Last week we saw the epic “Death in the Outback’ week from Neighbours. Shot in the beautiful landscape of rural South Australia, in these episodes Holly Hoyland and Heath Royce secretly slipped away for a romantic break.
Discovering that Heath was trouble and Holly was at risk, Mackenzie and Haz flew out to where they discovered Holly was staying and got themselves caught up in the drama.
Back in Erinsborough, Melanie and Toadie managed to get themselves kidnapped after being caught snooping in Tess and Heath’s house and discovering the level of embezzlement that had been going on. After being kidnapped, they were taken to the cattle station where Heath was, leading to some unmissable drama.
Holly slowly realised that Heath was more trouble than she first thought and eventually found the building where Mel and Toadie were being held. As they escaped, Heath realised that he was in serious trouble and that was when things really escalated.
Haz and Mack showed up, Heath went on a shooting rampage in the bush, trying to track down Holly, Mel and Toadie. After a close-shave for Holly in a grain silo, Heath met a grizzly end when Holly pushed him into a creek, giving a morning snack to some very hungry crocodiles.
Death count: One.
We then discovered that Mackenzie had been shot in Heath’s rampage and is unconscious.
Toadie, separated from the rest of the group, became overwhelmed by dehydration and heat exhaustion, collapsing on a railway track. His life flash in front of his eyes before he whispered “Don’t go. Take me with you” and closed his eyes.
We know that Heath is dead… but will Mackenzie and Toadie survive?
Ryan Moloney, who has played Toadie for 29 years, announced in June that is leaving the cast of the show, although he has been very tight lipped about what his exit story is. Since the show returned last September, showing his unexpected marriage to Terese, we have seen Toadie struggle to come to terms with his life. In more recent weeks he has struggled with his mental health as he has questioned why he has so many failed relationships behind him.
Is he about to be killed off, leaving Terese behind and leaving Hugo and Nell orphaned?
From teasers released by Neighbours, we know that the life of at least one resident of Ramsay Street hangs in the balance, followed by a family seen imploding from devastating news.
It would be a pretty big move for Neighbours to kill off such an iconic character, but, in Erinsborough, anything is possible.
In our interview with Ryan Moloney, he said that if Toadie was ever killed off, he would want to see him sacrifice himself by jumping on a bomb, shielding his friends and neighbours from the impact of the explosion. A lonely death in the Outback is very different to that, but is this how Toadie will go?
Of course, the other life that could be taken is that of Mackenzie Hargreaves. Caught in the crossfire as Heath went on his rampage, Melanie discovered Mack’s lifeless body amongst the trees.
After a turbulent few years of reuniting with her estranged father, the death of her husband, Hendrix, a challenging relationship with Haz, it really looked like things were on the up for Mackenzie.
The circumstances around Holly’s disappearance made Mack and Haz bond, even leading to each other saying “I love you” on the flight to the Outback.
In the last few weeks, Haz has been making plans for his own future.
Characters finding happiness and making long-term plans is never a good sign. (Just ask David Tanaka. Oh, you can’t. He is dead….)
So, the big question is, Heath is already dead, are we about to say goodbye to Mackenzie or Toadie? Or maybe even both of them…
Neighbours has had stunt weeks with multiple deaths before including the 35th anniversary week in 2020 which included “Neighbours: End Game”. Gary Canning and Prue Wallace met their deaths in separate incidents, thanks to a crossbow-wielding maniac and an exploding hat box. Finn Kelly died in the aftermath, drowning in a watery grave that he had dug for Susan Kennedy.
For the show’s 20th anniversary in 2005, they killed off David, Liljana and Serena Bishop in a plane crash caused by a bomb planted by Paul Robinson’s son, Robert.
So the chance of multiple deaths coming from one incident are very, very possible.
You will have to tune into Neighbours next week to discover if Toadie and Mackenzie survive and what the after-effects are of such a traumatic week for the residents of Erinsborough.
Episodes will stream on Amazon Freevee and Amazon Prime Video from 7am, Monday-Thursday.