The fact that I initially sat down to write this having not even seen Thursday’s episode might give you a clue as to how coherent my thoughts are going to be this week. Anyway, I have watched all four of this week’s episodes now, so let’s get down to rounding them up.
Nell is Coming to Whine Permanently at Terese’s House
I’m still not at all thrilled that Nell is back, I can only hope she’ll be a bit happier this time and won’t bleat miserably in every scene, but that’s not looking too likely.
After telling Terese that she isn’t the right person to look after Nell because of her relapse, everyone decides they know better than him. Paul tells Terese to push Toadie to change his mind, and Nell and Terese also gang up together to try to persuade him. Obviously Nell’s wishes absolutely have to be taken into account, but it really rubbed me up the wrong way how much everyone wanted to overrule her actual father’s decision.
The upshot is that she is coming to live with Terese, so they kick things off with her 16th birthday party, the guest list of which seems mostly to be made up of the immediate neighbours, as usual. At the party, Nell decides she wants to be more involved in Sonya’s Foundation, but it’s at that exact moment that the future of the Foundation becomes uncertain, as the council are refusing to continue to subsidise their lease, and they won’t be able to afford it otherwise. So here’s what Nell is going to be sadly bleating about for the next few weeks. I’m over it already.
Holly Gets Entangled With Yaz
Holly is still reeling from the fallout from the podcast, and when she starts to be the victim of pranks at work she decides she needs to quit. Luckily, as part of her scheme to get revenge on Holly for feeding her brother to a crocodile, Yaz earlier offered Holly a job. She turned it down at the time, but now she signs up to help Yaz with her light event, which is sure to be some sort of elaborate and bizarre plot to blow Erinsborough up or something.
I’m interested to see where this plot goes and who’s going to get roped into it on the way, but the actor playing this Yaz lady is more wooden than the spoon I’ll be using to stir rice later. Is she really the best they could do?
Nicolette is Headed For Romantic Disaster
One person who’s already been sucked into Yaz’s scheme is Nicolette, who sees her at the coffee shop and develops a debilitating crush on her. When Yaz breaks her shoe heel, which I’m sure is something that happens way more in films and TV shows than it ever does in real life, Nicolette comes to the rescue and gives Yaz her shoes to wear instead. I’m glad that Aaron points out to her how weird it is to give some random your shoes, because that’s what I was immediately thinking, along with wondering why Nicolette was working in a cafe with hot food and coffee wearing nothing on her top half but a tiny waistcoat the size of a bikini top. But that’s beside the point.
Yaz initially turns Nic down, but later changes her mind, presumably because she thinks she can use her as part of her scheme. The date with Yaz leads to Nicolette having a very funny meltdown about what to wear, during which she chugs a big glass of wine and then goes out for a spot of drunk shopping with Aaron.
This is all obviously going to end in tears, as Yaz’s interest in Nicolette begins and ends with how she can use her to help exact her revenge on Holly in particular and Erinsborough in general. I’m not saying that Heath deserved to become a crocodile’s elevenses, but someone needs to have a word with Yaz about what her brother got up to while he was in Erinsborough, and the fact that he definitely was not a good guy. Or perhaps sociopathy just happens to run in the family.
Sadie is Stuck Between Two Idiots
Byron is becoming very insecure about how much time Sadie is spending with Max, as he’s convinced that Max is interested in Sadie romantically. While I find this type of jealousy and possessiveness deeply unattractive, he unfortunately happens to be right.
When Sadie confesses to Max that Byron is jealous, Max confirms that he is interested in her, and proceeds to try to persuade Sadie to dump Byron for him. He keeps trying to convince her to do this even after she tells him she’s not interested and she’s happy with Byron, making her feel very uncomfortable.
Poor Sadie is now stuck between the possessive himbo and the pushy slimeball. Poor Sadie. I’m not going to be happy if she ends up with Max instead of Byron, mostly because I can’t bear Byron to be as sad as a kicked puppy.
Leo in the Doghouse
As predicted, Krista finally finds out that Leo banished her irritating friend from Erinsborough, and she is predictably furious about it. When Seb’s bag is found in the complex, containing his ID and other important things, Krista realises that the story he told her about being in Sydney probably isn’t true.
It’s at this point that Leo confesses to running him out of town, and tells Krista about Seb owing money to loan sharks. Krista goes into a panic, suspecting that Seb might be in danger. She enlists Byron as the Scooby to her Shaggy, and the two of them run all over town trying to find the woman with the unconvincing neck tattoo Byron saw Seb talking to before he left. Leo tries to help, but Krista is not accepting his apology or his help, until he presents her with a box of cupcakes, and then all is forgotten.
Seb eventually texts Krista and tells her he needs her to give him $35k (£17,565) in order to keep him from coming to a sticky end at the hands of the loan sharks. Krista is convinced that it’s definitely Seb, and she’s prepared to send the money straight away. Leo advises caution, only to get a mouthful about how he just promised to support her. Supporting someone doesn’t mean standing idly by while they transfer thousands to someone who randomly texted them on an unknown number, Krista.
This situation is sure to turn into even more of a messy disaster, and I’m sure Leo will enjoy saying, “I told you so”.
A Few Random Notes
As usual, here are a few random notes I took while watching Neighbours this week:
- Ooh, this episode is rated 13 specifically because of foul language.
- Wait. Where was the foul language?
- Max suggesting Owen Wilson or Ellen DeGeneres to play Byron in a film 😂
- Giving a random stranger your shoes is incredibly weird, Nicolette.
- Memories of World Wars and the Great Depression? Exactly how old are Moira and Gino supposed to be?! 100?
- I’m sure Andrew will really appreciate having his name bandied about at the police station to force them to look for Krista’s deadbeat friend. He’s not even there and he’s still getting sucked into their drama.
