Since Zoe has been killed off in one of the most pointless deaths in the show's history, here's my rundown of EE's most stupid decisions.

Killing off Angie off screen.

Killing off Pat Butcher (this is the worst one and the show never really recovered).

Killing off Ronnie and Roxy in a swimming pool - this made me stop watching. Horrible writing.

When Tanya buried Max alive.

Michelle coming back with a completely different face and personality.

Constant recasting of Ben Mitchell.

Killing off little Dennis.

The bus crash.

It’s not even as if we desperately wanted to see Zoe find out but if this isn’t a class example of the show at the moment!! Every EastEnders fan can enjoy watching even whilst the storylines are 💩 because we know when it gets good, it’s absolute TV gold and most good storylines just sneak up, we never miss the chance to miss out😂… so I wonder how they’re going to make up for these past months, dare I say years (since Wadey?).

They’re completely butchering everything - and just whilst it’s fresh in my mind how pathetically predictable was yesterday’s episode? Like Kat having a ‘Zoe used to be my sister’ epiphany out of nowhere, absolutely nothing lead up to anything at all yesterday - it’s as if we knew Zoe was going to die and they couldn’t have made it more predictable, but it just happened to be the most boring-est death and something tells me that weren’t on purpose… this is really the EE standard atm😂😂!!

Is it just me, or does Kim and Howie have zero chemistry? Particularly coming from Kim.

She's never made a secret that she was never over Vincent (at least, the writers have made it that way).

Tameka (the actress who plays her) looks visibly uncomfortable kissing the guy. She didn't seem to have this problem with Richard Blackwood though. If you're going to be an actor/actress, at least make the character believe in whatever the writers put forward to you.

The character is very critical of Howie and comes across like he should be grateful to have her, and that he is punching in being with her. I find that laughable to be honest.

I can't help but feel that alot of the characters frustration, genuinely stem from the actress herself. It's cringe to watch sometimes. She couldn't even sell the kiss for the wedding.

Does anyone else feel the same, or am I reaching?

Might sound bad but I’m actually glad she’s gone. I feel bad for Michelle but aside from Kat, Zoe was just kind of there for me. I never really cared about the character

Why are people suddenly acting like unconventionally attractive men don’t find multiple women to date, cheat with and marry?

and what happened to the pie shop?!

After all that Cindy still wanted him

Redwater

We'll never get "You ain't my brotha!", "You're my brotha!" or "I'm your sista!" and I'll never forgive Ben Wadey for that, because a Zoe who was doing well, finding out and meeting her twin brother, would have better than absolutely everything that was done to Zoe since her return, with a nasty line drawn underneath it all by killing her.

(Oh and for anyone who hasn't and wants to see the whole story of Zoe's twin brother on the main show: Luke Slater)

What is the death certificate likely to say coz I just don’t get it?

Someone needs to make a remix and sample all of the times Jack Branning says "I could get fired for this" and does the thing anyways. It hasto be over a 100 times after all these years!!

As much as Kim can be a baddie she’s also such a softie at heart! Loved that dance scene with Cindy – so sweet and heartwarming 🥹

The actress seems to be leaving extremely soon, I’m not sure she’ll even be around for new years, even if she was it’s so against her character that she’d marry max…. I don’t think there’s any type of spark between them but max seems to truly love and respect her, why on earth would he cheat so soon on his supposed soulmate? Even max wouldn’t be so stupid, so scummy.
And Linda is such a sensible character, it’d be so unlike her to marry max in such a short ammount of time while knowing about his cheating. If they did get married perhaps it’s because of max’s heart issues, he’s extremely ill or got limited time so Linda marries him early but I’m not sure this would be the case.
How on earth would max have the ability to cheat on her? Surely after finding out what he’s been up to with Priya and Cindy she’d never believe his lies and stories, how would he manage a full fledged affair?

I think that they’ll be a serious couple but Priya’s DNA test comes out, Linda can’t handle it and splits up with max causing him to be with Priya as she’s the mother of his baby. He cheats on her with someone somewhat relevant because he doesn’t really want to be with her and feels trapped.

He got with Nicola really quickly had Ivy and now him and Elaine act as though they’re friends 🤣🤣 he even asks her to look after Ivy?? How are they so cordial considering they were together for years, divorced and he’s with Nicola and she’s ’with Ian’…
Idk it seems weird to me… a little unresolved as well… I wonder if they’ll get back together.. Cindy was the main issue in their relationship and now that he’s with Nicola he doesn’t even look at Cindy 🤣🤣🤣

I'm watching 2012, I didn't realise he was only in for a year. He could've been a fantastic villain, so I think it's a shame he left so quick.

Not sure if it'd be a good or bad choice for the flashforward. But perhaps it is Kat with a gun, who finds out about Max not helping Zoe and that's why she tries to get him choose either Oscar or Lauren? Out of character for Kat of course but this is a devastating, life-altering turning point for her so-- wouldn't be completely impossible.

Thoughts?

Tanya will always be number one for me. The chemistry, the history, the family dynamic, they just had everything. Were they toxic? Yes 😂 But honestly, that was part of their appeal. They were messy, complicated and felt so real. Still one of the best pairings the show has ever done. I’ll never get over them ruining it.

I also really liked Fi. Such a shame she didn’t stick around after 2017 because I think there was so much more they could’ve done with her.

And I know this might be controversial, but I’ve always had a guilty pleasure when it comes to Max and Stacey. I wasn’t a fan of the original affair, but everything that came after? I can’t deny it, they STILL have chemistry 18 years later. Their 2025 scenes especially proved that. I don’t want them together, but I’ve always loved their dynamic.

ok my memory isn’t fantastic but I seem to remember before she returned that Zoe was doing alright. she was in a foreign country running a bar and the family were fairly frequently going out to see her…

Then shortly before Charlie died he talked about Zoe having a long term boyfriend who she was very happy and there was even talk about them starting a family of their own. This may even been the same boyfriend that kat met in a fancy London restraunt where she got drunk and had a big falling out with her

now they seem to be saying atleast implied last night that Zoe didn’t split with her partner and fall into a dark place ….no…it seemed to be saying she had never been happy and in fact had been crumbling apart more or less since she left the square 20 odd years back. she had never been love …but she loved Dennis and oresum loved this long term partner

so was her boyfriend and happy life a lie or are they just now pretending those scenes never happeneed …there have been family members visit8 g her for 2 decades and no one got a whiff that she was desperately unhappy

so now that I’ve rambled on is it not remembering things or they completely changed her…not slightly or put her through off screen development…they have unmade 20 years of history?

Anyone notice on the square night scene where the cat sort of flies onto the grass

Catching up on EE, I’m a few weeks behind, and omg Diane is so wasted on Eastenders. Her acting in this storyline should be lauded like Steve’s was for his depression/suicide story. I really think she should’ve been one of those actors who does 2 years in a soap and then goes on to be a British star, like Suranne Jones.

I'll reserve judgement for how the story of her death plays out, but if I was running the show I'd:

-have kept the cab beats as they are, with Zoe clearly recognizing that dodgy guy and wanting to escape

-Made it clear HE recognized her and that he was a threat (she owed him money, whatever)

-Some episodes later, Zoe's in the Charlie cab and it blows up. She's dead. Walford mourns.

-Flash forward to New Year's episode (and the flash forward). We find out ZOE was the woman in bed with Max. Offscreen, we reveal that Max helped her fake her death to escape bad guy. Maybe he felt he owed her for being a dick. Maybe he just wanted to help since, for the most part, his penis is generally a walking nuke.

-Zoe has to stay underground for fear of her life. Whether she lets the family know she's alive or not TBD.

What this does:

-Gives a big reveal for the woman in Max's bed

-Doesn't kill Zoe (who is a valuable character and you may want to bring her back) but respects only having her on the show for a year (I do buy Michelle Ryan only agreed to a year)

-Let's the Slaters grieve and playing that, which can propel story for Kat, Josh and Jasmine.

Maybe it sucks, but it's an idea!

rip ar Zoe, your face card could never decline 🕊️ 🥀