Susan and Father Tom’s friendship continued to blossom, despite displays of jealousy from Lyn. Last week’s cliffhanger of Tom confronting his sister-in-law about their past feelings for each other was resolved early on, with Lyn admitting she fancied him when she first got to know Joe, and Tom revealed that all the Scully boys had an eye for Lyn – but that in the end they both made the right choices in choosing their futures. Lyn, however, still felt uneasy about his and Susan’s closeness, especially when, after a day of voluntary maintenance at Erinsborough High, Tom chose to stay late into the night at Susan’s as they chatted over drinks. Their night-time chatter ended abruptly, however, when Tom misunderstood a comment made by Susan about devotion to the priesthood, and they parted awkwardly. It wasn’t until later in the week, when they took their respective families’ toddlers out for walks, that they both met up again and managed to talk openly about the slight tension between them. When Lyn discovered they had spent the day together while she sat writing a psychology assignment, her envy of their closeness escalated.

Just as Susan’s life began to move on, so did Karl’s. Back from Queensland, he reported that Billy, like his sister, had not taken the news of the relationship with Isabelle well. Worried about the effect on his family, Karl suggested that perhaps he and Izzy being a couple was not a good idea after all, which prompted a selfish Izzy to storm out in a temper. It wasn’t until a little later, and after a potentially dangerous meeting with Gus when Karl came to Izzy’s defence that they decided to make a go of their relationship. Luckily for Izzy, Gus didn’t let slip about her pregnancy to the Doctor, so, for now, her secret scheming is safe. Continuing to cast her opinionated eye over the street, though, Lyn took a further dislike to the Coffee Shop’s half-owner when Jack admitted to having had a fling with Izzy before Christmas. Due to the long-running nature of this storyline, there is little new commentary that can be made on it, except to applaud the continuing ability for it to keep the viewers’ attention with a mix of recurring plot devices, e.g. Gus, and unexpected twists and turns, such as Karl’s lust for Izzy being disguised as love in the face of criticism.

Serena and Scott became an official couple early in the week after David almost caught his daughter taking the family car out for a joy ride. Being sprung by her father, and his subsequent unfair blaming of Scott for the incident, made the teens more determined than ever to be together, and they declared their love openly. Liljana, meanwhile, was becoming increasingly bemused, and latterly concerned by David’s behaviour, and he continued to act oddly around her, as if hiding something. She was alarmed when reading his coffee grounds revealed he was hiding something from her after all. This storyline is taken straight from the ‘classic Neighbours pot’, in that seemingly seedy, secretive behaviour arouses everyone’s suspicions, until it’s revealed to be something entirely harmless. In this instance, David’s secretive carryings on behind his wife’s back harks back to the early 1990s when Philip Martin secretly hired a personal trainer to increase his fitness, much to the relief of Gaby and Julie who assumed he was being unfaithful.

Still missing Madeleine and Lori, Connor was overjoyed when not only did Lou offer him a couple of days off work to visit them outside the city, but he also donated some of Louise’s old toys and clothes for him to take. Indebted to him, Connor asked Lou to become an ‘unofficial’ grandfather to Maddy. However, Lou’s week was otherwise a miserable one, when he was formally charged with fraud in relation to the horse-race fixing scam with Rocco. Tidings of great joy came to the street mid-week, however, as Toadfish emerged from his coma. Sindi was initially upset, though, when in his dazed state he addressed her as “Dee”. After a chat with Libby about losing Drew, and after Toadie declared his love to her, Sindi perked up again, and the concentrated on getting Jarrod well again. Thankfully, with Rocco out of the picture, this storyline can now concentrate on being dramatic, instead of the previous “neither fish-nor-fowl” situation that arose as a result of the pseudo-Godfather music and comedic fighting scenes that followed Rocco around like a bad smell. With Lou heading for a further legal trouble as a result of the fraud, it looks like some decently gripping and convincing material can be salvaged from this storyline after all.

And, finally, wedding fever hit the street as Max and Stephanie began making finalised plans for the big day. Steph, Libby and Susan went on a wedding dress shopping mission, only to discover former agent Melody Jones in her new role as outfitter and a host of ugly, expensive dresses. Later, Max and Steph had a chat, in which they both opened their hearts and expressed their personal desires for the perfect wedding. Compromising, they settled on a simple, yet stylish ceremony with close family and friends, and an outdoor reception. With Gus now out of the picture and Stephanie fully well again, the wedding plans can continue full pace!