Tonight’s EastEnders sees Ravi Gulati pushed to the edge as the aftermath of recent events forces him into making a decision that could take him away from Walford, and from his family.

The episode follows on from the dramatic fallout of Okie’s shocking death at the hands of Teddy Mitchell, which has left Walford on high alert and intensified police interest in the Mitchells, the Panesars, and anyone connected to the ongoing criminal activities. Added to that is the growing pressure on Ravi after Harry chose to cooperate with the police, handing over information that links Ravi to some deeply dangerous people, forcing Ravi to become a double agent as a police informant in order to stay out of prison.

Ravi returns home in a brutal state, clearly having been beaten severely. He stands with Jack Branning as he questions Ravi on whether the men who did this to him bought his story and whether he can continue to give the police information.

Ravi, grim and short of breath, replies that they must have, because he wouldn’t be alive otherwise. It’s a stark reminder of the dangerous double life he’s now living, passing information back to police on the same men who nearly killed him.

Priya spots Ravi moments later and rushes to him, horrified by the extent of his injuries. She brings him inside and immediately begins cleaning him up.

He tells Priya he’s going to keep everyone safe, but the promise feels more like an obligation than a certainty. Ravi, for once, seems genuinely frightened himself; his typical cool and calm persona fades away as he must begin to question how he can protect his family.

When Avani and Nugget arrive home, they freeze at the sight of Ravi’s injuries. There’s no attempt to hide the fear on their faces, nor Ravi’s discomfort at letting them see him like this. For once, he can’t hide what he’s caught up in, and the reality hits the whole family at the same time: whatever Ravi is involved in is now well beyond his control.

Priya, overwhelmed, admits she wishes she didn’t still love him, but she does. She insists they can face this as a family, even as the situation becomes harder to understand.

But Ravi has already made a decision.

After everything that has happened, the beating, the threats, the pressure from Jack, and the growing chaos following Okie’s death, he tells Priya and the kids that he needs to leave for their own safety. His plan is blunt and practical: they must stay at Suki’s and away from him while he ‘sorts things out’

Priya and the kids hate the idea and challenge him on it, but Ravi is firm. He explains that the people he’s dealing with are far more dangerous than they realise, and after today, he can’t risk keeping them close. As long as he’s still caught in the middle, between the men he’s pretending to work for and the police he’s secretly providing information to, they are targets.

Ravi knows he’s spiralling into something bigger than he can talk his way out of, and distance may be the only protective measure he can offer.

Once Priya and the kids leave the room, Ravi finally allows himself a moment alone. He sits with a photo of his family and breaks down in a way we as viewers haven’t seen before