*UK PACE*
Can someone please explain to me why Channel 5 saw fit to dump Neighbours, and nobody else wanted to pick it up? Because after this last week of episodes, I cannot understand why people weren’t clamouring for the rights to make this show. This last week was outstanding, truly Neighbours at its best, with everything from heartbreak to absolutely bonkers unmissable drama.
Neighbours Destroys Me
Tragedy struck on Ramsay Street last week as we had to say goodbye to one of the show’s most popular characters in scenes that tore my heart out, stamped on it, and then put it in a blender. Somehow I’d remained spoiler-free up to this point, so I didn’t know this was going to happen until I accidentally watched the “coming up on Neighbours” teaser last Friday. It more or less gave it away, although I had my suspicions during the end of last week anyway.
Hendrix seems to come through his surgery well, and everyone is thrilled, but then as he and Mackenzie start making plans for the future, he starts to struggle to breathe. Finally, after an agonizing wait, the doctor who used to be a police officer in Home and Away breaks the tragic news to Hendrix that his body is rejecting his new lungs, and he has only a few hours to live. His loved ones gather around his bedside until he eventually slips away.
I was not a fan of Hendrix when he arrived in Erinsborough. Still, as he went through the Neighbours Normalisation Process™ and became an adorable cheeky chap with an aversion to wearing socks, I warmed to him to the point where he became my favourite character (apart from Mick, of course). So I am not exaggerating when I say that Hendrix’s death absolutely destroyed me. I was doing OK until Karl and Susan came in, but then I lost it and didn’t stop crying until about Wednesday. I’m not really a crier, it takes quite a lot to set me off these days, but there was just no holding it back. After Monday’s episode, the front of my pajama top was wet from all the tears. And yes, I change into my PJs before I watch Neighbours every night, don’t judge me.
The impact of these scenes is mostly down to the absolutely stellar acting from everyone involved. Even Pierce. It truly was outstanding telly, and it makes it all the more heartbreaking that we’re ticking down to the finale. I am really going to miss this show.
Toadie is Adorable
Mackenzie is obviously devastated to lose Hendrix, and she refuses to leave his bedside. Finally, Toadie gently persuades her to leave him in a scene that is so touching and makes me love Toadie more than I already did. Toadie also has love on his mind, with the loss of Hendrix making him take stock of a few things, and he surprises Melanie by asking her to marry him. Unfortunately, he doesn’t exactly get the response he hoped for, with Melanie turning down the proposal on the basis that she’s happy as they are. It’s probably not the best time to make big life decisions when you’re in the middle of grieving. She decides to move in instead, which Amy doesn’t seem all too pleased with.
I haven’t seen any spoilers, but my guess is that the idea of Toadie and Melanie getting married might rear its head again. It’s difficult to avoid the news of so many past stars returning to the show before the finale, and it makes sense to me for this to be the reason for getting all of them back for one last hurrah. Melanie is a link to a lot of the classic 80s characters, and Toadie provides a connection to everyone from the mid-90s onwards. If you know whether I’m right or not, please don’t tell me. I’d rather wait and see!
Estelle Is THE ABSOLUTE WORST
Good lord, I thought Estelle was bad last week, but she outdid herself this week and proved herself to be a literal garbage human. After she’s kicked out of Terese’s house, Glen feels sorry for her and allows her to stay overnight at the vineyard. While she’s there, she goes snooping through his things. She finds his extensive collection of opiates and prescriptions and wastes absolutely no time in using her discovery to blackmail Glen. She demands that he helps her get back into Terese’s good books, or she’ll tell Terese that he’s relapsed.
At first, Glen does as Estelle asks and attempts to smooth things over between her and Terese, but when it becomes clear that Estelle is all talk and has no intention of trying to be less of a waste of space than she currently is, Glen calls her bluff and tells Terese everything. Of course, Terese is furious that he lied to her, but as an addict herself, she doesn’t stay mad at him for long.
Estelle, on the other hand, is another story. Terese is livid that her mum would try to blackmail her partner and decides to give her an ultimatum. Terese presents her mum with a cheque and says she has to choose between the money or a relationship with her. To absolutely nobody’s surprise, including Terese, Estelle chooses the money, packs up her suitcase, and trundles off. Glen sees her leaving and drags her back inside so she can give an array of excuses as to why she’s such a pathetic, shallow, good-for-nothing morality vacuum before she leaves. If you ask me, her “poor me” monologue just makes her look even worse, and if I were Terese, I’d be on to the bank to cancel that cheque as fast as I could say “gold digger”.
Zara and Sadie Go All Scooby-Doo
I don’t know if I had several microsleeps during this storyline or if it just doesn’t make any sense at all. Still, for some reason, Sadie and Zara decide to try their hands at some amateur detective work and stick their noses into the police search for Corey. It seems to be framed as Sadie trying to make up for her past actions in the wake of Hendrix’s death, but it really does require some mental gymnastics to get on board with why she decides that the way to make amends is to get fixated with Harlow, who I’ve never even really seen her speak to before, and the hunt for Corey.
Corey is back in touch with Harlow and wants to meet her at a nature reserve. Sadie bizarrely thinks that it will be helpful if she and Zara go to the nature reserve to check it out before the rendezvous because obviously, two schoolgirls know all about how to mount a covert police operation.
To my utter astoundment, their plan backfires when Corey turns up, sees Zara wearing Harlow’s ugly cardigan, and goes all culty again. Levi and Sergeant Rodwell (I’m having trouble adjusting to calling him Andrew) turn up looking like the two most unlikely fishers you’ve ever seen. They find that Sadie’s been knocked out (presumably Corey brought his watering can with him), and Corey and Zara are nowhere to be seen. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out. Will it ever make any sense? My guess is probably not.
