EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders has concluded its run of festive episodes with a very exciting instalment – a flashforward that takes place an entire year in the future, on New Year’s Day 2027. With Max Branning at the centre of the drama, as the episode unfolded we found out that he is involved in all sorts of trouble –and by the end he was presented with a devastating decision to make.
The chaotic and eye-opening episode asked a lot of questions, that executive producer Ben Wadey has confirmed will all be answered throughout 2026. So let’s break things down – what are we left desperate to find out?
1. Who is Max marrying?
BBC
In the opening moments of the flashforward, it didn’t take long to find out that Max is getting married on New Year’s Day 2027. Oscar even texted Radio 2 and got Scott Mills to give his dad a shoutout on his wedding day! He donned a suit and made a call to his fiancé, telling her that he can’t wait to marry her later. But who is the mysterious bride?
Her identity was kept tightly under wraps during the episode, but a montage showed that Linda, Cindy, Chelsea and (absent) Denise were all getting ready for the ceremony. Max has shared at least a fleeting moment with all of these women over the festive season, but is one of them about to put on a wedding dress?
2. Who is Max sleeping with?
BBC
It’s never simple with Max, and it soon became clear that the woman he woke up in bed with is not the same woman he was set to marry. To make things even more dramatic, whoever was lying next to Max appeared to be heavily pregnant!
When things went seriously wrong for Max, he fled his flat and left this mystery woman to be discovered by the authorities. But who is the other woman in the picture, and could she be pregnant with Max’s baby?
3. Who has Max killed – if anyone?
Mark Rogers//BBC
Speaking of things going wrong, Max’s wedding preparations were put on hold when realised that he was surrounded by police. He desperately tried to escape and begged Lauren to help him hide, but his daughter decided to hand him in – and Max was arrested for solicitation to murder.
Who Max supposedly paid to kill, and whether anyone actually died, remains a mystery, but he denied this serious charge at the station. However, the situation suddenly turned on its head and Max was released with no questions asked. What changed, and what does this mean for Max?
4. Who is the black gloved kidnapper?
BBC
Within the action and the intricacies of Max’s love life, there is a sinister character who arrives on the Square in a van. We never see their face in the episode, only their black gloves – and the fact that they have a gun.
The anonymous assailant spotted an opportunity and broke into No.25 to capture Lauren and Oscar. In the closing moments of the episode, they contacted Max and showed him that his children had been taken hostage, forcing him to decide which Branning offspring lives. Who is targeting the family, and will Max really choose between Lauren and Oscar?
5. What is Lauren hiding?
BBC
Lauren has her own struggles during the episode, aside from her turbulent relationship with her dad. She and Peter are still married, but it is evident that a lot has happened for the couple during 2026. Lauren was seen secretly texting and meeting up with someone in the Square, and Max seems to know that she is hiding things from her loved ones.
Could Lauren be seeing someone behind Peter’s back, or does she have another dark secret?
6. Who is Oscar dating?
BBC
Oscar has been enjoying a tumultuous relationship with Jasmine in the present day, and it appears that he is still loved up at the start of 2027. In a lovely scene with Patrick, it was implied that he is now seen as part of the Trueman family. With Jasmine confirmed to be Anthony’s daughter before his dramatic Christmas Day death, this could mean that she and Oscar are still together.
But this also might be a huge red herring – could Oscar be dating someone else from the Trueman clan?
7. What has happened to Jack?
BBC
At the start of 2027, Jack seems to be in a pretty bad way. In the flashforward, he was on very bad terms with his brother Max, with the events of the previous 12 months having taken a toll on their already fractured relationship. It appeared that he and Denise had split up or at least weren’t in a good place in their marriage, and there was also a baby called Ethan in the house that he was in charge of looking after – though the child’s parents remain unknown.
Is Ethan Jack’s baby, or someone else’s? And just why is he so heartbroken?
8. Why is Libby back?
BBC
What you definitely won’t have seen coming is the return of Denise’s daughter Libby, who hasn’t been seen in Walford since 2017. In the episode, Patrick and Libby returned home to look for Denise, but while a dress was hanging up on the door, she was nowhere to be found. Denise left her phone lying around, and Libby was shocked when she spotted who was ringing her mum.
Is Libby back in Albert Square for a wedding or a completely different reason – and where has Denise disappeared to?
9. Why is Ian Max’s best man?
BBC
Amidst all of the twists and turns in the episode, one of the biggest surprises is that Ian, of all people, stepped up to replace Jack as Max’s best man. As he practiced his all-important speech, Kathy found it difficult to understand how Ian could find it in his heart to move forward “after everything he did, after everything that went down”.
Ian insisted that what happened with Max is water under the bridge and he was trying to be the bigger man. Peter is also furious with Max – so what did he do to the Beales, and why has Ian decided to forgive him? Oscar might have given us a big clue, saying that neither Jimmy nor Ethan would be alive if it wasn’t for his dad…
10. How did Nicola get injured?
BBC
During the flashforward, Nicola was seen sitting in The Vic with George, perhaps confirming that the pair have made a go of their relationship and could even be playing happy families with their currently unborn child. As they discussed the chaotic events of the day, Nicola was sporting crutches and a brace on her leg.
Everything has a meaning in this flashforward, and it’s been confirmed that every character who appears in the episode will have a big story this year. So how did Nicola end up injured, and is this anything to do with Max? After all, there was a lot of chemistry between them in a scene earlier this week…
11. What’s happened to The Vic?
BBC
It’s a small detail that was easy to miss, but as The Vic got ready to host the reception for Max’s wedding in the episode, it was revealed that the windows of the pub were boarded up. Christmas in Walford is never drama-free, but this ominous clue could signal some major trouble in the centre of Albert Square towards the end of 2026.
Plus, it wasn’t clear in the flashforward who owns the pub this time next year. Are Kat and Alfie still in charge of the boozer, or is there a new landlord or landlady?
EastEnders airs on Mondays – Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
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