5 Emmerdale spoilers for next week: who does Cain shoot? Is Vanessa's son still alive?

Shootout at Butler's Farm

Thursday's crisis at Butler’s Farm sounds like the kind of drama the Cartwrights would have faced on the Ponderosa ranch in Bonanza. Rustlers are targeting livestock and Cain (who, out of the blue, has become a gun-wielding vigilante) ends up shooting someone who he spies approaching Moira in the darkness of the barn.

Now, Cain has obviously assumed the shadowy figure is the person who’s been stealing the sheep, but he and Moira are set to get a surprise when they discover who’s really taken a bullet. Not that I want to sound nonchalant about this poor injured person, but I do hope that the cliffhanger scenes result in Cain and Moira being drawn back into each other’s orbit. Splitting them up was such a mistake, so I think I speak for all viewers when I ask for the pair to be reunited. Preferably before Cain morphs into the village’s answer to Charles Bronson in Death Wish.

• Who does Cain Dingle shoot in Emmerdale? 6 theories on the shock victim

Lucas is in danger

Cain isn't the only one packing heat this week - Lucas will be seen getting his hands on a gun while in the care of his mum Dawn. Thankfully Billy will be seen intervening before a shot rings out, but the drama continues when it turns out that the firearm belongs to Dawn's father Will. When Billy and Harriet confront him, Will implies that if they reveal the truth to Dawn, it could lead to her losing custody of Lucas. But will they agree to cover for him? And how will they get rid of the gun?

• Soap experiments: flashbacks, flash forwards, flashy camera angles - where will it all end?

Is Johnny still alive?

The big question Emmerdale fans were left with on Friday was: what did lawyer-turned-lunatic Pierce Harris do to Vanessa's son Johnny. Well, at the start of next week, Vanessa is still desperately concerned about her son's welfare, but is relieved when Pierce switches the baby monitor back on and she hears the sound of Johnny laughing. However, her captor then warns that if Vanessa steps out of line again he'll turn it back off.

Vanessa is then left shocked by Pierce's confidence that he'll be able to convince Rhona that he's changed. But before he can tell her of his plan to win Rhona back, Pierce is distracted by a voicemail that's been left on Vanessa's phone. Who is it from and for how long with Vanessa be kept hostage?

Meanwhile, Paddy is shaken to hear Rhona thinks that Pierce is out of prison and has tried to contact her. As tensions mount, Rhona shows Paddy the card she's found and it's clear that she's been left terrified by her discovery.

• Pierce confesses to killing Graham in Emmerdale - is Vanessa next?

In other news...

Despite pleas from Rhona that Charity should reconcile with Vanessa, the aggrieved pub landlady resolves to stop checking her phone for responses from the village vet. At the prison, a despairing Marlon gets an update on the status of the campaign to free him. Finally, Jai returns home early from his spell in rehab.

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