I will start with the positives because Eastenders delivered a classic episode, filled with the emotion, drama and revelations that accompany any good soap event. The action packed hour had me screaming at the television, begging Peggy not to marry the evil Archie, laughing at the drunken rambles of Stacey (who delivered my favourite line of the whole episode when she politely excused herself as she went to be sick, leaving a distraught Danielle crying alone) and shocked and upset at the sudden death of Danielle. And even though I admit that I knew what was going to happen, the episode was defiantly worth watching.
I also have to praise the acting of all those involved. Peggy and Phil Mitchell (Babara Windsor and Steve McFadden) played they're parts well, adding to the usual Mitchell fighting spirit to the episode. But special praise has to be paid to Archie (Larry Lamb), Ronnie (Samantha Janus) and Danielle (Lauren Crace).
Larry Lamb gave a outstanding performance as the evil and creepy Archie, whilst Lauren Crace portrayed the tormented and heartbroken Danielle amazingly. Samantha Janus' acting left me speechless. She delivered a perfect performance, giving a believable and powerful portrayal as both the angry and confused Ronnie when Danielle finally revealed the truth and a heart-breakingly emotional Ronnie as she cradled her dying daughter. The hour long episode was extremely entertaining though I found the first half an hour tedious at points. The sub story of Tanya and Max felt unnecessary and an annoying distraction for the main event, the wedding. The wedding itself was well written, with Peggy challenging Archie at the alter but in the end still going on to marry the controlling Mr Mitchell.
But the second half of the episode is what I had been waiting for, the reveal. Although it didn't have the classic feel of "You ain't my mother, Yes I am!" from the Kat/Zoe storyline, the moment was entertaining, although heart-breaking at the same time as a confused and angry Ronnie threw Danielle out of the pub, refusing to believe her claim that she was Danielle's mother. When Ronnie finally found the locket and learnt the truth it provided classic drama and tension, I found myself on the edge of my seat as Ronnie ran after her daughter. But unfortunately, in true Eastenders fashion there was not happy ending. It seemed to take an eternity for Janine's car to plough into Danielle as a helpless Ronnie watched on but the emotional goodbye between mother and daughter was a powerful and memorable scene that will go done as one of the saddest soap moments I have ever witnessed.
But although it was terrifically emotional and dramatic scene I was extremely disappointed with the ending. It was a hugely upsetting and unnecessarily violent end to a storyline that had been frustrating viewers for months. Killing off the character of Danielle is a waste of an appealing and well portrayed character and many other interesting future story lines. Though I understand that the final scenes provided great drama and huge ratings for the BBC, I as a viewer would have liked to have seen a relationship build between Ronnie and Danielle.
My other main criticism of the whole storyline is the length of time Eastenders managed to drag it on for. The seven month wait for the reveal was unnecessarily long (especially as Danielle died only two minutes after Ronnie found out the truth) and at times extremely annoying. I understand it was a slow burning storyline that was best suited to explode at the wedding but Eastenders producers left the secret hidden too long, making Danielle's death even more frustrating as viewers waited so long for the reveal.
The reaction to the episode has been mixed. Whilst I have read a lot of praise on Internet forums for the episode many viewers seem upset about the ending in which Danielle tragically dies. The Sun ran a poll in which 90% thought that Eastenders made a mistake when killing Danielle and I agree with them.
Picture (Ronnie and Danielle) from The Mirror
Picture (Archie) from BBC
