Well, that’s another week that flashed by in the space of about fifteen seconds, so here I am once again rounding up another week of Neighbours. Let’s get into it.
Keith is a Busy Boy
Keith (Heath) is still going all hot and heavy with Holly, and they’re sending each other a bafflingly saucy array of emojis. The trouble is, he’s also still going at it hammer and tongs with Tess as well. The poor lad must have to take a lot of multi-vitamins.
Holly comes to give something to Tess in her room, and sees her and Keith both readjusting their clothing, making it very obvious what they’ve been up to. She’s consumed with jealously, and tells Keith that she hates seeing him with Tess, even though she previously told him she could “learn to share.”
Holly is not known for being particularly sensible, but she’s really outdoing herself here. Even if she’s on a bit of a self-destruct mission due to the trauma of her kidnapping, for her to believe that Keith is somehow being forced to have sex with Tess for career reasons truly requires some Olympic-level mental gymnastics.
It’s very obvious that no good is going to come from Holly hooking up with Keith.
Paul Goes Toe-to-Toe With Tess
Paul is on to the fact that Tess is up to something, and that it seems to be a plot to oust Krista. While Paul, Leo and Krista have a strategy meeting about what their next move might be, Leo pipes up and asks why they can’t just phone Reece to find out what’s going on. This is SUCH A GOOD POINT, because all this mystery could honestly be sorted out in one phone call, without all this cloak and dagger plotting and scheming. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
But Paul gives some confusing reason or another as to why they can’t just sort it all out with one phone call, and so the pointless manoeuvring with Tess continues.
Nicolette Sabotages Herself Again
Nicolette and Kiri are blissfully happy, despite already having had a few bumps since getting back together. It’s unfortunate then that Kiri accidentally stumbles upon Nicolette’s phone note which lists all of Aaron’s parenting misdemeanours – and she is horrified. Nicolette tries to explain herself, and attempts to back out of asking for legal advice about where she stands with regards to the parenting agreement she had with David and Aaron, but it’s all too much for Kiri.
So she does a typical Neighbours exit, where she packs her suitcase and leaves with very short notice, abandoning Nicolette, her uncle and cousin, and her stake in the vineyard business – just like that. It takes me two hours to prepare for going away for a weekend, so I’ve no idea how people in Erinsborough can manage such a quick turnaround.
Kiri and Nicolette were always an odd one for me. While they were cute together and had chemistry, Nicolette has always had a streak of villainy running through her (let’s not forget she sold a baby), while Kiri is virtuous to the point of being annoying. It doesn’t surprise me that they’ve parted ways, it only surprises me that it seems to have happened at the speed of light.
The JJ, Dex and Nell Triangle Continues
Dex and JJ are still clashing over the fact that they both like Nell. JJ gets so frustrated that he tells Dex to just ask Nell out, so that he knows where he stands with her. Nell lets him down gently, but Dex is still devastated.
I can’t help thinking this was calculated by JJ. He’s pretending that if Nell had agreed to date Dex that JJ would have backed off, but he knew Nell liked him, not Dex, so he must have known she was going to knock him back.
Dex can’t stand to be around JJ and Nell, but they’re mostly too busy giving each other puppy dog eyes to notice. They decide to give each other some space while Dex gets over his heartbreak, but it’s surely inevitable that they’ll be unable to resist each other for too long, then poor Dex will be heartbroken all over again.
Toadie Continues to be Weird
Toadie is still struggling with his emotions and his romantic history, and things come to a head twice, with poor Terese bearing the brunt both times. When Nell tells Toadie how much of a mess the nursery is, they all decide to go and clean it up themselves. Terese enlists the neighbours to come and help, and while they’re working she has the bright idea to use it as a community garden for the Eirini Rising residents. She’s excited about her plan, as it seems to completely solve the problem of keeping the area open as some sort of nursery or garden, while still being financially viable.
Rather than being grateful for the solution, Toadie has a meltdown, and tells everyone to get out. It’s only then that he confesses to Terese how much he’s been struggling and that he’s been having counselling. Terese tries hard to understand, but it’s clear she’s very hurt by Toadie needing to dredge through all of his past relationships again.
Later on, Toadie is at a counselling session, and Terese drops by to see if she can make an appointment to see their therapist herself. Toadie catches sight of her and goes absolutely ballistic, without giving her a chance to explain, yelling at her for not listening to him.
I know mental health problems come in all shapes and sizes, but I’m still really struggling to get on board with this storyline. I don’t understand why Toadie suddenly can’t cope with his plethora of past wives, and it doesn’t seem to have been given an adequate explanation yet – not adequate enough for me anyway. I just don’t really believe it.
I really feel sorry for Terese, because while Toadie is clearly struggling with his own demons, she’s left trying to understand where she fits in. And I suspect things are only going to get worse…
A Few Random Notes
As usual, here are a few random notes I took while watching Neighbours this week:
- For a business owner, Leo bunks off a lot.
- Holly’s emojis are hilarious 🔌🌶️🥨
- OOOH, TOADIE TANTRUM
- Leo’s “Eww, nope” when Byron showed up in the coffee shop 😅
