After being held captive by killer John Sugden, viewers are concerned for Mack’s future

Emmerdale vieers made the same observation over Mackenzie Boyd following his release from being held captive.

From the first moment that John Sugden arrived in the village as Victoria’s long-lost brother, it was Mackenzie Boyd who expressed his suspicions almost immediately.

He was proven right to be concerned after he learned that Aidan Moore – the man that John told everyone was killed in battle – was actually in a coma at Hotten General hospital, and also John’s ex-fiancé.

Mack was the one who told Aaron the truth, and this caused John to momentarily target him before they both agreed to bury the hatchet for the sake of Aaron.

However, the tables turned once more when Mack found out that John was the one who killed Nate Robinson last year.

A nerve-wracking chase ensued before John shot Mack and proceeded to hold him hostage in an underground war bunker just moments away from John’s childhood cottage where he was staying with Aaron.

In the episodes that followed, Aaron found Mack’s phone and realised John had been drugging him. While on the hunt for Mack, John ended up confessing everything to his husband.

The moment Robert Sugden showed up to save Aaron, however, John took things to the extreme and threw himself and Aaron over the edge of the gorge.

Meanwhile, Mack was left with a syringe to end his own life and as he injected himself, viewers believed that was the end. However, in a twist John returned after discharging himself from hospital and dropped Mack off to receive medical attention before fleeing once more.

As Mack awoke, he appeared conflicted between being scared of John while also somewhat sympathetic, struggling to grasp that the man who tortured him for weeks also saved him.

Now, viewers think that they’ve figured out Mack could be struggling with some PTSD or trauma bond from his experience.

On a Reddit thread, u/raincitygirl1029 wrote: “Mackenzie probably has Stockholm Syndrome, or rather a trauma bond… Mackenzie went through a great deal at John’s hands, and then John saved his life. Yeah, John was the one who’d endangered Mack’s life in the first place, what with the torture and kidnapping. But Mack won’t necessarily see it that way.

“God, he’s going to need so much therapy. I’m surprised everyone in the village doesn’t have PTSD by now”.

u/madonmadden agreed: “They’re definitely taking the Stockholm Syndrome route with Mack, aren’t they?”

Another viewer on X (formerly known as Twitter), @emmadale022 penned: “Mack definitely has Stockholm syndrome”.

Emmerdale airs on weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.