John confirms the end for Mack in early Emmerdale ITVX release in goodbye storyline

Mackenzie Boyd has been in the bunker for almost two weeks (Picture: ITV)

The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.

John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) had a lot on his mind as he returned to the Emmerdale village in the latest episode.

In case you’ve been living under a rock or hiding in a bunker over the past few days, allow us to catch you up on the current nightmare John is in the middle of.

After shooting Mackenzie Boyd (Lawrence Robb) with a bow and arrow, John threw a rock at him which broke his leg. He then drugged Mack and dragged him into an underground shelter right near his childhood home.

Mack has been held captive in the lair ever since. He is in the middle of fighting an infection as a result of the wound on his chest, and currently John is stealing medical supplies from the surgery to help keep him alive.

Mack discovered the truth about John (Picture: ITV)

Yesterday, Aaron told John that they should go back to Emmerdale and tell Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) about their plan to move away permanently. John, wanting to keep an eye on Mack, said that he should stay. He failed to come up with a worthy excuse as to why though, meaning he had to briefly leave Mackenzie.

Just before he left, John threw Mack some supplies and told him that he’d be on his own.

Almost two weeks into the ordeal, Mackenzie isn’t getting any stronger. As he whimpered and tried to shout for help, John and Aaron were chatting to Chas in the pub.

It was obvious though that John was incredibly focused on Mack, fearing that something might happen to his health, or he’d attempt an escape. He managed to make an excuse about needing to leave because someone was visiting the cottage to look at the roof, and Aaron believed it.

In the bunker, John told Mack that he needs to record some voice notes to confirm to Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins) and Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) that he would not be coming home. Mackenzie refused time and time again to do this, so John took matters into his own hands.

John ran some of Mack’s old voice notes through AI and was able to create a fake voice note about ending his marriage with Charity and never returning to Emmerdale. It was sent to Charity shortly after, who was absolutely heartbroken.

Mackenzie has developed an infection in the wound on his chest (Picture: ITV)

Satisfied, John prepared himself to create another for Moira, but then made quite the discovery.

On Mackenzie’s phone was a voice note from Aaron. He asked after his mate, but then spoke about Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) and them sleeping together.

This was the first time John had believed the betrayal. It was mentioned by Mackenzie yesterday but because well, you know, John is holding him hostage, there was every possibility he was just making it up.

But this time, it came straight from Aaron’s mouth which meant it was true. John was furious, even more so when Aaron failed to mention seeing Robert while he was in the village.

‘Can’t trust anyone’, John said, his anger building.

These scenes have set us up for John’s next move, which will see him drug Aaron in an attempt to ensure he is totally dependable on his husband.

That will then lead us into a new week, as a massive showdown ensues between Aaron, John and Robert.

A desperate John throws himself and Aaron off a cliff (Picture: ITV)

As the drama kicks off, an agitated Aaron runs off to try and find the hatch that he knows has something to do with Mack. John is hot on his heels, marching through the woods he knows well to catch Aaron before he discovers the full truth.

Aaron is feeling hopeless when he fails to find Mack and finds himself at the edge of a gorge. With nowhere else to go he turns back, only to come face to face with John.

John tries to concoct some story, but he knows he’s already lost Aaron’s trust. Aaron finally sees John for what he is, and that’s a dangerous place to be.

He tries to reason with John to show him where Mack is and bizarrely he touches a nerve with John, who is ready to turn himself into the police – until Robert arrives.

Robert’s presence triggers the final phase of John’s act, who reacts with instant rage through betrayal. He calls the police and frames Robert, grabs Aaron, and jumps.

Robert is forced to watch as the man he loves is thrown from the edge of the gorge with a murderer’s arms wrapped around him.

Robert stares over the edge at the two lifeless bodies in a state of shock and horror. He dials 999, but John’s final trick does serious damage.

Amid this though, will anyone find Mackenzie?

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