EastEnders soap slaps

[Willie Oleson]

I think I've spotted FW Tanya Turner.

 

[James from London]

Ian is now in prison with the serial killer whose child he ran over. Sorry, I need to type sentence that again: Ian is now in prison with the serial killer whose child he ran over. (The situation is even more complicated than that, but that's enough deliciousness to savour for now.)

 

[Willie Oleson]

Sorry, I need to type sentence that again: Ian is now in prison with the serial killer whose child he ran over.

I was going to reply with a quasi-confused funny comment like "I'm still not sure whose child it is, no matter how you type it" but I think there's much more to unpack here. Consider that funny comment not-posted.

So, since the soapy serial killer usually targets the soapy characters rather than unseen nobodies, the perils of being imprisoned with one of those serial killers is self-evident.
These scenarios are not created "just because". It is manipulated, and it is manipulated in such way that Ian cannot escape the revenge of a (murderously) vengeful father (assuming the kid was run over by Ian, not the serial killer).
And what kind of scenario do you have then, if something happens to Ian? Is it going to be a matter of retaliation or the fun that a soapy character is targeted by a soapy serial killer? It can't work both ways and therefore it will forever be unclear and ambiguous (!)

Thankfully there's nothing ambiguous about the slap.

 

[James from London]

Ian cannot escape the revenge of a (murderously) vengeful father (assuming the kid was run over by Ian, not the serial killer).

Well, there's already a twist emerging with Ian trying to convince the serial killer that the person he should be directing his vengeance against is the kid's mother (the recipient of the slap above) who shouted at the kid, causing the kid to wander into the path of Ian's car in the first place, and whom the serial killer already has woman-hating issues with. But how can the serial killer exact revenge on her from behind bars? Well, that's where the serial killer's morally ambiguous rich grandma comes in ...

 

[Willie Oleson]

there's already a twist emerging with Ian trying to convince the serial killer that the person he should be directing his vengeance against is the kid's mother

Makes sense, but does Ian approach the kid's father because he's afraid to become the victim of a serial killer or the victim of a vengeful father? That ambiguous issue remains the same to me.
But I don't know if the serial killer is in prison because he's a serial killer (thus exposed to all the other characters) or because of an unrelated felony (meaning that his serial killer status could still be a secret).

Well, that's where the serial killer's morally ambiguous rich grandma comes in ...

That sounds very exciting and I'm sure it will pave the way for many more slaps. Although, rewatching those first videos, I suspect that EastEnders isn't terribly concerned with the motivation for the slaps. It's the simplest and most effective physical reaction during an argument, or to end it.
The pub owner with the blonde hair ("the vicious old cow") seems to have a long history with bitch-slaps.

 

[James from London]

I suspect that EastEnders isn't terribly concerned with the motivation for the slaps.

I suppose it must inevitably seem like that when you watch all the slaps out of context, but if it was just "slaps for slaps' sake" that would be a bit New DYNASTY for me. I guess it is fair to say that there is a certain lack of restraint when tempers flare on ENDERS, though.

The pub owner with the blonde hair ("the vicious old cow") seems to have a long history with bitch-slaps.

Oh yes, you could definitely say Peggy was the queen of the slappers in her day, bless her.