u/OkRest5385

Is it just me or are the women being unnecessarily nasty to Cindy? I’m not saying she’s innocent because she definitely isn’t. Yes, she can say the wrong things, but that’s just her, she doesn’t necessarily mean any harm, a bit like Kim in that respect. But she’s hardly the only woman on the Square who’s made mistakes. I’m actually finding the way they’re treating her really uncomfortable to watch. It’s sad that she doesn’t seem to have a single genuine friend. Even Janine had Kim!

Does anyone else feel like Kat is a completely different character now because I’ve reached the point where I actively dread her scenes and this is coming from someone who loved her growing up. She was one of my favourites.

She’s just so nasty now?? Always snapping, snarling, picking at someone or making some horrible comment. Kat was always loud, brash, fiery and dramatic, but she wasn’t this relentlessly unpleasant. There was warmth and venerability to her. You could understand where she was coming from even when she was being difficult.

I can’t even put all the blame on Wadey because I feel like this version of Kat started creeping in around 2018, but somehow I still found her enjoyable then. I feel like 2024 was when I really started to struggle with her. I remember Linda being drunk and wetting herself in front of everyone and Kat laughing and I just sat there thinking… this is Kat now?? 😭

And now I’m dreading the aftermath of >!Zoe’s death!< because I can only imagine she’s going to be even more unbearable. The Vic honestly seems to bring out every single one of her worst traits.

I never really thought twice about where Max was getting his money from until he offered Kim and Howie 8 grand for the wedding venue. But since his return, there’s been so much emphasis on his finances that I’m starting to wonder if there’s more to it.

He’s constantly throwing money around, helping Lauren with the charity money, staying at the B&B for months, buying the car lot, buying the flat, Cindy mentioning that he has properties abroad, paying for the expensive ring and all the wedding stuff, recently booking the Cotswolds holiday, and now offering Kim and Howie 8 grand for the venue. Max has always had money, but never quite like this.

Then there’s the contradiction of him saying he’d put all his money into a business and had nothing left, only to suddenly be able to offer 8 grand. I’m not sure if that’s just inconsistent writing, or if it could actually be deliberate. Could Max have got involved in something while he was off the Square that explains where all this money is coming from, and could it somehow link to the dodgy people mentioned in the flashforward?

Jean said the other day that Max ruined Tanya and Stacey’s lives, and I completely agree that he ruined Tanya’s life. But did he actually ruin Stacey’s life, or was a lot of what happened to Stacey ultimately down to her own choices?

The only genuinely bad thing I can say about Max and Stacey’s relationship is the age dynamic. Other than that, I always felt like Max genuinely cared about Stacey and did everything he could to protect her. If anything, I feel like Stacey ruined Max’s life far more than he ever ruined hers.

After Bradley died, Stacey made Max promise to look after her and Lily, so he did. He did everything he could to protect them and was even willing to raise Lily. This strained his relationship with Lauren.

I hate how Max gets blamed for the 2017 affair because Stacey knew Max was self harming and was in an extremely bad place mentally, yet she still slept with him. If the roles had been reversed, people would have rightly said that Max had taken advantage of her. She then told him she wished he had fallen off the roof instead of Bradley, literally minutes after he had told her that he had attempted to take his own life, which ultimately resulted in Abi dying. And the irony is that Bradley’s death was ultimately down to Stacey’s actions in the first place.

Then, in 2018, when Max was with Ruby, Stacey became jealous and deliberately told Ruby that Max was self harming and mentally ill in an attempt to put her off him. She has always seemed to hate it whenever he moved on and got into other relationships, despite the fact that she was married.

There were so many moments where Stacey was emotionally abusive and manipulative towards both Bradley and Martin. She cheated on them (not just with Max), could be incredibly nasty towards them, and was possessive and controlling at times. If anything, I feel like Stacey ruined both of their lives, but nobody ever seems to acknowledge that side of it. She’s the reason there both dead.

Is anyone else getting the feeling Sharon could end up sleeping with either Max or Clive now she knows about Linda and Grant? Between her comment the other day about Clive being attractive, Linda admitting her feelings for Max and Sharon telling her to stay away, I can’t help feeling like it’s heading that way.

I know Lauren is really popular within the fandom, but I feel like I’m one of the few people who has never been able to warm to her character. I’ve tried, but she’s just never clicked for me and honestly, she’s one of the rare characters who actually annoys me whenever she’s on screen.

NEXT WEEK SPOILER!

Judging by the spoilers, it looks like Sharon is going to find out that Linda slept with Grant and I’ve seen a lot of people saying she has no right to be angry because they’re ancient history. I wanted to share my perspective on why I think her feelings are completely valid.

Linda isn’t just anyone, she’s her best friend and she knows the full history between them. She knows about the abuse, the abortion and the pain he caused her. She even knew they slept together last year and she saw firsthand how devastated Sharon was in 2016 when she found out Grant was Mark’s dad.

If the roles were reversed and Sharon came back and slept with Max, Linda definitely wouldn’t be happy. Sharon and Grant have 30 years of history, so it’s understandable why this would feel like such a betrayal coming from someone as close as Linda.

Not sure if this has ever been done, but I think a female on male domestic abuse storyline could be really interesting to explore. Who do you think would suit this kind of storyline? I think it would probably have to involve a new female character.

I see a lot of people saying they’re not happy with certain character choices or storylines, so I thought I’d ask, if you were the one making the decisions, what would you change? What would you do differently? And if the team were reading this, what would you want them to hear?

If Max ever changed, how do you think the writers would do it? To me, it’s pretty clear his cheating, hurting people, and constant self sabotage all come back to his childhood, that feels like the root of it. He’s bottled everything up since he was a child and never really got the closure he needed. His family can’t fully understand it because they didn’t see that side of Jim, apart from Carol and Derek, and they’re either off the Square or gone.

I think the only way he could properly change is if he actually opened up to someone, maybe therapy. But would you even be interested in seeing that? I can already hear viewers complaining about him going over the same stuff with his dad. Realistically though, I don’t think he’ll ever change unless he properly deals with his trauma.

Does anyone even care about the adoption storyline? Eve never wanted children, so I was never a fan of it to begin with. And Suki is a terrible mother.

Today marks 20 years since Max first arrived on Albert Square. What’s your favourite moment of his?

Which controversial characters do you secretly love despite knowing you shouldn’t

I’ve been watching 2013. Tanya has recently split up with Max and is drinking and there’s a scene where Lauren and Sharon are trying to get her to stop. In that moment, it made me realise just how similar they both are. Both grew up with fathers who constantly cheated, including with their best friends and both watched their mothers take those men back time and time again, no matter what they’d done.

The more I think about it, the more parallels I see between them. I would actually love to see a bond develop between them.

What are everyone’s favourite weddings, whether it’s because you were happy for the couple or just for the drama?

I feel like Stacey and Linda (other than Tanya) are the only two women Max genuinely has feelings for, Stacey because of their long, complicated history and Linda because she’s the mother of his daughter. If he had to choose between them, who do you think he would go for?

Some of the reasons I think Cindy is using Max, she definitely knows he still has feelings for Linda. She could tell he was jealous of her and Grant. I also think she’s deliberately keeping them apart so she can get her revenge on him, like I’ve noticed every time she sees them interact, she quickly tries to stop it.

I’ve also noticed she’s been getting more involved in Max’s business decisions and personal life, like discouraging him from letting Lauren have half the business, making him doubt it, and pushing him to report Grant to the police. We’re being led to see her as supportive, but I think she’s doing it on purpose, making him think he can trust her.

I think it’ll later be revealed she’s using him and that there’s a hidden motive. But I also think the twist could be that she starts developing real feelings for him, which complicates her plan and almost makes her call it off >!until she finds out he slept with Priya.!<

Is anyone else baffled by the pairing of Nicola and George? There’s just no chemistry between them. I’ve tried to connect with George and understand him, but I can’t. It feels like Nicola was paired with him more to make his character work, because the actor is committed long term.

Don’t get me wrong, Colin Salmon is a strong actor, but the character just comes across as a bit bland, and the writing doesn’t really help. I wish he reunited with Cindy, since that dynamic was actually interesting (even if the whole situation with his son complicates things but that’s Walford for you). And maybe Nicola would’ve made more sense paired with someone like Max?

I’m thinking plot wise, which off screen character should be killed off either to introduce extended family or to guarantee they never return? For example, if a Branning sister died, Max and Jack could attend the funeral and we’d be introduced to another sister and her family, who decide to move to the Square to be closer to them. Or someone like Dean who feels pretty pointless to bring back, so you could have him die in prison and leave Linda a final letter, giving her some closure.

Brannings and Beales are carrying this era for me, which is saying something because I didn’t used to care about them.

Slaters are my least favourite by far. I know some people blame Zoe and Jasmine but it’s not even that, I just can’t stand Kat and Alfie anymore and I used to be the biggest Kalfie fan. Getting back together and putting them in the Vic was a mistake. The writing this era just isn’t it.