The truth is out: Mack feared dead in early Emmerdale ITVX release as petrified Aaron uncovers John’s crimes
The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.
Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) has made a completely horrifying discovery about John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) in Emmerdale.
Yesterday, Aaron was spiked by John, who had drugged some whisky after learning about his partner sleeping with Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley).
The intense episode, which focused solely on this storyline, also saw Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) escape from the underground bunker.
Unbeknownst to John, earlier in the day he had dropped a pocket screwdriver in the lair. Mackenzie grabbed it and with time, was able to free himself from the wall he was chained to.
While this was going on, John was tending to Aaron, who was in a terrible way. He also found time to speak with Paddy Kirk (Dominic Brunt) through the mental health helpline. John offloaded to Paddy about his state of mind and how his brother Robert returned and slept with Aaron.
John didn’t confirm any names, but these little nuggets of information were enough for Paddy to realise who he was talking to. He shared his concerns to Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson), explaining that a man using the chat service has left him wondering if he may harm himself. Liam told Paddy not to cross the line and get involved, highlighting that his hunch might be wrong.
Except it wasn’t.
At the cottage, John left a drugged and dazed Aaron because he had seen that Mackenzie was now out of the bunker and trying to exit the woods. He ran off, allowing Aaron to also try and escape his own nightmare.
Aaron bumped his head on the doorknocker and smashed his watch as he staggered outside. He ended up in the woods, but a distance away from John and Mackenzie.
Aaron could hear Mack shouting his name but because he had barely any control over what his body was doing, he couldn’t do anything about it. Aaron also found the entrance to the bunker, but had a seizure and was taken back to the house by John shortly afterwards.
Meanwhile, Mack had found a road and thought, for the first time ever, that his ordeal was coming to an end. He fell to the floor as a van approached, but John was inside.
He hopped out with an axe in his hand, and then credits rolled before we could see what happened next.
As Aaron woke up in the latest instalment, John claimed that he had drunk too much booze. He suffered a flashback, and also heard Mackenzie shouting his name, but wasn’t well enough to consider that it did happen and wasn’t in his head.
While this was going on, Paddy was chatting to Robert about John. He took a risk and said that he thinks John might put himself in danger, but all Robert could think about was the fact Aaron was with the person Paddy was deeply concerned for.
Robert called Aaron, but John got hold of his phone. It was at this point he confronted Aaron, confirming that he knows about them sleeping together.
John got incredibly close to Aaron’s face as he let his anger increase and it left him terrified. Aaron desperately tried to reassure him, but he couldn’t shake his fear, he was witnessing a side to his husband he had never seen.
A while later, Aaron tried to leave the cottage. He arrived at the front door and bumped his head again, allowing him to remember it happening yesterday. He also saw smashed glass on the floor, proving that he did break his watch in that moment as well.
John found Aaron and hurried him back inside. The biggest point to note here is that Aaron was starting to feel better, but chose to not make this obvious to John.
He pretended to fall asleep while John went for a shower. As soon as he heard the water running, Aaron jumped from the bed and searched through his husband’s belongings.
Aaron found a phone and switched it on. To his horror, the picture on the device confirmed it belonged to Mack.
We then heard Mackenzie’s cries again. Reality hit Aaron in that moment – everything he remembered was real, and now his life is in jeapordy.
These scenes have set the foundations for a showdown between John, Aaron and Robert. It will see Aaron try and get inside John’s head so he can find Mackenzie but even if he does, what state will he be in?
We didn’t see him once in tonight’s episode, and with Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) sharing the theory he might’ve met a similar fate to Nate Robinson, will Aaron discover that John has murdered his best friend?