Emmerdale review of the week: Belle, Tom and a handful of change

There is a lot to review in this week’s Emmerdale, even though most of the episodes focused on one storyline – Tom and Belle and their disastrous trip to Wales.

They set off, with Belle unaware that Tom was planning a new life for them in the isolated rural setting. Meanwhile, Charity and Cain were worried about Belle and were trying to track her down.

Here’s what we thought of the dramatic events in this week’s Emmerdale review.

Outside as the sun rises Belle King [EDEN TAYLOR-DRAPER] and Tom King [JAMES CHASE] are excited to have arrived at the holiday cottage. — Belle and Tom arrived at their holiday cottage full of joy (Credit: ITV)

Claustrophobic and tense in our Emmerdale review

As Belle and Tom set off on their holiday, things already felt tense. Tom had hidden Belle’s phone and he was being Very Nice Indeed. But we know now that his mood can change in an instant.

And we weren’t wrong. The episode focusing on the newlyweds in the isolated holiday cottage was tense and dramatic. The claustrophobic feeling of the cottage closing in on Belle as Tom locked her inside – and poor Piper outside – had us holding our breath.

Tom’s manipulation stepped up over the days in the cottage. He was gaslighting Belle, lying about his job interview, and even claiming to have taken an overdose.

The passing days, with each morning beginning with the toast being buttered by Belle, precisely as Tom liked it, was a clever touch. Especially on the final day when her bandaged hand made her awkward, and the toast was burned.

Tom chasing Belle as she fled was thrilling and the relief when she managed to get on the bus was immense! Especially as a whole busload of passengers saw what Tom was like as he roared his fury at the departing bus!

Going downhill

But after the brilliance of the cottage episode, things went downhill quite fast.

Belle appeared in Emmerdale clutching Piper, with no explanation as to how she’d got there with no money or phone. No one so much as asked how she’d done it. We were left wondering how her handful of change that was just enough to pay her bus fare, stretched to a train ticket back to Yorkshire.

She also didn’t seem to have scratch on her, despite Tom whacking her round the face hard enough to send her sprawling on to the floor of the cottage.

Cain and Charity look horrified as she take in the state of the holiday cottage — Cain and Charity were shocked when they arrived at the trashed holiday cottage (Credit: ITV)

Changing direction in our Emmerdale review

When Charity and Cain broke into Tom and Belle’s house earlier in the week, they were all over Tom’s abusive behaviour. They clocked the cameras, the book detailing all Belle’s spends, Belle’s phone hidden in a drawer and they realised all was not as it seemed with the pair.

BUT as soon as they caught up with Tom at the cottage and found out Belle had an abortion, they totally changed their stance. Suddenly Tom was the put upon, martyred husband, while Belle was the baddie for having a termination. And that’s a stance that left us feeling a little uncomfortable. It’s 2024, people. No woman has to stay pregnant if she doesn’t want to – even a Dingle woman – and no one should judge her for that decision.

Emmerdale review Belle pushes Tom to the ground and screams at him in Emmerdale — Tom’s managed to make himself the victim again, just as he did before (Credit: ITV)

Glimmers of hope

With Cain and Charity now firmly Team Tom, things looked bleak for Belle. But she’s managed to find enough strength to tell her abusive husband she doesn’t want to be with him. That’s one positive.

And she started to tell Vinny what had happened. Though when he pointed out it was abusive, she denied it. Vinny’s a smart cookie though, and – as he himself said – he knows what it’s like to be abused. Fingers crossed he’s a friend for Belle in her time of need.

Let’s hope Tom doesn’t manage to manipulate things even further in his favour as this storyline progresses.