(Monday 19^th October – Tuesday 3^rd November 2020)

There are a few victims in this whole Ross Nixon Murder Investigation Plot.  I don’t think I count Ross.  I mean, I didn’t watch the show then but he doesn’t sound like a tragic loss.  However, the main casualties so far seem to be 1) Dean 2) Ziggy and 3) Taylor.  And at some point, probably 4) Bella.

Firstly, Dean had just been about to start a new life as a Dad to the little boy he never knew he had.  Then he was under pressure over keeping Ross’s murder a secret.  He needed to prioritise Amber and Jai.  And now he has lost Ziggy by telling her the truth.

Ziggy’s heart was full of hurt and confusion as she realised that she was the only one out of the loop and everyone in their group knew the truth but her.  While Willow went into bat for Dean, Ziggy felt that her boyfriend was now a stranger.  She moved into her parents’ house, only able to see things in black and white.

Sadly, Dean’s response was to get drunk and kiss Amber.  Well, that’s always the way to win your girlfriend back, Dean!  Well done, mate.  Thankfully, Amber was sensible enough to back off and decide she was worth more than to be his rebound.  She already got pregnant with Jai when he was rebounding with her after breaking up with Willow all those years ago!

Meanwhile, Colby was ploughing ahead with his affair with Angelo’s neglected wife, Taylor, despite his family telling him he was being the world’s biggest idiot.  This story is unsettling me.  Colby has always been such a good guy and always so kind and eager to do the right thing.  I’ve watched Home and Away on and off since I was a child but this stint hasn’t been very long, I admit.  So I’ve never seen this side of Colby before.  And I don’t like it.  I don’t like it at all.

He has manipulated Taylor into believing that he has genuine feelings for her and all the while, he is using her for information on Angelo and the case.  She is already in a relationship with Angelo, which must be bad enough.  She is also being completely ignored and neglected.  Now she thinks this apparently nice guy likes her and wants to give her some attention while her husband can’t be bothered to even speak to her.  She is going to be utterly broken when the whole truth eventually comes out.

Things got very intense between Colby and Dean, as the boys argued about their individual actions.  Dean couldn’t believe that Colby would start an affair with Angelo’s wife, which is a valid point.  And Colby was furious that Dean would risk their secret by sharing it with Ziggy.  He had absolutely no compassion for the situation Dean was in.  And it was all left to Willow to mediate.  And all the while, Angelo was lurking, watching every argument he possibly could.

When Colby lied to Bella about ending his relationship with Taylor, the teenager decided she couldn’t take it anymore and temporarily moved in with Nikau.  He lied to her again after she moved back in and she photographed them kissing on the beach, sending him a photo via text.  Furious, Colby deleted all the photos and seriously lost his temper with his sister, pretty much holding her responsible for Ross’s death.  What a good big brother.

Meanwhile, Ziggy was under pressure to explain Dean’s absence, blurting out the shock news that they had split up.  Angelo attempted to use her as a way in but Ziggy wouldn’t budge, not wanting Dean to get into any trouble, despite how hurt she was over what he had done.  Colby took things up a notch and barged into Ziggy’s house, indirectly threatening her to stay quiet.  He informed her that it was Dean’s idea to bury the body and he persuaded him not to confess to the murder.  Therefore, if she were to inform the police, she would be sentencing Dean to years in jail.

When he returned from clearing his head, Dean was allowed to have Jai for the night, only for him to become unwell with an ear infection.  The good news was that Ziggy was on hand to help him and they really worked together as a parental team to get him medical help.  Amber missed it all because she was getting drunk and having a one night stand and neglected to look at her phone even once until the morning.  Do people even do that in real life?!  But anyway, maybe there is hope for Dean and Ziggy?  And for Dean to be an active Dad?  Although with Amber having now lost her job with John (he has miraculously recovered), Dean has now offended Amber by giving her money…

Having failed to target Colby directly, intimidate Bella and question Ziggy, Angelo set his sights on Dean.  He worked out that he knew everything about the murder and possibly that he was involved, offering him a deal in exchange for everything he could tell him.  He bargained with the fact that he has Jai to live for and Dean was genuinely tempted to roll over on Colby.  Well, with the way Colby is behaving, I’m not surprised.  But after another row, the boys kissed and made up again and Dean refused to budge.

Clever Willow pointed out that Angelo has been very busy getting as much background information on them as he could so suggested Colby did the same.  Now, what could Colby possibly find out about dodgy cop, Angelo?  Could it be that in 2008, he accidentally shot and killed fellow police officer, Constable Jack Holden and then rather than confessing, he lied and was eventually found out, kicked off the force and jailed?  Could it be that in 2009, he cut and deal and was somehow allowed back onto the police force, where he was set the task of hunting down a human trafficking ring and deliberately let the culprit escape and was again removed from the police force.  No!  Manslaughter and human trafficking errors and being removed from the force TWICE haven’t even been mentioned yet apart from Taylor referring to working hard to ‘get back on the force’.  Apparently the worst thing that’s ever happened to Angelo is in the case of some guy called Andrew Felton, he sent the wrong person to jail.  And that’s why he’s so obsessed with his work and needing to prove himself.

Deciding this was exactly what he needed, Colby made a formal complaint of harassment against Angelo, who immediately became aggressive with him.  While Dean couldn’t understand what he was doing, Colby reassured his friends that it was a good plan – discrediting Angelo will make his case much harder to prove.  Unfortunately, Taylor was very upset and felt very used by Colby.  Because she is being used.  She accurately described herself as collateral damage.  Spotting them together yet again, Bella took it upon herself to warn Taylor away from her brother.

Meanwhile, Ari was devastated when Mac decided it was time to move out.  Things had become too awkward with Tane and Ziggy was lonely in her empty parents’ house so it all seemed perfect.  While Ari begged her to stay, she still refused.  Then he got wind of this whole Tane situation which I just don’t understand.  If you think your girlfriend and your brother have feelings for each other, why are you still in the relationship?!  It’s all a bit weird.  But, whatever.

Justin had difficult but seemingly successful surgery thanks to Christian (and Tori) and everything so far seemed to be happy in his world.  However, Tori was all of a flutter, having now shared two kisses with Christian.  She then mistakenly believed that he was interested in Jasmine who very quickly made it clear that that was not the case.  Tori also decided to drop the AVO against Jasmine, wanting her to be part of Grace’s life again.

After some faffing about, Roo and Owen finally got together and their relationship had the full support of their family, including Ryder.  There was a small wobble on Owen’s birthday, which would also have been Evan’s birthday.  Owen opted to shut Roo and everyone out at first but they all barged their way back into his life and they celebrated together.  How lovely.

Home and Away currently airs on weekdays @ 1:15pm & 6pm on Channel 5

Sneak peek on 5Star, weekdays @ 6:30pm

These reviews are based on the lunch time episodes