Emmerdale must avoid these tired soap twists with John Sugden's downfall

Soaps have a habit of killing off their villains, to the point where death is very much overused as a consequence.

From EastEnders' Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry) to Coronation Street's Joel Deering (Calum Lill) and the Dales' Anthony Fox (Nicholas Day), this year we've had our fill of the darkest of characters being dispatched in such tired fashion.

So, we're hoping this won't be the case for John, and there are plenty of reasons why.

While John's story has taken enough far-fetched turns that a demise just as outlandish as his ridiculous behaviour may feel appropriate, this would be a wholly unsatisfying ending.

There might also be the temptation to plunge into another murder mystery; a twist that rather dampened rapist Craig Reed's (Ben Addis) comeuppance in 2023, despite a consistently powerful portrayal from Lydia Dingle star Karen Blick.

While 'whodunnits' were once, arguably, the most exciting storylines to grace our beloved serial dramas, by now we've seen so many that we're yearning for Emmerdale to steer clear of such an arc this time around.

What made Meena Jutla's (Paige Sandhu) and Tom King's (James Chase) prison-based exits so triumphant was that this took away all of their control - and obsessive John is very much of the same calibre.

Bringing villagers to the brink of death just so he can be the one to save them, twisted John craves attention and being hailed a hero, so a life behind bars would be the perfect outcome for him.

And, after months spent tormenting half-brother Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), locking up John would certainly be poetic justice for the manipulative medic.

Keeping John alive would also add a fresh layer of history for the Sugdens, and the potential to revisit the character in the future.

Unless the show unveils John as a fraudulent sibling, a theory we can't help clinging to given the pointlessness of making the flippant John the son of Jack (Clive Hornby), he's destined to a place in the archives as the black sheep of the family.

Yes, our request would mean that Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), whose heart truly belongs to Robert, will have to go through the divorce process all over again.

Surely this is preferable, though, to making 'Robron' suspects in John's murder, or letting him pretty much get away with his crimes with a quick death.

Of course, we still want Robert - and Aaron, once the scales fall from his eyes - to have a hand in John's retribution.

But let them outsmart John in a battle of wits instead.

We want to see true justice, resting that long-held soap tradition of snuffing out the worst offenders.

Read more:

• 7 Emmerdale spoilers next week: Aaron and Robert succumb to temptation and Mack finds John clue
• Emmerdale exit tipped for major character as long-running storyline set to come to explosive conclusion
• Emmerdale's Ryan Hawley teases Robert and Aaron "love scene" that sparks the next chapter of his storyline
• Emmerdale star on Robert's suspicions over scheming John and Nate's murder: "He's onto him"
• Emmerdale's Joe Absolom teases bad boy Ray’s future and mystery link to the village
• Bradley Johnson reveals Vinny's "emotional" sexuality story takes a dark turn in Emmerdale
• Emmerdale confirms outcome of Robert and John Sugden showdown in shocking ITVX release
• Emmerdale draws unsuspecting villager into John Sugden plot in ITVX cliffhanger
• Emmerdale icon 'signs new contract to stay on soap' amid dark romantic storyline

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7:30pm on ITV1. Stream on ITVX.

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