Irene seems to be ‘up the Yabbie Creek’ in Home and Away

This week in Summer Bay…

With her baby lie exposed, Felicity is reeling and lays the blame squarely on Mackenzie. She lashes out publicly at her friend over the perceived betrayal. Cash and Eden follow Felicity home, where an oblivious Eden tries to mediate between the two, and Cash has some harsh words for his sister.

Mackenzie checks on Tane at the Gym – is it not too soon for him to be back at work? Tane puts on a brave face, but Mac sees past the façade – breakfast is on her. At Salt, she grills her friend on his future – what’s the plan from here? But when she raises the possibility of working things out, Tane is clear – he didn’t lie. Felicity did, and now it’s over. When the estranged couple finally do come face to face, Felicity pleads for a second chance, but Tane can’t be swayed. He’s been treated like a fool, and she’s broken his heart – seemingly calling time on their marriage for good.

Irene’s sentencing hearing has commenced and she’s fearing the worst. Harper and Dana are there in support and John arrives soon after. Irene’s lawyer warns them the magistrate is a tough cookie. As the hearing begins, Irene is on tenterhooks, and she’s horrified when the prosecution requests the maximum sentence be applied – seven years. The outlook becomes increasingly grim when the magistrate shows little regard for the extenuating circumstances outlined by her lawyer. Things are still getting underway when he announces he’s ready to hand down a sentence. Thinking on her feet, Irene’s lawyer interjects to request that Irene be allowed to give a statement – something she’s unprepared for.

Convinced by her lawyer to proceed with giving a statement, Irene speaks from the heart, justifying why she felt it necessary to break the law. She did it to protect Dana, and she doesn’t regret it. The magistrate adjourns until the following day, and Irene’s lawyer is not optimistic – Could Irene’s candour have swayed the judge? Or will she be doing some Prisoner: Cell Block H?

The magistrate will be handing down Irene’s sentence first thing tomorrow morning, and John, Harper and Dana try to buoy Irene as she fears for the worst. Convinced she’s heading to prison, Irene savours her final phone calls with her family. She gives John a pass to head home, but he knows better than to leave her side and she’s glad to have him there. The following morning, everyone braces for the magistrate’s decision, and Irene is floored when he delivers his verdict – she is completely and unreservedly exonerated, and all charges are dropped.

With Justin still recovering in hospital, Leah is rocked by harrowing nightmares about her ordeal with Vita Nova. She wakes in the night, believing there are noises outside, and wasting no time in calling the police. On arrival, Rose quickly establishes there’s no threat. And besides, they arrested everyone in the cult. Leah brushes it off as a mistake on her part, but the next day at the Coffee Cart she’s short with Rose when she suggests getting further help. After everything she’s been through, is Leah really okay?

Alf humbly reflects on his Distinguished Service Award with Mali – there are a dozen other names that could be up there with his, he reckons. But he’s touched by the recognition. Meanwhile, Roo tells Marilyn that the Coastal News want to run a story on Alf’s service to the club – she’s sure he’ll grumble about it, but she’s excited to tell him nonetheless. True to form, Alf shuts the interview request down immediately, but Ruth remains optimistic – “He always says no before he says yes” she tells Marilyn. But after another failed attempt to win Alf over, Roo comes up with Plan B – she gets the interview questions emailed to her and will answer them herself. But is Roo playing with fire by impersonating Alf Stewart?

Roo’s plotting continues, and she ropes Mali in to snap a photo of Alf next to his plaque, “for the club newsletter”. When Marilyn learns that Roo is now lying to both Alf and Mali, she again tries to warn her friend against the idea. But Roo is determined to go ahead and honour her dad, even without his knowledge. When Rose shows Alf the Coastal News article about his service award, he’s quick to confront Roo with a new quote – “Father about to throttle daughter”. Alf demands Roo have the article retracted first thing the next day, but will Roo oblige?

Justin is finally home from the hospital and under strict instructions to rest up, so he sends Theo to a jeweller in Yabbie Creek to pick out an engagement ring for Leah. When Theo returns with Rose, Leah is clearly rattled by her presence, and she again snaps when Rose tries to enquire about her wellbeing. At a romantic dinner at Salt later on, Justin surprises his fiancée with the ring and the couple are closer than ever…

That night however, Leah is again haunted by vivid nightmares of their kidnap and Justin’s subsequent health crisis. When Justin wakes, he notices she’s taken off her ring, but Leah lies that everything’s ok. The next day, Rose tries to apologise to Leah and can’t help but admire the ring, but Justin notices their tense interaction as Leah withdraws from Rose. When he gets a moment alone with Alf, Justin confides his fears – “What if she’s having second thoughts? What if giving her the ring was a big mistake?”.

Alf counsels Justin over his fears about Leah – if Justin had been awake to see her at his bedside every day during his ordeal, there’d be no doubt in his mind that Leah wanted to marry him. Later, Alf spills the beans to Leah, and she’s quick to reassure her partner. But if it isn’t doubts about the wedding, Justin wonders, what’s going on with Leah?

Not wanting to worry Justin, Leah lies about the reason for her state of mind – she’s stressed about the wedding planning and making everything perfect. Justin accepts the excuse and even tries to rope Theo in to further help with the nuptials, but a frantic Leah runs to Bree looking for help from her friend. Confessing to Bree about her nightmares, she pleads with her for something to help her sleep. Bree agrees to prescribe something, but when she floats the idea of therapy, Leah becomes overwhelmed and runs out. When she runs into Justin, she again lies about where she’s been. Can Leah open up and get the help she needs?

Remi wants to ride the wave of Lyrik’s social media momentum and book their first gig back before their upcoming radio spot, so he and Kirby front up at Salt with a pitch for Xander – Lyrik play a gig there, tonight. Xander’s arm is easily twisted, and the band are ready to make their big comeback! That night, they play at Salt to a full house – Lyrik is back, baby!

Tane is channelling his anguish into the gym amidst his split with Felicity, but reluctantly allows Mackenzie to tempt him upstairs to the Lyrik gig at Salt. When Felicity decides to pop into work though, she’s met with the sight of her ex propping up the bar and bails in distress. When Mac fills Tane in that Felicity has been and gone, his own pain is reactivated, and soon he too has bailed on the gig and is settling back into the Gym office for the night…

When Tane comes by the house the next day to collect some things, Felicity comes home, and the recently separated lovers find themselves face to face. Felicity naively hopes her husband might be moving back in, but Tane hits her with a reality check – he’s cancelled the purchase of their land in New Zealand, and he’s made alternate accommodation arrangements. “We’re done”, he tells her again, and Felicity crumbles. When she sees Mackenzie handing over her housekeys to Tane later, she explodes on her business partner – she’s obviously taking sides! But Felicity is emotionally stung, unprepared when Mackenzie counters – “I’m not making it easy for your husband to leave you. You did that on your own”.

Remi has been working up the nerve to invite Bree to a party – his parents’ wedding anniversary no less. And it’s tonight! “Bree Cameron”, he asks her, “will you meet my parents?”. Bree laughs – he hasn’t done this very often, has he? Never, Remi admits. He’s never had a girlfriend before who he wanted them to meet. “Until you”. And Bree can’t say no to that…

Home and Away airs 1:45pm on Channel 5 and 6pm on 5STAR. First-look screenings air at 6:30pm on 5STAR and the series also streams on My5.