I don’t know if I’m just in a spiky mood at the moment, or if everyone on Ramsay Street is actually being as annoying as I think they are. Either way, I have a feeling this is going to be quite a snarky round-up.
Brent Has Finally Gone
Brent has finally shuffled off to be in the army, cutting ties with Harlow and leaving her heartbroken in the process. Despite the fact that Toadie is a lawyer and should know how to get someone out of serving prison time, it’s Curtis who comes up with an idea to save Brent from getting locked up. If he agrees to join the army and turn his life around, he’ll escape a custodial sentence. Why didn’t Toadie know this? He’s defended young people in court before, why was this news to him? Anyway, Brent does indeed escape a prison sentence, and breaks the news to Harlow that he’s leaving for several years to fulfil his end of the agreement. Harlow is devastated, especially as he wants to cut all contact with her while he gets settled in. I think Brent will thrive in the army, after all he does love a drab colour like khaki. And Harlow will be fine – it surely won’t be long before another renegade teen arrives in Erinsborough to be her love interest, she really does love a fixer-upper.
Harlow Finds Out About Hendrix and Mackenzie
Hendrix and Mackenzie have been dancing around the idea of them being a couple, not wanting to add to Harlow’s current woes by announcing that her ex is now with her best friend. But, like every secret on Neighbours, Harlow finds out when she goes over to sees Mackenzie and walks in on her about to kiss Hendrix. Harlow is furious at first, but after a bit of aggressive DIY at Aaron and David’s she comes around to the idea. I’m not sure I’ve ever done flat-pack furniture and ended up in a better mood than when I started, but I guess it works for Harlow, and she arranges a hamper for Hendrix and Mackenzie to take on their first date. I’m still not 100% sold on Hendrix and Mackenzie yet, but I’m warming to the idea. I hope Hendrix can make Mackenzie a bit more fun, she’s way too serious sometimes.
Amy is Awful
I just cannot with Amy, she’s so irritating. She’s waltzed in to be the manager of the Flamingo Bar, seemingly with very little experience. I know she worked in hospitality as a flight attendant, but running a suburban cocktail bar is a bit different to doing the flight safety demonstration and handing out those tiny cans of Coke. Roxy is still peeved that Amy got the job, so she’s determined to dig up dirt on her, which she does, finding out that at Amy’s last job she got fired for setting a marquee on fire. Amy tells the whole sorry story to Terese and Paul, who decide not to do anything about it, which is baffling to me. It turns out it was Amy’s daughter who set the marquee on fire, which is obviously absolutely fine with Terese and Paul. Amy was dishonest on her job application, she’s lied to them before and tried to use another company’s intellectual property without their permission and, whether it was Amy or her offspring who burnt down the marquee, a marquee still got burnt down on her watch. Would you hire her? I certainly wouldn’t. On top of that, she’s working Roxy to the bone and then taking credit for everything she’s doing, which is decidedly not cool.
Bea Breaks Levi’s Heart
After a few heart-to-hearts with Other Sheila, Bea decides she needs to break up with Levi. I can’t believe it took someone who is very nearly a stranger to point out that Bea and Levi were one of the most mis-matched couples in the history of romance, but here we are. Bea dumping Levi actually ended up not being the main headline in all of this, with Original Sheila stealing all the limelight by going absolutely cuckoo-bananas about it. Honestly, I thought she was going to have another heart attack, she got so worked up, yelling at Bea for breaking Levi’s heart as though she was the parent of a primary school kid shouting at a school bully who’d stolen her child’s lunch. Sheila’s absolute meltdown ends up being the catalyst for yet more drama, as she storms around to confront Bea, and plays the part of her podcast recording where Ned and Other Sheila’s conversation makes it clear that it was Other Sheila’s influence that lead to Bea’s decision. Because this is Neighbours, and nobody has ever used a recording device without it picking up something that they didn’t want to be recorded. Sheila insists they play the rest of the conversation, which is how Yashvi learns that Ned has been kind of cheating on her, emotionally if not physically. To find that out is bad enough, but to find out in front of an audience consisting of Susan, Karl, Sheila and Bea must really smart.
Toadie Appears to Have Adopted a Third Child
Speaking of mis-matched couples, Toadie and Melanie have a flare-up this week about the issue of telling Nell and Hugo that Melanie is Toadie’s girlfriend. After the whole manure episode, there’s some talk about how immature Melanie is, and I have to say I agree. She behaves like a brat about the issue of whether or not to tell the kids after Toadie makes it very clear that he would like to give it a bit more time before having that conversation with them. Sonya died, there was the whole Andrea/Dee drama and then their aunt and uncle just moved interstate – they’ve had a lot to contend with for little kids. I can absolutely see why Toadie wants to take things a bit slow when it comes to telling them what’s going on. I can also see how it would smart a bit for Melanie not to have a proper title for her relationship to the kids, especially when most of the neighbourhood now knows they’re together, but what’s wrong with being ‘Daddy’s friend’ for a bit? She’s a grown woman, she needs to have a word with herself. When is she leaving? Is there room in Bea’s car for another person to go on the road trip? God, imagine being trapped in a car with Melanie for hours on end, the thought alone makes me shudder…
