A Square of Shadows: The Mitchells Strike Back and the Slaters Fracture

In the relentless landscape of Walford, the festive season has traditionally been a time of reckoning rather than reconciliation. This year, the air in Albert Square is thick with the scent of long-brewing vengeance and psychological warfare, as the Mitchell family executes a cold-blooded campaign against Ravi Gulati, while the Slaters find themselves at the epicenter of a tragic unraveling.

The simmering feud between the Mitchells and Ravi Gulati reached a terrifying crescendo this week. Nicola Mitchell, the family’s calculating matriarch-in-waiting, finally put her carefully guarded scheme into motion. Fueled by a thirst for retribution following the abduction and drug-fueled downfall of her son Harry—events directly linked to Ravi’s criminal dealings—Nicola opted for psychological torment over brute force. After secretly lacing Ravi’s drink, she triggered a series of terrifying hallucinations that left the hardman dazed and defenseless.

As Ravi stumbled disorientated through the Square, Harry lay in wait, guiding his prey into the shadows of the Arches. Cornered in a locked garage surrounded by heavy equipment, a vulnerable Ravi was at the mercy of a man pushed beyond reason. While Nicola had previously counseled patience, Harry’s fury boiled over upon seeing Ravi’s apparent “domestic bliss” with Priya. It was only Billy Mitchell’s unexpected intervention that prevented Harry from committing an irreversible act of violence, leaving a trapped Ravi to battle the intensifying demons of his drug-induced visions. Though Ravi eventually managed to flee, the mental scars and the Mitchells’ campaign of terror suggest that his reign of intimidation in Walford may be coming to a haunting end.

Simultaneously, the Slater household has been plunged into a nightmare that has effectively canceled any festive cheer. The Christmas Day revelations regarding Anthony Truman—Zoe Slater’s unreliable former partner—have left the family fractured. The discovery that Anthony had spent years deceiving the Slaters about the fate of Zoe’s twins ended in a violent confrontation. While Zoe believed she delivered a fatal blow in self-defense, the presence of soap icon Chrissy Watts and Zoe’s hidden daughter, Jasmine, has cast a long, manipulative shadow over the truth.

Perhaps most concerning is the deteriorating state of Jean Slater. Often viewed as the fragile heart of the clan, Jean’s mental well-being has been severely shaken by the return of Zoe and the departure of Stacey. Her increasingly erratic behavior and extreme hostility toward Zoe have led some to speculate that Jean’s resentment may have manifested in ways far darker than mere verbal outbursts. With Zoe now facing the consequences of Anthony’s death, the question remains whether Jean’s paranoia will lead her to a breaking point from which her family cannot pull her back.

As the Square prepares for a New Year’s Day flash-forward that promises a chaotic year for Max Branning—including a mysterious wedding and further familial scandals—the current climate is one of profound instability. In Walford, secrets are rarely buried for long, and as 2026 looms, the residents find that the ghosts of Christmas past are more than willing to haunt the present.