General Discussion - EastEnders

[ivaniv]

Are we already in the middle of the story? I remember how I hated HO when it turned all soapy with all the twists and turns but not moving a bit from a place where it was. It was during summer, too. But at least and despite the one shirt on rule we saw there was something going on between them. Here you could replace one of them with Mr Humphries and you would not see a difference ;D

[nana29]

Spoilers from Digital Spy:

July 27:Meanwhile, Syed tells Christian that he is not welcome at his engagement party

July 28:Amira tells Zainab the truth about her father, while Christian finds himself in a dangerous situation, in today's visit to Walford.

July 30:Syed is concerned after learning about Christian's attack;Syed and Christian grow closer.
.

They will have more detailed ones next week, so i'll post those up when they pop up

[carld2]

I've heard this story is supposed to be about Syed's religion, but has Syed ever shown any real commitment to his faith? He's had all kinds of premarital sex. He goes into the Vic all the time, even though Zainab and Masood have never stepped foot in the place because of their beliefs. It seems like if he suddenly goes on about religion then he's just a hypocrite.

[HQ75]

I think I recall seeing Zainab and Amira in the Vic multiple times drinking orange juice.

The proposal also happened in the Vic.

But Syed's struggle isn't just with religion, it's also about acceptance in his community and approval from his parents beyond his struggles with his faith.

Obviously the Masoods are fairly liberal people or they wouldn't be involved in a partnership and friendship with Christian to begin with.

Much of what is anti-gay in Christianity, Judaism and Islam is overblown by religious fundamentalists (and their interpretation of religious texts).

Less orthodox religious folks make "modern" allowances for all kinds religious rules and practices (wearing mixed fabrics, eating pork, working on holy days, etc)

There are all kinds of ways to incorporate your faith into your life in a modern setting.

Clearly the Masoods are very modern and aren't particularly orthodox.

I agree about the premarital sex but I also think that sex challenges folks of every religion in ways that drinking and other aspects of religious practice might not do.

Most practicing Catholics around the world are not virgins when they marry and they use condoms. I've met a lot of Catholic priests who smoke and drink (not to excess but still).

I think folks hear "Muslim" and immediately think orthodox or fundamentalist but I think you can be a serious participant in your own faith and still have challenges and questions regarding how to be faithful to your religious beliefs and live in the modern world.

[nana29]

Jul 18, 2009 13:06:26 GMT -5 nana29 said:

Spoilers from Digital Spy:


They will have more detailed ones next week, so i'll post those up when they pop up

and here they are!

July 27th: Tamwar and Masood are becoming frustrated with the preparations and arguments over Amira and Syed's engagement party. Frustrated, Amira tries to leave in the hope of seeking Christian's advice. Against Syed's wishes, Amira turns to Christian for help. Syed's uncomfortable but tells Christian that he's chosen Amira. Later, Amira and the Masoods meet with Imam Ali to discuss marriage. Syed's forced to walk out when he begins feeling uncomfortable with the discussions. After a brief chat with Masood, Syed returns to the house and pledges his future to Amira. Later, Christian hands Amira's notebook back and on seeing Syed with the Imam, he decides to attend the engagement party.

July 28th: As Christian wanders through the Square, he's frustrated to see Syed and Amira all loved up. Zainab, meanwhile, is fretting about the engagement party plans. When Christian eventually arrives with the food, Zainab points out that he's late, before asking him to make sure he tones it down for the party so he 'doesn't look so gay'. Later, Amira turns up at the Masala Queen unit and confides in Christian about her family - her father's in prison for fraud. Amira's concerned that the Masoods won't want anything to do with her when they learn the truth, but realises that she has to come clean with Syed. Christian convinces her to tell Zainab, too.

Later, Zainab's completely taken aback when Amira admits the whereabouts of her father. However, Amira's shocked when Zainab agrees that if she and Syed make each other happy, they should be together. Back in the party, Christian's visibly upset by the situation as Masood makes a speech. In the kitchen, Christian and Masood find themselves together and Christian suggests that Syed tell Amira the truth. Syed, however, is firm - he can't bear to lose his family again, before pointing out that he's Muslim and he has to live by certain rules.

Frustrated, Christian heads to The Vic where he starts chatting to a guy called Luke. Before long, they head to Christian's flat and continues to bemoan his situation with Syed. Luke, however, admits that he's not gay, before issuing a torrent of abuse and beating Christian to the ground…

July 30th: www.digitalspy.com/soaps/i191631/syed-christian.htmlImgae Spoiler
Elsewhere, Ian discovers that Christian's been beaten up and Christian begs him not to tell Jane; Syed learns of Christian's attack and goes to visit him; Christian insists that Syed's the same type of guy as the one who attacked him; Zainab's words about there being no homosexuals in Pakistan concern Syed; and Syed tells Christian that he can't be who he wants him to be

July 31st: Elsewhere, Christian's discharged from hospital and returns to work;Syed offers to go with Christian to give his statement to the police about the attack.

[karina]

Yay! I'm so glad this storyline got its own thread! Thank you Those spoilers are looking good

[Deleted]

Wow! I haven't seen Eastenders since I left England in 96! As I was leaving Simon and Tony had just been found out by Tiffany so that shows how out of touch I am

[ivaniv]

I actually prefer spoilers posted as it is now. It makes one more aware of them and what is OK to post in the open and what not. When they are separate and talked about freely one can make a mistake posting in spoiler-free area. I'd outlaw the spoilers anyway, but that's just me ;D

[karina]

I love spoilers ;D But I do respect that other people don't

[jnn111]

Jul 20, 2009 11:04:00 GMT -5 carld2 said:

I've heard this story is supposed to be about Syed's religion, but has Syed ever shown any real commitment to his faith? He's had all kinds of premarital sex. He goes into the Vic all the time, even though Zainab and Masood have never stepped foot in the place because of their beliefs. It seems like if he suddenly goes on about religion then he's just a hypocrite.

Good point, but I read a post in another thread where it made some sense. The poster said that "it works on acceptance and joint decisions ... you marry the family.. your brothers and sisters are you friends ... and with that there are many beautiful things .. a family unit.. a belonging .. a sense of pure love...

you want there approval ... the concept of am happy if there happy is the norm ... and that is great when all your family want is the best for you.

i dont know what i would do if i was in syeds shoes .. if i had to make the choice in something infront of me day in day out .. so I know its killing him ... cause it would kill me if i had to make such a choice ... to be honest i would probably do exactly what Syed did when he proposed to Amira..... family/faith over own happiness yep i can see why syed would feel compelled to do that ...."

[sheepiefarm]

My only gripe about this story is that I'm not feeling Christian's love for Syed.
How, where & when did he reach the stage of love with Syed that he is **crushed** by Syed constantly rejecting him

I know it will be argued that a lot of this has supposedly happened off-screen (like their sexual trysts - even that wasn't made particularly clear) - but for me (as a viewer) that makes it more difficult for me to emphathise / sympathise with what is actually shown on-screen.

[ivaniv]

I thought I would make a few caps from today's episode

Oops, how did this one get in?



If it isn't a V-neck, please don't tell the Fashion Police

[final81]

Christian & Syed Part 13

[boysxxboys]

check the eastenders website for clips and bbc.co.uk and its iplayer. should show episodes but .. i have no idea if they allow it to be shown outside of the uk :S

syed is hot stuff. really, really hot. xx:)

[rp662]

Sorry i am not up-to-date on EastEnders, but who is Jack and Ryan? Thanks.

[final81]

Christian & Syed Part 14



Christian & Syed Part 15

[HQ75]

Never ceases to amaze me that you can show a gay man getting brutally beaten and "the public" doesn't bat an eyelash but let two men kiss and it's "Lo, I hear the beating of the hooves of the Hour Horsemen!"

[carld2]

Eastenders has trotted out nearly every single cliche of a gay storyline for Christian since his arrival, in the midst of their horrible pacing and refusal to actually show any relationship or real character development of any kind. It's kind of funny that this story is about Syed's religion, it's not about Christian, and so on, yet they have time to show a gay-bashing.

[ivaniv]

EE audience is a very special crowd, they would complain about absolutely everything, so I wonder if there will be some complaints about this or if all was as it was supposed to be. And as for actually (not) showing anything that would sugest that some of the characters actually might be gay and might have a relationship of sorts, maybe next time when they will want to do a "gay" storyline, they may as well do it on the radio, we'll see just as much

[carld2]

Something else I don't understand is if Syed is supposed to be gay or not. Is he bisexual? Is he mostly straight and sometimes has sex with guys? There seems to be little to nothing he feels for Christian beyond lust. I've seen fans make comments like, "He should be with Amira, look at how he look at her," and so on, and I don't even know if that's not what the story is selling. Are they telling us he should truly be with Amira?

[ivaniv]

I think he wants to marry Amira because that's what expected of him, when he was listening about what marriage is supposed to be about he ran out, because he could not do all that. And then his father came after him and told him how proud he is and gave him an advice - tell them what they want to hear and do what you like (or something in that sense). So Syed finally got his father's approval and an advice he probably understood a bit differently. He's doing it for his parents' approval, IMO.

[final81]

Christian & Syed Part 16

[karina]

That was a fantastic episode! Thank you so much for providing the clip I can't believe how gorgeous Syed is and I keep praying that he'll give into Christian again soon, but without acting stupid afterwards I love how Jane was like: "Don't you DARE blame yourself!" because she's so right!

[HQ75]

Syed really needs to just leave Christian alone already. It's too much, my heart can't take it. Love is too precious and rare to be treated so horribly.

Enough with the back and forth. He's made his choice and it is unfair and cruel for him to keep coming after Christian. Whether he loves Christian or not or whatever his feelings are, he has decided to marry Amira so he needs to just deal with his choice and move the fuck on!
Syed has got to STOP messing with Christian's head.

I don't care what Syed thinks, he's being emotional abusive and selfish and it needs to stop.

Christian is completely right to not back down and I'm so glad that he's not apologizing and feeling sorry for himself because this is NOT HIS FAULT!

Syed is a coward and while I have sympathy for him, I still want to smack the shine off his teeth!

Brilliant performances by both actors "Never touch me again" GUH!, my heart stopped.

[harmonium]

This new clip is really good. I love the dialogues between Syed and Christian. They are amazing. And yes, I just hate it when people go back and forth with their words, it's frustrating and appalling at the same time. Syed is basically mind-f***ing Christian. Syed has unknowingly gone against everything that he has said. It's unfair that he thinks he is only allow to do what he wants with Christian whenever he feels like it.

And I really feel for Christian when he said "It's during times like this that I wish I was straight". I bet every gay has felt like that before.

And this clip has proven to me how ignorant Syed's mom is. "There are no homosexuals in Pakistan". A big LOL!