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| Was it a mistake to kill off Lucy Beale? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 21 Jan 2015, 01:28 (2,005 Views) | |
| Kim | 21 Jan 2015, 01:28 Post #1 |
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Similar to the Pat topic, I thought it would be interesting to get the consensus on Lucy's death now that we're nearing the end of the storyline. Do you have a firm opinion or are you torn? |
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| MrJames | 21 Jan 2015, 02:35 Post #2 |
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Obviously there was no real urgent need for her to be killed off - I would have just as happily have seen her live as I have seen the story unfold since her death, so it's a difficult question to answer in the respect. We've obviously lost a Beale/Fowler link, but I don't think that that's something that can't be matched via the likes of Peter, Bobby and Rebecca in years to come. And there could be a day that Mark Jr surfaces - who knows? In terms of what it has done for the show, what it has done for Ian and for the entire Beale family, what it has done for the entire cast and the overall impact that it has had. It feels wrong to say that it was the *right* decision, but I definitely think that they've played it well enough to make it worth it. |
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| Mr Branning | 21 Jan 2015, 04:39 Post #3 |
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It's not something I feel I can judge right now. Particularly if the killer is a Beale, then it will decimate that family. But I'm almost certain the killer won't be Ian or Peter. Cindy's legacy lives on through Beth, and I'd be surprised if we don't get a Lauren/Peter pregnancy very soon. Plus Bobby's going to be growing up soon. Lucy wasn't an amazing character and Hetti wasn't the greatest actress but I don't think Lucy should have been spared simply because she's a Beale. Maybe in years to come she'd have become an EastEnders icon. Maybe not. But her death has brought about a storyline that has got people talking about the show again, featured some incredible performances and embodied almost all of the cast. After the rut the show got itself into from 2011 - 2013, something like this was definitely needed. I can't say what it'll do for the show in 5 or 10 years time, but the Lucy Beale mystery did wonders for 2014. And that's what we, as current viewers, needed. |
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| The Local Butcher | 21 Jan 2015, 10:12 Post #4 |
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It's definitely possible that it's going to be looked at as a mistake in the future however occasionally a major character has to die just to stop the audience from taking the status quo for granted. There's only so many times you can kill off relatively inconsequential characters whom the audience never expected to last the haul to begin with. Death doesn't discriminate and sometimes a writer has to kill off one of his/her darlings just to establish that their universe still works that way. |
| Warning: Posts made by The Local Butcher may contain sarcasm, frustrated expressions of fatigue in the face of Eastenders' neverending insanity, desperate and ill-conceived attempts to be funny, controversial opinions and nuts. Not necessarily in that order. | |
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| Will Slater-Mitchell | 21 Jan 2015, 10:39 Post #5 |
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Yeah, I can't really say for certain until after the anniversary and it's been revealed who did it. After that and seeing what follows I will take the story as a whole and judge it then. I will say though, I have really enjoyed the storyline overall. It was a bit slow getting off the ground there around summer 2014. But then it took off and so many more twists and turns started happening. In a way I can't believe we are within touching distance of the end, but I'm also glad at the same time. There was no major need to kill off Lucy. However, do I think the show has suffered in the immediate aftermath of her demise? Not really. I think EastEnders is a show that's great at moving beyond characters, particularly legacy characters. Although these should never be killed off willy nilly. It's an abomination the likes of Pat, Cindy and Kathy are all dead, now they are big mistakes. As for Lucy, ask me again this time next month
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| Mrs Peel | 21 Jan 2015, 12:19 Post #6 |
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There's no doubt that the actress should have been axed. Of all the surplus of ingenues populating the show at the moment (courtesy of Brian Kirkwood and Lorraine Newman), Hetti Bywater was, arguably, the worst, but whether or not it was advisable to kill off Lucy Beale, a valuable and one of the few legacy characters left on the programme, is debatable for just that reason. I figured that, of the Lauren-Lucy-Whitney trio, DTC would axe Lucy. Lauren was popular with a certain male demographic, and DTC had created Whitney, but of the three Lucy was played by the weakest actress, and one who hadn't improved during her time on the show; but I figured Lucy would leave and go far, far away - to Florida to work and live with Michelle or to South Africa to her Hills relatives or even to Manchester, where most departing characters are exiled. I just thought Lucy should have been despatched somewhere else and returned in about five years' time with a new head and played by an actress who could actually act. Besides that, Lucy wasn't that popular a character, and whilst her death has made an impact on her family and the clique of one with whom she associated, as well as the clique's overly-horny dad, it's brought out the worst characteristics, certainly, in her immediate family - Ian's Oedipal urges, his lack of backbone, his attachment issues, his puerile neediness, his selfishness and inherent cruelty and subtle racism; Peter's snobbiness, his selfishness and self-centred entitlement, his self-pity and his cruelty; Jane's hypocrisy, her self-righteousness, subtle racism, snobbery and entitlement. If that were DTC's aim, he's achieved it wonderfully, but if he were going for pathos, it would have been better to have kiled off Bianca. The death of a mother with young children, a member of the Beale, Butcher and Branning dynamics, would have had a profound effect on the Square; and it would have stopped Patsy Palmer from yo-yoing back and forth. |
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| Jamie Fowler | 21 Jan 2015, 12:30 Post #7 |
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I was surprised they weren't killing off Peter when I first heard about this story. He always seemed to be the least cared about twin, in terms of screen and story time. Not wanting to axe Ben Hardy, who's been a great success in the character, was understandable but utterly pointless now as he's jumped ship. Then again, during the 11 months that Peter and Lucy were on-screen together again Peter got a hell of a lot more screen time than Lucy. If you remember, Peter re-appeared in June 2013 and was in 70 episodes by the end of that year. Lucy, who had the whole year, clocked up 90 despite having a six month advantage |
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| Gammergq | 21 Jan 2015, 21:15 Post #8 |
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Oh don't get me started, most stupidest craziest decision I could remember a producer making on the show since killing of Pat, I disagree that that young actress was so awful she was alright she was mainly unpopular because some creeps and perverts didn't like her figure(some of the stuff I read on DS), think about it the actress who plays Lauren is no better a decent actress but she kept on and why. Lucy has always been the most interesting twin imo even if the producer didn't rate the actress why not send the charter away and recast her but DTC in his overly ambitious fool hardy way tried to make his mark instantly but instead the only kind of mark he made was a toilet acident
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| Mrs Peel | 23 Jan 2015, 01:48 Post #9 |
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There were too many characters in the ingenue range - Lauren, Lucy and Whitney. DTC axed the weakest actress of the three, but he didn't have to kill the character. Peter is leaving. In five to ten years' time, he'll return with a new head, played by an actor who might be a bit more serious about staying a longer time. It took seven attempts, after all, before Corrie broke good with Chris Gascoigne's Peter Barlow, and he was in his mid-thirties when he signed on. They could have done the same thing with Lucy - send her away for a few years and bring her back with an older and more experienced actress. The actress who played Lucy had virtually NO real experience previous to her stint on the show, and she didn't improve. She was on last week's Death in Paradise and was just as bad. At least, she got a trip to the Caribbean, courtesy of the BBC. |
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| Mr Branning | 23 Jan 2015, 03:50 Post #10 |
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Hetti's actually got a good deal with her axing - for the past few months, her face has been everywhere, her character constantly mentioned and her presence felt on screen without her having to do very much. Being killed off is the most memorable thing her character has ever done. |
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| Gaz | 23 Jan 2015, 09:44 Post #11 |
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Let's ask the question another way - without Lucy being killed off, what would you have done to build up a big reveal for the 30th? |
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Happy Christmas Ange. | |
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| Eastend boy | 25 Jan 2015, 11:45 Post #12 |
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Who killed Lauren Branning! or Cindy Beale Jrn |
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| Winters | 25 Jan 2015, 13:03 Post #13 |
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It was a sacrifice of a legacy character for the sake of ratings for the anniversary year. In the long run I don't think it will be worth it. Even more as Peter is also going. |
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| The Local Butcher | 25 Jan 2015, 13:58 Post #14 |
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Long term vs Short term is a difficult balancing act. It's a battle between what do we need in the future and what do we need right now. The future is certainly something to keep in mind but you can't always let it stop you from doing what has to be done right now. If they start playing it safe the audience will leave and then there might won't even be a future. The best way to secure the future of the show is by doing what they have to do to make it the best it can be right now and hope for the best. Edited by The Local Butcher, 25 Jan 2015, 13:58.
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| Warning: Posts made by The Local Butcher may contain sarcasm, frustrated expressions of fatigue in the face of Eastenders' neverending insanity, desperate and ill-conceived attempts to be funny, controversial opinions and nuts. Not necessarily in that order. | |
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| Dan | 25 Jan 2015, 18:35 Post #15 |
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I actually thought Hetti Bywater was the strongest of the three actresses, however, they are all weak without a lot in the way of screen presence so it's not saying much. She was also better than Melissa Suffield, who, I think, is the worst actress in the show's history, however, her lack of experience told. She started off quite well and brought back a humanity and vulnerability to Lucy that they tried to go with towards the end of Melissa's stint, however, she couldn't get it. It then started going wrong because I couldn't believe Hetti as a bitch. She tried but her leaving was the right decision. She needs to get more experience and EastEnders is not the right place for it. Meryl Fernandes is better than all of them but we were in the era of vapid, self-righteous, bitchy, shallow girls talking at each other and swapping boyfriends. Thanks, Bryan Kirkwood. He understood nothing outside of love triangles. As for the character, we can judge it after the reveal. I am inclined to say "no" due to cynicism (was Archie's death worth it? No, because Stacey has only just recovered) and the poor plotting, however, I do admit the characterisation has been good. |
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| eastend90 | 25 Jan 2015, 18:53 Post #16 |
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I'm waiting a few years down the line before i'm certain whether killing Lucy was the right decision. |
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| Mrs Peel | 25 Jan 2015, 19:52 Post #17 |
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Nick's death and it's reveal. Full circle since the first episode. |
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