The fallout of Linda Carter's decision about who she wanted to go into partnership with over the Queen Vic continued on Thursday.
Sharon Mitchell (Letitia Dean) and the Panesars were left fuming after it was revealed Linda's (Kellie Bright) mum Elaine (Harriet Thorpe) would be taking over Mick Carter's (Danny Dyer) share of the beloved pub.
In Thursday's episode, someone made their feelings about Elaine's arrival very clear as Linda and her mum came downstairs to find a trashed pub after hearing noises in the night.
The Vic was trashed by mystery intruders with a glass flamingo that Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) had previously gifted Linda and was left on the bar.
EastEnders suspect the flamingo not only holds the key to the break-in but also the murder that was foreshadowed in a flash-forward scene to Christmas Day.
One viewer tweeted: "That flamingo monument is gonna be the Chekhov's Gun for the Christmas Day episode, isn't it?"
"I do feel the flamingo will end up being significant," another agreed while a third said: "That Flamingo is gonna be the murder weapon ain’t it?"
Someone else added: "Last few minutes of Eastenders again. I assume the flamingo figurine is a reference to something but out of context it's just...there."
In a special flash-forward episode, BBC soap fans witnessed a man dead on the floor surrounded by six women - Denise (Diane Parish), Kathy (Gillian Taylforth), Linda, Sharon, Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Suki ( Balvinder Sopal ).
As they all stood over the mystery man, who was wearing a suit, Sharon confirmed he was dead.
EastEnders boss Chris Clenshaw teased, in a previous interview, to 'expect the unexpected' with the Christmas scenes.
He said: "I've already given you a scene from Christmas; I can't give you anything more, I'm afraid! But what I will say is… expect the unexpected. I'm not going to give anything away that the episode hasn’t already given, but what I will say is there were clues in there.
"Did you look closely? I urge everyone to re-watch the scene and look at every detail. There’s also a few treats in the scene if you look hard enough. What I’d also say is that a lot can happen in Walford between February and December."
He added: "Circumstances can change, relationships can change, loyalties can change – so what you may suspect now could be somewhat different as we make our way through 2023 and head towards Christmas."
Got any theories or thoughts on the storyline? Let us know in the comments section below.
