Bea Pollard's outrageous EastEnders antics have been thwarted in a dramatic conclusion. But as Honey and Billy Mitchell breathe a sigh of relief that she's out of their lives, I'm missing Ronni Ancona's wild alter ego already. Renowned for her iconic impressions of Walford legends Peggy Mitchell and Kat Moon, it's a testament to Ronni's acting skills that she embodied this role so seamlessly, allowing us to look beyond those historic impersonations and embrace all she had to offer as Bea.
A Story That Ended Too Soon
Her story came to a rather abrupt end. Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed the ride, and stars Ronni and Emma Barton have carried this rollercoaster week brilliantly. But there were lost opportunities here. After she framed Billy for her 'murder', we could have been treated to more of Bea's descent into darkness as she laid low in the Square, in direct contrast with Honey's calm and measured approach to draw her out of hiding. Instead, we missed out on valuable screentime as Bea spent almost an entire episode missing in action.
When the time came for her to face the music, the payoff was a little too easy. Honey escaped what was a relatively tame kidnap ordeal incredibly quickly. This was something of an anti-climax for those of us who had hoped for warped Bea to dial up the theatrics and go full 'Misery' on us. Yes, Bea did step it up a notch by aiming a corkscrew at Billy's neck and proclaiming, in a magnificent line that will surely be used in memes for years to come: 'I'm not unhinged, I'm just having a bad day!' But just as the danger and dialogue were hitting their peak, it was all over, and Bea was being driven away by the police.
A Visit That Marked the End
Sadly, a visit from Linda Carter marked remorseless Bea's final appearance, and as things stand, it seems that those affected by her behaviour will move on fairly swiftly. That simply isn't the legacy Bea deserved to go out with. Unlike the genre's typical obsessive female antagonist, there's a uniqueness to Bea, who had enough camp menace, vulnerability and nuance to stick around for at least a year, if not longer. This is why I'm craving a comeback for a character that has so much more to give.
We haven't even scratched the surface of Bea's backstory. In her January debut, when she revealed she had been bullied at school by a teenage Linda, the issue was glossed over. Yet those of us who have ever felt excluded, including Honey herself, could identify with Bea's despair and her longing to be liked.
Deeper Exploration Needed
Of course, the extreme way Bea dealt with her constant rejection meant that our sympathy soon waned. For me, though, those eleventh-hour, telling comments about her nasty mother and persistently negative experiences with men made the perfect prologue for a much deeper exploration of how her childhood influenced her adult mindset. Her cutting words: 'Men always ruin things' felt more like an opening gambit than a closing statement, and there are a wealth of possibilities for the taking.
Walford has seen many a tortured soul as a result of early trauma, but they don't all end up as unstable as Bea, and soap history teaches us that those that do, don't necessarily have to be written off once they get their comeuppance. We've seen many a powerful arc mould initial villains into tragic or tortured anti-heroes – and it can be done without taking away their edge. Prime examples include EastEnders' own Janine Butcher, Coronation Street's Tracy Barlow and Sienna Blake in Hollyoaks. We found out what made them tick, and they experienced just enough growth to make their way into our hearts – but we still wouldn't want to cross them!
With this in mind, the show could take Bea right to the edge as a baddie, and so long as the context is strong enough, still find a way to nurture her into a long-term fixture. Failing that, though, I'd simply love to see EastEnders reinstate Bea for a proper exit. Rather than acting as a plot device to test Billy and Honey's marriage, I want to see a chapter that's all about Bea; showcasing just how far she can go with the time and space to reach her most deranged.
A Second Act Deserved
As far as I'm concerned, Bea has earned a second act, and she needs a showstopping send-off for the ages: an origin story followed by her hardcore take on 'revenge' for the wrongs she believes she's suffered. This means going bigger, bolder and camper, creating enough peril to impact the community at large, with an intense aftermath that ensures she's brought up in future conversations on an indefinite basis. So please, EastEnders, give Bea an encore so she can enjoy her very own main character moment.
