Is Ned targeting Ian’s businesses in EastEnders?
Is Ned targeting Ian’s EastEnders businesses? Fans are suspicious after his sudden interest in vulnerable Ian.
Ned might have appeared to offer Ian some much-needed support in EastEnders, but viewers are suspicious about why he has suddenly taken such an interest in him.
Ian is struggling badly following his release from prison, making him unusually vulnerable. Ned encouraged him to open up during today’s episode, but fans have noticed that the apparent act of kindness came after Ned learned more about Ian and his businesses.
Is Ned deliberately getting close to Ian?
Viewers already know Ned is capable of using other people’s vulnerabilities to his advantage, which has made his sudden interest in Ian difficult to take entirely at face value.
One fan watching Thursday’s episode predicted: “He’s gonna go for his businesses.”
Another reached a similar conclusion and suggested Ned “probably got a scheme in mind to target Ian by exploiting his current vulnerability.”
A third viewer simply questioned: “Why is Ned up in everyone’s business?” The remark sums up the growing suspicion around a character who appears increasingly interested in learning exactly where people’s weaknesses lie.
Ned is already building his position in Walford
The theory becomes more interesting because Ned is also establishing business interests of his own.
Upcoming scenes see him celebrating becoming co-owner of Harry’s Barn. That gives him a financial foothold in Walford at the same time as he begins spending more time around one of Albert Square’s longest-standing businessmen.
Fans are also becoming increasingly enthusiastic about Ned as a potential longer-term villain.
One viewer said “Ned has the makings of a great villain,” while another compared his apparently friendly exterior with previous EastEnders villains who initially hid much darker motives.
That does not prove Ian’s businesses are his next target. But Ian is vulnerable, Ned now knows more about what he owns and viewers have already learned that Ned rarely seems to involve himself in somebody else’s life without a reason.
EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Image credit: BBC
