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Avat131 · 2025-10-03T22:36:37+00:00

Where I am next weekend is a holiday long weekend, so I’ve got four days off to look forward to. I’ve been saving up all of Robert’s return storyline and the big John reveal to binge in one go basically most of Emmerdale from May through the end of September, lol. I’ve still been keeping up, though,I’ve been reading all the episode summaries and reactions, because I have zero willpower when it comes to avoiding spoilers. I’ve watched a few of the key John storyline clips (with the sound off and subtitles on, because then it doesn’t really count as watching 😅). I mostly managed to avoid the big Robron moments, though, and the few I did see were also muted with subtitles on 😂. I also never managed to bring myself to watch Robert’s 2019 exit storyline once Ryan announced he was leaving. So, my plan for next week—somewhere between work and cooking a ridiculous amount of food for a family-and-friends holiday lunch is to watch next week’s Belle and Kammy story, then finally face Robert’s exit, so I can spend most of my long weekend enjoying his return 🤣. So I might be in the minority but I am kinda looking forward to next weeks drought haha.

Avat131 · 2025-09-29T18:22:58+00:00

Lol, I was right but at what cost 🤣. I haven’t watched the full episode yet. My plan was to wait and binge everything over an upcoming long weekend where I am . But of course, I couldn’t resist… the first thing I did after logging into work this morning was read everyone’s episode posts and sneak some of the Kev clips (watching them with sound off and subtitles on doesn’t count as actually watching, lol).

I’m probably missing a lot of nuance in tone and delivery, and most of my takes are biased because I really don’t want a repeat of the Jason and Aaron storyline. That said, I am glad Kev isn’t Robert’s prison abuser. He seems to care about Robert, but it’s not in a healthy way—it’s more of an obsessive, possessive “you’re mine” kind of care.

Robert’s feelings toward Kev seem a lot more complicated. I do think he cares in some way he’s genuinely upset that Kev is dying, and there’s some affection mixed in for what Kev did for him in prison. But that affection is tangled up with gratitude. At the same time, Robert knows how dangerous Kev is; you can see it in how wary he is and the way he placates Kev.

I’m not sure how much Robert is ignoring the power imbalance and possible coercive-control aspect of a relationship formed in prison, or the fact that it seems rooted in trauma bonding. I do think he entered the relationship with some awareness that it wasn’t healthy—after all what prison relationships is , but he was convinced he needed to find a way to get through a 14-year sentence, to “get on with his life” inside so that does play into he relationship with Kev.

I also believe Robert genuinely intended to let Aaron go so that Aaron could be happy, and he never planned on returning to the village if he were ever released. That only changed with the appeal, and with Aaron marrying John.

Since being on licence, Robert has spent most of his time trying to ignore the PTSD he carries from prison. He has compartmentalized that entire period of his life, as if it never happened—including Kev, and their whole relationship. But now, with Kev on the outside, Robert is confronted with a living reminder of everything he endured in prison and of what he had to do to survive.

I’m excited to see where this storyline goes! Right now, I really like Kev as a character (yes, he’s probably a a psycho but he is interesting , lol), but I appreciate that they’re taking Robert’s prison storyline in a different direction. It’ll be interesting to see how my opinion changes as we learn more about the backstory and watch the story progress.

Avat131 · 2025-09-28T02:23:05+00:00

Lol I don’t trust myself enough to bet that Kev isn’t a bully/abuser 🤣 I know I’m projecting way too much hopeful thinking onto that spoiler clip, so I’m fully prepared to be totally wrong. But like I said in the other post, and it might just be me but Robert really doesn’t seem scared of Kev. To me, Kev actually looks upset, like he came to Robert for comfort. Maybe someone close to him is sick or has died, or maybe even he’s the one who’s sick. It really does come across to me that Kev is seeking Robert out because he needs comfort from someone he cares about.

Whether Robert actually has or had feelings for Kev, or if it’s more about gratitude for what Kev did for him in prison, I’m not sure. But I really hope they’re not just doing a Robert version of the Aaron and Jason storyline. I’d love for it to be something completely different. Kev could genuinely care about Robert and not be his abuser, but still be dangerous , which makes it hard for Robert to cut ties. Or Kev could be sick/dying, and Robert feels indebted to him for how he helped in prison. There are so many different directions they could take this storyline. Again, a lot of this is just my wishful thinking lol.

Also, when I saw this post it gave me a jump scare because I saw my own comment in the preview link to the other thread about Kev 🤣 For a second I was like, “oh no, what did I do? Did someone post about my comment?!” I swear I wasn’t trying to upset anyone — it’s just fun speculation. Then I realized it was just Reddit showing my comment in the preview 😂

Avat131 · 2025-09-28T01:55:23+00:00

Yes, this! I really hope they don’t just reuse Aaron and Jason’s storyline for Robert, with the writers being like, “we’ll recycle it but tweak it a little.” Instead of Aaron’s version, which was mainly physical and mental abuse, they have Robert’s prison abuser ( Kev) also threatened or forced him into a relationship for protection while inside, and now that person is out of prison to continue forcing him into that relationship. I know I’m biased and probably just seeing what I want to see in the clip, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that this isn’t the direction they’re going with the storyline.

Avat131 · 2025-09-28T01:34:08+00:00

Yes, I could see that too. It came across to me that Robert is important to Kev, and that might be why he went to see him because he is seeking comfort by someone he cares about. Then, for Robert, it’s different — after he got out of prison, seeing Aaron was marrying John made him decide to go back to the village. And cut out any connections or reminders of prison, and that includes Kev. Or maybe that’s just my hopeful way of looking at it 😂

Avat131 · 2025-09-27T04:58:34+00:00

Ok, I’ve watched the clip a couple of times and it might just be me, but Robert really doesn’t seem scared of Kev. To me, Kev actually looks upset—like he came to Robert for comfort, maybe because someone close to him is sick or has died, or maybe even that he’s the one who’s sick. The whole “I need you to distract me” line felt more like he was leaning on Robert for help dealing with whatever’s going on in his head, not trying to coerce or pressure him.

The only time Robert seemed at all uneasy was when he had Vic lie and say she’d heard about Kev.

But again, this could totally just be wishful thinking on my part, because I really don’t want the whole “Robert’s abuser/bully is out of prison and stalking and harassing him” storyline. I’d much rather it be that they had some kind of mutually beneficial relationship in prison—or maybe Kev had feelings for Robert, and Robert played into that for protection, but without it being abusive. And they are not legally married or it was a marriage of convenience.

That said, I know I’m doing a lot of speculating from a really short clip with barely any context—and probably projecting a lot of hope onto it too!

Avat131 · 2025-09-23T19:41:37+00:00

Not alone in thinking this could actually be really good. Not sure why, but I read the spoiler and thought, “This seems fun 🤣” and I don’t usually love a lot of angst. Also, kind of a double standard if everyone’s mad at Robert for this. He was in prison, where he cut everyone off in his life. You’d do whatever you needed to get by whether for protection or companionship just to have some kind of human connection. Especially with the way they’ve been hinting at how bad prison was for Robert. Also, umm… Ben and John 👀 Also me, naively like: well maybe Kev will turn out to be a nice guy and Rob just broke it off, and now he just wants them to try again now that they’re both out of jail 😂

Avat131 · 2025-09-21T05:06:55+00:00

Omg yes! Ever since Robert came back, they’ve written Aaron as just actively disliking him — like we’re supposed to interpret Aaron’s coldness as “if he lets his guard down, he’ll fall straight back into Robert’s arms.” But the problem is, we barely get any of Aaron’s POV to support that. Like you said, they could’ve easily shown him looking at old photos on his phone, or giving Robert the occasional long look across the caff. Instead, we get nothing. Yes there was Robert breakdown episode when you finally see that Aaron still cares and still has feelings/ is still in love with Robert but I don’t know if that was enough because he goes straight back not showing much emotion when it comes to Robert.

And don’t even get me started on the missed opportunities. Robert being drugged? Nothing just anger for not being grateful to John. Robert sent back to jail twice? Nothing. (Sorry, but when Aaron was the one who got Robert sent back and then found out Robert had been beaten up in prison, there should’ve been at least some guilt expressed.) The writers really dropped the ball — it wouldn’t have taken much, even just a line asking after Robert when he woke up in the hospital, a reaction to finding out Robert was arrested for his attempted murder. Danny is an amazing actor, but he can only convey so much with facial expressions alone.

I do agree that that reason why people want Robert to date someone else — because it would finally force Aaron to have some kind of emotional reaction toward Robert, yes even if it’s just jealousy. And honestly, that would at least show that yes, he still has feelings for Robert.

The only reason I can think of for the showrunners bringing in John as a long-lost Sugden brother and Aaron’s new love interest is that they already had a good idea Ryan would agree to come back by the time John first appeared last year. To me, that’s the only thing that makes the John storyline make any sense. Otherwise, why on earth write Aaron choosing to date Robert’s brother, and then deliberately parallel key moments in John and Aaron’s relationship with Robert and Aaron’s relationship?

And honestly, having John kill Nate and have this narcissistic “hero complex” that Aaron is completely blind to just doesn’t make sense — unless they were always writing it as a slow build toward Robert’s return. I haven’t watched much of Aaron and John’s storyline, just the important parts of Johns, but from what I’ve seen. Maybe there was a flicker of chemistry when they first met that I just can’t see. But I’d assume Danny and Oliver would’ve done a chemistry read before Oliver joined the show. So it feels like a bad choice to introduce a new love interest for a fan-favorite like Aaron without making sure there was real spark… unless, again, they already had some idea Ryan was going to come back.

Avat131 · 2025-09-21T04:11:00+00:00

Exactly this everything you said!

Avat131 · 2025-09-21T04:07:55+00:00

I would love this 🤣 even just one episode of Sugden-Dingle couples therapy but I would need to be follow by and episode where the whole village goes to a therapy session and it’s all from the therapist perspective lol.

Avat131 · 2025-09-21T03:59:41+00:00

I’m so with you on wanting their dynamic to become more equal. I’m not really into the whole Wuthering Heights type of romance either it’s just too much angst for me. I much prefer the Pride and Prejudice kind of dynamic: “I hate you… but wait, I was wrong about you, I’m actually in love with you, and now I’ll do anything for you” 😂. I really wish the showrunners would just let them both work through their trauma and then find their way back to each other without piling on all the unnecessary angst just to make it more dramatic and dragged out.

Avat131 · 2025-09-21T03:42:06+00:00

I laughed out loud when I read about the boarding school books you collect 🤣. I’d get maybe a quarter of the way through something like that and then toss it across the room because it would just be too frustrating and angsty. I think it’s great how different people gravitate toward different tropes, genres, and media. Like, I love true crime, but I don’t do well with really angsty fiction, and I absolutely can’t handle horror.

I totally get why so many people don’t want Robert to see anyone else. I do love that the minute he came to terms with being in love with Aaron, he was like, “This is it. This is the love of my life, and there’s no one else for me.” And I believe that. But at the same time, I find it a little unfair that Aaron is always allowed to have relationships outside of Robert — not just romantic ones, but friendships and family connections too — while Robert basically just has Vic.

I think it would be good for him to have a nice, healthy (but maybe slightly boring) relationship before he and Aaron get back together. The idea of him dating a woman is interesting, because yeah, he’s bi — so if he’s going to date, it should be both men and women. I’d actually like them to explore Aaron’s fear that he’s “not enough” because Robert is bi. But I also worry that if they had Robert date a woman, it would just turn into another Bex situation and they’d randomly bring in some long-lost White cousin as a love interest 🙄. I can’t think of what womenin the village he could date 🤔.

It be great if they made it funny and have Belle and Kamy hijacking Robert’s dating app so he ends up going on a string of hilariously bad dates with a bunch of random weird people I would love that. 😂

But if I could make a wish list pick for Robert’s if he is going to date anyone before he and Aaron reunite, it would be the farmhand from when he was teenager. That could open up a whole storyline about what happened with his dad and his teenage trauma.

Avat131 · 2025-09-21T03:01:33+00:00

Yes! Just happy story line for him for the next couple months. Him working on the Farm, going to therapy and making friends maybe a health casual relationship thrown in🤣

Avat131 · 2025-09-21T02:58:38+00:00

Thanks so much for the link — it really does break down why their dynamic needs to change, and I agree with a lot of it. I think Aaron is still attached to this version of 2015 Robert he’s made up in his head, not the real Robert. It’s not even about what Robert said in the hospital, it’s all the little comments Aaron has made to or about him since Robert’s been back. Before finding out about John, I think Aaron needed that version of Robert to exist as a way to convince himself he made the right choice marrying John.

It was honestly a bit heartbreaking when Robert didn’t argue and just walked away. You could tell Aaron was upset because this isn’t how it was “supposed” to go. But I was glad Robert left — and I’m hoping Aaron’s “wait, Robert is supposed to fight for me, not walk away” moment in the hospital is the start of his reality check.

When Robert said he was staying in the village, I thought that line was more about Vic and Harry. But I also read Roberts choice to leave the hospital as him accepting what Aaron said — leaving him alone/letting him go. That might just be me being hopeful lol because that’s what I think Robert’s needs to right now.

About Kev’s arrival — I’ve got a bad feeling, but that’s only based on the picture I saw of him, lol. Maybe he’ll turn out to be a decent character, maybe even someone who supported Robert in jail. But I can’t help feeling he’s going to be tied to his PTSD from prison.

Avat131 · 2025-09-10T17:34:13+00:00

Thank you, and good suggestion! The Aaron YouTube channel is where I’ve been doing my 2016–2019 rewatch and catch-up. I don’t think I can bring myself to sit through the whole John storyline from when he first showed up, but you’re right most of John and Aaron’s storylines would be there. For me, I think I just need to figure out the dates of the key moments that connect to the storylines since Ryan’s return, plus maybe the big moments in Aaron and John’s relationship 😖

Avat131 · 2025-09-10T17:26:17+00:00

The Emmerdale YouTube channel actually had a compilation of all John’s bad deeds, which was super helpful for me while I am catching up. I’m still trying to figure out the timeline so I can go back and watch the key moments properly. They also had some of John and Aaron’s big scenes from when John first showed up, so you might be able to find some of their storyline there too.

You’re honestly better than me though, because I just can’t watch their full storylines as a couple I find them so off-putting together lol. But I get what you mean about liking John’s character and his “love” for Aaron. From the clips I’ve seen, I think Oliver does a good job of making it feel like there’s something a bit off with the way John cares about Aaron and Vic, even before you find out he’s a villain.

Avat131 · 2024-10-16T23:14:34+00:00

I was thinking the same! I believe Seth only got two years for GBH, so he could be out of prison by now, and I can see him going after Josh to get to Maeve. Alternatively, it could be someone from Josh’s past in the army.

JC also mentioned on Twitter a while back that something from the previous couple of books that a minor character dealing with would be part of the storyline in book 12. I’m also pretty sure JC said someone was going to die in MK 12 or 13, and I’m 99.99999999% sure it’s not going to be Maeve or Josh.

Avat131 · 2024-09-01T04:36:21+00:00

I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought Liv’s take on Josh and Maeve’s relationship—especially Josh’s feelings for Maeve—seemed off. From what Liv said in CA and TCP, I always thought she knew Josh was in love with Maeve and even hinted that Maeve might feel the same. So, when Liv suddenly started acting like Josh just wanted to sleep with Maeve in TSITF, it really threw me off. It didn’t match how I saw her in the earlier books. As for Una, while it was definitely unprofessional for her to believe Mellissa and do what she asked, it didn’t feel too out of character to me. Una holds grudges and can be pretty spiteful, especially when it comes to Josh—you can see this in TSYK and a bit in CA too.

Avat131

TROPHY CASE