How will Joe Tate get his comeuppance in Emmerdale? All the theories ahead of dramatic week

Ever since Joe Tate (Ned Porteous) returned to Emmerdale in 2024, he’s been committing heinous offences for his own gain, and facing barely any consequences.

From causing a fatal crash to engineering the stabbing of his uncle, Caleb Miligan (William Ash) so he could steal his kidney, Joe’s behaviour knows no boundaries.

Joe filmed Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) killing her twisted half-brother John (Oliver Farnworth) in self-defence, blackmailed her and forced Robert (Ryan Hawley) into planting evidence on Moira Dingle (Natalie J. Robb), before getting his hands on Butler's Farm.

When Moira discovers in upcoming scenes that Joe was behind her incarceration, she sets out to make him pay. But will she be the one to finally take him down, or might another character put an end to his despicable reign?

It’s high time Joe got his comeuppance, and we’ve rounded up all the ways in which it could happen! Join us as we delve into the biggest theories below.

How will Joe Tate get his comeuppance in Emmerdale?

Moira Dingle takes aim with a shotgun

Next week, furious that Joe almost destroyed her life to oust her from the farm, Moira grabs her shotgun and confronts him for framing her for modern slavery. They’re interrupted by Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough), but Moira refuses to back down.

Having only just been released from jail, will Moira really risk her freedom by shooting Joe? Perhaps instead, she’ll try to extract a confession, or walk away leaving him a cowering mess from her threats.

Whether Moira actually harms Joe remains to be seen, but there are plenty of other, more calculating ways to bring this villain down.

Cain Dingle chooses trickery over violence

Cain is preoccupied over his imminent surgery to treat prostate cancer. But if he finds out what Joe put his wife through, Cain will be out for blood; and we can imagine him plotting vengeance from his hospital bed if need be.

But perhaps he could break the habit of a lifetime and rise above violence? Cain has associates with all manner of skills, and having someone knock up fake documents, pose as a police detective and ‘arrest’ Joe would be a great twist.

With a goal of restoring Moira’s ownership of Butlers, or simply humiliating and scaring Joe out of his wits, Dingle justice would have to be powerful enough to stop him from double-crossing Cain’s family ever again. If nothing changes, it’s just not worth going there.

Dawn Fletcher plays the long game

Mere hours after learning he’d been manipulating the Sugdens, it was disappointing to see Dawn (Olivia Bromley) forgive fiancé Joe after her initial disgust.

But she’ll soon hear all about his betrayal of Moira, so maybe Dawn is about to wash her hands of him once and for all?

The character is reportedly leaving Emmerdale, so after being relegated to a supporting role for Joe, Dawn deserves to come into her own and give him his just deserts.

Whether she hatches a plan to ensure Joe is imprisoned for his catalogue of crimes, or rinses him for all he’s worth and flees with the cash, here’s hoping Dawn is the key to Joe’s retribution, breaking his heart and giving her a soap exit for the ages.

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Robert Sugden and Aaron Dingle avenge Victoria

The Robert of old would have found a way to turn the tables on Joe months ago, and while he’s not the same man since his traumatic time behind bars, there’s still time to take revenge for Victoria’s suffering.

Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) recently showed he’s learned to think without his fists when getting inside Joe’s head. Maybe he can coax fiancé Robert out of his shell and inspire him to outdo himself with a clever con, seizing full control of the new Emmerdale Farm and wiping the smug smile off Joe’s face.

And there must be a way dynamic duo ‘Robron’ can set up mastermind Joe to take the fall for Moira’s ordeal. He should have been jailed for much worse before now; but at this point, any sentence he can’t wriggle out of would be a tonic for Joe's victims.

Kim Tate teaches Joe a lesson

These days, Kim saves her scheming for when it’s truly necessary. And with Joe out of control, who better to pull off the ultimate payback than Ms Tate?

Graham currently believes Kim is a toxic force in Joe’s life, and has even tried to poison her! But could the penny drop that Joe is the problem, leading Graham to team up with Kim? Faking Kim’s demise has been done to, well, death, but Joe wouldn’t suspect this of Graham a second time, and the pair could even make it look like it was Joe’s fault.

But Kim has never needed a wingman, relying on her own extreme measures to get even. She has the authority and expertise to take away all that Joe holds dear – especially his wealth. If he oversteps yet another mark, Kim could shatter his superiority complex and leave him a shell of a man.

Whodunnit 2.0 - and this time it's fatal

From being shoved out of a window to being held hostage, Joe always bounces back without a hint of remorse. So what if his only reckoning is death by murder?

Strangely, the villagers have allowed the flippant Joe to get away with everything, but the bereaved Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) and Jacob Sugden (Joe-Warren Plant) remain deeply affected by the tragedies he was responsible for. If circumstances aligned, could one of them snap?

Caleb made an uneasy truce with nephew Joe to keep both of their secrets, but could turn against him if Joe steps back out of line. Or might it all come back to Dawn, who has already killed once and could be pushed to the edge if Joe turns nasty?

If a redemption arc is off the cards, we can't rule out a ‘who killed Joe?’ storyline with an army of suspects.

Read more:

• 4 Emmerdale spoilers next week: Moira Dingle seeks revenge as Joe Tate blackmail exposed
• Emmerdale airs blackmail scenes as Charity Dingle makes a new enemy in early ITVX release
• Emmerdale star teases "complex year" ahead for Charity Dingle after nightmare labour in early ITVX release
• Emmerdale airs heartbreaking Moira Dingle scenes following prison release in early ITVX release
• Emmerdale airs distressing Bear Wolf scenes as new Ray Walters theory emerges in early ITVX release

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and from 7am on ITVX.

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