EastEnders New Years Day special was definitely one to watch with a notebook, pen and a pause button handy if you wanted to keep track of the latest twists in the Lucy Beale murder mystery! As Emma Summerhayes seemingly met up with the killer after cracking the case, viewers were naturally kept in the dark over who she had in her sights - but there were still some new clues to keep us guessing in the run-up to the big reveal. Here, we round up the latest developments and big talking points in the case following the latest episode. Is Aleks Shirovs in the clear? In an interview months ago, EastEnders executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins promised that the New Years Day episode would be an important one to watch for the Lucy storyline, as viewers would end up very clear on who did not do it. The first sign of a character apparently being ruled out came when Emma tried to make a phone call to her killer suspect at a local café. There was an edge-of-your-seat moment when Alekss mobile immediately rang in the background, but this turned out to be a completely unrelated call. When Aleks then sat down to join her, Emma escaped an awkward conversation with him to chat to the real killer over the phone. As a new character with dubious morals, Aleks was often named as a potential suspect in the early days of the Lucy storyline - but it would seem that hes not the culprit after all. The potential suspects line up Not since the dark days of Kat Moons mystery lover storyline have we seen such an outbreak of simultaneous mobile phone use on Albert Square, but after Emma received a call from the killer and demanded a midday meeting, various characters were seen acting shiftily with their phones around Walford. Jay Brown, Ben Mitchell, Peter Beale, Ian Beale, Jane Beale, Masood Ahmed, Lee Carter, Cindy Williams, Whitney Dean, Les Coker, Pam Coker, Denise Fox, Lola Pearce, Billy Mitchell, Abi Branning, Lauren Branning and Max Branning were the 17 characters brought to our attention in the important scene - but the suspect list would be cut even further later in the episode. More characters in the clear? After the café scene with Emma and Aleks, our eyes were peeled for other characters who could be ruled out as Lucys killer and it seemed that Lola Pearce and Billy Mitchell were next to be cleared. As Emma had her meeting with the killer at the park, Lola and Billy were seen leaving their home for the wedding and commenting on how deserted the streets were on New Years Day. Both characters had been presented as potential suspects in the whodunit plot, but if were to take this scene at face value, it would appear that Lola and Billy are officially out of the frame alongside Aleks. Charlie, Yvonne, Nick and Dot were also all shown at home as Emmas risky meeting continued, showing that they couldnt have been face-to-face with the former detective at the same time. It also seems unlikely that Ronnie and Roxy Mitchell could have been involved as they were busy getting pampered for the wedding. Its still murder Ever since the Lucy storyline was first announced, one of the biggest talking points has been whether her tragic demise would turn out to be murder, manslaughter, a tragic accident or even a suicide. As Emma continued speaking to the culprit at the park and he or she appeared to be making excuses, she responded by saying: But that doesnt change anything. Its still murder. Could Lucys death have been planned? More creepy encounters for Emma After Emmas meeting with the killer was cut short by them seemingly getting fed up with her and walking away, Emma needed a large whiskey and headed for the Queen Vic. Clearly struggling to process the recent events, Emma appeared to be unsettled further when the occasionally-creepy Cokers took time out to wish her a heartfelt Happy New Year. Lee Carter also couldnt resist a shifty glance in Emmas direction after bumping into her as he rushed into the pub, which also sparked a visible reaction from her. But are these clues or more red herrings? The suspects narrow down further After being knocked down by Roxy Mitchell on the road, Emma temporarily lost her phone and was determined to get it back. As she texted the unknown person she had met at the park, a nearby phone buzzed with a number of the suspects watching on. Ian, Jane, Cindy, Pam, Les, Denise, Jay, Ben, Peter, Lauren, Abi, Lee, Whitney and Max were the characters in this scene, which seemingly cut the list of potential killers down to 14. Can we rule out Max Branning? Max is still being presented as a man who has something to hide, but did the New Year episode include signs that he wasnt the killer? He was standing right next to Emma when she sent her text stating I cant keep the secret, but why would she need to still send the text to Max if he was standing right by her side? Despite this, Emma did have a cryptic accusation to level at Max later on, when he rushed her off to hospital as her condition deteriorated following the car accident. After mumbling It wasnt there, she sternly told Max: You know. Could Max be covering for the killer? Did Emma really meet the killer? As much as we like her, we have to admit that Emmas detective skills havent exactly been anything to write home about in the Lucy storyline! With that in mind, we have to ask: did Emma really meet up with the killer or did she get it wrong? If we look back at the New Year episode carefully, Emma confronted her killer suspect and demanded an explanation. After hearing it off-screen, there were no further lines which directly put her suspect in the frame - only But that doesnt change anything. Its still murder and I cant keep the secret. Could Emma have confronted her suspect and heard from them that theyve merely been helping to cover up for the real killer? Is that the reason why her text said I cant keep the secret rather than I cant keep your secret? In one of Dominics first interviews about this storyline back in April, he said of the culprit: Later in the year, were going to have a clever bit of trickery - gimmickry maybe! Gimmickry is probably putting it down, but were going to do something to make sure that the audience and the press dont have a clue who it is. If Emmas meeting wasnt with the actual killer, the scenes in the New Year episode could have been a classic piece of misdirection and trickery. If this is the case, it could mean that some of the characters who were seemingly ruled out due to their physical whereabouts at the time of Emmas meeting are still actually in the frame. Who do you think killed Lucy? Did you spot a clue that we missed? Share your thoughts using the usual comments space below!
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 21:55:46 +0000
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