EastEnders fans have been left demanding that one character meets a grisly end amid a bombshell prison twist on the soap. Fuming fans were left livid when murderer Reiss Colwell allowed his pregnant partner Sonia to be jailed for his crimes in today's episode of the BBC programme. It was confirmed that Sonia would be heading straight to prison at the end of the episode as she was hauled away by guards ready to send her down accused of being Debbie Colwell's killer.
Fans of the show know that Reiss smothered his comatose wife to death as he became plagued by a financial crisis. He decided to kill her in order to free up the care costs for her after falling into debts with his new partner Sonia's IVF treatment. The residents of Walford were all left scratching their heads as to why Sonia would be charged with such a crime but it became clear they had a bad feeling when it came to Reiss.
In the episode, Sonia, at the encouragement of a suspicious Jack Branning, asked Reiss outright if he had killed Debbie. When he denied it, she continued to back and defend him as she was faced with life behind bars. She panicked over the stress she was enduring amid her high-risk pregnancy as well as fearing her baby would be taken away from her upon birth in prison. Sonia went on to say: "Look around you, this is where I am going to be pregnant, this is where I'm going to have our baby." Reiss then added: "I won't let that happen." Appearing as though he could confess, he went on to say: "I need to tell you something." Sure enough they were soon disturbed by the guard taking Sonia down and Reiss never got to say what he appeared to be planning on.
Now, fans of the show have been left raging at Reiss' deplorable actions of allowing a pregnant Sonia to be jailed. Taking to X - formerly Twitter - one fan said: "Honestly kill Reiss off at this point. I can't stand him." Another added: "Reiss keeps saying he’s going to do everything he can to get innocent, pregnant Sonia out of prison. but I’m yet to see him admit to murder so she can be free." Before a third said: "The Sonia/Reiss/Debbie storyline is p***ing me offffff. How can Sonia still defend Reiss? He has lied since day 1, why can’t she see he may be lying about killing Debbie." As a fourth commented: "Getting fed up of Reiss."
Sonia's Shocking Arrest
Things have gone from bad to worse for Sonia Fowler (played by Natalie Cassidy) following her arrest with fiancé Reiss Colwell (Jonny Freeman) yesterday on EastEnders. The pair were dragged away from their engagement party by the police and faced a night of intense questioning over the murder of Debbie. Reiss fared well, with the secret murderer managing to have a convincing alibi and no clear motive for killing his wife. But life wasn't as simple for Sonia in the other room, who couldn't supply an alibi for the night in question, and even though she was telling the truth about her interactions with Debbie, seemed quite suspicious indeed.
The police certainly thought so, wondering why it was that she would visit her partner's ex so frequently, why she would go alone to see her, and why her DNA was found on the pillow that smothered the comatose woman. Clearly frustrated by how she was being questioned, Sonia at times even let her frustration slip out as anger, which simply didn't go in her favour. As the episode came to a close, Reiss was relieved to hear the CPS had demanded he be released as there wasn't substantial evidence for him. But the same couldn't be said for poor Son, who was charged with the murder of Debbie. Will Sonia be able to prove her innocence? And will Reiss's crimes ever be uncovered?
Phil Gets Involved
Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) has become embroiled in another murder mystery in recent EastEnders scenes, after Martin Fowler (James Bye) begged for his help. Phil is already caught up in the murder of Keanu Taylor (Danny Walters), after finding out the true version of events from Sharon Watts (Letitia Dean), and more recent scenes saw him approached about another situation. Albert Square residents were left shocked this week when police arrived at Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy) and Reiss Colwell’s (Jonny Freeman) engagement party and arrested them both for the murder of Reiss’ wife Debbie.
Viewers will know that Reiss smothered Debbie to death after falling behind on her care home fees, though Sonia is completely oblivious to this. In tonight’s episode, both Sonia and Reiss were interrogated by police, and things weren’t looking great for the EastEnders stalwart. Police were quick to mention that Sonia’s DNA was all over Debbie’s pillow, and though Sonia argued that she moved Debbie to make her more comfortable all the time, the police didn’t appear convinced.
Things got even worse for Sonia when the police revealed that witnesses had confirmed overhearing her stating that things would be easier if Debbie was dead. Meanwhile, Martin paid Phil a visit in the hopes that he would be able to provide Sonia with a decent solicitor. Earlier this week, Sonia reminded Phil of the promise he’d made to Jamie Mitchell to always look after her, and Martin further put pressure on Phil by reminding him of the time Sonia had saved son Ben Mitchell’s (Max Bowden) life after he was shot by Hunter Owen. Sure enough, a new solicitor soon arrived to help Sonia out of her mess.
Will Reiss Ever Come Clean?
Across the station, it was good news for Reiss, who was told that he was free to go, as he had an alibi due to the fact that his phone records placed him at a bar late into the night of Debbie’s death. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Sonia, who had no alibi. After a discussion with the CPS, the detective informed her that she was being charged with Debbie’s murder. When Reiss found out that Sonia wasn’t free to go, he protested her innocence, but when given the opportunity to confess, he failed to take it. Will Reiss ever come clean about what he did to save Sonia, or is she set to go down for a very long time?
Fans are eagerly awaiting the next episode of EastEnders to see how this shocking plotline will unfold. While many are calling for Reiss to be killed off, others are hoping for a redemption arc for the character. One thing is for sure, this storyline is sure to keep viewers on the edge of their seats for weeks to come.
