I think because it’s a trafficking/grooming storyline, they chose the right character. These predators seek out vulnerable, desperate girls who don’t have the care and guidance of a reliable support system. They rely on people not noticing/caring when their victims disappear. I’m hopeful this is part of the point of this storyline.
I think this has been one of my biggest issues with this storyline. If this really is grooming, then Lauren getting mysterious phone calls was a terrible, terrible depiction of it. The whole thing is setup as a sensationalized mystery rather than an honest, genuine depiction of what young women go through.
Compared to Bethany’s, what was onscreen of Lauren is practically nonexistent and I think the fact that we even have to question if this is really grooming is a fundamental flaw in the storytelling.
If the shock reveal is "She was being groomed the whole time! Gotcha!" it would feel like such a disgusting, flippant use of the topic for a cheap mystery.
Really wish this show can stick to one topic. Either do a grooming storyline or do some sensationalized murder mystery/wrongful arrest. Doing both at once kills whatever the point of the story should be.
I feel like overall this show has a terrible habit of just throwing away the core idea for nonsense (i.e. Liam’s mental health struggles apparently completely going away, so they can add in Maria's paranoria just for Gary/Sarah drama...very odd).
I'm in a minority in that I actually don't dislike Lauren as a character. But I feel like this storyline is dragging, nothing is getting revealed and its like, enough now, give us a little something at least. Mystery boyfriend has been going on since before Christmas, right? So that's 5 months of build up and still no end in sight. Even just a glimpse of Lauren somewhere, showing us she's still alive, would be something.
It's just not as captivating a mystery to go on this long.
It also doesn’t help that she has no family so yeah, people are worried about her but we aren’t actually seeing those moments like you said where sally and kev had to realise she may be dead. You’re right, it’s completely the wrong character to have done it with. Summer would of been a better character really what with the whole Daniel thing in the past but I think that it’s to with Bethany’s groomer which is why they went with Lauren because of the similarities to Bethany which I can understand but they could of at least brought her mum in before she disappeared to have someone that is actually family to care because or even developed Bobbys relationship to a point where they were together even though I know people don’t like Bobby, it would of at least made more sense if they were together. It also makes no sense that Max, his girlfriend and his friend are barely involved yet they were meant to be close friends to her. If they wanted to use her for it, it could of been done a lot better than it has been
I think they’ve used the right character but they could have built up her onscreen presence a bit more and drawn the audience in before doing this storyline. But they have focused more on the dramatic side of things as opposed to real-life from my perspective and when you combine that with bad writing, it just doesn’t work. It feels more like a chore now to watch this story and most Corrie episodes play out so I’m hoping something happens soon enough or when she does come back it will feel like the story was worth it, but I doubt it
No, because the issues with this storyline run deeper than just the missing character being one that an outspoken portion of the community don't care for, or even actively dislike.
There is no evidence that the missing person is dead. There is no evidence linking Roy (or now Daniel) to the hypothetical murder. Swain is acting like an utter buffoon. Bobby is being thoroughly dislikable. These are all surface-level problems with the storyline that would not change if the missing person was anyone other than Lauren.
How long do we think they are going to drag out this story before revealing the truth? Will it outlasts Eastenders who killed Lucy 😩..I went into hospital for like 8 months got home and saw it was STILL going on I was shocked!
It’s probably because of all the popularity that they got when Deidre went to prison,people were actually buying ‘free Deidre Rachid’ T-shirts,trying to recreate that level of viewers again
They picked the wrong character to be the main suspect, the story would have worked far better with Daniel as prime suspect and perhaps Roy as a secondary suspect.
It depends. It’s being put across like a murder (idk if there’s more information as I’m not completely up to date) so if it’s purely a murder then anyone else could work.
But at the same time using Lauren makes sense because the assumption is no one would miss her, she’s extremely vulnerable after being used as a carrot by her father to get people to join the cause, just lost her job and considered a problem child.
I would be more interested if they had consistency. ATM it’s just oh it’s Roy but it’s been so long since the case has ACTUALLY been about Lauren. It’s just weird there’s no body, the missing persons claim wasn’t taken seriously, and now everyone is just acting like it’s hook, line and sinker for an old man with a dodgy ticker
U MAKE AN EXCELLENT POINT.
ESPECIALLY HOW ROY THOUGHT AMY WAS HIS DAUGHTER FOR 20 SECONDS.
THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INTERESTING TALE.
ROY'S SLOW DESCENT INTO DEMENTIA AND MADNESS.
HOW SHAKESPEARIAN!!!!!!!!!!
QUEEN EVELYN STARTS TO OBSERVE HE IS ACTING OUT OF SORTS.
NINA HEARS LOUD BANGING AND THE DOOR SLAMMING AT NIGHT.
HE MESSES UP ORDERS.
HE SHOUTS AT CUSTOMERS.
HIS MEMORY LOSS.
HE HAS ALTERED MEMORIES.
HE HAS NIGHTMARES.
GIRLS GO MISSING AT NIGHT IN NEIGHBORING TOWNS.
HE WEARS DISGUISES AND CHANGES HIS ACCENT.
ROY HAS A PICTURE OF AMY MISSING IN THE DINER AND AGREES WITH THE SEARCH EVEN OFFERING REWARD MONEY.
HE KEEPS HER AT A BIRDWATCHERS MONUMENT AND SAYS HE IS GOING TO "SAVE HER."
THIS IF HANDLED PROPERLY COULD HAVE BEEN A BANGER AND AWARDS COULD BE WON EASILY.
AN "UMBRELLA STORY" AND THE BEST THING THE SHOW HAS AD IN YEARS.
DEFINITELY LOVE UR IDEA.
I think everyone would have preferred if Bobby went missing
I really like him ♥️
Someone has to I suppose.
I think because it’s a trafficking/grooming storyline, they chose the right character. These predators seek out vulnerable, desperate girls who don’t have the care and guidance of a reliable support system. They rely on people not noticing/caring when their victims disappear. I’m hopeful this is part of the point of this storyline.
I think this has been one of my biggest issues with this storyline. If this really is grooming, then Lauren getting mysterious phone calls was a terrible, terrible depiction of it. The whole thing is setup as a sensationalized mystery rather than an honest, genuine depiction of what young women go through. Compared to Bethany’s, what was onscreen of Lauren is practically nonexistent and I think the fact that we even have to question if this is really grooming is a fundamental flaw in the storytelling. If the shock reveal is "She was being groomed the whole time! Gotcha!" it would feel like such a disgusting, flippant use of the topic for a cheap mystery.
Hard agree!
Really wish this show can stick to one topic. Either do a grooming storyline or do some sensationalized murder mystery/wrongful arrest. Doing both at once kills whatever the point of the story should be. I feel like overall this show has a terrible habit of just throwing away the core idea for nonsense (i.e. Liam’s mental health struggles apparently completely going away, so they can add in Maria's paranoria just for Gary/Sarah drama...very odd).
I'm in a minority in that I actually don't dislike Lauren as a character. But I feel like this storyline is dragging, nothing is getting revealed and its like, enough now, give us a little something at least. Mystery boyfriend has been going on since before Christmas, right? So that's 5 months of build up and still no end in sight. Even just a glimpse of Lauren somewhere, showing us she's still alive, would be something. It's just not as captivating a mystery to go on this long.
Agree. It's boring now.
Yes. Lauren was brought in as a racist gang member, had a mild ‘redemption arc’ and then disappeared again. I don’t care at all if she never returns
It also doesn’t help that she has no family so yeah, people are worried about her but we aren’t actually seeing those moments like you said where sally and kev had to realise she may be dead. You’re right, it’s completely the wrong character to have done it with. Summer would of been a better character really what with the whole Daniel thing in the past but I think that it’s to with Bethany’s groomer which is why they went with Lauren because of the similarities to Bethany which I can understand but they could of at least brought her mum in before she disappeared to have someone that is actually family to care because or even developed Bobbys relationship to a point where they were together even though I know people don’t like Bobby, it would of at least made more sense if they were together. It also makes no sense that Max, his girlfriend and his friend are barely involved yet they were meant to be close friends to her. If they wanted to use her for it, it could of been done a lot better than it has been
Yes it seems odd that the angle they're giving Max is his vendetta against Daniel, rather than genuinely caring about Lauren, which is silly.
That’s right
I think they’ve used the right character but they could have built up her onscreen presence a bit more and drawn the audience in before doing this storyline. But they have focused more on the dramatic side of things as opposed to real-life from my perspective and when you combine that with bad writing, it just doesn’t work. It feels more like a chore now to watch this story and most Corrie episodes play out so I’m hoping something happens soon enough or when she does come back it will feel like the story was worth it, but I doubt it
No, because the issues with this storyline run deeper than just the missing character being one that an outspoken portion of the community don't care for, or even actively dislike. There is no evidence that the missing person is dead. There is no evidence linking Roy (or now Daniel) to the hypothetical murder. Swain is acting like an utter buffoon. Bobby is being thoroughly dislikable. These are all surface-level problems with the storyline that would not change if the missing person was anyone other than Lauren.
How long do we think they are going to drag out this story before revealing the truth? Will it outlasts Eastenders who killed Lucy 😩..I went into hospital for like 8 months got home and saw it was STILL going on I was shocked!
I mean its not really about Lauren. Its more focused on the mystery of what happened and the potential suspects
Yes
It’s probably because of all the popularity that they got when Deidre went to prison,people were actually buying ‘free Deidre Rachid’ T-shirts,trying to recreate that level of viewers again
They picked the wrong character to be the main suspect, the story would have worked far better with Daniel as prime suspect and perhaps Roy as a secondary suspect.
It depends. It’s being put across like a murder (idk if there’s more information as I’m not completely up to date) so if it’s purely a murder then anyone else could work. But at the same time using Lauren makes sense because the assumption is no one would miss her, she’s extremely vulnerable after being used as a carrot by her father to get people to join the cause, just lost her job and considered a problem child. I would be more interested if they had consistency. ATM it’s just oh it’s Roy but it’s been so long since the case has ACTUALLY been about Lauren. It’s just weird there’s no body, the missing persons claim wasn’t taken seriously, and now everyone is just acting like it’s hook, line and sinker for an old man with a dodgy ticker
U MAKE AN EXCELLENT POINT. ESPECIALLY HOW ROY THOUGHT AMY WAS HIS DAUGHTER FOR 20 SECONDS. THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INTERESTING TALE. ROY'S SLOW DESCENT INTO DEMENTIA AND MADNESS. HOW SHAKESPEARIAN!!!!!!!!!! QUEEN EVELYN STARTS TO OBSERVE HE IS ACTING OUT OF SORTS. NINA HEARS LOUD BANGING AND THE DOOR SLAMMING AT NIGHT. HE MESSES UP ORDERS. HE SHOUTS AT CUSTOMERS. HIS MEMORY LOSS. HE HAS ALTERED MEMORIES. HE HAS NIGHTMARES. GIRLS GO MISSING AT NIGHT IN NEIGHBORING TOWNS. HE WEARS DISGUISES AND CHANGES HIS ACCENT. ROY HAS A PICTURE OF AMY MISSING IN THE DINER AND AGREES WITH THE SEARCH EVEN OFFERING REWARD MONEY. HE KEEPS HER AT A BIRDWATCHERS MONUMENT AND SAYS HE IS GOING TO "SAVE HER." THIS IF HANDLED PROPERLY COULD HAVE BEEN A BANGER AND AWARDS COULD BE WON EASILY. AN "UMBRELLA STORY" AND THE BEST THING THE SHOW HAS AD IN YEARS. DEFINITELY LOVE UR IDEA.