ITV Share By Kerry Barrett Oct 19 2025 By Kerry Barrett Oct 19 2025 April was in too deep, Nicola was too much, and Cain was just being Cain. Again. It's been quite the week in Emmerdale! We're not convinced the Dawn and April episode really worked - but it definitely made us think! Cain Dingle Dawn Fletcher Features Nicola King Share By Kerry Barrett Oct 19 2025 By Kerry Barrett Oct 19 2025 Our Emmerdale review is quite serious this week, because there were some pretty hard-hitting storylines taking centre stage in the latest episodes. The fallout of Clemmie sending an inappropriate photo to her friend Carl continued, while her mum Dawn looked back on her time as a drug-addicted sex worker. Meanwhile across the village, April’s actions took a very dark turn. And Cain proved he’d learned absolutely nothing after 25 years in the village. Here’s what we thought of the action in this week’s Emmerdale review. article continues below Read all the latest spoilers Nicola was Too Much this week (Credit: ITV / EI) Dawn v Nicola v Laurel We’re quite fond of Nicola, oddly enough. She’s spiky and funny and quite fierce. But she was right on the edge of being Too Much this week. Her cruel sniping at Dawn was just plain mean. She was unnecessarily judgemental about other kids, when her daughter killed Heath. And she was ridiculous to blame Laurel for reporting the photograph. She’d have totally done the same thing, and chances are loads of other parents reported it too. It’s a tricky thing with long-term characters because they have their personalities and that’s great. We all know them and we love them But there does need to be a certain amount of *adopts dodgy American accent* “growth” for their characters. Nicola has made lots of mistakes over the years, and sometimes she learns from them and that’s great. But recently she doesn’t seem to have learned anything at all. Will Cain ever learn? (Credit: ITV / EI) Cain’s awful behaviour Another villager who’s learned nothing is Cain Dingle. Just once – ONCE – we would like Cain to react differently to personal trauma. Maybe he would think about getting drunk and change his mind. Perhaps he’d snap at his kids and then apologise and hug them closer? But no. That, apparently, was just wishful thinking. This week Cain continued to stomp about, get lashed, and to top it all, he was really, really horrible to Kyle. Awful. Considering his son has lost his mum and his big brother this year and he really needs his dad around, it could even be unforgiveable. It’s just boring now isn’t it? Though we did quite like his realisation that he was just like Shadrach. FINALLY. Now change your behaviour, Cain. Quick as you like. Kev had some big news for Robert (Credit: ITV) Kev’s coming out! Meanwhile at Hotten Prison, Kev had some exciting news for Robert. He’s getting out of jail. YAY! We love Kev. He’s so funny and volatile and we can’t wait for him to arrive in the village properly. We’re also super excited about the flashback episode when we’ll find out more about his relationship with Robert. Can’t wait! April thought about nicking money from home (Credit: ITV) April’s in trouble April’s torment continued this week as she considered nicking a load of money from the Goskirk/Dingle stash of cash (seriously, who has cash like that lying around nowadays? It reminded us of the old chicken dish in Bread. Yes we know that ages us. But we still don’t have cash in a tin). Anyway, cash tins aside, when Rhona stumbled on her step-daughter in the kitchen looking guilty, she immediately tried to make her feel better. Rhona was so kind to the troubled teen, not knowing what she’s been up to. It made our hearts ache a little bit. April and Dawn featured in the special episode (Credit: ITV) One special episode – April and Dawn Friday’s episode this week was a special one. As April got ready to go to a hotel to meet a contact, Dawn was talking about her past. It was an interesting idea. Up at Home Farm, Dawn was frantic over Clemmie sending the pic to Carl, understandably. She poured her heart out to boyfriend Joe Tate, telling him all about her darkest days. Her experiences were mirrored by April’s as the teenager set off to a hotel, ready for whatever Ray had arranged for her to do. It was an awkward and uncomfortable watch. April was brave and legged it before the ‘client’ got too close. But we’re not sure that comparing Dawn and April really worked, for several reasons. April went to a hotel room (Credit: ITV) April has people who love her Firstly, Dawn’s experience of being in and out of care, having no family, and no one to trust, is not the same as April’s. In fact, comparing them just emphasised how privileged April really is. She has a loving family, caring friends, people who watch out for her and want her to be happy. The whole village turned out to look for her when she ran away. Belle gave her a job. Rhona’s forgiven her for Leo taking drugs. Marlon’s annoying undoubtedly but he’s trying his best. We just keep wondering why April doesn’t just tell someone what Ray and Celia are doing? We get she’s scared, but they’re hardly criminal masterminds, are they? We reckon Swirling could take them out if he wanted to. Once more – as so often in this storyline – we were left thinking this whole drama has been created by April herself. Dawn told Joe everything (Credit: ITV) Dawn’s not helping anyone Dawn’s part of the story was harrowing. But when she was talking about how she hopes no other girls find themselves in that position, we couldn’t help wondering what she’s done to help. Nothing, seems to be the answer there. She’s not supported other victims like Tracy did, or spoken out like Charity. She’s got loads of money now – and a powerful protector in the shape of Kim. She has the ability to help girls in the position she was once in. But has she? Nope. Of course, she doesn’t owe anybody anything, but it does slightly feel like she’s pulled the ladder up after herself. Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns Share Good to Know Share By Kerry Barrett Oct 19 2025 By Kerry Barrett Oct 19 2025 Next Story
