Emmerdale fans are set for Joe Tate’s “comeuppance” after he orchestrated Caleb’s attack for his kidney transplant. Now, viewers are saying the villain “must exit”.
Joe returned to the village in 2024 after a long absence, and fans grew suspicious as to why he had bothered to come back to the Dales. At first, it seemed as though he wanted to get closer to half-brother Noah Dingle, but the truth eventually came out.
He kept receiving visits from a mysterious Dr Crowley, and viewers learned that Joe had chronic kidney disease. With no such luck of half-brother Noah Dingle being a match, Joe set his sights on his uncle Caleb.
After attempting to spike Caleb and it failing, Joe resorted to violence and hired someone to stab him while at the depot. The stabbing was worse than anticipated, and Joe panicked as he rushed him to Dr Crowley.
Dr Crowley struggled to hide his disgust at Caleb’s condition, lamenting Joe for taking things to far as he worried he wouldn’t be able to save him after the transplant was done.
As the episode came to an end, Caleb lay on the operating table completely still, with fears that he might not survive Joe’s most recent harrowing crime.
Caleb’s life hangs in the balance after Joe’s betrayal(Image: ITV)
Viewers were quick to express their concern for Caleb, worried that he won’t make it out alive – and have insisted that Joe Tate has to leave the village.
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On a Reddit thread, u/AffectionateWord7761 wrote: “Joe just happened to appear 30s after Caleb was stabbed. If he survives, will he be suspicious, or thank Joe? I wonder if he heard anything.”
u/Admirable-Pop-7339 added: “I don’t understand how Joe can come back from this. It’s not just the kidney thing which is bad. He spiked his brother. He’s responsible for the deaths of 3 people. He’s had his Uncle stabbed. I know there’s villains but I don’t even think Frank or Chris would do this. He’s not desperate. He’s pathetic.”
If Caleb does survive, fans think he’ll uncover the truth himself through a series of flashbacks. On a Facebook fan page, a viewer theorised: “Caleb has to have flashbacks, he was in and out of consciousness, surely he’ll figure it out?”.
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Another added: “If Caleb makes it, he’ll suffer from the flashbacks that Emmerdale love to show and kill Joe Tate” with a third viewer who replied: “Lol, he might even get John Sugden involved.”
