EastEnders’ Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) is in a bit of a pickle, isn’t she?

After six months of getting shot, dropping nuclear bombs on her poor family, desperately trying to locate her long lost child and dealing with an insidious stalker, Zoe finally discovered both her stalker and her child in one fell swoop, while coming face to face with a historic nemesis, shortly after a showdown with baby daddy, Anthony Trueman (Nicholas Bailey), that saw him lose his life.

Firmly believing that uber-bitch, Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), the mastermind behind her stalking ordeal delivered the killing blow to Anthony while she lay unconscious, and, desperate to protect newly-found daughter, Jasmine Fisher (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) who’d worked alongside Chrissie in orchestrating the stalking from further Chrissie-flavoured wrath, Zoe is currently sat in a prison cell, planning to plead guilty to man slaughter.

Kat Moon’s (Jessie Wallace) desperation to see her daughter free led her to pressure Jasmine into implicating Chrissie to the police but, knowing she couldn’t risk her killer secret being exposed, she decided to flee instead.

With Jasmine gone and Chrissie like a (incredibly well coiffed) needle in a (devilishly glamorous) haystack, it seems Zoe’s fate is sealed as tightly as the door on her prison cell.

Perhaps not quiet, as another blast from the past is about to rock up, this one a lot more welcome than his former paramour. Jake Moon (Joel Beckett) is back in Walford.

Jake’s initial exit saw him presumed dead in a botched gangland revenge mission courtesy of mob boss, Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), though he staged an unexpected return to the show in 2024 to reunite with long-time love Chrissie, who’d been released from prison after twenty years, with the couple seemingly receiving a happy ending as they drove off, together at last and free of any obstacles.

The last time we saw Chrissie, though, during her 2025 Christmas return, she was actively ignoring Jake’s messages at Christmas, and a solo return to Walford for Mr. Moon doesn’t indicate that the pair managed to last, especially with Chrissie’s quick descent back into evil.

With Jasmine unreachable, though, will he become the Slater/Moon’s biggest opportunity to set Zoe free?

Jake was always an anti-hero. He made bad decisions and frequently did stupid things, but, when it mattered, he did the right thing. He even shot his own utterly-crazed brother, Danny (Jake Maskell), as he tried to execute Phil and Grant Mitchell (Steve McFadden and (Ross Kemp) after murdering Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman).

He was also fiercely loyal to his family. That family includes Alfie Moon (Shane Richie). Who’s the husband of Kat. Who’s the mum of Zoe. Do you see where I’m going with this?

The closest thing the Slater’s currently have to a conduit to Chrissie is Jake. Will he sacrifice his (former?) true love for the sake of Alfie’s step daughter?

Can he find Chrissie? Can she help uncover the truth of what really happened on Christmas day?

Or will his ties to Chrissie prove too strong to break? Chrissie is manipulative beyond the telling of it and, after doing a twenty stretch for coldly murdering her ex, Den Watts (Leslie Grantham), hardened to a degree that would make concrete look malleable.

Even if Jake wanted to enlist Chrissie’s help, would she do so willingly? Probably not, considering her hate for Zoe still burns strong twenty years after their feud began.

Could she manage to get under his skin once more? Sever his loyalty to Alfie and ensure that Zoe is left in prison to rot?

Is Jake the knight in shining armour that Zoe needs? Or just another muppet in tinfoil?