If Emmerdale had a couple this week that made viewers want to bang their pillows in frustration, it was Celia and Ray.

These two aren’t the loud, boisterous villains.

They’re villains who slowly suffocate the entire village: control, manipulation, isolation, and then making the victims doubt themselves.

And when the victims start doubting themselves, the villains have already won half the battle.

Marlon and Rhona are the ones who bear the brunt of it.

Marlon is the type who’s very good at enduring, always trying to maintain his composure so as not to worry anyone. But the more he tries to maintain his composure, the more he breaks down. One day, Marlon will realize he’s being pushed to the wall: the police aren’t quick enough, the truth isn’t clear enough, and Celia and Ray are like an invisible net covering every door. He wants to protect his family, but that very act of protection makes him an easy target for manipulation.

Celia is increasingly terrifying because she doesn’t need to overreact; she just needs to show up at the right time. A word spoken softly is enough to strike fear into others. Ray, on the other hand, is the opposite: the more desperate the situation, the more impulsive and reckless he becomes in order to cover his tracks. And that’s the dangerous part: a cold-blooded commander giving orders, a hot-tempered executioner. This pair together is a kind of “organized hell.”