It looks like the end of the road has come for Emmerdale killer Emma Barton. After hearing on the radio that her son, Finn, had died as a result of a shot wound, the unhinged nurse was seen teetering on the edge of a bridge.
But it wasn’t the drama that had viewers gripped, they flocked to Twitter to express their disbelief that Emma was wandering around without being seen.
Her intention is to jump off and end her own life but as a devout Christian (or as much as a murderer can be) Emma is wavering because she knows suicide is considered a ‘sin’ in her faith.
In fact, she was reminded of this fact by her hallucination of dead husband, James (Bill Ward.)
“What you’re thinking of doing is a sin,” Ghost of James told her.
“All of it’s a sin,” Emma replied. “I thought we agreed on that.”
“There are other ways of atoning,” said Ghost of James.
“No, I have tried so hard to stay and be good,” replied Emma. “But I wasn’t strong enough.”
Emma reached breaking point in tonight’s dramatic episode after discovering that she’d killed her own son. Already very much on the edge, this discovery was the tipping point.
Up until then, the nurse was planning to disappear with Moira’s baby and start a new life, believing the tot – who she thinks is her grandson – is a gift from God and her opportunity for a second chance.
But on hearing the news that Finn had died, and that she was now a murder suspect, Emma realised she couldn’t go through with her plan.
Instead she headed back to the village and wrote a goodbye letter to her remaining two sons, Ross and Pete, confessing what she’d done and explaining what she was about to do.
Then, leaving the baby in the church to be discovered by Harriet, she headed for the bridge and asked God to swap her for Finn.
And this was what really got viewers goat – how had she managed to wander round the village unseen when everybody, including the police, was looking for her? And what’s more – where did she get all the baby gear from?
But as the episode came to a close people were more concerned about what exactly Moira was intending to do with her gun.
She’d discharged herself from hospital, got home and loaded the weapon – was she planning to kill Emma?
Finn was confirmed dead in the opening scenes of tonight’s episode, following him flatlining at the end of last night’s ep. The Emmerdale really know how to work a cliffhanger.
The villagers all reacted with grief when news of his death spread – particularly his close friend, Tracy Metcalfe, who broke down in tears.
Elsewhere, Adam Barton was released without charge by the police, hopefully Emma’s letter of confession will put him in the clear.
Ads was arrested during last night’s episode after a critically injured Finn was rushed into Hotten General. Adam had been seen heading into the woods with a gun, and then heading back out of them with one.