BBC EastEnders fans call out soap return as grieving legend comes back for Keanu Taylor's funeral

Actress Lorraine Stanley reprised her role in EastEnders as Karen Taylor buried her son Keanu Taylor, the second child she has lost to life in the Square.

Keanu Taylor was murdered on Christmas 2023 before being buried underneath Kathy Beale's café by six of Walford's leading ladies - Kathy herself, Sharon Watts, Denise Fox, Suki Panesar, Stacey Slater and Linda Carter, Keanu's killer.

The hunk's body was found earlier this year by Alfie Moon and Bernie Taylor and residents gathered around this Thursday (June 13, 2024) on BBC One for his funeral.

Sharon Watts, who was due to marry Keanu prior to his death, received a nasty shock when Karen Taylor made a surprise return to the borough for her son's funeral, furiously warning her to stay away from the event.

Karen returned to the Square for Keanu's funeral this Thursday but viewers have pointed out a forgotten detail

Tensions continued to grow throughout the episode but with Kat Slater's help, Karen and Sharon agreed to a truce for Keanu's funeral and mourned together, sharing a tear-jerking embrace in the Queen Vic.

This was until Karen, desperate for answers, decided to confront Dean Wicks with Matt Di Angelo reappearing on screens in later scenes as the grieving mother demanded why he killed Keanu, which he fiercely denied.

To make matters worse, Dean warned Karen that Linda Carter knew more than she let on. But while fans of the London-based program were happy to see both soap icons return, some couldn't help but point out that Karen returned despite making her 2023 exit from the program with Julia's Theme playing in the background.

As diehard fans will know, the theme tune is usually used at the end of an episode, often after a death or the departure of a long-serving character and viewers took to X, otherwise known as Twitter to share their thoughts.

"Obsessed with the fact that Karen got julia’s theme back in December and she’s been back twice already", one fan commented on social media while another agreed: "What was the point of giving Karen a Julia’s theme if the show knew she was gonna be returning multiple times?"

A third chimed in: "Karen's back... again", just as a fourth wrote: "Karen was axed but has been back like three times in a year." As mentioned, Karen left the Square in late 2023, after she was exposed for her involvement in Albie Watts' kidnapping.

Although Keanu was also involved, Karen decided to protect him and left Walford with Mitch Baker and the rest of their children in tow for sunnier climates in Spain, with Phil Mitchell's ransom money in hand and Keanu's secret under wraps.

Karen then came back when Keanu was said to be missing and she has been searching for the truth ever since. Was her latest appearance the last viewers have seen of her?

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