Emmerdale fans 'work out' John Sugden's twisted plan after Mack 'murdered'

Recent Emmerdale episodes witnessed Mackenzie Boyd (portrayed by Lawrence Robb) confronting John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) regarding Nate Robinson's demise (Jurrell Carter). Determined to silence Mack, John pursued him through woodland wielding a bow and arrow before apparently murdering him by hurling a rock at his skull.

Friday's instalment showed John observing flames dying out in the forest, suggesting he incinerated Mack's corpse and any evidence linking him to the murder. Nevertheless, viewers haven't witnessed Mack's lifeless body, sparking speculation he remains alive, with one fan theorising John's saviour complex indicates he has devised something far more twisted for him, reports Daily Star.

Posting on Reddit to discuss the plot, one enthusiast remarked: "I think that Mack is still alive based on the camera angle when John delivered the "killer blow. " I think rather than his head, John smashed Mack's legs with that rock and is going full blown Kathy Bates in Misery.

"Mack is now tied up somewhere with broken legs, near to the cottage so that it's not too obvious for John to go give Mack food and water. I think he is also medically treating his wounds although I'm fairly certain that arrow would need removing surgically."

Another supporter concurred John has devised something horrifying for Mack, even proposing he's being detained against his will.

"I wonder if Mack is buried underground in a box but alive, that was what John had buried so there will be an air tube above ground," one spectator commented. "John has treated his injuries and has him sedated/ in an induced coma, the box won't be deep as he has to check on him constantly, why would he have taken a dead body with him to the holiday cottage otherwise as if he was dead and the body found, it could only be one of 2 people who took him there, if buried near Emmerdale then it could put quite a few other people as suspects."

Discussing the dramatic scenes, which were previously teased in a flash forward at the beginning of the year, actor Lawrence revealed: "Last New Year we saw a handful of flashbacks and the one of Mack running has not been seen in an episode yet.... We actually filmed that flashback last October and we finally will be seeing it within the show. In the original flashback the audience members didn't know why Mackenzie was running.

"Was he chasing someone or was he running away from someone or something? At last all will be revealed. The flashback scene was filmed last October and at the time we didn't know when it was going to play out within 2025 - so just in case there could be a future issue with hair continuity - as potentially I could have grown a mullet by the end of the year - we decided to stick a beanie hat on Mack.

"But this choice didn't help with the heat as this time we were filming this episode in the height of summer. And for all the filming I had to have this beanie on. So I was very, very warm. But I'm excited for the audience to finally see it unfold and how it fits into Mack's storyline."

Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.