Carla Connor entered the early release on ITVX on December 12th with a heartbroken but still trying-to-act mood: Kirk offered her a Secret Santa gift, and she brushed it off, like, “No need for the holiday spirit.”

The reason is obvious to anyone watching: Carla had just poured her heart out to Lisa Swain, openly admitting she still loved her and couldn’t stand Christmas without Lisa.

Lisa admitted her feelings were still there, but concluded that she couldn’t come back after everything that had happened.

That one sentence was enough to send Carla into escape mode: she declared she would fly to Lanzarote to escape the entire holiday season, to escape the feeling of being left behind.

But that’s Corrie for you; as soon as someone says they’re leaving, they’re already ensnared. Kit Green immediately intervened, pulling Carla to his side with a seemingly logical offer: stay and help him gather evidence to bring down Becky Swain. Kit had just tracked down the address of the house Costello bought right before Becky faked her death, a clue that could reveal a whole chain of crimes.

Carla was exhausted, but she understood that if Becky was really up to no good, leaving Weatherfield now would be like handing herself over to a knife. And that’s exactly what happened: in No. 6, Becky saw Lisa leave a voicemail begging Carla not to board the flight, to stay and celebrate Christmas with Lisa, and Becky’s face wasn’t one of “love-struck happiness” but rather one of calculation. Becky left in the blink of an eye, then returned at the exact moment Lisa received a message from Carla saying she had gone on vacation and asking Lisa not to contact her anymore.