Emmerdale is nailing the John story – but they must resolve this one plot point

While the pace is really picking up with John Sugden’s (Oliver Farnworth) storyline in Emmerdale, I can’t help but think of one issue.

John was introduced to us in 2024. His very first scenes saw him confirmed as Aaron Dingle’s (Danny Miller) match from a dating app, and then Victoria Sugden’s (Isabel Hodgins) long-lost brother.

John’s dodgy van had a penchant for breaking down, which meant he had no choice but to stay in the village for a bit as Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) repaired it.

Excited at the prospect of getting to know her new brother, Vic was keen to make John feel welcome, but he consistently ignored her attempts to bond with him.

It was beginning a relationship with Aaron and saving multiple residents from a barn fire that led to John staying put. Now we know he killed Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter) around this time, perhaps he wanted to stay close by to prevent people from discovering the truth.

Earlier this year, we were given confirmation that Nate was dead, and that John had murdered him. Flashback scenes allowed us to learn that John lives with a hero complex, a psychological pattern where he feels a constant need to rescue others.

He has been responsible for drugging Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter), framing Ella Forster (Paula Lane), attacking Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), giving Jacob Gallagher (Joe-Warren Plant) an allergic reaction, forcing Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) to drink himself into oblivion, and many more.

All of these situations were created by John, with the knowledge he could save them after. He’s also been in circumstances that haven’t been orchestrated by himself, but John has felt the need to be at the centre of them so he can be called a hero.

At the start of this year, Ruby Miligan (Beth Cordingly) killed her abusive father Anthony Fox (Nicholas Day). Before we learnt this though, Aaron convinced himself that he was responsible.

Aaron had discovered Ruby was sexually abused by Anthony as a child, and was reminded of the period in his life where his biological father did the exact same thing.

Triggered, Aaron brutally beat Anthony in a showdown at the depot. John was then brought into this when he spotted blood on Aaron’s skin.

The couple returned to the scene and found Anthony wasn’t breathing. Because neither of them knew that Ruby had smothered Anthony in the period he was alone, it looked as though Aaron killed him.

John, a former army medic, spied a perfect opportunity here. He cleaned up and hid Anthony’s body, telling Aaron he can compartmentalise the ordeal a lot better than him.

The truth was exposed and Ruby, Caleb Miligan (William Ash), Chas, Cain and then Steph Miligan (Georgia Jay) all learnt about John disposing of Anthony.

The character took the group to the middle of the woods and showed them where the evil man was hidden. Because the residents were so keen to put the matter behind them, they had no reason to second guess what John had to say.

When Steph was told about what happened to her granddad, she was thrown when someone played a cruel trick and sent her flowers pretending to be Anthony.

Steph feared that the flowers were proof of her theory that Anthony is still alive and therefore she headed to the spot of the woods where John claimed the villain was buried and started to dig.

Caleb soon arrived and urged his daughter to stop digging – literally – but things took a turn when Steph revealed that the soil was undisturbed, meaning Anthony couldn’t be buried where John claimed.

With all eyes on him, John finally revealed that Anthony isn’t buried here after all and he withheld his true burial spot for their own good because they don’t need to know where it is.

While Anthony has been mentioned since then, no one has actually bothered to get John to tell them the truth about where he’s buried.

It’s largely because Ruby, Cain, Chas and Caleb don’t doubt John and when it comes to Aaron, he thinks his husband is the strongest man he’s ever met – of course he wouldn’t bring it up again.

While the characters may not want to, I do.

As much as I’m enjoying this storyline, Anthony’s burial location not actually being revealed is still playing on my mind.

Emmerdale has absolutely nailed the arc with John, there’s no doubt about it.

He isn’t your average serial killing villain, and I’m intrigued to discover what when on in John’s childhood that’s made him so desperate for validation from other people.

The recent twist with Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) and the theory he may not actually be dead adds to this already complex storyline. As someone who finds stereotypical villain storylines tiresome, this one is so incredibly engaging and compelling.

I’m full of praise for it, but that will certainly dissipate somewhat if the Anthony strand of this narrative isn’t tied up before John leaves.

We know John will have to depart, which means it’s only a matter of time until Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) comes out from the wings and says, ‘I told you so!’, to everyone.

Because we are entering the next phase of the plot, it feels incredibly important that Emmerdale does not forget about Anthony.

Once everything is out in the open, the inevitable moment where the residents discuss John’s crimes in the pub will see them talk about a number of people who fell victim to his ways, but will anyone remember Anthony?

I sure hope so because when the story eventually wraps up, I want to remember how captivating it was – not the plot hole that could’ve so easily been fixed.

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

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