This article contains spoilers for tonight’s (Tuesday, March 3) EastEnders, which has not yet aired on TV but is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
EastEnders fans have been left absolutely baffled this week after Linda Carter’s (Kellie Bright) reaction to Johnny Carter’s (Charlie Suff) devastating ordeal with Tim Walton (Tom Ratcliffe).
Tim was an old university friend of Johnny’s who was willing to invest in his brand new law firm, having found financial success after investing in cryptocurrency early on.
What should have been an ideal scenario for Johnny and his new business venture quickly turned into a nightmare as Tim targeted Callum Highway (Tony Clay), asking him to break the law to help him bring down a competitor.
When Callum refused, Tim set up a sting.
Having received an anonymous tip that there was a USB containing evidence to keep Ben Mitchell behind bars for another decade, Callum, along with Ian and Kathy Beale (Adam Woodyatt and Gillian Taylforth), set out to retrieve it, walking right into Tim’s trap.
With Tim in possession of the proof that Callum was willing to break the law to protect Ben, Johnny was horrified, and willing to do anything to keep his lover out of prison.
It was then that Tim blackmailed Johnny into having sex with him, in exchange for deleting the incriminating footage.
As if this weren’t vile enough, viewers were left horrified by Linda’s reaction to the situation when she found out what had happened.
Against Elaine Peacock’s (Harriet Thorpe) advice, she confessed to having known about Tim’s trap for Callum, asserting that honesty was a major part of her recovery.
Johnny felt understandably betrayed, and Elaine insisted that Linda’s priorities were totally misguided, pointing out that they should be focusing on the fact that Johnny had been sexually assaulted.
While most fans would have expected Linda to instantly support her son and recognise that the coercion from Tim made it impossible for him to consent to sex, they were horrified to realise that she had a completely different viewpoint.
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During the conversation, Linda insisted that Johnny had had a choice in the situation, comparing it to her own assault and deciding that it wasn’t sexual assault.
Johnny argued that he hadn’t had a choice at all, and fans were surprised that Elaine was the one to take his side, given her reaction to Linda’s past assault.
Things took a devastating turn for Johnny when he was forced to meet with Tim one more time, so that he could sign the papers for a final investment.
Furious Linda wasn’t happy with the arrangement and gave Tim a dressing down in the street, much to Johnny’s horror.
After Linda’s threats, Tim insisted that because he’d already deleted the incriminating video of Callum, there was no point in him paying out any more money, leaving Johnny in a difficult position.
Having heard from Linda that Tim had been causing trouble, and overhearing their final meeting in the Vic, Max Branning (Jake Wood) got involved by kidnapping Tim, leaving Johnny with no choice but to explain everything to Callum.
At first, Callum was devastated, comparing Johnny to Ben and insisting that there was nothing that he could say to make this better.
However, once he gave Johnny the chance to tell him how Tim had blackmailed him, Callum instantly apologised, recognising that Johnny hadn’t been able to consent.
By the end of the episode, Johnny had made the decision to move out, making it clear to Linda that he wanted nothing more to do with her. Will she ever be able to make it up to him?
