BBC Share By Kerry Barrett Oct 4 2025 By Kerry Barrett Oct 4 2025 EastEnders review: Max is back! Stacey's gone! And Zoe's totally toxic And Lauren married Peter - but is her heart really in it? Features Max Branning Stacey Slater Zoe Slater Share By Kerry Barrett Oct 4 2025 By Kerry Barrett Oct 4 2025 There is a lot to fit into our EastEnders review this week, because so much has happened! Peter and Lauren got married! Nicola stepped in to stop Harry being tormented by Okie and his band of drug dealers. Priya told a little white lie to Ravi. And Stacey said goodbye to Walford! But who are we kidding? Because really all we care about is the return of Max Branning to Albert Square. Max’s reunions with various members of his family, not to mention the Slaters, was the big excitement in this week’s EastEnders. Here’s what we thought of the drama. We love Harry and Kojo’s friendship. More of that, less of the drugs stuff, please (Credit: BBC) EastEnders review: Drug dealing boredom First up, there was a bit of fandango over the whole drug dealing/cuckooing storyline. We admit we were a bit distracted this week (did we mention that Max Branning is back?!) but we’re losing track now of who’s working for who and why. Is Okie in charge or is Ravi? Who else is involved? Whatever’s going on, it’s hard to care really. We love Kojo and Harry together – how cute is their handshake? We love Nicola stepping in. But we do not like gangsters and guns and big baddies. Article continues below Read all the latest spoilers We’re really hoping the theory that Okie is working undercover is true, because we can’t handle much more of this storyline! Lauren talked herself into marrying Peter, but has she done the right thing? (Credit: BBC) Lauren and Peter getting married Everything Max said about Lauren being like him was true. And even though Peter and Lauren have tied the knot and Lauren is – as Ian said – the newest member of the Beale family, we’re not convinced it’s going to be happy ever after for the newlyweds. We loved watching Lauren wrestle with her heart v head torment. But did she make the right choice? Will we be writing this EastEnders review in a few weeks’ time talking about Lauren and Peter breaking up? Stranger things have happened! Max is back where he belongs (Credit: BBC) EastEnders review: Max’s arrival Max was always going to show up in Walford in style and what better way than picking up Lauren’s bouquet? It was brilliant! We love Max. We can’t help it. He is a terrible, terrible person. He was a rotten husband. He is an even worse dad. He has done some awful things – Peter wasn’t even exaggerating when he pointed out that Max killed Cindy’s son, Steven. And yet, we still love him. It shows what a great character he is, and how well Jake Wood plays him. We are very glad he’s back. Oscar is desperate to get to know his dad (Credit: BBC) EastEnders review: Max and his kids Lauren was not happy to see her dad. Oscar was over the moon. Both of the Branning siblings had short heart-to-hearts with their dad. He told Lauren a few home truths, pointing out her flaws and claiming she was more like him than her mum. Which is true, to be fair. But possibly it wasn’t the best time to say it! Max’s chat with Oscar was heartbreaking. The troubled teen clearly just wants his dad, and another rejection was sad to see. We hope they patch things up. Zoe and Max shared a sneaky snog (Credit: BBC) Zoe and Max Woah, Zoe. She really is a “toxic, little madam” as Stacey said. She deserved the telling off that Eve gave her early in the week. She was horribly manipulative and, dare we say it a little bit desperate, in persuading Stacey to head to Brazil. And if she was really that keen to keep her romance with Max a secret, maybe she shouldn’t have planted a snog on him outside The Vic, eh? Plus, can we point out that Zoe’s got DREADFUL taste in men. The absolute worst. It’s all been downhill since the giddy days of her and Dr Trueman. We could probably write a whole essay comparing the flaws of Dirty Den Watts and Max Branning. Is there any hope for Zoe and Max now Stacey’s gone? Hmm. We’re not sure that would be a the right thing to do, but then neither Zoe nor Max are known for making good decisions! Hmm, we’re not sure Stacey was telling the truth when she said nothing was going to happen with Max (Credit: BBC) Max and Stacey It was the reunion we’d been waiting for since Stacey answered Max’s phone in the hospital and it did not disappoint. Max and Stacey are one of the most toxic couples in EastEnders’ history -which is saying something. And we LOVE them. Their chemistry is off the chart. The scene between Lacey Turner, who plays Stacey, and Jake Wood in the Slaters’ kitchen gave us goosebumps. We’re one hundred percent sure something would have happened between them if they hadn’t been disappointed. Even Stacey listening to Max’s voice note was amazing. We’re really sad that Stacey’s gone off to Brazil just as Max has returned. Still, it’s clear there’s more drama to come from Max Branning, even without Stacey. Cindy definitely wasn’t happy to hear he was back… Read more: Max Branning on EastEnders: failed marriages, tragic children and history with Slater women Share Good to Know Share By Kerry Barrett Oct 4 2025 By Kerry Barrett Oct 4 2025
