There was a full-on discussion about thrash and doom metal on Eastenders last night and the internet can't take it

Whether it's Stranger Things breathing unprecedented new life into Master Of Puppets or Bon Jovi providing the unlikely soundtrack to Ms Marvel, summer 2022 seems to be the moment that rock music officially took over TV.

Now, in an increasingly absurd turn of events, BBC soap opera staple Eastenders has gotten in on the act courtesy of an unlikely bond (and cheeky snog) between two characters underpinned by their newfound shared love of heavy metal. No, this isn't a Hard Times article - it really happened.

WARNING - SPOILER FOR THE LATEST EPISODE OF EASTENDERS TO FOLLOW

In last night's Eastenders episode, regular characters Suki Panesar and Eve Unwin (played by Balvinder Sopal and Heather Peace respectively) are seen chatting together in Walford's local cafe as the two bond over their experiences dealing with guilt and the death of a loved one. 

As the conversation continues, Eve reveals that, as a youngster, she was a proud nerd who loved nothing more than chilling with her thrash metal albums rather than socialising with anybody.

"I...erm...I was a geek who was at home, just shut up in my room, blasting out thrash metal music just so that no one would talk to me," she chuckles, adding that she "liked the drums, guitars, swearing."

Not to be outdone, Suki - historically portrayed as a villain in in the show - reveals that she, too, used to be a metalhead, albeit a closet one who was keener on the slower and heavier side of the genre.

"I prefer my metal with a slower tempo. Low-tuned guitar, crawling riffs, music dripping with desperation," she tells Eve. 

"What?! Are you...are you, like, what, a doom metal fan?!" Eve exclaims. "Suki Panesar, you dark horse!"

"I used to listen privately," Suki replies. "My parents would be horrified. And I always sought their approval."

"It's all making sense now," Eve muses in response. "That fierce attitude, that jet black heart. I should have known, you're a metal fan!" She later adds as the pair walk through Albert Square: "You're a metalhead! God, if I'd have known I'd have known I'd have taken you to a club and dropped you in the middle of a mosh pit." 

The plot thickens from there, however, as the duo head back to Suki's place where, in the episode's final scene, they stick some Black Sabbath on the stereo (Paranoid, if you're asking) and begin making out.

Unsurprisingly, heavy metal Eastenders Twitter (which we did absolutely not know was a thing until this morning) went to town on it.

"Finding out that Suki Panesar is a metalhead is my favourite thing ever," one user Tweeted. "Doom metal no less. Love a woman with taste."

"Everyone’s screaming at Suki and eve and I’m more shocked she’s into metal music tbh," said another.

"EastEnders referencing doom metal?" one user questioned. "Our time in the public's adoring spotlight has come."

"Suki into doom metal. Are we talking Sabbath/Kyuss or Electric Wizard/Monolord here?" another user questioned (presumably, they got their answer come the end of the episode).

Some users responded less flippantly, with one pointing out that the scenes marked a remarkable evolution for Suki's character. "Seriously, that kiss between Suki and Eve with Black Sabbath playing in the background was brilliant," they argue. "Suki has been a closet metal head lesbian living as a repressed middle-aged Indian matriarch from a traditional family."

Watch the episode via BBC iPlayer if you're in the UK (the metal convo begins just after 19 minutes), while if you're elsewhere you can watch a snipped and edited version of the episode below. You can also see more of what Twitter had to say on the matter just below that.