The special 'flashback week' short opening sequence airs for the second time today - with tape rewind sound effects following the visuals backwards in time through stills from events in the revival, back through the intervening years to the day of the 2022 finale; and ending on the balloon burst, all inside a shrinking cutout of the Neighbours logo.

No 22 (present day)
Melanie, Holly, Toadie, Terese and Susan continue their session of revelation. Susan can't get her head around what she's hearing - that Holly was in town two years ago and never told her and Karl.

HOLLY: I was gonna surprise you.
TOADIE: Was this around the time that Izzy and Mal were still together?
HOLLY: I knew it had been weird when they said they were a couple. I just needed to suss out the situation for myself.
SUSAN: Where were you staying?
HOLLY: At the hotel... I was with Eden. We met in Earl's Court - we'd only been together a little while at that point. I guess you could say I had fallen pretty hard for him. He was an Aussie. Felt like it was meant to be.

TWO YEARS AGO

Lassiter's Hotel (flashback)
Holly and Eden are fresh off their plane, and staying at the hotel temporarily until Holly has sussed out the situation with Izzy and Malcolm, after which she wants to introduce Eden to Karl and Susan.

EDEN: Do you think they'll like me? Your dad and Susie?
HOLLY: They're gonna love you! But don't call her Susie. You're gonna love them too. I just need to make sure they're okay before we go over there.
EDEN: What - with the whole 'your mum's dating your half- brother' thing?

Holly pushes Eden onto the bed, and then joins him on it.

HOLLY: Hey! Remember what we talked about? Once we're here, no talking about the family tree.
EDEN: Don't forget my family's messed up too, you know. There's a reason I'm not going to Robinvale.
HOLLY: Yeah. When it comes to us, the messing up is all my mum.
EDEN: You think it's a good idea to see her first?
HOLLY: She keeps texting - saying how good everything's going. I just need to look her in the eye - need to know that she's on the level.

Holly checks her phone in a bid to track down her mum and sure enough, Izzy is out and about and posting her exploits on social media as usual!

HOLLY: So predictable. She's down at Power Road, 'enjoying a walk in the rain'.

Holly and Eden kiss, and he asks if she minds if he doesn't go with her to find Izzy.

HOLLY: No, you rest. Mum's the queen of surprising people. Now I'm gonna surprise her.

Power Road
But Holly's soon the one being surprised again, as she watches from a distance and sees Izzy chatting and flirting not with Malcolm, but with Shane Ramsay, in 2022 archive footage spliced in from Episode 8900. Izzy and Shane are discussing her ideas for developing the road if Paul sells it to Shane.

Lassiter's Complex
Holly trails Izzy and Shane to the complex car park, where she continues to watch them.

HOLLY (present- day voiceover): Of course, a part of me hoped it was still innocent. Maybe this guy was an old friend (...) Of course it was as bad as I feared. Of course she was cheating with this guy.

Holly watches, upset, as Izzy and Shane start pashing behind the wheel of Shane's car.

Lassiter's Hotel
Back in the hotel room, Holly tells Eden about what she's seen between Izzy and Shane.

EDEN: Who is he?
HOLLY: I dunno. Older, loaded - basically, the kind of meal ticket she usually goes for. What do I do? Do I confront Mum, or do I tell Mal? Either way, it's gonna turn into this gigantic disaster. I'm gonna get caught up in the middle of everything.

Eden tries to calm Holly down, saying they're just off a long flight and she should sleep on it before making any decisions.

HOLLY: If she's cheating on him, he has a right to know.
EDEN: But do you have to be the one to tell him? Listen - nobody knows that we're here. Maybe the best thing for us is to stay in our little bubble, and just see what happens.

He kisses and hugs her.

HOLLY (present- day voiceover): Eden was so caring about the whole thing, so supportive. And it made sense. Why couldn't we just stay in our bubble? It felt so warm. And safe. So that's what we did - we shut out the outside world. Right until the day of Toadie and Mel's wedding.

The Waterhole
Holly and Eden are having a coffee. Holly admits she feels 'naughty' being out of the hotel room.

EDEN: I thought all the naughty stuff happened *in* the room.
HOLLY: I was so stressed when we landed.
EDEN: And now?
HOLLY: I can't keep putting off seeing everyone.

Eden mentions that Izzy has deleted all the pictures of Malcolm from her socials, so he's thinking they've broken up.

HOLLY: She surely wouldn't show her face at the street party, then, would she?
EDEN: There's only one way to find out. Well, we, umm... we can't afford to stay at the hotel much longer.
HOLLY: I know.

Bea and Elly come in, and Holly immediately recognises them as her 'cousins', shrinking down in her seat so they don't see her. Elly asks Bea whether she's making a 'huge mistake' getting back together with Chloe.

BEA: Would I have flown all this way to cheer you on if I thought you were?
ELLY: I'm so grateful you did.
BEA: Oh, come on, Ell. You love Chloe. And her text made it very obvious that she loves you too.
ELLY: Yeah, but I put all this pressure on her. She was going about her life, she was moving to Adelaide, and then I just throw a spanner in the works.
BEA: No, no - you just followed your heart. Isn't that the most important thing?
ELLY: ...
BEA: You know what, let's forget about the drink, and let's go to Ramsay Street.

Elly wants to hear Bea's news first, but Bea tells her to stop stalling and drags her out of the pub. They don't notice Holly. Holly remarks that Elly seemed fairly nervous about something; Eden replies that whatever it is, they're facing up to it.

EDEN: Maybe you should do the same thing.

Near Ramsay Street
Holly is preparing to face everybody on Ramsay Street, while Eden is being (at least superficially) supportive. They can hear laughter from the street party in the distance.

HOLLY: I don't know why I'm finding this so difficult; I've been doing it all my life, dealing with Mum and the carnage she leaves behind.
EDEN: So, you don't want to see your dad?
HOLLY: Of course I do. And Susan. But these past few weeks, just you and me, I've been loving that as well.
EDEN: You know, I'd be so happy for it to be us, forever, if we had the money just to keep going, and... what's that?

They look up, and see the giant heart balloon rising into the air. It pops, to the sound of much jubilation from the nearby street. Holly is buoyed by the cheering and laughter, and Eden seems keen to persuade her everyone is having fun. But then Holly sees another message from Izzy on social media - a picture of Shane, with the caption, 'Who wants to marry a millionaire?'

HOLLY: I don't believe her (...) I'm sure she thinks she's being cute, but she's on the street with Dad and Susan and Mal, flaunting this new guy, whoever he is. How could she do that?

Eden tries to reassure Holly, but she insists she can't be part of it, and put on a 'happy face' or pretend she isn't furious with Izzy.

HOLLY: I just want to scream right now.

At this point, Elly and Chloe appear at the end of Ramsay Street, by the sign, laughing. They kiss, and are too caught up in one another to notice Holly.

HOLLY: Please, can we just go?

Eden reluctantly agrees.

No 22 (present day)
Susan is shocked to learn that Holly was just around the corner on the day of the street party, and wishes she and Karl had known. Holly's worried that she's angry, but Susan insists she's not - just sad that she didn't feel she could come to them.

HOLLY: Believe me, I wish I did. If I had, then maybe what happened next would never have happened.

This obvious commercial break lead- in having been uttered, Toadie and Terese look like they're wishing someone would get to the point!

Robinvale Hostel
Byron and Reece are in the car outside the hostel - Byron is trying to call Holly, but is only getting her voicemail, and tells Reece that Holly's either ignoring them or has switched her phone off.

BYRON: Holly mustn't have known that you guys were sisters. Otherwise she would've said something.
REECE: Then how do you explain it?
BYRON: All I know is that Eden is not a good guy. We have to ask Holly ourselves (...) Whatever she tells us, wherever Krista is, I'm here for you... I love you.
REECE: I love you, too.

They hit the road back to Erinsborough to find Holly.

No 22
Holly resumes her story, explaining to Toadie, Terese, Susan and Melanie that, after the street party, she and Eden headed back to the complex, so she could have time to think.

HOLLY: We sat down at Harold's. And that's where we met Krista.

Harold's Lakeside (flashback)
While Lassiter's staff clear the lawn nearby of the wedding furniture, Holly and Eden sit at a table, which already has the remains of someone's meal on it.

HOLLY: Eww, maple syrup. Sticky.
EDEN: So what now?
HOLLY: I wish we could just go travelling straight away.
EDEN: Do you think you could hit up your dad, just once? Ask him for a loan?
HOLLY: No. I'd feel like I was taking advantage.

Krista appears from indoors.

KRISTA: Hey.
HOLLY: Oh, sorry, were you sitting here?
KRISTA: Yeah, I was just in the bathroom.
HOLLY: We'll find another table.

But Eden already has other ideas.

EDEN: Is there any chance we could join you?
KRISTA: Sure, why not? I'm Kelly.

Lassiter's Hotel
Holly, Eden and 'Kelly' are all drinking back in the hotel room and having fun, lounging on the bed together.

HOLLY (present- day voiceover): It was instant. We all liked each other. By that night, it was like we'd known each other forever (...) We bonded because both our mums were crazy.

Holly and Krista are talking about their mums.

KRISTA: I said, 'move to Switzerland. I don't care!'
EDEN: And you haven't seen your mum since?
KRISTA: No, and I don't care to (...) All we do is argue anyway.
HOLLY: You and me are, like, virtually the same person.
KRISTA: I know!
EDEN: Aussie mums...
HOLLY: Both train wrecks.
EDEN: Raised in the UK...
KRISTA: Does your dad also have five ex- wives and kids all around the world?

No 22 (present day)
Holly tells Toadie, Terese, Susan and Melanie that Krista had a 'bad dad'.

Lassiter's Hotel (flashback)
Whereas Holly said her own dad was...

HOLLY: ... actually pretty cool. I love him.
KRISTA: Oh. Well, that's where we differ, then.
EDEN: You don't get on with your dad either?
KRISTA: Nah, it's kind of hard when he's constantly reminding me what a disappointment I am to him. You know, all of us kids, we were all groomed to go into the family business. And guess what? I don't want that.
EDEN: What is the family business?
KRISTA: It's just your standard multinational. You know, fingers in pies all around the world.
EDEN: Hmm, okay. That explains how you can afford all the boarding schools.
KRISTA: Yeah. You know, all my English friends, they were so jealous when I got to go to Sydney for the year. And what they didn't know is that I literally counted down the days until I could fly home. And then, uh... and then one year, I got home, and Dad was gone. I, umm... found out from my housekeeper that he'd remarried.
EDEN: Yeah, that's rough.
KRISTA: Yeah, it was. And, stupid me, I've been holding on ever since. But not anymore (...) I want nothing to do with them. And luckily, this country is big enough, so they'll never be able to find me.

No 22 (present day)
Holly tells the others that Krista wanted to travel.

Lassiter's Hotel (flashback)
Krista tells Eden and Holly...

KRISTA: And I just need to scrape together some cash.

No 22 (present day)
Holly says all three of them were in the same position - needing cash and needing to 'get out'.

Lassiter's Hotel (flashback)
Eden tells Krista that he and Holly have the exact same plan. Eden asks the same thing he did of Holly - whether there's any chance Krista could hit up her dad for a loan. She replies 'definitely not', though says she has another plan.

No 22 (present day)
Holly continues her story...

HOLLY: She told us her old housekeeper lived in the area, but she didn't mention her name.
MELANIE: That must have been around the time she surprised me at the Waterhole. The night of our wedding.
HOLLY: And... I never knew her name was Krista. We always called her Kelly.
SUSAN: So the three of you decided to go travelling together?
HOLLY: Looking back, it was really Eden who pushed the idea.

Lassiter's Hotel (flashback)
Eden says it'll be 'so fun' if the three of them all go travelling together.

KRISTA: No, I don't want to crash your holiday...
EDEN: No, no, listen - one of us gets work, then the other two, they can hang out.

Holly and Krista agree, and they all clink glasses to celebrate.

No 22 (present day)
Holly says it seemed like such a good idea. It didn't even occur to her that Eden had other motives.

TOADIE: He was into Krista?
HOLLY: I dunno if he liked her, or if he was just attracted to the dollar signs.

Lassiter's Complex (flashback)
Krista, Eden and Holly are eating and drinking outside the pub. Krista gets up, asking the other to 'wish me luck' as she's going to talk to her ex- housekeeper about getting a loan. Once she's gone...

EDEN: I reckon it's a shame she won't ask her family for some money.
HOLLY: ...
EDEN: What? They're obviously loaded.
HOLLY: I think it's cool. She wants to go her own way, just like us.
EDEN: Mm. Yeah. Just like us. Just without the rich daddy.

Holly chastises him, and as if to cover for his preoccupation with Krista's family riches, he prepares to pay for the meals. Holly then sees Malcolm walking towards them, and immediately gets up to leave, saying she'll meet Eden back in the hotel room once he's paid. She takes the shortcut behind Harold's, but runs into Mal coming in the opposite direction, while he's on the phone to Karl, agreeing to pick up some muffins. Mal's shocked to see Holly...

No 22 (present day)
Susan is also shocked to learn that Mal knew Holly was in town and said nothing to them.

HOLLY: I begged him not to tell you or Dad.
SUSAN: I can't believe all this was happening right under our noses!
TERESE: Yesh, that's just it. There's lies - lies, everywhere we turn!
MELANIE (to Holly): You haven't done anything wrong. You just got caught up in a bad situation.

Andrew comes in, in uniform, and Terese turns to Melanie with a kind of furious glee.

TERESE: It's just what we need. The police.

Melanie looks nervous.

Soon afterwards, Andrew explains that he's got a police car checking in on the place Eden crashed last time he was in town. Andrew also reports that Nell and Hugo are both fine, and hanging out at the Varga- Murphys'.

TOADIE: That's probably the best place for them right now.
TERESE (sardonic): Hey, Melanie... why don't you told Andrew everything you told us?

But Andrew gets a call on his radio and goes outside to take it.

MELANIE: I am going to tell the police everything.
TERESE: Yeah, well, make sure you do.
MELANIE: Terese, I wouldn't be here if I was planning on staying quiet.
TERESE: It's only taken you years to come forward!

Andrew comes back in, and tells them all there's been a sighting of Eden in Hawthorn, an inner suburb. There are no other cars available, so he's heading there himself.

ANDREW (to Melanie): Whatever it is you had to say... can it wait?
MELANIE (nods): Go find Eden.
SUSAN: So, Holly, you were telling us - you ran into Malcolm.

Lassiter's Lake (flashback)
Holly and Malcolm are sitting on a bench; she wants to know if he'll tell Susan and Karl she's here, but he hasn't decided yet.

HOLLY: It's not them I'm trying to avoid. It's Mum. You must be so devastated.
MALCOLM: I am. But you know what? I was looking at Melanie and Toadie yesterday, and I thought, that's real love.
HOLLY: You thought you'd found that, too?
MALCOLM: Yeah, I was an idiot. It's for the best, anyway. I know it would've hurt Mum and Dad. And I was fooling myself thinking they'd ever be comfortable with it. Izzy will always be Izzy.
HOLLY: So you can understand why I don't want any part of this?
MALCOLM: Mm. I do.

They're forced to think fast when Susan and Amy approach, out for a walk and a chinwag.

AMY: I know, but it just feels like it's meant to be!
SUSAN: Zara's happy to go back to Cairns?
AMY: Oh, she's gonna love being with her brothers again.

Malcolm gets up and distracts Susan and Amy, while Holly hides behind a tree. Susan explains to Mal why she's out of the house!

SUSAN: Mike came to our place this morning. He and Karl are writing a song together.
AMY: Oh, lucky you!
SUSAN: Exactly.

Malcolm makes an excuse not to walk back with Susan and Amy, saying he's enjoying the fresh air, and asks Susan to pick up the muffins Karl had asked him to get. Susan agrees, and she and Amy decide to grab a coffee while she's at it. They walk off, and Mal rejoins Holly.

HOLLY: Thank you.
MALCOLM: I'll help you.

Lassiter's Hotel
Krista and Eden are sitting on the bed chatting, when Holly comes back in. Krista shows her the money that she's got from her ex- housekeeper, and Holly also has good news - Mal is transferring money into her bank account for their road trip.

HOLLY: We had a really long chat; he can see why I want to get away.
EDEN: How much are we talking?
HOLLY: Enough to keep us going for a while. Maybe even buy that car, too.
EDEN: My uncle Johnny's got one for sale up in Robinvale. It's about, what, six hours northwest?

Holly says she'll need to pick up work en route so that she can pay Mal back. They're all excited to be able to make the road trip happen.

No 22 (present)
Holly tells Susan, Mel, Terese and Toadie that she left Erinsborough the same day with Eden and Krista.

MELANIE: I got a text from Krista later on, saying she was on the road. I just assumed that she was on her own.
HOLLY: I wish I'd known about you.
MELANIE: I wish I'd known about you, too.

Toadie is overwhelmed by all the info- dumping, and heads outside for a breather. Melanie encourages Terese to go with him.

MELANIE: Susan's here - I'm not about to do a runner.

Terese hesitates, before following Toadie out.

MELANIE (to Susan): It's okay if you're judging me, too.
SUSAN (noncommittal): I might put the kettle on.

Once Susan's out of earshot, Melanie asks if she can borrow Holly's phone, but her battery's flat. So Mel goes to make a call from the house phone instead, to an unknown person. Music of intrigue plays (it's underscore, not hold music!)

MELANIE (on the phone): I'm at Terese and Toadie's... It's too late. I've already started to tell them.

A country road
Byron and Reece are on their way back from Robinvale. Reece is thinking about the last conversation she had with Krista before she left for Australia.

REECE: I wasn't really paying attention. I was preparing this speech I had to make for a climate change conference. Krista was talking about how she'd got in some fight with Dad, because he wanted her to buckle down and work, and she just wanted to party. I can't even remember if she told me she was going to Australia. All I know is, she wanted to go travelling, but it was all just noise to me. Just Krista being reckless again.
BYRON: We're gonna find her.
REECE: I was still so angry when she sent me that last postcard. I mean, what was her life even like then? How does she know Holly? How does any of this make any sense? How?

A house in the country
On a patio in a large garden, a little girl is playing. It soon becomes apparent who she is, because her three parents are seated at a nearby table, holding a crisis conference! It could only be Isla, Aaron, David, and a decidedly different- looking Nicolette!

AARON: Melanie is telling them everything.
DAVID: I wish she'd given us some notice.
AARON: Come on, you heard her - Nell was missing. And now apparently, Holly has some sort of connection to Eden too... Nicolette?
NICOLETTE: I agree. We have to go.
DAVID: If we do, there'll be no going back. This new life that we've built - we'll be putting it all in jeopardy.
AARON: I know.
DAVID: And the reason we left Erinsborough...it'll all come out.
NICOLETTE: We have no choice.

Coming up on Neighbours
- Eden skulking around the complex with his hood up; Melanie seems to catch sight of him
- Holly tearfully expresses remorse to Susan for bringing Eden to town, given all the people he's hurt
- David, Aaron and Nicolette are in a car; 'We should've come clean when it happened,' says David
- 'Well, we didn't,' Aaron replies; 'And we all know who to thank for that,' David retorts
- Toadie, Melanie, Aaron, Terese and Chloe all rush anxiously towards something on Ramsay Street
- David walks towards the hotel; Aaron asks him if he's sure he wants to do this
- Melanie running frantically down the drive from No 30; she sees Krista's old car driving away
- 'Why would I believe you, Melanie?' asks Toadie. 'Why would I believe a single thing that you say?'