Previously on Neighbours
- Chelsea tells Krista there have been complaints about the sauna, so Krista goes to investigate
- Later, Paul finds Krista collapsed and barely conscious inside the sauna changing room
- Paul offers to conduct the memorial service for Krista's baby, and say anything she wants
- Chelsea discourages Paul from bringing in a workplace investigator to look into the sauna incident
- Chelsea overhears Paul chasing Terese for a catchup after her return from Adelaide
- Haz snoops on Byron's conversation via a covert listening app
- Andrew tells the RSR deepfake victims that malware is to blame for the invasion of their privacy
- Haz is sent an email from Mackenzie to Harlow saying she'll never love Haz like she did Hendrix
- An angry Haz tells Mackenzie to stop wasting her time trying to solve the deepfake mystery
No 32
Mackenzie is cooking when Haz comes in, the severe tension between them still palpable. She tells him that she got in touch with Byron, and that his phone had the malware on it too.
MACKENZIE: So, I did some research. It turns out you were wrong. That particular malware can't be installed remotely; it has to be physically put on.
HAZ: Wow. Okay.
Mackenzie looks like she knows Haz is feigning surprise.
MACKENZIE: Also, the day that it was installed, on both my phone and Byron's, was the day that Krista lost her baby. The day that both our phones went missing.
Mackenzie watches Haz's reaction carefully; seated facing away from her, he more or less maintains his composure.
MACKENZIE: So I'm gonna tell Andrew.
HAZ: Oh, Mack, is that really necessary?
MACKENZIE: Someone has been creeping around our house and messing with our phones - so, yeah, I'd say it's pretty mandatory.
Krista and Leo come in, and Mackenzie gives them an update on the ETA for dinner. Krista's not hungry anyway, and Leo explains it's because they've been finalising the details for tomorrow's memorial for baby Hope. Haz and Mackenzie both go quiet.
The Waterhole
Chelsea is very excited about dinner with Paul as they come in; she's keen on having oysters, no doubt because of their rumoured aphrodisiac qualities. She's far less keen on Paul's suggestion of asking Terese, who's sitting alone at a table, to join them for the meal!
CHELSEA: Maybe she wants to be alone?
PAUL: One way to find out, isn't there?
Sadly for Paul, Terese is waiting for Jane to arrive for a catchup. While they're talking, she asks how the WorkSafe inspection went at the construction site, following Andrew's accident. She says the inspection identified a few issues, but nothing she can't handle.
Karl and Melanie come in. Melanie is teasing Karl about his unfortunate accident yesterday, and advises against choosing the salmon tonight. Karl irritably tells her it was a one- off occurrence. Melanie notices that Terese looks uncomfortable the moment she walks in; and excusing herself from the chat with Paul and Chelsea, Terese gets up and leaves. 'How awful for her,' Chelsea remarks with satisfaction.
No 32
Krista has received some 'really nice' flowers and a card from her sister Reece.
LEO: Would've been nicer if she'd flown out to see you.
KRISTA: I know. But I told her not to.
Haz is about to open a bottle of wine, but Mackenzie whispers to him to put it away. Krista notices and wonders what's going on. Mackenzie explains that with everything Krista's going through, the housemates thought they'd lay off the booze for a while.
KRISTA: Why, do you think I'm gonna fall off the wagon?
MACKENZIE: No, not at all. We just thought it would be a good way for us to show our support.
KRISTA: Yeah, well... I guess that'd be the case if you guys were having lots of parties and taking shots. But if you want to have a glass of wine with dinner, go for it.
Haz pours a glass, but Krista looks a bit uncertain as he does so.
Penthouse
Paul is asking Chelsea's advice on which tie to wear tomorrow - she goes for the one that brings out his eyes. Chelsea admits she was meant to go and see Cara tonight but didn't think it would be 'a lot of fun' given all the recent JJ/Felix drama.
CHELSEA: Kind of like you right now.
PAUL: Oh, sorry, I just... look, it's the memorial for Krista's baby tomorrow, and I'm a little bit anxious about conducting the service. It's not exactly in my wheelhouse, you know?
CHELSEA: Is there anything I can do to help? Like, maybe do a run- through of the whole thing, to see how it flows?
PAUL: Uh, thanks, but no. I think I'm just gonna get an early night.
Chelsea looks disappointed as Paul heads to bed alone.
No 32
It's late, and Mackenzie comes into the lounge area to watch TV, possibly having had trouble sleeping. Seeing Haz's laptop on the table, she can't resist the temptation to open it up. It's password- protected, and she makes a guess, but to no avail. Hearing Haz coming out of his bedroom, she quickly replaces the laptop on the table. He guesses that she was having trouble sleeping, and Mack confirms this.
MACKENZIE: There's a lot going on.
Haz says he'll leave her be, but makes sure to retrieve his laptop first. He pauses behind Mack, as if deciding whether to say something, but Mack looks creeped out and declines to turn around, so Haz goes back to bed.
Penthouse
The following morning, Krista, Leo, Paul and Chelsea have gathered in preparation to head to the memorial. But as Leo and Krista step into the lift, Chelsea asks for a private word with Paul, so he hangs behind to speak to her while the others go down to the car.
CHELSEA: Even though I really want to support you, I don't think I should come. It's a small, intimate gathering, and I'm not that close to Krista, so it feels kind of forced for me to be there (...) And if I stay back, I can take care of things at the hotel, so you don't have to worry. It just... feels best for everyone.
Paul looks a bit inscrutable for a second, but then kisses Chelsea on the lips.
PAUL: Thanks Chelsea. It's really thoughtful of you.
He heads into the lift, and once he's gone, Chelsea puts her head in her hands and sinks to the floor, possibly consumed with guilt at what's happened to Krista.
No 32
While Haz is in the bathroom getting ready for the memorial service, Mackenzie uses the opportunity to snoop in his backpack. She finds an external hard drive, and plugs it into her computer to look at the contents. To her horror, she soon finds that they include the deepfake video of Jane and the banana, audio of the fake phone call from David... and the video of Haz trashing the café.
Mackenzie is shaken to the core, but attempts to compose herself when Holly turns up to head to the memorial. Mackenzie is keen to leave without Haz, telling Holly he's not ready yet and that she doesn't want to be late. A surprised Holly follows her out.
Park
Various RSRs are gathered to mourn the loss of Krista's baby - specifically, Krista, Paul, Leo, Nicolette, Aaron, Remi, Melanie, Mackenzie and Holly. Melanie hugs a crying Krista.
MELANIE (whispered): I love you.
Melanie asks Krista if she's ready, and she nods, so they go over to join the others. Remi then hugs Krista too, telling her she wishes she could've done more. Nicolette and Aaron then come in for hugs too.
KRISTA: It means so much to me that you're here.
AARON: You meant so much to David. And now you're with Leo, I guess we're family.
LEO: I think about him all the time too, mate.
AARON: Thanks, Leo.
Haz turns up, annoyed that Mackenzie left without him, without even having texted. But Mackenzie simply ignores him and looks angry, before moving away from him swiftly as Paul invites everyone to gather around.
PAUL: Because this is a small and intimate gathering, Krista actually asked if we could all form a circle today, so that we can feel connected...
Lassiter's Hotel
Chelsea is in the managers' office when a man arrives looking for Paul.
CHELSEA: And you would be...?
MAN: Jeffrey Swan. I'm the software technician from the IT company in charge of Lassiter's Australia.
CHELSEA: Is this about the glitches we've been having?
JEFFREY: Yes. Mr Robinson commissioned me to investigate and write a full report, particularly in relation to an unfortunate incident with a malfunctioning automated lock on a sauna door.
CHELSEA: Did you make an official time to see him?
JEFFREY: No. He just told me to personally deliver a hard copy as soon as I possibly could.
CHELSEA: Well, unfortunately he's unavailable this morning. But I'm the acting manager, so if you'd care to hand it over to me, I'll ensure he gets it.
He holds out the report in his hand, then pauses.
JEFFREY: I'm sorry, what was your name? I don't think you mentioned it.
CHELSEA: Chelsea. Chelsea Murphy.
Jeffrey quickly pulls the report away from her.
CHELSEA: Is there a problem?
JEFFREY: No, not a problem. I think I'd just prefer to wait and deal directly with Mr Robinson. Thanks.
He walks out with the report. Chelsea looks very worried.
Park
The memorial begins, led by Paul.
PAUL: There's a Buddhist principle, the First Noble Truth, that says all life is suffering. And I believe that's true. So, I don't think there's one of us here today that hasn't known pain, loss and grief. Part of being human. But we all feel it. And yet, there's a particular grief that comes with the death of a baby. Especially one who hasn't had the chance to take their first breath, or feel the loving touch of their mother... But you know, as deep as this grief is, I'd like us all to focus on the name that Krista chose for her precious baby girl - Hope. Hope is... is such a beautiful name. In fact, it's a beautiful word, because it means that amongst all the darkness, there's a knowing that one day... someday that light will come again.
Tears roll down Krista's face as the other RSRs stand in quiet reflection. Paul pauses at length, before beginning to sing: 'This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine...'
Gradually everyone else begins to join in with the song, before launching into a second rendition. Krista smiles through the tears.
The Waterhole
Chelsea comes in and approaches Jeffrey, who's sitting at the bar. She explains that Paul is at a memorial today, and will be gone the whole day.
CHELSEA: So there's really no point in you wasting your time waiting for him to come back.
JEFFREY (interrupting): I'm not giving you the report, Ms Murphy... If you shout me lunch, I might consider telling you what's in it.
Chelsea turns on her most charming smile.
Park
As the other attendees leave, Krista speaks to Paul.
KRISTA: Thank you for everything.
PAUL: Yeah, I... I just wanted to make things right. Take care.
Paul leaves with the others, Haz congratulating him on his speech as they walk off. Haz then approaches Mackenzie, and asks her what's going on.
MACKENZIE: We'll talk later when we're alone.
Once everyone else has gone, Leo is left with Krista. He asks if she'd like to go for a walk, but she's too exhausted.
KRISTA: Can we just sit and... be still for a bit?
LEO: Yeah. Yeah, of course.
He hugs her.
Penthouse
Paul has just poured himself a stiff drink when Terese walks out of the elevator.
PAUL: I wasn't expecting to see you today.
TERESE: I know how hard it would've been.
PAUL: Yeah, well, you know... Krista was appreciative, and I guess that's all that matters. And, yeah, it was difficult, I... I had David on my mind a lot.
TERESE: Yeah, of course. And that's why I'm here. To be a supportive friend, like you've been with me.
PAUL: I'm actually really glad that you're here.
The Waterhole
It appears that Chelsea has wasted no time in ordering the oysters for Jeffrey the IT guy, and he's suitably impressed!
CHELSEA: Is there anything else you'd like?
JEFFREY: No, I believe I am sufficiently sated.
CHELSEA: In that case...
JEFFREY: Ah, yes, the findings of my report! As it turns out, the IT profile used to remotely deadlock the sauna door... belonged to you.
CHELSEA: No, no, no. That can't be right. It must have been a glitch.
JEFFREY: I can assure you I thoroughly investigated the situation, and this was a deliberate action.
CHELSEA: Then someone must have hacked my profile.
JEFFREY: I don't think so.
CHELSEA: No - there's this woman, Penny, who has just been fired.
JEFFREY: Come on, Chelsea, it's obvious it was you. Why else would you buy me lunch?
He gets up to leave.
JEFFREY: I was paid by Paul Robinson to deliver him a report. So that's exactly what I'm gonna do.
Chelsea looks worried as he leaves.
No 32
Mackenzie and Haz are giving one another the silent treatment, and Holly, who has come back with them, is baffled as to what's going on. She gets no reply when she asks, so...
HOLLY: Whatever it is, I'm not hanging around to be caught in the middle of it. Sort it out!
Once she's gone...
HAZ: *Can* we sort it out?
Mackenzie's response is to put the external hard drive on the table.
HAZ: What's that?
MACKENZIE: As if you don't know. I found it in your bag.
HAZ: You went through my stuff?!
MACKENZIE (angry): Yeah, I did. Because I had my suspicions about you, and after looking at that, I was sadly correct. There's footage of you trashing your own café. And there are copies of the deepfake files of Jane and Aaron. So tell me - are you the hacker?
Lassiter's Hotel
Jeffrey has returned to the office to see if he can find Paul, but he's still not there, and Chelsea has followed him in.
JEFFREY: Then I'll just come back tomorrow.
CHELSEA: Okay - you're right. I did lock the door remotely. But I was totally unaware of the full ramifications.
JEFFREY: Then that's something you'll have to face.
He attempts to leave, but Chelsea closes the door and stands in his way.
CHELSEA: You don't understand. If Paul reads that report, then it's over for me. So, you see, Jeffrey, I'm a desperate woman. And I'll do anything - and I mean *anything* - for you to change that report so that my name isn't mentioned.
She approaches him and he backs towards the desk.
JEFFREY: Anything?
Chelsea grabs Jeffrey and pashes him!
CHELSEA: And it'll be a lot more delicious than a free lunch.
Coming up on Neighbours
- Chelsea buttons up her top in the elevator
- Paul asks her Chelsea if she's heard from the IT company about the sauna; she promises to chase it up
- Krista thanks Leo for keeping her company in the park, and tells him 'it hurts so much'
- Someone has thrown banana skins all over Jane's car - she's worried she'll never live this down
- Mackenzie angrily tells Haz he needs to tell the truth; he retorts that she doesn't get it
