{"id":19912,"date":"2022-08-08T16:43:16","date_gmt":"2022-08-08T14:43:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1691190"},"modified":"2022-08-08T17:04:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-08T15:04:13","slug":"eastenders-latest-killer-twist-is-nothing-new-and-needs-retiring","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/eastenders-latest-killer-twist-is-nothing-new-and-needs-retiring\/","title":{"rendered":"EastEnders\u2019 latest killer twist is nothing new \u2013 and needs retiring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you agree? **SPOILERS** ahead. <\/p>

By Laura Denby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 08 August 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

**This article discusses scenes which have not yet aired on television, and can be found in this week\u2019s EastEnders boxset currently streaming on BBC iPlayer.**<\/em><\/p>\n

A shocking murder has taken place in Albert Square, with Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal) central to the action<\/a>. But the twist in this EastEnders<\/a> tale will be all too familiar to viewers, involving another character who stepped in to finish the job when \u2013 surprise, surprise, the victim wasn\u2019t dead after all!<\/p>\n

When Ranveer Gulati (Anil Goutam) revealed he would only sign their business deal if Suki slept with him, she set him up by recording him \u2013 forcing him to sign the contract. But Ranveer trapped her, pinning her down and attempting to rape her.<\/p>\n

Suki struck him with a clock in self-defence, and Ranveer appeared dead while she stared on in shock. But then his son Ravi (Aaron Thiara) arrived<\/a>, and as Suki explained that Ranveer had set out to sexually assault her, Ravi was understanding. He ordered her outside, promising to deal with everything himself.<\/p>\n

But as Ravi prepared to dispose of his father\u2019s body, Ranveer regained consciousness. As blood poured from his wound, he referenced Suki\u2019s camera, before realising what Ravi had been about to do. He threatened Ravi, who pleaded with his dad until Ranveer shouted: \u201cI was never your dad and you know it!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Suki found herself at Ranveer\u2019s mercy. BBC<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Before we could wrap our heads around that revelation, Ranveer was telling Ravi, \u201cYou\u2019re finished!\u201d and the latter picked up the clock and hit him with it \u2013 ultimately killing him.<\/p>\n

In the scenes that followed, Ravi kept quiet, getting rid of the body before telling Suki that she must never tell a soul about what happened. Suki was traumatised and wanted to go to the police with the footage, certain that it could prove that she had no choice but to hit Ranveer. But Ravi was aware that the footage would expose him, talking Suki out of it before editing the recording.<\/p>\n

If this extra web of lies and deceit sounds like d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu, it\u2019s because EastEnders has delivered this kind of killer twist again and again.<\/p>\n

Remember the (second) death of Dirty Den Watts (Leslie Grantham)<\/a>? When he attacked estranged wife Chrissie (Tracy-Ann Oberman) in the Queen Vic, Den\u2019s one-time lover Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) hit him with a metal doorstop. Thinking she was responsible for his death, Zoe was frantic as Chrissie ushered her into the back.<\/p>\n

As Chrissie stepped over Den\u2019s body, he grabbed hold of her and declared: \u201cYou\u2019ll never get me out of the Vic!\u201d Chrissie grabbed the weapon and bludgeoned him with it, making her Den\u2019s true murderer. But poor Zoe only learned she was innocent when eyewitness Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) filled her in later.<\/p>

As twists go, this was one of the most memorable moments of EastEnders\u2019 reign. Then the soap repeated history when Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) killed husband Michael Moon (Steve John Shepherd), shortly after their nanny Alice Branning (Jasmyn Banks) had already stabbed him. Alice was arrested, charged and put on trial, and only when she was quizzed about the second stab wound did Alice realise she wasn\u2019t actually guilty.<\/p>\n

The real twist came when Janine stepped up to help exonerate the fragile Alice, owning up to Michael\u2019s murder \u2013 albeit exaggerating the truth along the way in true Janine style.<\/p>\n

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EastEnders\u2019 Janine allowed Alice to take the blame for her husband\u2019s murder. BBC<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption> EastEnders<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Over in Emmerdale, a live episode delivered a similar scenario to Suki\u2019s \u2013 in more ways than one. The show\u2019s 40th anniversary saw Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) \u2018kill\u2019 Carl King (Tom Lister)<\/a> when he tried to rape her.<\/p>\n

Chas ran off, convinced she had ended her ex\u2019s life \u2013 but villain Cameron Murray (Dominic Power) was there to strike him down with a brick when Carl rose up to declare himself \u201cindestructible\u201d. Chas spent a large chunk of time believing she was guilty as she languished in prison, before Cameron\u2019s role was unearthed.<\/p>\n

Were the above storylines powerful, strong soap plots? Absolutely, and it must be noted that this week\u2019s EastEnders features outstanding performances from Balvinder Sopal and newcomer Aaron Thiara. Suki\u2019s tough exterior crumbled, and her unravelling was captivating. But the point is that we\u2019ve seen a fate like Ranveer\u2019s several times before.<\/p>\n

Some time in the future, Suki\u2019s torment will inevitably be eased when she learns what Ravi did, but it\u2019s a timebomb we are all too used to. For years now, we have been questioning soap deaths, unwilling to trust that a lifeless-looking character is definitely gone for good \u2013 and it\u2019s all thanks to a twist that shouldn\u2019t really be deemed a \u2018twist\u2019 at all any more.<\/p>\n

Prolonging the agony for Suki is, admittedly, what this plot point is all about. But it might just be time for soapland to give up the ghost on this predictable trope.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n