Why the ITV soap was right not to kill off Meena when it had the chance.
Twisted serial killer Meena Jutla (Paige Sandhu) was finally taken into police custody in tonight’s Emmerdale (17th February).
The culmination of this long-running plot has been several months in the making, with many viewers taking issue with the lengthy journey. But ultimately, the events of this explosive week prove that the storyline has been executed in exactly the right way.
Meena’s reign of terror has, at times, led to raised eyebrows. Complaints ranged from the police’s inability to find damning DNA after victim Leanna Cavanagh (Mimi Slinger) desperately clawed at Meena’s hair; to Meena’s quick escape and subsequent return to wander openly around the village.
But let’s face it, Hotten police are no more competent than those in Walford or Weatherfield. If they were, every soap killer would be locked up within a week, which would certainly spoil the anticipation.
The genre is notorious for slow-burn, frustrating moments to invest the audience in a villain’s comeuppance. The character wouldn’t have been half as interesting without that extra time; and the fact that it’s taken an age for Meena to be caught out makes the pay-off that much more enticing.
She was also having too much fun to care about risking her capture. “Anyone in their right mind would never have come back. I really am my own worst enemy!” This played into the story perfectly, eventually leading to her own downfall.
Meena popped back to kidnap one-time beau Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle) and his new wife Dawn (Olivia Bromley) on their wedding day. The stage was set for more death and destruction – but while there was plenty of the latter, this time around nobody lost their life. The murder of any more mainstays would have been overkill, and Meena didn’t need to win the day to make an impact.
From Dawn’s near fatal meeting with that gun, to the shooting of Leyla Cavanagh (Roxy Shahidi) and Harriet Finch’s (Katherine Dow Blyton) attack, Emmerdale constantly kept us guessing over Meena’s movements.
Of course, we knew Paige Sandhu’s performances as the animated psychopath would be as compelling as ever, and Meena’s camp demeanour and endlessly entertaining one-liners were on point.
!["Emmerdale]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/02/emmerdale-meena-bb444da.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Emmerdale")
Beyond that, we simply couldn’t predict what was coming from one moment to the next – quite the feat for a storyline we thought we had already got the measure of.
Every twist produced gripping high stakes drama, but Emmerdale also delivered great character-driven scenes. Meena’s despicable behaviour meant the choices of others around her felt organic, and the history of the surrounding characters slotted seamlessly into the narrative.
Dawn informed Meena that this wasn’t the first time she had stared down the barrel of a gun; with her fighting spirit serving as a reminder of her harrowing experience with dodgy copper Malone, who she took down in order to protect herself.
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Liam Cavanagh (Jonny McPherson) endured a sickening description of daughter Leanna’s murder, which Meena called “seriously delicious”. Provoked to breaking point, he pushed her over the bridge, with Meena ending Wednesday’s episode sprawled below in the very same spot as Leanna.
In the seconds afterwards, Liam’s anger gave way to shock, adding just the right amount of authenticity to the scene. Meena’s sister Manpreet Sharma (Rebecca Sarker) later lied that Liam had acted in self-defence, characteristically determined that her evil sibling wouldn’t ruin yet another life.
!["EMBARGO]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2022/02/15_02_emm_dawn_billy_meena_03-5e1756f.jpg?quality=90&crop=654px%2C452px%2C2707px%2C1803px&resize=620%2C413" "\"EMBARGO")
Although it was touch and go for a while, Meena survived her fall – and while the context of her demise could have been considered poetic justice, the soap made the right call in letting her live. Previous Emmerdale villains like Cameron Murray and Emma Barton may have been sent to meet their maker, but now was not the time to follow suit.
Making Liam a murderer would have changed the focus, allowing Meena to get away with her crimes while only he suffered. He may still have a dark secret, but his actions have at least led to her incarceration.
Meena’s revenge was a week of powerful storytelling, mixing her flamboyant escapades with a natural, believable portrayal through Dawn’s defiance, Liam’s violent actions and Manpreet’s big decision.
It’s been a wild ride with murderous Meena, who has kept viewers talking throughout her time on the show. Despite many feeling her stint had grown too stale, Emmerdale delivered a tense, exciting climax, injecting one last epic burst of life into the story.
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