Emmerdale fans saw the moment newcomer Marcus Dean, the apparent son of villain Pierce Harris, arrived in the village on Thursday night.
The latest episode of the ITV soap saw Marcus introduce himself to Pierce's ex-wife Rhona Goskirk, and her friend Vanessa Woodfield.
Viewers will recall Pierce was sent to prison for raping his wife Rhona on their wedding day, before he returned to the village years later in 2020.
He then killed Graham Foster, Rhona's boyfriend, before kidnapping Vanessa and little Johnny as well as attacking Kim Tate, all as part of his plan to get Rhona to leave with him.
Pierce was caught and sent to prison again, but Rhona was stunned this week when he made contact with her out of the blue two years on.
In a letter, Pierce confirmed he was seriously ill and was dying - later backed up by the prison when Rhona called them.
As Rhona read on, she discovered Pierce had a secret son, Marcus, and he wanted her to track him down so they could meet before his death.
Rhona tried to find Marcus but then changed her mind, while it was too late and Marcus showed up in the village.
Marcus revealed all about his history with Pierce, and his disgust when he found out what his estranged father had done.
He explained that his dad and his mum often argued, with Pierce often heard screaming at her, and while he didn't go into detail it seemed as though he was abusive and controlling towards her.
Events led to his wife taking Marcus, who was five years old at the time, to live with a friend called Linda.
Marcus explained when they returned from Linda's house, Pierce was gone and they never saw him again.
Years later, Marcus found out about his dad's crime on the news, and he claimed he hadn't seen or heard from him until Rhona's call.
He decided he wanted to see Pierce to confront him for everything before he died, but asked a shocked Rhona to go with him as he couldn't do it alone.
Rhona was clearly torn, hoping never to see Pierce again, but viewers feared she was being set up and that Marcus was in on it.
Viewers questioned if perhaps Marcus wasn't really Pierce's son at all, and was in on Pierce's plan to get Rhona to the prison - while others believed he was up to something.
Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote: "He already seen his dad and his dad sent him to get her to see [him]."
Another said: "So.....are we going to get a scene at the end of Marcus on the phone to someone acting well suss?? Any bets?"
A third added: "That Marcus is such a set up .. so obvious Pierce has set her up so she will visit him! So Ovs!"
Meanwhile another fan commented: "I don't trust this Marcus whatever his name is?"
A fifth viewer tweeted: "I am not buying that this Marcus is Pierce’s son - at no point has he ever been mentioned. And for someone to approach Rhona with a request is a bit suss."
Got any theories or thoughts on the storyline? Let us know in the comments below.
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Thursdays.
