Every week I run through the best and worst bits of the week on Emmerdale. Tell me your faves and fails in the comments! A great week of big moments – Moira kissed Cain, Finn learnt some of the truth about James’s death, and Leyla and Pete jilted each other!
Faves
Emma’s Confession
We’re one step closer to Emma’s world crumbling as this week saw Finn put 2 + 2 together to make 5 and got the almost truth about how his dad died. With thrillingly tense scenes, Finn confronted his mum and managed to dig away at her panicked and unravelling lies until he got her to confess that she was there on the bridge and that it was an argument which lead to James’s death. Joe Gill gave the performance of his time on Emmerdale so far as his emotions switched from disbelief and anger to confusion and upset. Finn’s relationship with Emma has always been an interesting one, especially as in some ways they’re so similar, so it was only right he was the first to expose the truth. Gillian Kearney plays Emma’s emotional turmoil so well that you can almost believe her fabrications to hide the real extent of her involvement in James’s death. The scenes of Finn’s suspicion and Emma’s confession spanned an hour long episode but it was a testament to the performances that it didn’t drag at all. With Finn now sitting on the big secret it doesn’t feel like long before more of the truth will come out but I worry for his safety if Emma’s irrational behaviour gets out of hand. Exciting stuff!
Marriage Mayhem
Pete and Leyla’s wedding was never going to go smoothly, was it? But who could’ve guessed the Carry On escapades that transpired?! With Pete and Priya’s betrayal stinking up the air, I think most of us expected the liaison to come out in dramatic effect but what we didn’t expect was a double jilting with both bride and groom trying to escape through the toilet windows! This storyline has been something of a damp squib, but the wedding two-parter was full of genuinely funny moments. From Doug and Eric’s bickering to the wedding goer’s aghast at the crazy events following the window rescue, there were some great laughs. It was nice too to see Jacob in a sweet and supportive role, and even Ross managed to look like the mature and non-sleazey one compared to Pete! But perhaps nothing will top the brilliant moment of Leyla’s open-mouthed reaction to see her groom making the same escape she was. Priceless.
Lingering Feelings
I’ve long been a fan of Cain and Moira’s relationship so to see all those unresolved feelings rise to the surface again this week was a joy. Their chemistry makes these sorts of moments seem effortless and you can fully believe the multitude of unsaid emotions. Despite a bit of a sexist trope being used when Cain came to Moira’s rescue (this is Moira who’s used to farm machinery and independence here!) it stirred up lingering tension and Moira went in for a kiss. Over the next few days, with Harriet feeling like a spare part, Cain and Moira cemented themselves as the couple destined to be together as Moira tried to set Cain free again to move on, even though we all know deep down they both still love each other. It’s pretty obvious how this one’s going to play out but all that embittered love and tension is the right kind of romance angst!
Fails
Tired Laughs
It’s not the worst comedy story ever seen – and god, remember last year’s endless pirate ship summer filler?! But Emmerdale really need to come up with something new for the rivalry between Nicola + Jimmy vs Kerry + Dan. Separately both couples can offer quite a lot of laughs, when it’s done right, but the petty competition between Kerry and Nicola – while their exasperated and hen-pecked spouses watch on – is getting old. Kerry’s loud-mouthed outrage and Nicola’s screechy need to rule are fine in small doses but after last year’s Dan and Nicola kiss moment, the two pairs did enough warring and now it’s lost its shine.
Mood Killer
Much to my surprise I really enjoyed the Pete and Leyla near-wedding daftness. That was until Emmerdale decided to spoil it by having Pete and Priya go at it in the honeymoon suite. Ew, grubby! Since Pete and Priya began their hook ups, it’s been an out-of-nowhere mess, really lacking that key affair ingredient – chemistry. I can just about buy Priya’s loneliness, the way she feels out of place now that Rakesh has gone, but her betrayal of Leyla has always been hard to stomach or believe, especially for someone as charisma free as Pete. Pete spent the latter half of his wedding day tearing into Priya and being generally vile but her confronting him and standing up to him didn’t last long, and soon we had to grimace through truly uncomfortable scenes. I’m sure Priya’s thumping of Pete’s chest and his shouty grabbing of her was meant to get us going but it was awkward and pretty revolting behaviour to say the least. And about as far from sexy as you can get. End this now, please!
Admittedly it’s an odd choice for the top spot this week but I’ve really enjoyed the Sharmas lately. Away from the dubious Nell plot we saw a more fun and relaxed side of Jai, a far cry from the cold and unengaging villain he was not so long ago. I like when we get to see the rarer sides to characters like this and Jai’s barbed exchanges with Nicola work well against his rigid businessman mode. Priya has her unlikeable moments in this Pete fling plot (and I still find it totally unbelievable that she could do this to Leyla for Mr Boring himself) but there were times this week when she recognised her own self-destruct and that her life was not the one she wanted. When she’s not hankering after Mr Dull, Priya’s adrift loneliness and self-awareness that she’s made big mistakes make her more sympathetic than she ought to be in this situation. Finally Rishi – always good for a cartoonish moment or two, especially when there’s face paint involved. I’m glad he’s back from Canada!
Every time I see Eric and Faith on screen together, they just work. Faith brings out the fun in Eric, smoothing out his grumpier edges, but this week she showed she’s more than just comic relief to his miserly routine, as she knew how to support him and calm him down. She brought out his forgiving side, helping him to change tact and consider different opinions when it came to Josh but even through this she hasn’t mellowed or stopped her flirty ways. I’m not quite sure if they’re an official couple yet, but they gel well together and it feels like they’ve already been a couple for ages. Good call, Emmerdale!
Jacob was embroiled in police drama this week and while it was nice to see his loved ones rally round (albeit all stuck in that blasted shop set), the Josh element was a real weak point. The Josh story dominated screens this week but we barely know the guy, beyond a very brief attempt to give him a tragic backstory so Jacob’s misguided loyalty to him seemed to come out of nowhere. Why has he been forgiven so fast? Why is sensible Jacob so adamant in protecting him? Emmerdale’s own teens are pretty well rounded but guest characters like Josh ended up being cartoonish and wafer thin so it’s quite hard to care about his fate or understand why Jacob is so willing to throw away his future. Don’t get me started on his superfast redemption including bonding with Eric over music – cringe! What this story really needed was to see Josh’s hard home life for ourselves or to have his friendship with Jacob play out over a longer and more believable time period.
There must be something in the water in the Dales right now (that, or the return of panto villain Robert has been spiking the water supply) because so many characters are acting like complete idiots. Megan’s scamming of Frank seems to be far too straightforward (unless he’s tricking her too) with him barely questioning her wanting separate beds and she herself was foolish enough not to realise Charity had faked those incriminating texts – they weren’t even subtle! But this all pales in comparison to the mindnumbingly stupid and unbelievable idiocy of the White family, namely Lawrence and Rebecca. How many times does Robert have to screw them over, use them, smirk behind their backs before they realise he’s out to ruin them? Time and time again Rebecca’s fooled for his fakery and despite crying over how he’s hurt her, not once has she ever questioned his motives here. When has Robert ever been genuine and caring towards her out of the kindness of his heart? At least Lawrence, being ill and drugged, has an excuse for being so gullible, but he’s seen Robert’s puppet mastery first hand and we’re expected to believe that a few clever words makes Larry look past Robert’s colourful history of ruining the Whites? As if! They’re making it far too easy for him to screw them over, it’s almost as if they’ve had a lobotomy.
Do you ever watch an episode of Emmerdale and wonder how it’s the same show that produces such award winning drama? Tuesday’s hour long was one of those. According to spoilers we were promised a zombie event at Home Farm with a horrifying car crash at the centre. Instead the hour dragged, and aside from a few made-up villagers it didn’t feel much like an event. The film-school trippy effects used on a very hammy Lawrence were embarrassing and the only damage it caused was Victoria to get a slightly twisted ankle. Hardly life or death. The whole event seemed a complete waste of time having hardly any repercussions – even Lawrence who was just out of hospital and faced with another boring near-death moment seemed unaffected. It didn’t damage the Home Farm business, Victoria is back to work already, Robert is back to drugging Lawrence’s drink and twirling his moustache – so what was the point to it?
Sometimes, away from the affairs and the angsty love stories you just want to watch a couple that are funny, endearing and sweet. Lydia and Sam got together properly this week and it was all kinds of adorable. Ever since they dated you could tell they were an oddball match made in heaven and this week things stepped up a gear after they went to a dance together. N’aww. With Samson as ship captain and giving his dad pep-talks we were treated to some really lovely scenes between father and son, as Sam surprised his boy by knowing what “friend-zoned” meant. Of course true love doesn’t run smoothly so after all his doubts, Sam misread the signals and thought Lydia wanted to date Paddy again. But thankfully this was all rectified in a brilliantly funny scene when she told Paddy to go away and leapt into Sam’s arms for a snog. I love how Lydia gets involved in so many of the plots with all her odd jobs and quirkiness, but putting her with Sam is a great move. For me they just work and they’re pretty heart-warming together. I really hope it lasts!
Laurel was in full Miss Marple mode again this week as she tried to uncover the truth about Emma Barton, even though she faced doubts and setbacks as she neared closer to the deadly secret. Every face-off between the women is gripping TV and superbly acted as determined Laurel tries to rattle an unravelling Emma. It’s frustrating to watch manipulative Emma at work, convincing others of her innocence and using Laurel’s alcohol addiction against her, but it’s still exciting to see the close calls and watch Laurel pick through the evidence and to try and take her down. It’s got to be close to the boys finding out now and I can’t wait! I hope Laurel can claw back some allies or at least find out something else to cement her suspicions, but with Emma looking the innocent grieving wife and Laurel seeming to others like she’s slipped back to drinking, it’s not looking hopeful.
This almost made my fail list, simply because I’m gutted to see the end of Ronnie Hale. He deserved better. Last year his tragic backstory came to light – years of pining for a tortured and closeted Lawrence White – and they were powerful scenes with so much potential. Irritatingly Emmerdale side stepped this potential and Lawrence seemed to get over his hang-ups in the space of a few episodes and their struggle was never touched on again. Ronnie was a rare thing in the White family – kind hearted, sensitive and actually made a friend in the village, lovely Lisa Dingle. Ronnie and Lisa’s friendship was quickly formed but always felt genuine and warm. But as Lawrence’s true colours came to light this week Ronnie realised he’d wasted his whole life pining for a man who’d had a much darker life than he had realised. You’d think living with that lot he’d have worked it out by now? BFF Lisa came to collect him and drove him to the station where he walked sadly to his train, giving up all hope on life with Larry (even though he was suffering another near death experience at the time). Poor Ronnie. He was a sweet man, far too good for the likes of that family and John McArdle played his scenes with heart and passion. I’ll miss Ronnie and his friendship with Lisa and like 
Since day one the main problem with the White family hasn’t changed, caught between villains one minute and victims the next, their main source of drama seems to be inner-family conflict. From time to time someone in the village or a guest character arrives to fan the flames but it soon leads to an intra-family feud. This week Lachlan kidnapped Tim (Chrissie’s bio uncle) with the help of Gerry (the only person who’s been a fun addition to the household) and all Lawrence’s secrets came tumbling out. What happened next? Oh only the same thing we’ve watched every few months! A dark family secret, Chrissie being horrified and disowning the family, Rebecca cluelessly trying to fix things and Lawrence almost dying. AGAIN. At this rate I’m half expecting Lawrence to collapse and regenerate. We know that most of them are approaching their exit, but this is tired ground and I’m past the point of caring. The family’s more interesting aspects – Chrissie’s ruthlessness, Lachlan’s unnerving darkness and Lawrence’s tortured past – seem completely abandoned in favour of tedium and now Robert’s scheming looks set to tread even more repetitive ground. Bored now – can’t the Whites hurry up and go?