EastEnders fans were left wiping their tears away at the heartbreaking scenes as beloved character Lola Pearce passed away.
BBC fans knew that Lola didn't have long left as the heart-wrenching scenes aired on Wednesday night as her nearest and dearest said their final goodbyes and stayed close by. The character was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour late last year, as her health has swiftly deteriorated.
Lola has been getting weaker and weaker in each episode, as her nurse advised her loved ones including her daughter Lexi and husband Jay to say their goodbyes. On Wednesday night, viewers saw Lola succumb to her illness but in a tragic twist Jay missed his beloved wife's final moments.
Jay and Lexi lay beside the weak Lola, as fans dubbed her death the "saddest episode ever" on social media, writes the Mirror. Lola passed away in the early morning as Albert Square was battling a wild storm outside, which could be seen in the background from her bed.
During the midst of the storm, Jay left his wife's bedsit for a moment and after re-entering he noticed the sun was finally shining. After seeing the weather change, he realised "the sun had come out for" his wife.
However, in the devastating turn of events when he went to face Lola he realised that she had passed away when he left the room. Viewers at home were left sobbing as Jay broke down holding Lola's hand when daughter Lexi heartbreakingly woke up and realised her mum was dead.
Trying to comfort Jay, Lexi told him that "Lola did it on purpose for them", suggesting she had waited for Jay to leave the room to take her moment to pass over.
Viewers then saw Lexi and Jay cradling Lola's body and sobbing, as they struggled with their grief - made all the more sad with EastEnders' famous Julia's Theme playing. The song is often used at the end of huge episodes when a character departs or is given a send-off, and this time it played as Lola's husband and daughter reacted to her immediate death.
Viewers were left sobbing at the emotional scenes as they took to Twitter to praise the "beautiful" episode. One viewer wrote: "Emotional wreck after watching Lola's final scenes."
A second fan said: "Wasn’t ready for Lola’s death absolutely sobbing," as many called it the "saddest episode ever". Another fan wrote: "That was absolutely heart-wrenching," while a fourth said: "CRYING MY EYES OUT."
There was also a "touching" moment that left fans "emotional" after Jay spoke to Lola about what animal they would come back as, if they reincarnated after death.
Jay had told Lola he'd probably come back as a rat, but told his dying wife that she would be a fox. After Lola passed away, a fox was shown running across the Square, and fans took it as a sign or at least a nod to Jay's conversation.
One fan said: "The sun rising and the fox at the end of the episode absolutely BROKE me. I cried the entire episode," as another tweeted: "The fox sent shivers down my spine."
EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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