ITV Emmerdale fans left fuming over 'unrealistic' John Sugden blunder

During tonight's episode of Emmerdale, John Sugden (played by Oliver Farnworth) was hiding at the Keeper's Cottage. The killer was ready with a syringe full of poison for Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley), but the villain had a change of mind later on in the episode when he overheard Robert and Victoria Sugden (Isabel Hodgins) talking.

Sitting on a bench next to Victoria, Robert told her: "I am done with relationships. I hate him, Vic. I hope he turns up dead somewhere." Victoria replied: "Our brother, you mean? You can't change the facts, Robert. Like, I can't change the fact that I really liked him. I loved him. I feel stupid and I feel like a bad person..." John listened to the pair as they continued having their heart-to-heart about him and then managed to evade the police who were patrolling the village and make it to Caleb Milligan's (Will Ash) warehouse.

Caleb seemed willing to help John escape from the police's watchful eyes - but was the businessman telling the truth? Will he actually help John leave the Yorkshire Dales - or will he lure him to a vengeful Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) who appears out for blood as John is behind his son Nate Robinson's (Jurell Carter) tragic death.

As the episode played out, Emmerdale viewers were left up in arms over a major blunder in John's plot and took to X to voice their frustrations.

One fan penned: "Eehh, John is just casually walking around in that village full of cops?? I don't need another 'Lachlan hiding and spying on people' story, thanks. Also, zero interest in Vic. They just act like she didn't accuse him of attempted murder two days ago. Skip!"

A second added: "Of course, John is able to walk around freely, even though the feds are all over the dales... talk about UNREALISTIC!"

Another fumed: "The writers are now trying to convince the audience John has Harry Potter's invisibility cloak... what utter crap. #Emmerdale."

Despite the backlash, other viewers were more focused on Robert's storyline, with one sharing: "Robert deserves his own story, one that isn't just an extension of John's. I'm excited to see how they portray Robert's ptsd. Ryan's performance is going to be nothing short of brilliant. I'm really looking forward to it! #Emmerdale."

Another added, "Yes, I believe Ryan is back precisely because they promised him his own story and much more screen time than before. Now, that doesn't mean we won't get a Robron reunion, but Robert will have his story arch before the reunion, and when Robron gets together, that will continue."

Emmerdale airs on weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV and ITVX.