EastEnders fans left ‘confused’ minutes into episode as soap airs Nigel crash aftermath
EastEnders has left some viewers feeling ‘confused’ after Wednesday’s episode (October 22) opened with a particularly intense scene.
The latest instalment in Walford focused on the fallout from Nigel Bates’ (Paul Bradley) hit and run incident, as he struggled to piece together what happened in his troubled mind.
Unfortunately, his dementia diagnosis means Nigel cannot clearly recall the precise details of what occurred, leaving him in considerable distress.
Viewers will recall that Nigel secretly took his cherished motor for one final drive around the Square, but ended up in a devastating collision that left both Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) and Gina Knight (Francesca Henry) with serious injuries.
In a bid to shield her husband from the consequences, Julie Bates (Karen Henthorn) has accepted blame for the crash and told Nigel she was behind the wheel.
Yet Wednesday’s episode began with Nigel experiencing horrifying and fragmented flashbacks of the collision.
Key moments from the accident were shown on screen, including Jasmine shoving Gina away from the approaching car.
Gina was shown lying motionless on the ground, whilst Jasmine could be heard crying out in agony as she lay injured in the street, mumbling incoherently.
Nigel recalled Jasmine uttering “she needs to pay for what she did”, as the camera zoomed in on her expression.
Coming to on the settee, Nigel was breathless and trembling with terror, and he jotted down Jasmine’s words as he attempted to make sense of what had transpired that night. He immediately questioned Julie about the car crash, but she denied his involvement.
“We need to keep this to ourselves”, she insisted.
EastEnders viewers were taken aback by the unexpected special effects sequence that kicked off the episode, and they weren’t thrilled.
One viewer took to social media, quipping: “The way I thought I’d switched on Doctor Who by mistake #EastEnders.”
Another joked: “NO WHO DOWNLOADED THE VFX EXTENSION TO THE COMPUTER AGAIN.”
A third chimed in with: “Not us copying Emmerdale and Corrie with the OTT VFX.”
One viewer couldn’t help but exclaim: “Not the nostril close-ups!”, while another remarked: “Not the visual effects at the start of the episode, is this Coronation Street?? #EastEnders.”