Joe Tate could be deemed a hero if he helps to uncover the Dales latest villain
Joe Tate could help bring John Sugden down(Image: ITV)
Emmerdale viewers have branded Joe Tate a “hero” as they predict he’ll be instrumental in the takedown of secret villain, John Sugden.
Ned Porteous reprised his role as the sneaky villain at the latter end of 2024. His return to the village was a surprise to fans – and the other residents of the Dales.
His arrival caused quite the stir after revealing himself to be the puppet master behind Will Taylor’s plans of revenge for Kim Tate. As viewers may recall, Will died from a heart attack shortly after Joe’s return.
Although those two events are seemingly unrelated, Joe still acted suspiciously while keeping quiet about his real intentions of sticking around at Home Farm.
After he was struck several times with a mystery illness, and various visits from an unknown Dr Crowley, the ITV soap unveiled that Joe had chronic kidney disease and was in desperate need of a transplant.
Instead of adding his name to the NHS waiting list, Joe used his wealth and connections to take matters into his own hands. After trying to get close to half-brother Noah Dingle, he spiked him in the hopes he would be a match.
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However, Noah wasn’t and Joe’s actions led to the Valentine’s limo crash that killed three villagers – Leyla Harding, Amy Wyatt and Suzy Merton.
He eventually sourced the kidney from Caleb, leaving his uncle’s life hanging in the balance. In recent episodes, Caleb found out what had happened and the pair have been at war before Kim Tate intervened.
John Sugden’s true colours have started to show(Image: ITV)
Elsewhere in the village, another villain has been squirrelling away behind the scenes – John Sugden. Since arriving in the Dales last year, he’s struck up a relationship with Aaron but his true colours have started to show.
Flashbacks showed that he accidentally killed Nate Robinson who “left the village” last year, as well as him switching Chas’ pills for Ella to take the blame.
Fans have theorised that he has a “hero complex” after he purposefully gave Jacob an anaphylactic shock just so he could save him.
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With Mackenzie Boyd in the firing line after revealing that he was engaged to Aaron, viewers have expressed concern that John could kill again.
Of course, every villain needs to be caught, and some fans think Joe Tate will be the one to take John down in a story of redemption.
On a Reddit thread, u/Lego_Panda_Bear suggested: “I don’t know if Joe is redeemable, but I think the writers will have Joe be instrumental in the takedown of John. He becomes a ‘real’ hero, unlike fake hero John. Suddenly in soapland all is forgotten and forgiven.”
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Another viewer u/Cautious_Summer3482 replied: “I can see this happening – the Joe storyline and the John storyline colliding and Joe coming out of it with a grudging pass for his past crimes.”
