When Ray Walters made his Emmerdale debut, his motives appeared clear-cut as evil. His control over teens April Windsor and Dylan Penders has increased with every passing week, as Ray uses the pair to sell drugs. Then there’s Bear Wolf, who among several others is being exploited for gruelling manual labour.
Yet in spite of all the above, some fans are noticing signs that Ray isn’t always as heartless as his actions suggest – and this could change everything for April and her fellow victims.
Answerable to the “big boss” of the operation, his adoptive mum Celia Daniels, Ray has seemed conflicted on a number of occasions, and Joe Absolom portrays the villain with a masterful nuance.
When Ray opened up to oblivious love interest Laurel Thomas about how Celia took him in after the death of his late grandfather, there was an authenticity to his words. This was our first hint that Ray was groomed by Celia as a child.
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Ever since he lied to his mother about seeing Laurel, Ray’s growing affection for the gentle character has been a source of trouble for Celia, as she fears losing her grip on him after decades of, crucially, being all Ray had.
When Laurel asked if Ray had ever wanted to be a father, his reply that “life got in the way” told us all we needed to know – that Celia, and his role in all her dodgy dealings, had blocked any opportunity for him to pursue his own ambitions.
One notable scene saw Ray looking unsettled when Celia vowed to make April pay if she steps out of line, and he tried to defend the youngster to no avail.
Such glimpses of Ray subtly questioning Celia’s decisions, including her use of Moira Dingle’s blanket and land to bury Anya’s body in order to frame the farm owner, are proof that Ray’s moral compass is trying to break through.
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Upon learning that Anya had a young daughter, Ray’s guilt was written all over his face. After hearing that Anya had died, he seemed, for a moment, genuinely troubled as he sought reassurance that “we did all we could, right?”
There have also been frank chats with Bear that briefly blurred the lines between Ray’s role as captor and his potential as an ally. However sincere Ray’s words might be, though, it would be remiss not to acknowledge that this is his way of manipulating Bear and earning his trust.
After all, each time Ray reveals a conscience, the situation quickly shifts, like when he insisted that Bear would not have enough wages to fend for himself. And in a sickening scene before Celia took control over the situation, we discovered that Ray had dumped Anya’s body in a shed, leaving her brutally thrown up against a wall.
As he’s beaten Dylan, set up April with predatory “clients” against her will, and faked a man’s death at her hands in order to keep her in his debt, nobody is defending Ray. However, that doesn’t mean that his brief moments of humanity aren’t being slotted in deliberately ahead of future changes in direction for this storyline.
If it emerges at the right moment, Ray’s compassion could be the very thing that saves April, and perhaps even Bear, in the end.
All the evidence, and the knowledge that a submissive Ray has been moulded into exactly who Celia needed him to be, could actually be Emmerdale planting the seeds for her inevitable downfall.
We know Ray is scared of Celia, but might the devil on his shoulder be stamped out if she crosses the line in his eyes, causing him to stand up to her once and for all?
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We’re not expecting Ray to stick around long-term, so perhaps his chance at redemption will arrive at the very last minute – at which point Celia takes a fatal strike against him, or has him killed by one of her minions.
It’s a bleak thought, we know, but then that’s the most prominent theme in this storyline. The ultimate goal is for Bear and April to make it through this ordeal; so it feels plausible that Ray could step up to protect them, or indeed Laurel, if she is caught up in the fallout once he and Celia are exposed.
While Emmerdale are sure to deliver plenty more nasty surprises as April speaks out at last, it could be Ray who holds the key to breaking Celia’s depraved cycle.
Related: Emmerdale to revisit April and Callum horror – as she gets too close to the truth
We’re not expecting Ray to stick around long-term, so perhaps his chance at redemption will arrive at the very last minute – at which point Celia takes a fatal strike against him, or has him killed by one of her minions.
It’s a bleak thought, we know, but then that’s the most prominent theme in this storyline. The ultimate goal is for Bear and April to make it through this ordeal; so it feels plausible that Ray could step up to protect them, or indeed Laurel, if she is caught up in the fallout once he and Celia are exposed.
While Emmerdale are sure to deliver plenty more nasty surprises as April speaks out at last, it could be Ray who holds the key to breaking Celia’s depraved cycle.