WARNING: This article is full of spoilers for today’s EastEnders episode, which is streaming on BBC iPlayer now but has not yet aired on BBC One, and sees Sam team up with Mark.
EastEnders fans were left doing a double-take during today’s dramatic episode as Sam made a shock return to her old ways.
The latest instalment sees tensions rise as Mark desperately tries to find the cash he owes gang boss Russell.
After yesterday’s episode ended with Grant’s attempt to help, making matters even worse, viewers watched as the pressure piled on for Mark. In the end, Russell doubled the debt and threatened to kill Mark if the money wasn’t handed over by next week.
Russell targets Vicki
When Vicki finds Russell in her kitchen this morning, she instantly knows he is linked to Mark. Russell is there to deliver a warning. He tells Vicki to make sure Mark gets the message and makes veiled threats about her upcoming wedding.
Vicki goes straight to Mark, telling him what happened. It doesn’t take long for the penny to drop, and Mark realises this is Grant’s doing.
Mark confronts Grant, telling him to back off. Grant protests, telling him that he’s selling his bar in Portugal to help pay off the debt. But Mark doesn’t want to know and cuts Granty out of his life for good.
Sam and Mark team up in EastEnders
Later, Mark is at The Vic, wondering where on earth he is going to get £200k from. He asks Sam for advice. She tells him his only option is to use his stolen car contact and sell them through the car lot.
Mark points out that Lauren would never go for it, especially as he is getting her the legit classic cars. Sam suggests he needs to remove the legit cars from the picture, suggesting he torches them, leaving Lauren with no option but to use the stolen cars instead.
Mark isn’t sure about the plan, especially as it involves conning Lauren. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, and he agrees.
That evening, Mark heads to an abandoned quarry and pours petrol over the car he’s just spent ages fixing up for Lauren to sell.
As he torches the car, Sam steps out of the shadows in a shock twist, proving that her Mitchell instinct has never left.
Fans aren’t impressed by the special effects
While the scenes were meant to deliver maximum drama, many fans were left more distracted by the special effects than the storyline itself.
Viewers quickly took to X to complain about the CGI flames used during the car fire sequence.
“They need to stop with the CGI fire. It worked when Phil set the chair on fire last week. But the car looked really bad today,” one fan wrote.
Another agreed: “That CGI fire was absolutely laughable.”
A third viewer added: “That was the fakest CGI fire I’ve ever seen on telly!”
Meanwhile, another joked: “The CGI fire was so bad, did they use all the stunt budget on last month’s car crash?!”