Yahoo News Coronation Street gives Geoff and Yasmeen's story a fitting ending
Coronation Street spoilers follow from Wednesday's episode.
Coronation Street fans, it's time to breathe a sigh of relief – evil Geoff Metcalfe is no more.
The menacing magician was killed off in the ITV soap's 60th anniversary episode on Wednesday night (December 9), as his twisted attempts to take revenge against his estranged wife Yasmeen backfired badly.
After 18 months of despicable behaviour, Geoff's final act saw him target Yasmeen one last time by setting fire to their home while she was trapped inside.
When Yasmeen rushed to escape and ended up stranded on the roof in her desperation, a frightening high-stakes showdown followed between her, Geoff and Alya.
With the soap gods finally ready to dish out a healthy dose of karma, it proved to be the end for Geoff's reign of terror. The story's climax saw Geoff try to pull Yasmeen down to her death in a nail-biting moment, but he slipped down the side of the roof himself in the process.
Although Yasmeen bravely tried to save the life of her tormentor, it was no use and he soon went hurtling down to earth with a much-deserved thud.
The dramatic moment marked the long-awaited conclusion to Geoff and Yasmeen's coercive control storyline, which has been the soap world's biggest and most impactful plot of the year.
Reaching its initial peak during the first UK lockdown in May, the Geoff and Yasmeen saga was one of those rare storylines that cuts through beyond hardcore soap fans to become a national talking point.
The real-world COVID crisis only added to the impact of the plot, with Corrie's three-episodes-per-week rationing at the time making Yasmeen's ordeal play out over a longer period than planned.
The story also coincided with worrying reports of lockdown leading to an increase in cases of domestic abuse, creating important discussions about the real-life Yasmeens out there.
Watch: Coronation Street's Sally Ann Matthews and Ian Bartholomew share what the soap means to them as it turns 60
After such a long and traumatic journey, most regular Corrie viewers will agree that this was the right time to see the back of Geoff. While real-life cases of coercive control and abuse can go on for years or even decades, the soaps also need to stay fresh and not test the audience's patience with the length of stories.
It might have been interesting to explore legal consequences for Geoff in one final chapter of the storyline – coercive control has been classed as a criminal offence since 2015, so this is one way the sly villain could have been written out in less heightened circumstances.
Even so, after a year of soap that has been slightly short on stunts and action sequences, it's understandable that the temptation to give Geoff a more violent ending in the big 60th anniversary week was simply impossible for the writers to resist.
Geoff's downfall has been delicious to watch in recent days, with fan-favourite Imran playing a key role as he successfully tore strips off the villain while defending Yasmeen in court.
Powerful scenes also saw Yasmeen, and later Geoff's first wife Elaine, bravely reveal Geoff's history of abusive behaviour with some emotional courtroom testimony.
It's also fitting that Geoff's comeuppance seemed entirely of his own making. His arrogance, egotistical behaviour and desperate desire to stay in control – which viewers know so well by now – led to him pushing his luck by threatening Elaine in hospital last week.
It was this big mistake that sparked the chain of events which ultimately swung the trial in Yasmeen's favour. Geoff carelessly getting caught on CCTV was also poetic after he'd previously used a hidden spycam to monitor Yasmeen for so long.
Geoff's final maniacal plan was another example of him pushing his luck too far. He could have easily swanned off to sunny Cyprus as planned, but his vanity meant that he couldn't resist trying to win the power struggle between him and Yasmeen. As we now know, this proved fateful when his vengeful antics led to his death.
It was also moving to see Yasmeen get the last word in her rooftop showdown with Geoff. After so many months of Geoff trying to erode Yasmeen's strength in the first half of the year, fans will have enjoyed the moment when she finally summed up her evil tormentor.
Yasmeen told him: "To make you feel big, you had to make me small – and I went along with it. Yes, I was scared of the shouting and the sulking, but mostly, I just felt sorry for you.
"If the plan is to push me, you just look me in the eye and know I'm not scared of you any more."
Corrie filmed Geoff's final moments in challenging circumstances. Ian Bartholomew, Shelley King, Sair Khan and some crew members were isolated to film these scenes in a bubble, allowing Corrie's usual social distancing rules to be relaxed.
It's highly likely that the scenes would have been bigger and even more sensational if shot in normal times, but filming in a pandemic naturally presents many difficulties for the team. For us, the scenes on the roof should have perhaps played out for a longer portion of the episode after so much effort.
While Geoff may be gone, Corrie bosses have promised that Yasmeen's journey is only just beginning. In order to do justice to such an important topic, there'll be no overnight recovery for Yasmeen now that Geoff is out of the picture.
Shelley King, who has delivered amazing performances as Yasmeen, recently told us: "I think catharsis for Yasmeen is a long journey. With the help of the producers, scriptwriters, directors, the whole of team Corrie, I hope and know we will keep exploring this.
"It won't always be about that, but I think it should always be there in one's head, otherwise it would be untrue."
Amid the celebrations over Geoff's (literal) downfall, it'd be wrong not to give a shout-out to Ian Bartholomew for his powerful performances in such a difficult role. Geoff may have been infuriating to watch, but he's certainly earned his place in the list of all-time most memorable Corrie villains.
Within the fictional world of Corrie, we're not quite sure Geoff's legacy of lame one-liners, rubbish magic tricks and a half-baked hospital radio show will be quite as strong, though...
Coronation Street concludes its 60th anniversary week on Friday (December 11) at 7.30pm on ITV.
Watch: 'My wife isn't interested in sex anymore – what do I do?'
Organisations including Women's Aid can provide further support and information on coercive control or coercive behaviour.
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