After Belle Dingle faced her future in the most recent ITV episode of Emmerdale, viewers were moved to tears. When Tom started dating Amelia, Belle—who had been abused by him for months—had to decide what to do.
At first, she thought about going back to him to shield Amelia from his abuse; she saw herself pregnant and subjected to his mistreatment.
In this imagined scenario, Belle bore a black eye and facial injuries as Tom’s horrific abuse continued, leaving her in tears. She then considered revealing Tom’s true nature to Amelia, but found herself accused of lying, with only Cain believing her story.
In response, Cain assaulted Tom, leaving him in a coma and landing himself in jail.
Belle was blamed for the incident and, in this potential future, was sectioned. She also thought about ignoring Tom and moving on with her life, reports Leeds Live.
One viewer, @kellycrumpton94, expressed her relief and distress, saying: “I’m so glad Belle has finally told someone what’s been going on in absolute tears right now. what a powerful episode”. @MissFunkyNess shared her emotional reaction: “That was emotional, I’m actually crying”.
Emmerdale’s Belle is being abused by her husband Tom King (Image: ITV)
The sentiment was echoed by another fan, @holtzybxby, who was moved by the performances: “Wow those Belle and Charity scenes moved me to tears. Incredibly powerful”. @DanJBrownMUFC praised the show: “A powerful and important #Emmerdale tonight, well done to Eden Taylor-Draper and all involved.”
As she rebuilt her life, Amelia was left to deal with Tom’s abuse.
This situation worsened over time, leading to Amelia’s death after a fall down the stairs, with the real culprit clear. Ultimately, Belle chose to confide in Charity, one of the few people in the village who would believe her, alongside Cain.
The episode concluded with Belle revealing her ordeal to Charity, who believed her, and the pair finally confronted abuser Tom.
Both Belle and fans were left in floods of emotion, as she attempted to defend him against Charity’s accusation that he had caused her nothing but pain. The powerful scenes sent viewers rushing to Twitter to express their heartache.
@SpinninAlb lauded the actors’ performances: “Eden Taylor-Draper as Belle and Emma Atkins as Charity, phenomenal performance in this excellent, powerful, emotional #Emmerdale episode.”
@GlowstikCosplay reacted to the ending: “That ending was beautiful”.
Then there was reassurance from @TopCatCas17, who works in child safeguarding: “Anyone out there worried about my last tweets don’t worry. I may have blubbered through that episode of #emmerdale but because I’m in child safeguarding. It gets to you sometimes BUT I’m no good if show at work. That episode was a release so all good here! Thanks”.
