Loveday Writing

Penny has Floyd go back to the boarding school camp by flying back to Sydney. He ends up on the same flight that Hugh, Sharna and Matt are on. Floyd tries to antagonise Sharna by bringing up Hugh’s dating history. As Sharna has set up meetings for him at his old hospital, and has organised a party for him to mingle with his former colleagues and her connections, Hugh asks Matt to drop Floyd back at his boarding school.

When Hugh arrives at the hospital, he is sent to a meeting where one of his former patients, Robert Peacock, is suffering from complications from heart surgery conducted by one of his former colleagues, Dr. Ogilvy. When Hugh suggests that Dr. Ogilvy test Robert for a septic-based complication, Dr. Ogilvy dismisses Hugh as a “country GP”. However Hugh reveals that Robert is a heavy drug user, which is why he is certain about his diagnosis. It’s later revealed that Hugh’s diagnosis was accurate and he is asked by Robert to perform the corrective surgery. While the surgery gets off to a bumpy start, Hugh manages to complete it successfully with Dr. Ogilvy’s assistance.

Later, while Hugh and Sharna are at the party, Hugh gets a call from Penny, informing him that Floyd is missing again. Hugh tells her that he got Matt to drop him off at the school, but it turns out Matt didn’t actually sign him back in. Hugh leaves the party to find Floyd, which he manages to do while on the phone to Penny, as she’s tracking him via an app. Hugh eventually finds Floyd by the Harbour, where he tells Hugh that he ran away as he was pranked into sending a dick pic to a boy in school, who in turn distributed the photo to everyone else at the school, and he wants to come back to Whyhope. Floyd also asks Hugh if he thinks Sharna is the one for him, and he (hesitantly) says yes. Afterwards, Penny points out that Floyd knew they were tracking him and therefore wanted Hugh to rescue him, and that Floyd is clearly going to miss him. Penny also admits that she’s going to miss him too when he leaves.

When Hugh returns to the party, Sharna expresses her frustration at Hugh leaving the party she worked hard to organise, to take care of Floyd. Moments later, Hugh and Matt get into a fight that results in them knocking down a waitress, as Hugh calls Matt out on his “country bumpkin” act and Matt in return calls out Hugh on his relationship failures. Later, Hugh apologises to Sharna.

When Hugh and Floyd fly back to Whyhope, the plane they’re on appears to start crashing, which leads to Floyd asking Hugh if he thinks Penny is the one for him, and he says yes, that it’s always been her. Floyd also admits to wanting Hugh to be his father, and Hugh says he wants that too. The pilot eventually manages to level the plane out and land safely. When Floyd rushes to Penny’s arms, he tells her what Hugh said about her. Hugh also gets a message and reveals to Penny (and the audience) that he has been offered a job in Sydney as the Head of the Cardiothoracic Centre of Excellence, and that he is going to take it.

Overall, I enjoyed Floyd’s return, especially his interactions with Hugh, which I’ve missed. I also felt that Hugh’s return to Sydney and being in the hospital and party environments were also portrayed well in subtly showing how far his character has come. I also appreciated the cracks starting to show in Hugh and Sharna’s relationship, and Hugh finally admitting to how he feels about Penny, although I found him admitting to these feelings as the plane was going down to be a bit cliché. I didn’t feel that this subplot was weak, but I didn’t feel it was strong either, I think mostly due to the inevitable outcomes that will play out in the finale next week.

Hayley and Ajax – At the end of the previous episode, Tom had departed but Hayley and Ajax’s problems were definitely not over. At the start of the episode, Ajax asks Hayley if they can keep their split a secret from everyone for a while, which she agrees to.

Later, Ajax comes into town and sees Hayley while she’s at work, where he finally tells her about his gambling addiction, and tries to use the fact that they both kept secrets that are now out in the open as a reason for them to stay together, but this doesn’t work.

Later, Hayley tells Charlie about the split, and Charlie invites her to hers and Matt’s house for drinks. When they have drinks, Charlie asks Hayley if she regrets not leaving Whyhope with Tom. Hayley admits that not leaving was the right thing to do, but she also isn’t happy with Ajax. Charlie tells her that she decided a long time ago not to settle for being unsatisfied in life, and tells Hayley that if she settles for being unsatisfied, she’ll be unhappy, and reassures her that she’s not selfish for wanting to grow and move on.

Towards the end of the episode, Ajax asks Hayley to come out to the house site with him. He tells her that he’s been thinking and that he accepts her decision to leave him, and agrees to co-parent with her, and that maybe he’ll be the man she wants him to be one day. He brought her out to the house site so they can tear down the house together, so their slate is clean and they can both move on. They end up tearing the house down together, symbolising Ajax letting Hayley go, and amicably ending their marriage.

Overall, I didn’t expect their marriage to end however I feel that their marriage ending was a more realistic outcome, as opposed to magically and rapidly fixing their problems and living happily ever after, which is generally a road that most shows would go down. While I appreciated that Ajax admitted to the gambling problem himself, rather than have someone or something else forcibly bring it out into the open (again another path other shows would have taken), I felt that the simple and nonchalant reveal was a bit anti-climactic.

Charlie and Hayley – This subplot was a minor one, and tied in more with the Hayley-Ajax subplot rather than standing on its own. Charlie comes into the Council Chambers and tells Sharna that she accepts the Interim Mayor job offer, much to Hayley’s chagrin, as she also wanted the job. Sharna asks Hayley to give Charlie an induction, and from this moment, Hayley expresses her resentment at Charlie getting the job over her.

While Charlie tells Hayley that they will be working together, Hayley points out that she will be working for her, as Charlie is her boss. Hayley also calls Charlie out on abandoning her teacher and novelist careers, and points out to Charlie that she is more experienced in working in local government, based on her experience with Meryl. Later, Meryl comes to visit to give Charlie advice, but Charlie tells her that she doesn’t need her help, and tells Hayley to give her the Wi-Fi password or she’s going to be fired.

Later, Charlie apologises to Hayley for getting angry. Hayley then tells Charlie about her split with Ajax, and says that Ajax is the only person in Whyhope who appreciates her, pointing out that Sharna clearly didn’t appreciate her as she didn’t give her the job. Charlie says that she needs her, and invites her over to her house for drinks.

Overall I appreciated the interactions between Charlie and Hayley in this episode, especially as we’ve never really seen them alone together. Despite the workplace setting and tensions, I enjoyed seeing them bond more as sisters-in-law. Although I do find it a little unrealistic that Sharna would offer Charlie the job, as Hayley points out she has no local government experience. However I also felt that Sharna was right in not offering Hayley the job due to her lack of life experience, I personally didn’t see her as mayoral material.

Meryl and Michael – Meryl and Michael’s subplot revolved around their burgeoning romance. Meryl and Michael decide to go to a lunch at a mutual friend’s house, but when Michael proposes that they start a relationship when he goes back to Sydney, it leads to an argument. Michael points out to Meryl that her children have grown and that she is no longer on Council due to her corruption, and therefore has no ties left to Whyhope, but Meryl orders him to pull over and she is left on the side of the road, and walks home.

When Meryl eventually gets back to the homestead, she finds Michael waiting for her. He spends time hanging around the homestead, despite Meryl and Ajax telling him to leave. He later reveals to her that he has always loved her, however Meryl tells him that he’s in love with the younger version of her he briefly dated.

Towards the end of the episode, Michael admits to Meryl that she was right about his feelings for her but still wants a relationship with her. Meryl admits that she is open to dating him and kisses him.

Overall I enjoyed their subplot, after mourning Jim for the last three years, Meryl finally has a chance of romantic happiness with an old love, who isn’t afraid to be honest with her and call her out. Although I could see the start of their relationship coming, I appreciate that it was executed in a more realistic manner, as opposed to a cliché romantic declaration of love.

Matt – Matt’s subplot was minor in comparison to the others, but marked a huge development in his and Charlie’s lives. Matt goes with Hugh and Sharna to Sydney to try and get social media influencers on board to promote Arcadia beer, however this falls through due to Matt’s ignorance of influencers and the influencers request for money to promote the beer.

Later, much to Hugh’s chagrin, Matt is teaching some of the men at Sharna’s party how to line dance and eventually drinks with them. Later, a drunk Matt calls Charlie to inform her that some of the men he won over at the party have big connections within the brewing industry, and have offered to pay $2 million for a stake in the Brewery.

Overall I felt that the outcome of this minor subplot was predictable, that being said I did enjoy its execution.

Overall I felt that this was a solid penultimate episode as it provided us with plenty to look forward to in the finale. We have Hugh finally admit his love for Penny, only to take a job in Sydney moments later, almost bringing his character journey full circle and to an end. We have Meryl starting to pursue a new chapter in her life with Michael. We have Hayley and Ajax end their marriage amicably, which provides for a variety of possibilities of where they could go next (Hayley could possibly leave town and/or find Tom, I personally don’t see Ajax ever leaving Whyhope), and Matt and Charlie could find themselves to be very wealthy business people.

I’m not sure what’s going to happen in next week’s finale, but I’m looking forward to seeing and reviewing it, and equally sad that this fantastic show is coming to an end.

Stray Observations:

Dora sighting: On the farm eating grass.

-It’s revealed that Floyd never liked Jarrod.

-Hayley and Ajax became a couple when they were 15 years old.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Do you know how angry I am?” “Is that a rhetorical question?” (Penny-Floyd)
• “Floyd, you are a very naughty boy!” “Thanks Ken, I’ve got it covered!” (Ken-Penny on Floyd running away from boarding school)
• “What is on your head?” “It’s a hat, a good hat.” “You look like a city person’s idea of what a country person should look like.” (Hugh-Matt-Hugh on Matt’s outfit he wears to Sydney)
• “I’m fine darling, I would like Michael to leave.” “Shall I get dad’s shotgun?” “Good idea.” (Meryl-Ajax-Meryl on Michael being at the homestead after leaving her on the side of the road)
• “I freed Mrs. Kirby’s toenail, so we’re all kicking goals!” (Penny on the phone to Hugh, telling him about her day)
• “You have to let yourself grow, otherwise your soul perishes.” (Charlie to Hayley)