Emmerdale pulled off another big moment on Friday night which saw the killer John Sugden plot take another sharp turn, proving there’s still twists and turns ahead
While Emmerdale‘s dark John Sugden storyline looks set to be heading for the finish line, Friday night’s episode proved there’s still plenty of life, no pun intended, in the killer plot.
While some fans have had enough and are ready for villain John to face his comeuppance, perhaps the latest twist that aired on Friday could see it take its biggest turn yet. The latest episode of the ITV soap saw the moment it was revealed that John’s latest victim Mackenzie Boyd was still alive.
He’s been missing ever since John appeared to kill him a couple of weeks ago, in brutal scenes that sparked a number of Ofcom complaints. Mack was shot with a bow and arrow before John appeared to silence him for good, slamming a rock over his head.
But in the shocking closing moments of Friday night, we saw Mack alive while seemingly in a bad way. Then, nothing. The episode ended before we got any context and any news on his condition post-attack.
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Of course there will be questions and likely some reactions calling out the big move. How could Mack possibly have survived such brutal injuries? How did he get Mack away without anyone realising?
All to be revealed of course, but arguably this is one of the biggest twists yet, and one of the best in the entire storyline. “Robert Sugden’s big return, the will-they-won’t-they Robron chaos it triggered and Robert finding himself in the middle of John’s secret antics, and the resulting feud, was very much an epic move by the show, and it revitalised the storyline,” our soap insider shared.
“But this latest twist does so much for the storyline, and means so much. To have Mack alive completely reaffirms that John is not an intentional killer, he’s just someone who’s done very, very bad things.
“He’s a manipulator, he has to be in control and he goes to desperate lengths to ensure things go the way he wants. But he’s not a planned killer, and he feels guilt… most of the time. He could have killed Mack, silenced him, but he didn’t, because he no doubt couldn’t go through with it.”
This isn’t about painting John in a “he’s just made bad choices” light though. The twist is “genius” according to our soap expert, as it could completely derail John’s life and be the pivotal moment that sees it all come crashing down.
With Aaron already suspicious over John’s behaviour and his lies, about the cottage and about his whereabouts, surely it is only a matter of time before the truth about Mack, and everything, finally comes to light. We know John is leaving the show, so a comeuppance is inevitable.
Not only does Mack’s survival seal John’s end, but it could spark a ton of new mysteries across the coming days and weeks which can give this rather dark plot some new life. Again, no pun intended, RIP Nate. “The fact that John has ‘saved’ Mack, the very person that now knows everything, there is every chance the already guilty villain will cave and expose his own deep, dark secrets – not to mention keeping Mack alive surely has to spell the end of his villainous ways.
“John is already on the edge, and we don’t know yet, thanks to the cliffhanger, what his plans are for Mack and whether he plans to let him go. We know very little asides Mack’s true fate. John could crack at any moment with Aaron or even with Mack, given his desperate calls and messages to the helplines recently.
“But the bigger question is the stuff we haven’t seen. Mack’s survival was kept top secret, so we are guaranteed to be shown or told some unaired moments, and stuff that has not been given away in spoilers. That cannot simply be it with Mack, it has to be revisited.
“What did happen to him after that showdown? What has happened since his capture, and what’s gone on in those weeks he was believed to be dead? Surely, onscreen or not, we will be told some previously untold and unaired moments.”
That’s not all though, as it could spark some new mysteries. “This isn’t just going to leave big questions in terms of what we haven’t seen, but also a new mystery surrounding whether Mack will live or die, and if he can get away. Then there’s the ongoing mystery surrounding the body of Anthony Fox who was killed at the start of the year by Ruby Miligan.
“John still hasn’t disclosed where he buried him, and he sparked new theories with fans when mentioning him in a recent episode. This latest twist with Mack will no doubt leave fans wondering what really happened there too, and where Anthony is. Some may call it unrealistic, but I’d say Mack’s reappearance is somewhat a genius move, given all the things it could now lead to. It’s really, really exciting.”
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1 and ITVX, with an hour-long episode on Thursdays. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .