Life is too brief.
On what he considered to be one of the happiest days of his life—the day he married Laurel Thomas in front of his friends and family—that was the main point of Jai Sharma’s moving toast in Emmerdale.
He had no idea, though, how appropriate this precise emotion would turn out to be when succeeding scenes revealed the untimely death of his adored father Rishi, who had been his greatest friend and only true ally in life.
Almost everyone was kept in the dark about the twist. Even I, a self-described authority in all things Emmerdale, only recently learned about it, and even then, I was unable to foresee what the twist would involve.
Whether there was a twist or not, the soap opera’s episode from last Thursday (July 27) was beautiful. It featured a joyful ending for the bride and groom as well as fulfilling community scenes, which have been hard to come by lately. Everyone engaged gave strong performances in the family showdowns, and Bhasker Patel and Chris Bisson gave some of their best performances on the show in its 12-year run.
The death theme can occasionally be overdone in the soap opera genre. Find me a week in any of the most popular serial dramas in the country where at least one of the characters isn’t in a life-or-death struggle!
But Rishi’s passing had a different impact.
The patriarch, who was always available to give advise to people in need or was willing to hear it himself, has come to represent a pillar of Emmerdale.
I had assumed that he would live for a long time, and in some ways, I still hope that he will. Without a doubt, I’ll miss him and his sage advice.
But since the purpose of a soap opera is to ultimately mirror real life, this death is particularly sad because it perfectly captures the thoughts of Jai’s speech and highlights a situation that many of us have experienced.
Life is far too brief.Death can happen suddenly, frequently in the space of a blink of an eye, and we aren’t always given the chance to say goodbye to the people we cherish.
Jai will now have to put up with that. Rishi was never given the chance to forgive him. He never had the chance to express to him how much he loves and values him.
Similar to Holly Barton and Lisa Dingle’s terrible deaths, pulling off a huge shock in this vein has kind of become an Emmerdale calling card.
Despite providing viewers with some truly amazing storylines this year, such as Paddy’s attempted suicide and Arthur’s relationship with Marshall (bring him back Emmerdale), the ITV soap has recently come under fire. Some fans have called for a significant change or plot twist to really get viewers talking.
Exactly what Emmerdale needed was this.
Like Holly’s and Lisa’s deaths, Rishi’s is the talk of the town, and social media is just one illustration of how shocked everyone is by the news.
I’m not just talking about the immediate aftermath, which is every bit as upsetting as you might expect it to be; the bold decision will also provide a tonne of future story potential in addition to its shock value.
Jai, for instance, will find it difficult to proceed. Not only because his adored father has passed away, but also because of how their relationship ended. All those questions with no answers.
How he deals with his sadness over the latest revelations regarding his origins will probably be at the focus of the show in the coming weeks. Their ultimate showdown will undoubtedly be on his mind frequently.
Therefore, Suni’s debut couldn’t have come at a better time, as actor Brahmdeo Shannon Ramana had already gotten along exceptionally well with everyone with whom he had already appeared in a scene.
Jai and the newcomer are quite close. The two would have been thrilled to learn they were brothers in any other situation.
However, Suni spending the night with Nicky Milligan will undoubtedly cause tension, both inside and externally.
There will undoubtedly be plenty of sadness for the Sharma family, who have, to be honest, been starved of such compelling narratives for far too long. Suni will probably beat himself up for not going back to Holdgate on the relevant evening, and Jai will undoubtedly assign some guilt to his sibling.
You can clearly see how Emmerdale’s risky approach has the potential to pay off in the long run when you consider the effects that said conflict will have on characters like Archie, Arthur, and Laurel, who will have to process their own grief as well, as well as the larger town as they mourn a loss of Rishi’s nature.
One of the strongest relationships in Emmerdale is without a doubt that between Laurel and Jai, who have developed a mutually satisfying and believable interaction over time. It’s safe to say that Emmerdale is involved in them given that this is their first plot as a married couple, and I couldn’t be happier about that.
What about the performances we can expect to see? Hopes are high for some genuinely powerful scenes to come with actors of the level of Chris Bisson, Charlotte Bellamy, and Alfie Clarke involved, in addition to the lovely Brahmdeo, who has gotten right to work.
Emmerdale has resumed operations.
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