest of Jack, not realizing that Jack was
only looking for dirt on Phil for his own uses. And with that
info, he blackmails Phil into selling him the car lot at a
giveaway price. So Kevin and Darren get no justice.
After a few days of licking his wounds over the
upheaval his affair with Stacy caused, Max goes on the warpath,
threatening Tanya that he’ll take the kids away. Tanya is having a
tough time coping on her own (don’t know why, Max never did
anything with the kids anyway). Bradley needs to get away, and
leaves the Square with his mum. Tanya has a brief fling with Sean,
and Stacy continues to scowl predictably.
But now to the character we care about most, Dot:
Now all alone in the Square, she is being taunted and terrorized
by the aforementioned gang. They have lured Jay into their midst,
and he sneakily takes her keys out of the launderette and lets
them all into her house where they proceed to trash it and let her
budgies fly free. One budgie, Robin, flies out the window, leaving
Dot heartbroken and afraid to leave the house. For Jay, seeing the
fear on her face makes him reconsider hanging with the gang. But
the next day, when they demand that he throw a brick her window
for his initiation while she is cowering inside, he says no, and
walks away. When next he meets the gang, they pretend all is okay,
then stab him. In the hospital, he refuses to grass them up, which
his ex-con dad supports. But after getting out, and being
confronted by Dot, he calls the Old Bill to spill the beans.
Ah, the Dot, she works in mysterious ways, innit?
And this month featured the first ever one-hander – an episode
that was entirely Dot doing a monologue, talking into a tape
recorder for Jim, still in the hospital, after his stroke. We
cannot think of another actress who could hold our attention for
the full half hour. Kudos to the very wonderful June Brown who,
year after year, remains the heart and soul of Albert Square!
Attention EastEnders Viewers in the New
York Metro Area: Don’t forget that EastEnders is now on
WLIW/Channel 21 on Friday nights at midnight!
Signed, Your Faithful Reporter
Deborah Gilbert AKA Ishcabibble |
