Rob To My Ron

I have thoughts:

The photo they ran with is funny and is a little all over the place. Mack, Billy and Robert look slightly disheveled like they’ve been through it while Kev and Ross are just vibing. Lewis looks like he thought they were taking prom photos.

While I’m glad to see him get some attention, Billy feels like a last minute add-on with Danny and Ned not being around to do photos (could be wrong but you’d think Joe would be far more in the “center” of things than Billy but again glad he’s getting something substantial to do hopefully). 🤞

The theory that Serena is doing some sort of expose on John seems like a good callout. That would be a betrayal of her family but not something she couldn’t come back from. And it’s very Sugden to be ambitious even at the cost of those close to you. I still do not think she will be evil or like John at all. And for FFS she’s not Robert’s kid.

They will have to do some type of CTE storyline for Robert at this point. Yeah he’s fictional but even in the land of soap, someone can’t take that many head injuries. This is like #3 this year alone.

I’m calling it now that Vinny is trying to set Kev up for what happens in the cafe to get him away from Lewis. Maybe this will make their relationship interesting…

Mack and Ross getting into a fight over the cheating and the baby is the type of soapy fun I wanted out of that SL so yay.

Robert is/was a very complex character that has always been somewhere in between good and bad. That’s why he’s a joy to watch. Now though he has to be on the “hero” side of things always, and that complexity is lacking.

So instead of taking on Joe Tate for the blackmail, he cowers, and instead of demanding to know why Kev is back in village after he attacked him and Aaron, Robert apologizes (wtf) for being engaged and thanks Kev for a divorce. Robert of old (both Karl and Ryan’s versions) would never. (Actually Robert circa July 2025 would also never). Same goes for Kev. He started out very complex with potential to be a solid sympathetic villain but now he just sings stupid karaoke and fights over a dead cat’s ashes. If that’s your humor then woohoo for you but I would have preferred the Joker of the Dales vs just a joker.

It’s also true for a character like Charity. She started out in a storyline where she was the bad guy. Someone making bad decisions to protect themselves from valid repercussions. Now though they’ve made her a victim in something so horrific compared to what she did that she’s no longer the bad guy which I still wager is the only reason the story took that turn.

In the past, she was allowed to the bad guy when it was warranted. Her strained relationship with Debbie is a good example of that. Now we can’t possibly have people believe Charity can be a good person while also making seriously selfish decisions that hurt those around her.

the more it happens the more annoyed by him i get. and the robron fans on here only care about the ship, which is so fucking boring. i had so much hope when rob came back, he was in scenes with so many characters. now he's just glued to him again and it's back to the same old cycles of the aaron show.

All good! Don’t disagree at all that Robert and Aaron should be able to have separate storylines. I’m a huge Robron girlie but I agree that tying them so closely together limits both their characters. I really did not like how they got together last year and have been disappointed that so much good material for their relationship and characters have been disregarded. And agree, the “Robert is always bad and Aaron always good” narrative is as annoying as it was 6 years ago.

IMO it’s not just Robert though but Aaron too that’s been short changed this year. Aaron got to have zero feelings about John post-gorge and he’s just been sorta there to play guard dog with Robert or pop in randomly into other characters SLs for like an episode.

I feel your frustration for sure! Robert is a goldmine of a character and he’s been underused or just outright misused this year so far. I do think that’s down to two things though: Sophie Roper leaving Laura Shaw to do all the heavy lifting on plotting out storylines, thus a lot of the just basic narrative issues the show has had across the board this year, and Ryan being overused last year before he resigns a contract.

Next week Charity goes off the rails and Serena (I’m guessing) pulls her back from the edge and Charity then trauma dumps on Serena about the baby.

Serena then goes to find her cousin Robert who is surprisingly both a farmer and shacked up with this grumpy mechanic who is the opposite of rich bitch Chrissie White. (God I miss her.)

Serena also meets her other cousin Sarah and is shocked to discover this is the person Charity has wronged.

Now Serena has to figure out what to do. Tell Sarah or keep Charity’s secret? As a Sugden, Serena’s loyalties may not be what Charity hopes.

Based on the spoilers too, I think Cain finds out about the baby next week and also must figure out what to do. My guess he sides with Charity which is why Sarah may fully embrace her Sugden side in the coming months.

I agree with others who say Seb will still most likely come back this year. He HAS to right?! However, and this might be an unpopular opinion, I don’t think he’ll be a permanent character. Right now. My theory is that they will treat him the same as little Aaron back in the day, coming in for bigger moments but waiting for him to get older before he comes in full time.

Either way, the Sugdens do need more full time grown ups and Serena fits that bill.

I think she will most likely be a “good” character and an ally to Robert. I put nothing past Laura Shaw and her great “ideas” but having Serena be crazy or evil so soon after John would be a…choice. And I want Robert to have a ride or die that backs him up no matter what.

Her arrival might also help inject some much needed tension back into Aaron and Robert’s relationship, because at this point, they can’t really do anything with their relationship right now.

Aaron is quite literally the only person Robert has. (Not even Kev it would seem or that we would even want) So he and Aaron can never fight or have real issues right now because Robert has no one else to talk too or even share meaningful scenes with if not Aaron. Not great for any character, but especially the guy they seem to be setting up as the Sugden patriarch.

This undercuts the surrogacy SL and makes it impossible for Sarah, Jacob and Mack to have actual feelings about her frankly vile behavior. Whether they find out about the baby before or after the assault, they will never be able to hold her truly accountable which will make all of this very unsatisfying and almost gratuitous in its violence and implications.

All assault storylines are important but this should have been done separately down the line and not piled into this cacophony of confused nonsense.

We still have no idea why Todd is doing any of this…

Because this is tied to the storyline with the baby, there is an unsettling implication that this assault is somehow narrative punishment for what Charity did which is vile all on its own. Hence why it should have been separated.

It should have been either Jacob or Vanessa if they felt they absolutely had to do this. (The surrogacy SL was enough in my opinion but if there had to be an assault it would have made much more sense narratively to be one of them, not Charity.) They could have tied to Jacob’s previous experience or discussed intimate partner violence with Vanessa. Both of which would have fed it more naturally and without these broader consequences for the baby SL.

Since everything has to come back to Robert (bc it just does), this means it will be even more unlikely that they will explore his mental health as Charity gets that now.

It’s also highly frustrating that Robert was not allowed redemption during his blackmail plot but instead got a shovel to the head and threatened with a hammer. But he’s still persona non grata even though he has not done anything close to Charity’s behavior.

The cast all seemed to be having more fun today. Or could have just been the good writing.

I was half expecting them to just send Aaron and Robert off on holiday with the fires still going and we all would just have to go with it.

How they did it seems much more in character. Am I sad we still didn’t get to see Rob have his nervous breakdown? Yes.

I do think this means Robert might be able to show up more over the coming weeks though. Hawley’s break may not have been as long as Miller’s. So the “drought” may not be as long.

It does sound like Aaron will get to kick off about Kyle at some point. 🤞

It’s a wonder what good writing and direction from producers can do. Roundell has been writing for them for years and it shows in how he knows how to write for all these characters.

Loved the recognition that Robert and Aaron’s love language is banter and has been since the start. The ticking boxes comment was gold. Also loved the undercurrent of Aaron asking why he was helping Robert on the farm was because he loves him. Awww.

Graham was not that bad this episode. His inclusion felt natural. Why not use an SAS guy to help when he’s right there? Plus I’m sure it was a nice change for him to be doing scenes outside of the home farm set.

I am actually sat for the Kyle part of the story. If they play it right, it could be one of the more interesting parts of Caindale.

The homeless storyline now feels very buttoned up and I think that might be the shortest SL ever in Emmerdale. Not complaining though.

Kammy and Belle are lovely but I will want drama from them at some point. I think they could be a great long-term couple but you need to drama to really make that work.

Ross and Laurel still feel forced but they could convince me. This does feel short-lived though for once the baby stuff comes out. I do want to see feelings from Ross about his daughter being raised by other people.

This episode/week also proved that Lewis and Vinny are far better alone than with each other. Sorry.

All I know is that Robert wouldn’t freely leave that farm with someone still trying to burn it down unless he was incapacitated either physically or mentally. (Unless they deviate completely from even these last few episodes which I’m sad to say would not be a surprise if they did.)

My god. That’s almost as long as Charity’s story. At least she was pregnant and they had to wait for her to give birth until the story can progress.

That’s what Cain needs. Another storyline.