Langford on Soaps: John Partridge Exits "EastEnders"

LANGFORD'S PICKS AND PANS

EastEnders

I know a lot of people were upset that Ben slept with Lola given that Ben knows he’s gay. We have had too many tv gay teens who lose their virginity to girls, but I can sort of relate to the situation Ben was in, and I get why he would do it.

He might think he’s gay or believe he’s gay, but sleeping with a girl would remove any doubts, which is exactly how it played out. However, I’m not sure why Lola would sleep with Ben. It’s not like she particularly liked him or was even attracted to him. She just seemed all too casual about sleeping with Ben to me. But perhaps that’s an attitude that many teens have about intimacy in general, not worried about the very real ramifications of casual sex. And I suspect that’s going to come into play in future stories.

Will Ben regret sleeping with Lola?

As for the ongoing drama with Syed and Christian, I really don’t like how Amira is being written. I get that Christian and Syed hurt her, but Christian used to be her best friend and she was no stranger to gay men. So hearing her say that being gay is unnatural seems out of character for a woman who used to be so accepting of them. But even more troublesome is her obvious desire to get Syed back fully as her husband. Like I said, Amira is no stranger to gay men and Syed left her for Christian, who he was sleeping with from nearly the day they married. For her to want Syed back seems awfully delusional for someone who was innocent, but not stupid.

Why does Christian believe evil Dr. Yusef?

But even more stupid is Christian trusting Yusef. Yusef has never really had much use for Christian, and he’s clearly not someone to be trusted. So why isn’t Christian the tiniest bit suspicious of Yusef sudden concern for his problems and offer to help?

I feared that Yusef’s evil deeds would dominate this story and have the characters just act as pawns in his creepy games, and that’s exactly what is happening. I really hope these generally intelligent people smarten up about Yusef very soon.

Good Times, Bad Times

It’s really hard for me to buy that after everything that happened last year Anton would actually encourage Edwin to find a new boyfriend. But this show has short term memory when it comes to previous storylines, so I must struggle to let it go.However, I did find Anton’s suggestion to be inappropriate, especially since he basically said since Lucas is going to be in a coma forever, Edwin might as well start dating again.

Yet, it’s pretty obvious that is on Edwin’s mind in regards to Ron, and that’s why he’s so upset. I did like Edwin’s brother picking up so quickly on what is so obvious. I don’t see how anyone couldn’t since the sexual tension between Edwin and Ron is crackling whenever they’re in a room together. They do have terrific chemistry. I just wish the story was told better.