Disaster struck on Emmerdale Farm in today's episode, as Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) was knocked down by a rolling trailer. But was it an accident, or did newcomer Serena Sugden (Casey Al-Shaqsy) deliberately tamper with it?
There's been a great deal of mystery surrounding Serena ever since she arrived in the village. Initially, she claimed that she was in town to reconnect with cousin Robert, but concern started to grow when it became apparent that she was keen to know more about John Sugden's (Oliver Farnworth) reign. Serena has been digging for gossip on her relative, and what happened to Nate Robinson (Jurell Carter).
Serena's backstory revealed
The reason for Serena's curiosity was explained in yesterday's episode, as she revealed more about her family's connection to John. Serena told Robert that John gave her family his army pension, which helped a great deal with their struggling farm. She couldn't understand how John was capable of inflicting such horror while he lived in Emmerdale, when he was also so generous to her at the same time.
She had some of the pension money leftover, and decided to speak to Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) about giving it to Nate's partner Tracy Shankley (Amy Walsh) and their daughter Frankie. Also in the conversation she had with Robert, Serena shared that she previously worked as a copper. This news left Robert paranoid that Serena would find out about Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) killing John, and report her to the police.
Serena's police visit raises questions
Serena eventually worked out that Vic had murdered her brother, but reassured Robert and said that she wouldn't tell anyone. The possibility of Serena lying increased right at the end of the episode though, as she was seen heading into a police station. Interestingly, we didn't find out much about Serena's visit as the latest instalment began. She told Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller) that she had spent the evening with a mate having some food and drinks, which suggests she only went to the prison to meet them.
While this was going on, Robert was busy working in a field. He managed to get distracted due to a police car arriving, and failed to realise a trailer full of hay bales was tumbling down the hill. Robert was injured but luckily, Serena was there to help. Aaron wasn't able to express his gratitude towards Serena for saving his partner, as he just kept thinking about how strange it was that she just happened to be at the scene.
Aaron draws parallels to John's tactics
When John was in the village, he would create deadly situations, put someone in danger, and then appear to swoop in and save them. To Aaron, it looked as though Serena had done the same thing. But did she? Something important to note is that whenever we saw Serena in today's episode, she was wearing muddy shoes. She lives on a farm, yes, but it could also be a clue that she did deliberately tamper with the trailer.
If Serena really is bad news, what reason has she got to cause trouble for Robert and Aaron? Viewers will have to wait and see.
