Michelle and Connor finally got their act together this week. With Carmella out of the picture, and all the history with Lori out in the open, they managed to move on and rekindle their relationship. When word then came through that Connor had been granted residency in Australia, Michelle was thrilled and made the decision that she would not return to New York, but relocate to Erinsborough permanently. Another young couple, Scott and Serena, were also beginning to get closer, despite her reservations. As a gesture of friendship, she lent him a book to help with his studies. However, proud Scott took this as a sign that she was calling him stupid and got angry with her. When he then made her a collage, she was confused, believing that he had made it as a child. However, after staring at it for quite some time, she suddenly noticed that she had it upside-down, and by turning it, she revealed a heart in the middle of the picture, with the letter ‘S’ in the centre of the heart. Teen romances on soaps can often be notoriously bland, but with Scott and Serena, two very different characters, we’ve hopefully got the beginnings of an original and interesting new couple.

Gus managed to worm his way deeper into the Hoyland family this week, but in doing so, he also managed to make himself look a fool. When Summer and Lisa were planning a birthday party for Lisa’s little sister, they mentioned to Gus how they were looking for some entertainment. Constantly endeavouring to be on Summer’s good side, Gus offered his services as a clown. However, when it came to the party, his jokes all fell flat, and Lisa’s mother was furious when ‘Gusso the Clown’ started picking on one of the children for wearing glasses. This led to a furious Gus being told jokingly by Max that he’ll never be the fatherly type when it comes to kids. However, Gus’ week wasn’t all negative. Having been teased by several Coffee Shop regular about the fact that she would never settle down, Izzy decided to prove them all wrong by asking Gus to move in with her. Gus was only too happy to accept, leaving him in the perfect position to move his deadly plans forward. Ben Barrack is doing a great job of making Gus seem normal most of the time, with some equally convincing flashes of insanity unexpectedly breaking the family scenes.

Less convincing as a figure of fear is Rocco Cammeniti. His terrorising of Lou was put on hold this week, while he concentrated on trying to keep his mistress, Sindi. With Toadie now aware of Sindi and Rocco’s relationship, the new couple tried to come up with ways to get Rocco out of their lives. Scott then came up with the perfect idea; Sindi would make herself into such a bogan, that Rocco would dump her immediately. While Sindi did a great job of showing Rocco her ‘real self’, it emerged that Rocco was quite taken with her bad manners and ugg boots. When Rocco then turned up at number 30 while Sindi was there, she was forced to hide under the table while Rocco discussed his divorce with Toadie. She realised that she had no other choice but to be honest, and so, that night, she told Rocco that she’d met someone else and would be ending their relationship. Rocco took the news surprisingly well; probably meaning that he’d be out for revenge as soon as possible. Personally, I think that Sindi and Toadie make a great couple, and I just hope that they can get over this whole Rocco situation as quickly as possible, before somebody dies of boredom.

Lou attempted to escape his debt problems this week by leaving Erinsborough, and letting nobody know of his whereabouts. Sadly, his tactics failed as he found himself in even greater danger. Still desperately unhappy about losing Lolly, and then Trixie, Lou decided that, not knowing where Trixie was hiding out, he would go to John Allen’s home in the country and visit Lolly. However, once he reached the house, he found that it had been abandoned, and a ‘For Lease’ sign had gone up. Devastated, Lou continued to drive, until he found himself running out of petrol in the middle of nowhere. He decided to continue on foot, but was soon forced to give up, as his recent back and kidney operations meant that he couldn’t walk far. Beginning to feel extremely weak, Lou wrote a note for Lolly and then tried to move, but ended up losing his footing on a steep ravine and plunging to the ground. Terrible stunt doubles aside, Lou’s breakdown is making heartbreaking viewing. As he himself has said, it’s sad to watch the once proud Mayor of Erinsborough in this state.

Finally, Susan and Karl found their lives going in wildly different directions this week. Whilst he and old mate Standford lived out their midlife crises together, Susan agreed to go on a date with Brent. Karl’s week ended on a high note, however, as he and Valda won the pool competition at the pub, much to everyone’s surprise. Stuart’s life was also moving on, as he finally cracked under the bullying tactics of Senior Constable Allan Steiger and quit the training programme. Luckily, Constable Steiger visited him at home and managed to talk him round.