Everything changed for Ray Walters (Joe Absolom) in tonight’s episode of Emmerdale, as youngster Dylan Penders (Fred Kettle) challenged him over what Celia Daniels (Jaye Griffiths) is doing on her farm.
This week, Celia instructed Dylan to meet her on her land for a test. She was hoping to promote him to a manager, but needed to see how he dealt with a situation first.
In the dark and dingy farmhouse, Celia told Dylan to attack a young man called Robbie with a bat. She believed that he was the person who told the police about drugs being moved through the depot, and wanted him to face the consequences.
Dylan wasn’t able to attack Robbie, but this was a positive sign to Celia. She then told him about his new job role, and asked him to go and check on a badly beaten Robbie as his first task.
In the attic, Dylan was horrified to find Robbie covered in blood after being attacked by fellow slave Mick. Moments later, an old man walked in, and Dylan realised it was Bear Wolf (Joshua Richards).
If Celia hadn’t hired Dylan, the next few days wouldn’t have unfolded the way they did.
Dylan was taken back to the village by Celia to get his phone. He spotted Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) in the street and found an opportunity to tell him that April Windsor (Amelia Flanagan) was in terrible danger. This lead to Marlon learning the truth about April’s drug dealing, and how she believes she killed a man called Callum.
As Marlon and Rhona Goskirk (Zoe Henry) attempted to conjure up a plan to help April in tonight’s episode, Dylan was back on the farm talking to Ray.
Ray had been told by Celia to deal with Dylan, due to him knowing who Bear really is. The conversation they had in the farmhouse didn’t go the way Ray expected though, as Dylan got control and began to ask Ray about what’s really happening with the workers.
Dylan called Celia’s system ‘rotten to the core’. In the short period he had spent watching the workers, Dylan was able to workout that the way they were living wasn’t Celia’s attempt at giving them a better life.
And in Dylan’s eyes, there was also something wrong with the way Celia treats Ray as well.
The young man hit the nail on the head by telling Ray that Celia also manipulates and controls him, but he struggled to completely agree with his comments. Ray was adopted by Celia when he was very young, so a world that features taking advantage of vulnerable adults is all he’s ever known.
Dylan then mentioned Ray’s developing relationship with Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy), and how if they reported Celia to the police, he could start a new life with her.
This is something Ray really wants, so he told Dylan that they could go to the station.
As they drove out of the farm, Celia arrived at Smithy Cottage and made Marlon, Rhona and April watch Ray hit Dylan with his car. It became clear that Ray had secretly called Celia to tell her about the developments regarding the family and Dylan, and they worked together to stop them all from going to the police.
Can’t wait for the next twist?
Hi, I’m Calli Kitson, Soaps reporter at Metro. I cover Emmerdale, EastEnders, Corrie and more.
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Whether Ray is truly coming to realise that what Celia is doing to him is wrong isn’t something we discovered in this episode.
Just before the credits rolled, Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) and Mandy Dingle (Lisa Riley) told April that they need to prepare for the worst when it comes to Dylan, who is lying in a hospital bed in a very bad way.
If Dylan doesn’t survive, where will this leave Bear, who remains trapped on the farm?
