When Emmerdale decided to bring in a villain as brutal as Celia, almost everyone knew that Cain Dingle would have to step into the frame.

Cain has long been an icon of the line between criminal and hero: he knows how to threaten, beat, and force others to back down, but he is also someone who is willing to do dirty work to protect his family.

With what Celia and Ray have done to April, Dylan, Moira and the Dingle family, there is no reason for Cain to continue standing by and just watching.

The moment Cain decides to take action is usually not noisy.

He observes, eavesdrops, and pieces together information that others accidentally reveal. When the picture is clear enough, Cain quietly acts. In the Celia – Ray story, his motivation is not only for April, but also for Moira – who was dragged into the cycle of sin by blaming and distorting the truth. For Cain, it was a personal insult. Celia’s daring to play dirty tricks on his family turned Emmerdale into a battlefield he was not afraid to join.

The problem was that Cain was not a cop. He did not play by the rules. When Cain declared war, it meant Celia and Ray would face justice that was not written in the books: meetings in the dark, warnings not to report, counter-attacks that played directly on the fears of their enemies. Emmerdale had often let Cain deal with those who did harm by making them understand that in this village, there was not only the law to protect them, but also people who would drag you down if you touched their house.