Emmerdale confirms Ruby’s fate amid coffin ordeal as someone unexpected comes to help

The following article contains spoilers from the episode of Emmerdale dated September 22. It hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX and YouTube.

Ruby Miligan (Beth Cordingly) woke up in a coffin in Emmerdale today after being buried alive by Joe Tate (Ned Porteous).

Joe spent the past few days plotting to get revenge on Ruby and Caleb Miligan (William Ash), believing that they are the reason Dawn Taylor (Olivia Bromley) is dead. He said that the revenge would be brutal – and it absolutely was.

Yesterday’s episode of the ITV soap ended with Ruby unconscious in a grave underground. As the latest instalment opened, we discovered that Caleb had also fallen victim to Joe’s wickedness, as he woke up on the floor in Mill Cottage.

In his hazy state, Caleb tried to push Joe to reveal what he had done. He eventually confirmed that Ruby was buried in a coffin, and Joe took pleasure in sharing that he honestly didn’t know if Caleb’s wife was dead or alive.

As Caleb reeled, Ruby had woken up. She was screaming for help, but it wasn’t going to be long until her air ran out. Soon enough, silence fell.

Graham then arrived and discovered the extent of Joe’s plot. Keeping his cool, Graham Foster (Andrew Scarborough) told Caleb to leave.

While he was alone with Joe, Graham made it clear that while he understood his need for retribution, he had gone too far this time.

The thing about Graham is that he can tell Joe what he has done to Ruby is outright wrong, while still understanding how he got to this point.

In fact, he pointed out that Joe probably hadn’t even dug Ruby’s grave deep enough, meaning Caleb would find her quickly. It was almost as though Graham was trying to make Joe see the flaws in his plan rather than simply condemning him for what he’d done.

He knows Joe is grieving and struggling, and while that doesn’t mean he can excuse his actions, Graham understands that his surrogate son is lashing out because he doesn’t know what else to do with all that pain.

In the middle of a field on Home Farm, Caleb and Graham had managed to locate the grave. To their horror, when they lifted the coffin lid, Ruby wasn’t awake.

Caleb attempted CPR, but he wasn’t strong enough. Graham stepped in and took over, and successfully managed to bring Ruby back to life.

Joe is in a lot of pain right now, and it’s clear that his grief has changed him.

While Joe may believe that revenge will give him some sense of control or justice, burying Ruby alive shows just how far he has been pushed beyond the man he once was.