Cain Dingle’s grief has been the highlight of Emmerdale’s John Sugden story

The aftermath of a killer storyline in a soap is far better than the actual plot itself.

And we all know the set up by now. A character arrives and slots themselves into the community without any hassle, convincing everyone they’re simply just trying to get by.

A few months into their stay in whichever neighbourhood and we see the character confronting another one, resulting in the resident being murdered via weapons including an oar or hole punch.

Villainous storylines are part of soapland though. You look back at the history of Coronation Street or Emmerdale and a number of residents have ruined people’s lives through brutal murders.

But as a result of the shows being on our screens for decades, thinking outside of the box with dark characters is now an absolute must. If not, they are just the same as the one that came before, and so, so predictable.

*Cough* Stephen Reid.

In Emmerdale’s latest evil villain story, John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) was confirmed to be Nate Robinson’s murderer earlier this year. Flashbacks and past episodes revealed that this was not a character who took pleasure in murdering people, he was someone who got an absolute rush out of being called a hero – but also had to deal with the catastrophic mistakes he made along the way.

Shortly after the villagers learnt that Nate had been killed, his partner Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) concluded that Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) murdered his own son.

The two characters then began an utterly exhaustive back and forth as either one made the accusation the other had killed Nate.

It has involved an awful lot of shouting but amid this, a heart-breaking arc has aired for Cain and to me, it has been a lot more compelling than seeing how long it’ll be until John’s true nature is exposed.

Cain is trying to come to terms with the fact his son died under the impression their relationship had been completely destroyed.

This has plagued the mechanic ever since he learnt about his son’s death. He cannot move past the fact that when Nate was killed, he believed his dad hated him.

Focusing on one specific part of the relationship and having regret over it is common when it comes to grief, but remembering that a dynamic existed outside of this is something the charity Cruse Bereavement Support are passionate about highlighting.

Andy Langford, a spokesperson for the charity told me: ‘Cain’s and Nate’s story touches on so many points, that show us how tough and how complicated bereavement, grief and mourning can be. 

‘As Cain has, we can often judge the entire quality of our relationship with the person who has died, by the most recent set of interactions we’ve had with them. 

The guilt we can experience is often debilitating. However, what’s important is to consider the whole relationship across time.’

The Cain Dingle we see now is worlds away from the criminal antagonist we first met years ago. The character is a lot older but also, the soap has evolved to fit today’s society, which means they’ve not really had a choice but to pull away from what once interested Cain and change it.

What motivates Cain the most is family, which is perhaps why the developments with Nate have hit him so hard.

In the aftermath of the murder, we’ve seen Cain venture down a different path and tell son Kyle (Huey Quinn) that he won’t make the same mistakes with him and Isaac (Bobby Dunsmuir) as what he did with Nate.

And in recent days, he’s become completely fixated on helping Sarah Sugden (Katie Hill) fulfil her dream of becoming a mum. It’s been a distraction from his grief, and he’s also admitted that he’s helping Sarah because he doesn’t want to fail her, like he did Nate.

I’ve found the journey that Cain’s been on up until this point far more powerful than the flashbacks where John killed Nate, or watching him deal with the guilt over everything he’s done.

Soaps will always thrive the most when they are telling real-life stories that have heart and depth. I’ll take Eric Pollard (Chris Chittell) quietly delivering some parenting home truths to a tearful Cain over John trying to cover his tracks yet again any day.

Putting Cain at the centre of a narrative about grief and regret has worked so well because the intense level of emotion we’ve seen from him does not happen often.

This is the exact reason why Liam Cavanagh’s (Jonny McPherson) struggle after daughter Leanna was murdered in 2021 was so effective too. By this point, Liam had mainly been involved in light-hearted storylines that contrasted other drama going on in the village.

Putting him in the spotlight and airing an arc about a single father trying to deal with his daughter’s brutal murder, and allowing Jonny McPherson’s talent to absolutely shine, was a genius move from the soap, and they’ve done it again with Cain as well.

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‘He can’t avoid it by trying to fix everything else’, Cain’s sister Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) said recently, which made me ponder over the future of the story.

In order to continue accurately portraying a man dealing with the loss of his child, I hope Emmerdale will dig further into Cain’s determination to ignore his grief and focus on helping Sarah.

In a brief scene a few days ago, Cain argued with Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) over his plan for Sarah, glanced at a grief support poster, and then left.

It was a small moment but representative of the fact Cain is not ready to address how he feels about Nate dying.

He will need to in the near future though. Other men around Cain such as Liam, Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) and Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) have had many moments of vulnerability in recent years that have helped shape the characters, as well as assist in moving forward from whatever they’ve been going through.

‘Not knowing the circumstances around someone’s death can also leave us severely disorientated, in addition to the grieving we are going through’, Andy from Cruse added. 

‘If we are unable to mourn the way we want and need to, this can so often lead to feelings of chronic loneliness and a sense of disempowerment. 

‘Despite such challenges, we do adapt.’

‘Working out how we process our grief, and learn to live with the death of someone close, is one of the most challenging experiences we will all face. Whenever possible, it’s vital to gather with close family and friends, and seek a way forward together.’

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

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