THIS ARTICLE REFERENCES THE UNMISSABLE DRAMA THAT OCCURRED DURING THE EPISODE THAT AIRED ON THURSDAY OCTOBER 26TH 2023
It has been a challenging few weeks for Jane, returning home early from her UK trip when she found out that the school was under threat of closure, leaving Mike behind. When she came home, friendships were stretched when she discovered that he friend and neighbour Terese Willis was planning to turn the school into a retirement experience. Then there was a huge, public argument with Terese followed by the feeling of hurt when she discovered that Karl Kennedy was considering a job offer at the new centre.
Life isn’t about to get easier for Jane after today discovering that Terese’s bid for the school site has been accepted and the school will close at Christmas. When Jane turns up at No.22 Ramsay Street, to speak with her nemesis, the situation is made even worse when she walks in to see Terese and Toadie celebrating with some (alcohol-free) Champagne.
“Ah, you’re celebrating already, why aren’t I surprised?”
“I’m not here to yell and scream, I just hope that you know what you’ve done. 50 years of learning, helping, developing young people to become valuable contributors to our society…. All of that is going to end. Well, you’ve won and I hope you feel good about that”. You can feel the emptiness that exists inside Jane as she realises she has lost not just the fight, but also her job.
But that isn’t the only major change on the horizon as Mike Young’s fate is sealed. Jane left Mike in the UK two weeks ago to continue his motorbike ride, leaving viewers fearful that a tragedy would prevent Mike from returning to Erinsborough to be with Jane.
Later that day, whilst trying to process the school closure with Sam and Susan, a video call comes through from Mike who is currently in Scotland.
Mike, who lost his Erinsborough High job earlier in the year, reveals to Jane that he has been offered a job in Scotland working as a bike tour guide, taking groups of riders around the country for the next 3 or 4 months. Initially, Mike turns the job down, wanting to return to his Fiancee. When Jane reminds him that both of the couple are now unemployed, she tells him to take the job and that she and his daughter Sam can visit him in the UK at Christmas.
She assures Mike that she will be fine with Sam, supporting each other as Jane deals with the school closure and this is the best option for the family. But the episode ends with Jane looking despondent, considering the impact on losing her school, her job and some of her friends as well as, at least temporarily, he fiancee.
With Guy Pearce’s busy schedule, and the face he now lives in Europe, it was clear that there was never the opportunity for Mike to return as a full-time character with fans speculating how the show would explain his absence and a few months ago, we came up with a number of possible different scenarios on how they would solve the Mike Young problem.
New episodes of Neighbours drop on Amazon Freevee and Amazon Prime Video every Monday to Thursday at 7am.