I've read the posts here made after 2:15am, so I'll do a New Year's Day blitz post to reply to every post made since then.
Up to about August 2015, I didn't really like Robert. He was a bit creepy, always seeming to latch onto people in power or with money or with influence of some kind. But there was always that strange charm about him, there was never any doubt about that for me. I've always thought of him as being the cool confident ambitious young guy who would be capable of just about anything to get through life but I didn't really like him until after August 2015, which is when Ross started to show himself to me as being unstable and in freefall to his present doom. In contrast, Robert always makes the very most of his looks, charm, smartness and social skills, amongst other attributes. Robert is, for me anyway, the emperor kingpin of Emmerdale. Robert really is someone who I can very confidently describe as being a \"real mover and shaker\" in Emmerdale. My impression is that Robert may be a creative psychopath, very smart, very cool, gets what he wants, bit of a spoilt brat, a real go-getter, makes the very most of life's opportunities, ruthless at times but fair as well. He is just a great young masculine alpha male. Most definitely one of the few.
I don't think Ross got anywhere near half of any come-uppance he really deserved in last night's Emmerdale episode. In my opinion, Ross really deserved a lot more than Robert gave him last night and there is major unfinished business between Robert and Ross to come for me to be really satisfied. I think that Robert really didn't know how things would go between him and a desperate Ross, so there was at least one live bullet in Robert's gun (it shattered the window). As things turned out, it didn't go as far as Robert shooting Ross (which we all knew anyway beforehand from spoilers!) but I reckon it really was a terrific showdown between Robert and Ross last night. I reckon Robert exaggerated bigtime about how he felt nothing when Katie was killed. We all know that Katie's death was a complete accident because of rotten floorboards at Wylie's Farm but, of course, we will never know what Robert might have done to end Katie anyway then if the floorboards hadn't been rotten, gave way and left Katie falling to her death. Robert just played on making Ross look small and weak and just took everything he could from him, even finally asking Debbie to go with him (Robbie) whilst knowing that Debbie and Ross are over (at least for now...). I really wonder what will happen tonight in the New Year's Day Emmerdale episode between killer-types Robert, Andy, Debbie and Ross. We know that Debbie leaves Emmerdale and Ross is devastated but the fine details are not clear to us yet from spoilers.
My impression is that Robert can be a user and a taker when he wants but he does give on some occasions too! When Robert suggested to Debbie that they could match, I think this was just a \"coup de grace\" to make Ross look small and as if Robert was now so powerful as to take everything and the one biggest thing that Ross wanted the most, Debbie, Ross's intended fiancee. Of course, we all know from history that Robert only uses people, so Debbie and Ross were his perfect targets to use for Robert to feel very good about himself. As I wrote earlier, Robert is truly justified by what he did (and really very much more!) in last night's episode and let Ross have, for now anyway, very much less come-uppance than Ross really deserves. Let's face it, Ross had no real reason to interact with Robert on the night that Ross shot Robert, other than Robert was an innocent middle-man, the means and tool for Ross to have Pete killed when Ross had an alibi for when Pete was killed by hopelessly numpty Andy. For all the things that Robert has done, he has never done what Ross planned to do = pre-meditately murder someone so that Pete would be then killed. How twisted is that? Ross is just a nasty gutter-rat and complete cowardly loser who goes \"boohoo\" when found out (as clearly shown in last night's Emmerdale episode).
Robert has real star quality and is now a legend, at least for me anyway. Robert went really way beyond being extremely generous in last night's Emmerdale episode by letting Ross breathe another breath. In reality, Ross deserved to die last night for his past deeds. Ross's cold-blooded but badly thought-out plan to kill innocent (and personally unconnected, for Ross anyway) Robert so Andy would then kill Pete somehow was just completely warped and, if Emmerdale was real life, then last night Robert would have kindly ended Ross by a bullet to his brain/heart. But Robert has a strange charm, he knows when to pull up and stop, that's one of his many talents, it seems. What Robert really wanted last night was to set Ross up to show Ross for what he is. When Robert said he felt nothing about Katie's death, he did this because he wanted Ross to be s**t-scared that Robert would really shoot Ross dead without any second thought or hesitation. We know from previous Emmerdale episodes that Robert has always claimed Katie's death was an accident, due to unforeseen weak and rotten floorboards at Wylie's Farm, so we have no reason to doubt that Katie's death was nothing more than an unforeseen freak accident, so when Robert told Ross that he \"felt nothing about Katie's death\", this should have been completely true for Robert because he did not know beforehand that Katie would fall to her death and that when this happened it did so as a shock to everyone around the scene at the time and that Robert would be left feeling no guilt over something which was a completely unforeseeable accident which resulted in Katie's death.
Robert is now a legend for me because of his recent (truly unforgettable?) actions, particularly those during last night. I didn't really like Robert before August 2015 but things change because the Emmerdale storylines are very dynamic. I follow Emmerdale very closely. I study every Emmerdale character and I'd like to think I am impartial to every one of them. I post on this soapboards forum about every Emmerdale character as they come into the news. There are very few Emmerdale characters I really dislike but Ross Barton has been one of these from over the last 4 months or so. Clearly, the Emmerdale storyliners and scriptwriters have
really meant for us to really dislike Ross Barton for the past 4 months, so I do not feel bad about myself for being so close to Emmerdale that I get what we, as TV viewers, are really meant to feel.
I really do not understand why you, dalesfan, why you still think so much of Ross Barton. The Emmerdale storyliners and scriptwriters have clearly set up Ross Barton for a massive fall. For the past 4 months, Ross Barton has been a completely horrible loser character on Emmerdale. We are now here just after New Year's Eve. Everyone in Emmerdale seems to hate Ross Barton. Ross Barton is a complete scumbag. He lies, he steals, he attempts murder (but he's so rubbish he can't even kill innocent [for him] Robert... pahhah!), he's a rubbish burglar and thief, his memory is rubbish so he should be locked up for that alone! In my opinion, Ross Barton is due for a very long spell in Bremmerdale maximum security hospital for the hopelessly numpty!
Yes, Robert toyed with Ross but Robert came out on top again, of course. Robert always does, it seems. Robert is maybe a charming creative psychopath? It really seems that Robert will always win and his social skills, persuasion and personal charm will maybe always overcome any obstacle he meets in life?
Er, Debbie rejected Ross, as would anyone sensible last night. I never thought Ross and Debbie were a good match. Debbie is far too mature and mumsy for Ross for Debbie at her present time in life. Ross is right now simply an immature over-grown idiotic 16yo-type teenager for me and a complete misfit in Emmerdale. Last night's episode showed Ross as a complete fool, coward and loser last night. In my opinion anyway, Robert is far better looking than Ross. Robert's performance last night was just terrific. Ross just got blown away as far as acting ability and script content went when compared to Robert's. I reckon that Ross needs much more come-uppance than we have seen so far and I am very disappointed for now with Emmerdale for letting Ross get away so lightly up to now with the things that Ross has done over the last 4 months or more.
Sources:
Coup de grâce
\"A coup de grâce is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent.\"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_de_gr%C3%A2ce