(Monday 2nd – Friday 6th March 2020)
Everything is building towards the big birthday bash and this week begins with Finn losing his temper with Bea when she admits she suspected that Lucy had asked him to leave the party but he manages to calm down.
Chloe plans a big party on her new island for Elly’s 35th birthday and with all their scenes together right now, #chelly fans must be going crazy! Cue: Neighbours 35th birthday from hell! Hurrah! Bea is desperate for Finn to be able to come to the island too but he needs a guardian to come with him. When Susan tells Finn how much a part of the family he is, he gets another flashback to some kind of lockup that he doesn’t quite understand.
Mark G catches Lucy and Jane up on his brother Stephen who is still married to the legendary Phoebe Bright with whom he has five children. He gets Beth and Gaby mixed up. Now, I don’t know if this is supposed to just be a kooky part of his personality or we’re about to have some sort of medical issue… Jane notices the spark between Lucy and Mark G who is about to take the plunge and ask him out but the parallels between her life and Paige’s put her off. However, Mark G makes it clear that he wants to make a go of things. She admits that she is worried about ending up in the same position, being dumped for the church. He tells her that being a Priest was never his vocation. They end up getting it on!
Elly and Paige both separately agree to promote the Wedding Expo – in their wedding dresses. It’s quite a shock for Mark B when he bumps into them! While Mark and Paige’s loved ones are eager to push the former couple back together, Mark and Paige are hesitant to take such a risk. When Mark is called back to work sooner than expected, Aaron and David meddle again and Mark manages to stay on a few more days in order to spend more time with Paige. Seriously, guys, since when were Mark and Paige loves young dream? He always looked down on her, he was so boring and high maintenance, he arrested her on their wedding day, patronised her all the time and treated her as if she had the morals of an alley cat, which she never did. They’re not exactly Sonya and Toadie!
Anyway, Elly walks off the job in protest after Lucy kicks Finn off the premises again, making Bea feel guilty that she didn’t properly stand up for her boyfriend the previous night. Finn suggests that Bea should quit her job at The Waterhole in defence of him but Bea argues her case. Is this manipulative Patrick creeping out? Finn backs down but alone in his room, Finn makes an angry video diary. He is furious that Bea wouldn’t stand up for him and is convinced that Elly would have. However, he remains determined that he will not return to being the person he used to be.
Finn’s frustration and anger continues to bubble away inside, even when he gets the news that Toadie will come to the island as his Guardian. When Trent calls him, it triggers another fit of rage and he rants to his video diary, blaming Bea for bringing his father back into his life. The only place he finds happiness and peace is with Elly and Aster but that’s against the rules. Susan tells him off when he is unkind to Bea. Knowing she is right, Finn vows to access the storage locker and destroy what’s inside.
Paul’s PI finds Jane’s catfish but rather than contacting the police, Paul opts to handle things on his own. ‘Richard’ turns out to be an old nemesis of Paul’s, Mannix. Paul tracks him down and calls his bluff when he threatens to leak all the messages Jane has sent him. He demands the money back, making up the difference himself. Jane is thrilled but still keen to pursue the matter legally. Paul then copies messages from ‘Richard’ to write Jane a heartfelt apology in order to persuade her to let the matter lie. I just feel like this is going to seriously backfire…
It’s the one year anniversary of Sonya’s death and like me, Toadie is grieving. Nobody else seems that bothered until Roxy walks past Toadie, crying on the bench by Sonya’s mural. Oblivious. She is supposed to take a wedding dress to spend the day promoting the Expo. Of course, she grabs the one dress that has been put separately that isn’t supposed to be used: Sonya’s. And worse than that, she uses staples to alter it in length. Mark B and Dipi panic when they see her and realise what she has done but it’s already too late. Toadie spots her and loses the plot, screaming at her to take the dress of. Poor Roxy hasn’t realised what she has done.
Shane, Dipi, Mark and Kyle look after Toadie who feels terrible for the way he treated Roxy. The woman herself has rectified her alterations to the dress and tentatively approaches Toadie, promising to dry clean the dress, full of apologies. Toadie can only apologise to Roxy for the way he shouted at her. On the plus side, at least his loved ones have finally acknowledged what day it is! Susan is nominated to nudge him into joining them at a small gathering in her honour. Afterwards, Pierce temps Toadie to join them on the island trip with the promise of amazing fishing (throw back of course). He also agrees to display Sonya’s dress at the Expo.
Harlow is anxious as she comes face to face with Prue who explains that Gary happened to get in touch with her on the day she left The Order. She swears that she has returned to Erinsborough for Harlow but it soon transpires that she and Gary are engaged. While some fake congratulations better than others, Prue explains that she was the one who popped the question. I suspect she is up to no good. Harlow walks out, still hurt that Gary is Prue’s priority and also convinced that her mother will only end up letting Gary down. Meanwhile, Sheila and Kyle are very worried about Gary’s decision making. Terese tries to be supportive, prompting Lucy to have a big idea. To make the Wedding Expo stand out, she thinks they should host five weddings, all different from each other, all expenses paid. Ignoring Terese and Paul’s concerns, her first suggestion is to ask Gary and Prue to take part. They immediately accept.
Channel 5, 1:45pm and 5:30pm
The Soap Dish 