Eve Unwin (played by Heather Peace) bid farewell to Walford on Wednesday (October 16) and returned to her Yorkshire roots without her partner Suki Panesar (Balvinder Sopal), leaving fans in suspense about her return.
Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) orchestrated a visit from his and Suki's distant grandson Tye, marking his first appearance. The event brought the Panesars together in joy, welcoming their late son's child.
On Tuesday (October 15), Nish confessed his intentions to use Tye as a means to reconnect with Suki. However, he was incensed when he overheard his former wife joking with Eve that Tye wouldn't remember his grandfather due to his impending death.
In response, Nish began plotting revenge and made an enigmatic phone call, ordering an assault on an unidentified individual.
During her latest visit to the Square, Eve received a distressing call from her estranged father, informing her that her mother had been robbed and hospitalised, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Immediately, Eve arranged for her and Suki to travel to Yorkshire to visit her mother. However, upon sharing the news with her family, Nish reminded Suki that she would miss the rare chance to meet her young grandson.
As Suki and Eve were about to depart, Nish arrived at the house with Tye. Suki was overjoyed to see him, even noting Tye's resemblance to her slain son Jagvir (Amar Adatia).
Torn between spending time with her grandson or accompanying Eve, Suki suggested that it wasn't the appropriate moment for her to meet Eve's family.
Eve made the decision to leave Suki to enjoy Tye's visit and took off for Yorkshire solo.
She popped into the cafe before catching her train to bid farewell to Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), who convinced her that heading out alone was the right move.
But as Eve began her journey to reunite with her father after twenty long years, EastEnders aficionados were less than pleased that such a pivotal moment unfolded away from the cameras.
Frustrated viewers took to social media to express their dismay. One viewer tweeted: "I'm so annoyed eve seeing her parents for the first time in 20 years is all OFF screen. it's something I've waited to see for ages."
Another vented: "The fact that they've made Eve see her parents for the first time in 20 years offscreen is c***. I'd really want to see that especially since Erica's death."
A different fan shared their vexation: "It just feels wrong that this is happening off-screen and has been rushed and pushed to the side. Yeah, it'll be good if we get some stuff involving Eve and her parents down the line, but we won't see the most important part. Why isn't this being shown?"
One more mused over the episode's handling of the storyline: "I have mixed feelings about today's episode. eve going to see her parents for the first time in 20 years happening off-screen is a huge missed opportunity by the writers, but this scene was so precious and heartwarming, 'our grandson'", adding to the chorus of critiques.
EastEnders airs Monday - Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC and iPlayer
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