Loveday Writing

When Hayley tries to “run into” Sharna to talk Meryl up to her, Sharna tells her that Meryl doesn’t appreciate her and offers her a job. Although Hayley at first tries to deflect the offer, and she ends up confiding in Tom about it when she gives him a lift to The Brewery and he ends up encouraging her to go for it, she later accepts the offer at the fundraiser.

Prior to the fundraiser, Ajax and Tom go to the house site where Tom asks Ajax about his finances and whether he really needs extravagant things for the house. While they are in town, Tom goes into the TAB to place bets on the dogs and Ajax sees how the TAB works for the first time. Afterwards they see Hayley in the street and Ajax avoids her as she’s upset with having to move back in with Meryl. Tom says hello to her and this is when she offers him a lift back to The Brewery.

At the fundraiser, Ajax calls Tom to ostensibly let him know that he has to run errands in town and asks him to look after Hayley, but in reality, is placing more and more bets at the TAB. Tom and Hayley end up slow dancing at the fundraiser, bringing their sexual tension to the surface.

Towards the end of the episode, Hayley goes to the caravan to see Tom, he sneaks up behind her and then kisses her.

In all honesty, I have mixed feelings about the Hayley-Tom story arc. On one hand I feel it is completely out of character for the conservative, religious (although that quality seems to have somewhat disappeared from her this season) and loyal Hayley. On the other hand, it has been clear since the premiere that Hayley has been taken for granted by her family, and that her and Ajax’s marriage has been rocky, so her acting out in the form of cheating with a handsome stranger does make sense.

Despite the major turn of events, we still don’t know Tom as a character. He kissed Hayley despite knowing she was married to Ajax, who is his boss. He seems to be a friendly character yet had no problem crossing these moral lines. It will be interesting to see whether he really is a harmful and malicious character or not as the season progresses.

Ken and Betty – This was the first time in a long time that a Doctor Doctor episode has put the spotlight on Ken and Betty’s friendship. As part of her efforts to fix the town’s financial woes, Sharna has ordered Ken to fire Betty due to the costs that come with her pay and accrued annual leave. Ken struggles throughout the episode to break the news to Betty as he not only doesn’t want to fire her but also doesn’t want to lose her as a friend.

When Betty is sitting on a bench outside of the Clinic, Ken sits with her and is about to give her the bad news when she tells him she plans on going to Bogota and that it’s time for her to move on. However once Ken leaves, it’s revealed that Betty knew she was going to be fired, as she found Ken’s pros and cons list on keeping her, that he threw on the Clinic floor.

At the end of the episode, while everyone is at the fundraiser, Betty packs up her things and leaves goodbye letters for everyone at the Clinic.

Overall, this subplot took me by surprise. I didn’t expect Betty to be a victim of Sharna’s “efforts” to improve the town nor did I expect that Betty’s firing would mean that she would actually leave Whyhope.

It will be interesting to see where Ken, the Clinic, and the town goes without the presence of the beloved and eccentric Betty.

Charlie – Charlie spent this episode putting together and hosting a fundraiser for Wes, Larry and Sam after Kassie’s funeral. Throughout the episode, while she is preparing the fundraiser, she visits Wes, Larry and Sam where it’s revealed that Larry is acting out by constantly running away and riding her motorcycle in a reckless manner.

Charlie manages to successfully throw the fundraiser with the community participating and donating, however things go awry when Larry once again lashes out, riding her motorcycle during Charlie’s speech for Kassie. Larry’s acting out comes to a head when she rides through The Brewery and crashes into a table, injuring herself and another attendee. Larry is taken to Stanwell Hospital to be treated for a ruptured spleen.

Overall, I felt that the Charlie-fundraiser subplot was a little weak. We didn’t really find out more about Wes, Larry and Sam as characters, and we only really saw bits and pieces of the fundraiser itself. Really, the fundraiser was only in the episode to provide a springboard for other subplots and story arcs, such as the developing Ajax-Hayley-Tom love triangle, the developing Hugh-Sharna-Penny love triangle, and Meryl’s legal troubles.

Despite the fundraiser being a major focus of the episode, Charlie’s and Matt’s screen time was limited in comparison to the other main characters.

Hugh and Penny – Hugh and Penny spend this episode having minor “lover’s quarrels” when they have to re-learn how to work together. When they argue in front of a patient, Betty takes them outside and has them air small grievances in an effort to get them to open up about what’s really bothering them. While Penny’s major grievances towards Hugh aren’t exactly made clear, Hugh clearly resents Penny for leaving Whyhope a year earlier, then coming back and trying to undermine him with her experiences in Stanwell. Penny sharing an office with Hugh, spilling her smoothie on the office floor, and doing yoga in the Clinic certainly didn’t help matters.

When she isn’t quarrelling with Hugh, Penny confides in Betty about her doubts in returning to Whyhope and she also goes back to her old house, silently reflecting on her past.

While Hugh and Penny don’t resolve their differences, Penny demonstrates that she has somewhat gotten over their lover’s quarrels, by essentially giving Hugh and Sharna her “blessing” by telling Sharna she could do a lot worse than Hugh, when she sees the chemistry between them.

Overall, I felt that Hugh and Penny’s lover quarrels provided great comedic moments throughout the episode.

Meryl – Meryl spends this episode trying to make it clear to Sharna that she intends to fight for Whyhope and her role on Council, going as far as to try to give a speech about herself at the fundraiser. However, Meryl ends up getting herself into more trouble when she is late in reporting to police as part of her bail conditions, which leads to the police placing her on a night-time curfew.

Meryl reluctantly complies with the curfew at first, staying at home when the fundraiser gets underway, only to show up later to try and make her speech. Two police officers, Senior Constable Sanjay and Constable Whelan, show up at the fundraiser to arrest her, however Constable Whelan talks Senior Constable Sanjay out of doing so in honour of Kassie.

Sharna – We were given more insight into Sharna in this episode, with her Zoom meeting with her boss revealing that she has overblown the budget she has been provided, and she is under pressure to implement her efficiency strategies to fix Whyhope.

Later after Charlie gives her speech at the fundraiser, Sharna is standing by a tree where Hugh finds her, and she reveals that she doesn’t really have anyone in her life.

At the end of the episode, Hugh and Sharna hook up in her motel room.

Overall, I felt that this was a solid episode with the establishment of more story arcs and subplots, however there were some weaknesses in the execution of these story arcs and subplots, specifically the rapid speed in which they have been introduced. This may be due to the fact that this is the show’s final season.

Stray Observations:

-Betty makes delicious gingerbread.

-Ajax planned for the media room in his house to be his and Jimmy’s man cave.

-Hugh doesn’t like it when Penny slurps her tea.

-Penny doesn’t like it when Hugh sings the wrong song lyrics with confidence, specifically Bohemian Rhapsody.

-Betty was a camp counsellor in Nepal in the late-90s.

-Betty buys tea off the dark web.

-Apparently Penny wore vintage Chanel and danced with Guy Sebastian at a Stanwell Hospital fundraiser.

-The pros and cons list that Ken wrote that focused on keeping Betty vs saving the Clinic included:

• Pros: Best friend, patients love Betty, Hugh & Penny mediator, knows the filing system, keeper of the green pens, and welcoming face.
• Cons: Overqualified, Sharna’s decision, save Clinic, Clinic needs renovation money, over budget, and need full-time locum.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Meryl is here and not at home as required by law, for some reason.” (Charlie on the stage, to everyone, at the fundraiser)