Previously
- Dean blackmails Elly into buying him drink, which she does so as to keep her baby paternity secret
- Dean's mate Richie is now adding to her woes, threatening to tell everyone about the booze- buying
- Harlow and Yashvi gossip about whether the rumours about Elly buying Dean alcohol are true
- Dipi and Shane worry Toadie and Dee are setting themselves up for hurt by spending time together
- Amy tells Kyle she'll break up with Gary soon, but doesn't want to 'kick him while he's down'
- Kyle moans to Pierce that Amy hasn't stopped loving Gary; Pierce thinks there won't be any winners
- Kyle tells Amy to stay with Gary, claiming he's not really in love with her himself
No 26
In the garden, Amy responds to Kyle's declaration of not-love.
AMY: You can't mean that.
KYLE: I do.
AMY: But you wouldn't have put me through all of this otherwise.
KYLE: Yeah, I shouldn't have misled you. I'm sorry.
AMY: But you said you loved me.
KYLE: I thought I did. I was wrong.
AMY: What does that mean? What, you did some quiz in a magazine and it turned out negative?!
KYLE: ...
AMY: Is this just a freak-out because things between us might actually happen now?
KYLE: When I came back, I was confused. My marriage had just ended; I was in a bad place.
AMY: So you thought you'd just mess with my head like you did when you left me for Georgia?
KYLE: No. I thought that I was in love with you, okay? But over the last few days, I've realised I'm not.
AMY: What, you just sobered up? The idea of me is better than the reality?! What?!
KYLE: I'm not sure.
AMY: That's not good enough!
KYLE: The trouble that Dad was in, maybe? (...) The fact that you were going to break up with him?
AMY: So, I didn't do it fast enough for you? Is that what it was?!
KYLE: I don't want you to do it at all. He worships you, Amy! What you guys have is really strong.
AMY: Just stop patronising me!
KYLE: Don't give up on that. Especially not for me!
AMY: Get out... just get out!
Kyle leaves.
No 28
Karl is looking for his wallet, while Elly complains about all the emails she's getting from school parents about "the rumours" that she bought alcohol for Dean. (They're not rumours, they're facts, Elly.) Elly surmises that Richie has blabbed about it to everybody.
Finn comes in; he's found Karl's wallet, but asks if Karl has seen his new blue shirt. Karl says it fell off the clothes line, so he put it in the wash - but has plenty of snazzy shirts Finn could borrow! Finn doesn't seem too keen, and Karl is uncomfortable when Finn admits it's for his date with Bea. Finn goes to find an alternative to wear.
Karl asks Elly how she's feeling about Bea and Finn seeing one another, now it's sunk in. Elly's still not happy, but says there's nothing they can do about it. Karl says he's heading to The 82, to eat 'a lot of humble pie'...
The 82
Karl is overcompensating for having banned Gary from the tram launch and for suspecting he might've bashed Paul, by buying excessive quantities of pies from him! Scrolling through his phone, Gary says it's a pity that the 'Twitterati' are more interested in his drunken antics.
GARY (reading): Tram chef trolleyed at opening. Hashtag The 82!
Karl tries to allay his concerns, saying he'll put out a reply to that.
KARL: I'm somewhat of an influencer myself.
GARY: I'm just worried it's overshadowing all the work we've already put in.
KARL: Nonsense. There's been a steady stream of clientele since we opened.
Karl apologises for banning Gary, but hopes he understands why he had to. Gary starts droning on about how Kyle and Amy believed him all along about not having bashed Paul.
GARY: Unlike my crowbar-stashing mother, and others.
Karl asks where Amy is; Gary says she was due to come down, and asks Kyle what might be holding her up. Kyle rather defensively pleads ignorance, but looks worried. Gary remarks that Kyle seems to be acting weird, but Kyle dismisses it as just being busy, and grouchily walks off.
No 30
Dipi opens the door to Dee, who's come to see Toadie. Dee has been to look round a studio apartment nearby, and liked it, so has put in an application to rent the place. Dipi and Shane look concerned, but stay quiet.
Toadie is at the table, doing Nell's school project for her (because Nell herself is at a playdate, and therefore Not In This Episode™). The task is to build a model of a fantasy bedroom, and it's due tomorrow. Dee surveys his progress with some disdain!
DEE: Looks like it's been a raging success (!)
TOADIE: Well, I'd like to see you do better.
DEE: Alright. Challenge accepted.
She sits down to help, saying she's got nothing else on this afternoon.
DEE: And I think I could do better than this.
Dipi lingers anxiously behind them, so Shane drags her off to Harold's, leaving Toadie and Dee to it.
DEE: Okay, Grand Designs - what's your vision?
The 82
Pierce is on the phone, signing up a music act for the Lassiter's music festival. He then saunters over to Kyle and orders a botanical G&T. Sensing Kyle is down in the dumps, Pierce asks why.
KYLE: I went and told Amy I don't love her.
PIERCE: Why?
KYLE: It was the best thing to do.
PIERCE: In what universe?!
KYLE: You agreed that it wouldn't work out.
PIERCE: Woah, woah - hang on. I didn't use those exact words.
KYLE: As good as. So, I did what I had to do.
PIERCE: But you still love Amy.
KYLE: I'll get over it. Mate, I hated seeing her torn in two. This way, I'm no longer an option, and then she'll be able to move on.
PIERCE: Why didn't you just let her make up her own mind?
KYLE: It's easier for everyone this way.
PIERCE: She's not gonna see it like that.
KYLE: She won't know (...) Me and Amy are never gonna happen.
No 30
Toadie and Dee are hard at work constructing Nell's fantasy bedroom.
DEE: Tell me this - when you were six, where would you want to sleep?
TOADIE: The Millennium Falcon, with a view of the MCG, in a chocolate bed that would regrow.
DEE: That is scarily specific.
TOADIE: Yeah. Not particularly helpful to Nell, either.
DEE: No. When I was a kid, I wanted to sleep in the Barbie Dream House!
TOADIE: Come on, now - I know you've been living off-grid, but these days, everything is about feminist princesses. And unicorns.
DEE: Alright, what about this? A bed in a palace, next to a stable of unicorns.
TOADIE: Yes, yes - and the room has wings, so it could fly wherever you want it to.
DEE: Yes! And the bed could be made of chocolate. Cos I do like that touch.
Dee notices that Toadie has something on his nose.
TOADIE: Is it snot?
DEE: No, it's a glittery sticker - but I do like that you went with snot first.
Toadie asks Dee to get the sticker off his nose. She does... and as she touches his face fondly, it leads to a Moment™. Toadie freaks out, and rushes off to Harold's to buy them coffees. Dee is worried.
The Waterhole
Elly is replying to angry parent emails, while Amy fills her in on her interminable intrafamilial love woes. Amy is still minded to end things with Gary, but says that she's confused by Kyle's behaviour.
ELLY: Well, he said, 'I don't love you'. I think that's a pretty clear indication of where he's at.
AMY: But I got the feeling that he wasn't telling the truth. Whenever we're together, it's electric.
ELLY: Don't mix up attraction with love. They are very different.
AMY: But it's such a big turnaround. Yes, I am aware that I want him to be lying. But I do know him pretty well.
Amy says she thinks Kyle might be lying out of concern for doing the right thing by Gary, or by her.
ELLY: Maybe he was lying, but he chose to tell you that. He chose to break your heart again.
AMY: But what if he had a good reason?
ELLY: If he loved you, he would've told you that reason - not been cruel.
AMY: Do you think you can just stop loving someone?
ELLY: He did the same thing with Georgia, right? He told you he was over it, then he wasn't - he broke your heart, and now he's come back for you again, and now he doesn't want you. It's not love, Amy - it's flip-flopping.
Amy's emotional at hearing this, but concedes that she did want Elly's honest opinion.
ELLY: Take it from someone who loved a guy who kept changing their mind. Move on.
Lassiter's Complex
Outside the pub, Elly convenes with Dipi, who has been instrumental in arranging a PTA meeting with some of the aggrieved parents, to explain Elly's side of the story with Dean and the alcohol. Elly thanks Dipi for having her back, and apologises for lying to her about the alcohol previously. Dipi understands that it was a stressful time, and says she's doing the right thing by addressing it now.
DIPI: Just so you're prepared, opinions are running high on the school Facebook page, so it might be a little tough.
ELLY: Yeah, I'm prepared.
Dipi is sure that once Elly explains how she was blackmailed by Dean, everyone will be in her corner. She and Shane will be there to support, she adds. But Elly's still looking apprehensive.
Harold's Café
Toadie is collecting the coffees for him and Dee, and confiding in Shane about the Moment™ they just had.
TOADIE: I keep telling myself that it's okay just to be friends. And ninety-nine percent of the time, that's exactly how I see her. But then, there's this one percent where I feel more. And I feel terrible.
SHANE: Okay, having fun with Dee - entertaining those fleeting thoughts - it doesn't mean you love Sonya any less.
TOADIE: But this is what you and Dipi were worried about. About the line becoming blurred.
SHANE: Mate, I know it's complicated - but I reckon you're gonna be okay.
Toadie thanks Shane for the advice, and heads home.
The Waterhole
A tearful Amy is sitting at the bar. Gary comes in, wondering why she hasn't returned his texts or dropped by The 82. Amy claims she's been running on adrenaline during the whole Paul/crowbar investigation, and that she's feeling exhausted now it's all caught up with her; but that her chat with Elly helped. Gary suggests Elly could talk to Kyle too; he looked shattered when he saw him before.
GARY: Have you got any idea what might be bothering him?
AMY: I have no idea what goes on inside Kyle's head most of the time!
Gary starts droning again about how Amy and Kyle were the only ones who stuck by him when he was wrongly accused of bashing Paul.
GARY: So now it's my turn to be there for the both of you.
AMY: ... You're a good man, Gary Canning.
GARY: Because I've got the best girl in the world.
An emotional Amy kisses him on the lips, then hugs him, clearly deeply conflicted.
Erinsborough High School
Elly is making a statement to the PTA meeting about her blackmail debacle with Dean, explaining how she was going to give him alcohol but in the end, didn't; how the grade she altered for him has been rectified; and how Susan and The Department™ are fully apprised, and have approved her return to work. She says she takes full responsibility and now hopes to move forward.
Shane and Dipi clap heartily from the back of the classroom, but there is stony silence from the rest of the extras - as well as one parent, Angela Lane, who makes her feelings crystal clear.
ANGELA: I think I speak on behalf of all parents when I ask, what about the children? Have we considered them?
ELLY: Always!
ANGELA: Even when you bought alcohol for a student?
ELLY: I didn't give it to him, though.
ANGELA: That time.
ELLY: But I've never done anything like that before, Angela.
ANGELA: That we know of.
Dipi interrupts, commending Elly for her honesty and for organising the meeting.
ANGELA: With a few hours' notice. Without Susan Kennedy present. That's not much of a mea culpa.
Elly offers to organise another meeting for those who couldn't attend, but Angela keeps hectoring, saying Elly ignored her duty of care to the kids - and that Susan should have known better than to hide this information in the first place.
ANGELA: The children are at risk.
No 30
Toadie and Dee have finished building Nell's fantasy bedroom, and are looking forward to showing 'the client' their work when she gets home. Toadie points out that they've gone over budget.
DEE: The unicorn stickers are what make it! We can afford the extra 50 cents.
Toadie says he'd forgotten what a good painter Dee was, and she recalls the time that Joel Samuels pretended Mal Kennedy was an art buyer.
TOADIE: I thought you'd want to forget about that. That's what led to you and Joel breaking up, wasn't it?
DEE: Yeah, but... it led to better things.
Karl turns up with some spare pies for Toadie from The 82, explaining how he bought extra from Gary to ease his conscience.
KARL: All I taste is guilt every time I bite into one of them.
Toadie and Dee want to show Karl their art project, but when they enter the living area, it's gone from the table where they left it!
TOADIE: Clancy...!
The 82
Amy turns up, and starts hectoring Kyle about what other reasons he might've had for saying he doesn't love her. But Kyle is steadfast in his decision to maintain the lie.
AMY: That's that, then (!)
KYLE: What about Dad?
AMY: I don't think that's really any of your business anymore, is it?
KYLE: He's still my father.
AMY: Oh, okay - loyal son (!) As you know, I was planning on calling off the engagement. But you've helped me realise that he's the better man for me. And yes, I've asked myself, am I worthy? But I do love him. And I'm gonna prove that I'm worthy.
KYLE: You don't have to explain it to me.
At this point, Gary appears behind them.
KYLE: You deserve to be happy. So does he.
Kyle notices Gary, so they cut the conversation short - and Amy claims they were talking about the honeymoon Gary wanted them to go on.
AMY: It's a great idea! And if we need to move the wedding forward, then I'm all on board.
Gary is thrilled and kisses Amy excitedly. Kyle turns the other way, and looks less than thrilled.
Erinsborough High School
At the meeting, Shane, Dipi and Elly are talking about Angela Lane.
SHANE: How many times can one person say the phrase, 'the children'? I think she's going for a world record.
DIPI: This isn't Angela's first rodeo. She's very active within the school community.
SHANE: And with her opinions.
Dipi assures Elly it will blow over, now the parents have vented. Angela comes over and says she knows she was upfront, but finds it's best to be honest 'when it comes to protecting the children'. She asks to speak to Elly further in private, and they go outside the classroom to talk.
ANGELA: I'm removing my daughter from the school. Effective immediately (..) She's an impressionable girl, and I'm worried about the moral environment here.
ELLY: By that, you mean...?
ANGELA: Students running riot and getting drunk.
ELLY: (...) None of which are unique to Erinsborough High.
ANGELA: You're unique to it.
ELLY: If you have a problem with my teaching methods, there's a complaints procedure.
ANGELA: I hear you're good in the classroom. But teachers also have an obligation to be role models - not have their lesbian lover bully students on their behalf, causing them to drink.
ELLY: That's not what happened!
ANGELA: That's what Richie Amblin's mother told me.
ELLY: And Angela - you shouldn't use the word 'lesbian' as an insult.
ANGELA: I didn't.
ELLY: You just did.
ANGELA: Says who? You're an abomination to the teaching community - a bad example to young girls. And I'm removing my daughter before she gets infected.
Angela walks off, leaving Elly stunned.
Lassiter's Complex
Pierce is filling in Karl and Finn on the talent he's booked for the music festival.
PIERCE: We've locked in Jess Glynne, and another huge international act.
FINN: Ooh, can you say who?
PIERCE: I don't want to jinx it, but...
KARL: Do you need any other acts?
PIERCE: We're always on the lookout for someone good.
KARL: Well, I know you've booked Bea as a support act - but you know, I've been known to dabble a bit (...) I've got quite a strong local following. The Right Prescription - perhaps you've heard of us.
Finn makes silent gestures behind Karl, warning Pierce not to indulge him!
PIERCE: ... Maybe you can just send me a link to some songs.
KARL: I can come and play some for you now, if you like. I've got CDs.
Finn is once again gesturing behind Karl! Pierce says a link will do fine, and leaves them to it. Elly turns up and joins them; she reports what Angela said about her. Karl says that if Angela's that upset, it's probably a good thing she has her daughter schooled elsewhere.
ELLY: Yeah, but she might not be the only one.
Karl and Finn reassure her that if Angela's daughter leaves, that will probably be the end of it. But Elly doesn't look convinced.
No 30
Toadie and Dee lament the wholesale destruction of their art project by Clancy the dog.
DEE: Obviously not a fan of duck egg blue.
TOADIE: It's ruined - we can't fix it!
DEE: Of course we can. We'll build it again.
TOADIE: (...) Oh, no, I appreciate it - but I don't expect you to stick around for round two.
DEE: Are you serious? I loved it.
TOADIE: What, building a model?
DEE: No, being here with you - in this house. It reminds me of old times.
TOADIE: Yeah, we always knew how to have fun, didn't we?
DEE: Far too many practical jokes.
TOADIE: You remember how we announced our engagement?
DEE: Yeah! See, I don't know why more people don't use ice-cream vans!
They laugh, and Toadie asks if Dee wouldn't rather be doing something else today. They hold hands.
DEE: There is *nothing* else I'd rather do.
There's another Moment™, and this time, they act on it - moving in mutually for a full-on pash!
Coming up on Neighbours
- Bea talks of 'weird stuff going on'; Harlow says there always seems to be on Ramsay Street
- Ned tells Bea that this is what the cops are for; she says she can't go to the cops, as Yashvi appears
- Bea and Finn look worried as someone knocks on the door at No 28
- Elly and Chloe hold hands; Elly says Chloe always makes her feel better. Aaron watches uneasily
- Aaron asks Chloe if anything is happening between her and Elly