**This article contains huge EastEnders spoilers for the episode dated Thursday 5th January 2023, which could be viewed early on BBC iPlayer.**
Phil Mitchell’s (Steve McFadden) year-long feud with dodgy DCI Keeble (Alison Newman) looked like it had finally come to an end in tonight’s dramatic EastEnders, after a shocking shooting changed everything.
Viewers have watched Phil desperately attempt to thwart Keeble over the last several months, leading to an unlikely deal with enemy Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters).
When she released him from prison for his past crimes, Keeble ordered Phil to become a “grass” and betray his cousin Billy Mitchell (Perry Fenwick) by shopping him to the police. But Billy was merely an innocent scapegoat, having been present alongside Phil on the night of Keeble’s father’s murder in the 1970s.
Last autumn, a flashback episode revealed that Phil’s late dad Eric had killed Keeble senior – facilitating the younger Keeble’s vendetta. Suddenly, Billy was facing charges that could see him in prison for the rest of his life. This coincided with Billy’s beloved granddaughter Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) receiving a terminal brain tumour diagnosis.
Billy eventually decided to plead guilty at his first court hearing, while Phil thought he had managed to stop Keeble from sending Billy down. But when she orchestrated the kidnapping of Phil’s fiancée Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) and her son Tommy Moon (Sonny Kendall), the Mitchells faced a race against time to rescue them.
With Keanu’s help, Phil used a tracker to find his loved ones – only to rock up just as a gunshot rang out. After holding Kat and Tommy at gunpoint, a scuffle led to Kat accidentally shooting the corrupt detective. In the aftermath, Phil demanded that Keeble call off her witness’s testimony on Billy, or he’d leave her to die.
In the end, Keeble complied. So, despite saying tearful goodbyes to his family and believing he would never see Lola again, Billy’s case collapsed. At the warehouse, Phil ordered Keanu to take Keeble to hospital, and Kat persuaded Phil to allow Keanu to stick around in Walford after all.
But Kat was traumatised as she later broke down to ex-husband Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) over the possibility that she may be jailed for the shooting. Alfie responded by suggesting they take their boys away and never look back.
Meanwhile, Honey Mitchell (Emma Barton) found Phil, and warned him that this was the very last time he ever involved her Billy in his dealings.
Later, Kat spoke to Phil and began to explain that she couldn’t live like this, so they needed to split up. But an emotional Phil declared his undying love and vowed to ensure that she and the children never came to harm again. Kat was eventually won round, but she instructed Phil to cautiously teach Tommy, Bert and Ernie how to be safe.
Alfie walked in to find the couple embracing, and he told Kat that he was now giving up on them ever reuniting. He then warned Phil to always look after Kat.
At the hospital, Keanu watched on as Keeble told her police colleagues she had no idea who shot her, and she was now going to look into retiring from the force. With Kat supposedly in the clear, and Keeble getting away with her awful actions, too – not to mention Phil agreeing to leave Keanu be – is this saga all over?
What’s next for Phil? Perhaps he should take a leaf out of Keeble’s book and consider retirement before he inadvertently clocks up another kidnapping!
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