*Spoilers! This episode of EastEnders is on BBC iPlayer and is yet to air on TV*
EastEnders fans were dreading what was to come as the soap changed their title sequence in honour of Lola Pearce-Brown's (Danielle Harold) final episode tonight (Wednesday, May 31).
Instead of the usual vibrant map of the River Thames flowing through London, the iconic landscape was shown to be dark and gloomy to reflect the sadness of the episode as Lola's final hours ticked by.
Lola, who bravely fought for her life ever since her heartbreaking brain tumour diagnosis, passed away at home.
The young mum's health had rapidly deteriorated and her family were given the devastating news that she had just hours left and that they must say their final goodbyes.
As the news spread that Lola had hours to live, Queen Vic landlady Linda Carter (Kellie Bright) arranged a lock-in with some of Lola's closest friends to grieve the tragedy of losing her to cancer at such a young age.
While the residents played darts and reflected on life and loss, Lola's loved ones bid an emotional farewell to her one last time as Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Callum Highway (Tony Clay) promised Lola that they would be there for her daughter Lexi (Isabella Brown).
Meanwhile, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) struggled to say the words and was wracked with guilt for treating Lola badly in the past.
Little Lexi painted her mum's nails as her way of saying goodbye, before Lola's husband Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) had some alone time with his poorly wife.
Jay sat at her bedside and spoke to her as she slept. He sobbed as he refused to say goodbye to the love of his life, before having a sweet conversation about reincarnation and what they would come back as after they eventually die.
As the clock ticked into the early hours of the morning, Lola sadly slipped away as the sunrise poured in through the window, with Lexi cuddling her in bed and Jay by her side.
Fans were crushed after seeing the dark EastEnders introduction and prepared themselves for what was about to happen...
The dark intro, I’m not ready for this #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/B0VbMxTYrXMay 31, 2023
Not the opening title scene being dark and gloomy 😢😭😭 #EastEndersMay 31, 2023
The night intro 🥺🥺 oh it's definitely a death episode#eastendersMay 31, 2023
For today's episode, the intro is dark. This is going to be a rough one to watch. #EastEnders #LOLAMay 31, 2023
This episode of EastEnders airs tonight at 7:30pm on BBC One.
