(Wednesday 6^th – Monday 26th May 2020)

Things went rapidly wrong for Elly after she took the plea deal but was sent to jail anyway.  For three years!  Of course, what she and the others don’t know is that devious Claudia has blackmailed the judge.  Things backfired when Elly opted to take Aster into prison with her so once inside, Claudia used fellow inmate, Andrea Somers to scare the poor woman into giving her up.  She then used every tactic possible to take the baby legally out of the custody of the Kennedy Family.

During the custody hearing, she revealed that old enemy, Sam Fitzgerald was her lawyer and Sam ripped Susan to pieces, not that Susan did herself any favours, especially as Claudia had just witnessed her having an unnecessary go at Mackenzie.  Although, how anyone decided that the woman who left her son to be tortured so badly that he became a psychopath should be declared a fit parent is beyond me!  Sky did warn Toadie about Claudia’s scheming before she and Mark returned to their wives but she played her cards too quickly for it to be any use.  (Just as an aside, wouldn’t it just be the best if Sky and Lana returned to Erinsborough for good?)

Back in prison, Elly became suspicious of Andrea for whom she had facilitated visits with Dee, as after she got a picture of baby Hugo, Elly began to see quite a different side to her.  Only when she attempted to warn Dee, she quickly found herself on the wrong side of Andrea which doesn’t seem to be a place she wants to be!

Now, can we all just take a moment to appreciate the genius that is the creation of Andrea?  She is one of the most complicated, insane characters soap has ever seen.  I just adore her!  Usually with a soap villain, even when the other characters don’t know they are being lied to, the audience can read the scene but this woman is so complex that it’s impossible to tell apart the stories she’s telling.

Dee on the other hand, is a bit limp for me, which I know may be an unpopular opinion.  I didn’t watch Neighbours back in the day of Toadie and Dee round one and perhaps if I had, I would feel differently but I just adored Sonya and I watched their entire relationship.  I’m not saying I don’t want Toadie to move on and be happy and in fact, in soap terms, waiting over a year to get together with someone else is like waiting ten years in the real world.  But I feel like hippie Dee is a mediocre version on Sonya.  She’s the imitation.  The B-side.  (Do people have B-sides anymore?)  I mean, she’s nice enough but she’s not… Sonya.  But because of their history, she seems to be overinflated into something more exciting than she actually is.  So now, suddenly, a couple of snogs and she’s moving in!  I mean… really?

Anyway, not content with stealing Aster, Claudia then put in a bid to buy The Island from Pierce and Chloe (who have just rejected a bid from an Escape Room company who basically want to recreate Murder Island).  She claimed she wanted to create a summer camp in Shuan’s name for disadvantaged kids and wanted Chloe and Aaron to help her run in.  Aaron was very excited while Chloe was worried about hurting Elly.

So, not only did Paul put Aaron in a terrible position by leaving his illegal swag in The Shed but he also made him miss his and David’s first fostering appointment because he had to turn everything into the police.  David was absolutely livid, especially as he had just wasted a lot of time persuading Harlow to give Paul another chance.  Paul ended up learning quite a lesson in not treating your family however the hell you want and assuming everything will be okay.  By the end of this week, he has had to sign over The Shed to the boys and agree to letting Harlow spend two nights a week at Hendrix’s house, as well as attend a sexual health appointment with her to prove he is supportive of her choices.

Kyle and Roxy hit the rocks again due to Kyle’s grief and their general miscommunication, sending him into the arms of fellow grief group member, Jess, who I can’t quite read yet.  Roxy was heartbroken to hear of the hook up, being that she really does like Kyle.  And it really does seem a shame as they were on their way to making a very sweet couple but once again, Roxy has had her heart broken.  Their relationship was further shattered when Roxy bluntly told Sheila that Gary was not a pigeon.  Yes, you read that correctly.

Kyle ignored all Roxy’s attempts to make things right and reconnected with Jess instead, who I am starting to think might be a little bit too perfect.  Poor Sheila, meanwhile, found that Gary the Pigeon has died.  Understandably, she was heartbroken, feeling she has lost her son all over again.

Ned was suddenly promoted from a bellboy to running an entire pool party but pushed and pulled between Pierce and Paul’s ideas, the event didn’t quite go to plan, although to his credit, he really did try his best.  He quit the job very quickly, which I don’t blame him for!  He was thrust into a position he didn’t really want, had no experience of doing and was provided with absolutely no support!  But let’s also take a moment to appreciate just how lovely Hendrix has become.  Forget the brash boy he started out as; he is just so sweet to Harlow.  When she admitted her lack of body confidence, he jumped into the pool fully clothed to enable her to feel confident to do the same.  He so clearly adores her.  These two have the makings of becoming one of those legendary Neighbours couples that will be remembered forever, I think.  I like that the show didn’t rush their relationship, even though the pairing was very obvious from the start.  I really do like them together.

Neighbours has return to filming with episodes airing on Channel 5, Monday – Friday, 1:45pm & 6pm