Episode
Title: Last Minute Scratching
Carmella throws a cake in Elle’s face. Izzy begs Pete to give her another chance. Dylan helps Paul up from the cliff. Karl and Susan arrive at ‘the Ritz Hostel’. Ned suggests to Elle that they run away together, to get away from Paul’s influence.
At number 22, Elle is on the phone to Ned, telling him that she won’t run away as she’s on the verge of having it all with Oliver. Ned calls her a monster, but she hangs up to answer the door. It’s Oliver, who’s come to see if Elle’s ok after Carmella’s cake attack. Oliver thinks that Carmella’s behaviour was terrible, but Elle defends her as someone who’s just had her heart broken. Oliver is impressed with Elle and says that she’s a better person than he is. He suggests making them some dinner, but she quickly asks him to leave, claiming that she needs some time alone. Once he’s gone, she starts to look worried.
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Izzy waits by the Thames and Pete approaches her. She starts telling him about a great bikini she’s found for their trip to Croatia, but looks worried when he hands her a cheque. She realises that she’s being bought off, but he says that he can’t handle the bad press, he’s losing sponsors and his wife, Alicia, is fighting dirty. Izzy tries to convince him to fight back, but he says that he and Alicia are leaving town for a few weeks. He says goodbye and Izzy, upset, screws up the cheque.
At number 30, Frazer tells Oliver that clearly they were both crazy to date a Cammeniti, just as Rosie and Pepper return home, having left an inconsolable Carmella at the Cammeniti house. Oliver is shocked to hear that Pepper saw him kissing Elle and passed the information on to Carmella, but Frazer says that Oliver owed Carmella nothing anyway. Rosie is appalled and Frazer starts ranting at her about how she’s judgemental and if Oliver doesn’t want to be with a criminal like Carmella, he shouldn’t have to be. Rosie delivers a slap at this point, and Oliver tells Frazer that they should maybe go down to the bar. As he goes, Frazer tells Rosie that just because she and Carmella can’t be happy, they needn’t drag everyone else down with them.
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At number 28, Rachel and Zeke are busy burning dinner, and Zeke decides that they should have had takeaway, as the smoke alarm goes off. Rachel starts flapping the front door to try and get rid of some of the smoke, and the entire thing wakes up Toadie, who wanders in from the bedroom asking what’s going on. Zeke wants to know what they’re going to tell Susan and Karl when they call, and, seconds later, they do. Toadie puts them on speakerphone, as Susan and Karl speak from a crowded London street. Toadie jokes about parties and underage drinking, while Zeke says ‘hi’ and quickly leaves, claiming to have homework to do. Rachel looks worried as she tells Susan that she misses her, then Toadie makes an excuse and ends the call.
At the hostel, Karl and Susan return and are talking about their plans to go to the markets the next day. Susan wants to look at the guidebook, and hands Karl some chips wrapped in newspaper that she’d been eating, when he spots Izzy’s face on the paper, with the headline ‘Gartside’s Offside! Aussie Fluff Unmasked!’ Susan is suitably stunned.
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At number 22, Paul anxiously arrives home, covered in scratches and bruises, and finds Elle waiting for him. She says she was worried, then notices the labels on his new suit and says that he should have told her if he was going shopping. Paul asks how things are going with Oliver and she says, with little conviction, that she’s slowly reeling him in. Paul hugs his confused daughter and says that they’re going to get through it.
At the bar, Frazer and Oliver are sitting having a drink, and Oliver says that he thinks he and Elle might have potential. Milly then comes in and Frazer doesn’t know what to do as he’s just accused her of stealing. He decides to try to apologise to her, blaming Rosie for everything. Milly agrees to give him another chance, and they’re ordering drinks, when Rosie and Pepper come in. Frazer jokingly orders a cup of warm milk for the girls, and Rosie tells him to get over himself. Frazer accuses Rosie of punishing people because she’s miserable, but Pepper says that he and Oliver are the ones who are miserable. Frazer points out that they’ve both got social lives, then asks if Rosie and Pepper are planning to spend the night with chocolate and a Heath Ledger DVD. They deny this, but as the boys walk away, Pepper announces that DVD night is off and they need to fight fire with fire.
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At number 30, a party is in full swing, as Rosie goes around warning people to clean up behind themselves. Pepper suddenly appears, looking guilty, and Rosie realises that she’s been with Paul. Rosie calls her a masochistic idiot with no self-esteem. Rosie isn’t really enjoying the party, and Frazer and Oliver aren’t too impressed either, as they return with Milly. Pepper says that this is their social life, and Frazer runs off as Oliver tells him that some of the guests are using his suits for a fashion parade. Milly then walks over to Rosie and says that Frazer was right about her being immature.
In London, Susan is choosing postcards to send to Libby and Ben, while Karl reads his guidebook. She goes to pay, and Karl is stunned to find himself standing next to Michael Parkinson. Karl is thrilled to see him and starts telling him how wonderful he is and how much he loves his interviews. He asks Parky to sign the guidebook and he duly obliges, before noticing Pete Gartside’s signature in there too. He mentions that he’d love to interview him, or his Aussie mistress and, picking up on Karl’s accent, asks if he could pull a few strings. Karl awkwardly jokes that it’s a big country and he doesn’t know everyone that lives there. Parky then goes to pay for his newspaper, telling Karl to say hi to Dame Edna. Susan then comes back, devastated to have missed meeting Parky, but Karl is more concerned with why Izzy is on the front of all of the newspapers. Susan says that clearly “Isabelle is involved in a tawdry relationship with a married man… it’s ended in disaster… it’s hardly news!” Karl is annoyed that she’s in London, but Susan thinks that she must just live there now, as she wouldn’t bother stalking them. As Karl goes to pay for the newspaper, Susan is stunned to come face to face with Isabelle.
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At number 22, Paul is surprised to learn that Elle has been fighting with Carmella, but she explains that stealing Carmella’s boyfriend didn’t help relations. Oliver then arrives at the door. Elle tries to get rid of him, but Paul invites him in and asks if he’d like any breakfast. Oliver asks if he could use the bathroom, as someone’s passed out in theirs. As Oliver goes upstairs, Paul confronts Elle about her attempts to get rid of Oliver, and Elle admits that she’s feeling guilty as he’s so nice. She tells Paul that the way he encourages her to hurt people is wrong. Paul then admits that he nearly died the day before – Dylan pushed him off a cliff because he didn’t see it coming. He tells Elle that he doesn’t want anything like that to happen again, so they have to stay focused.
At number 30, Frazer and Milly are awake and he explains that he has to go down to the racetrack to watch the time trials. Pepper then walks past with a few random partygoers and says that they’re all going for a swim, but she can’t invite Frazer and Milly, as she’s Rosie’s friend. Milly goes back to bed, while Frazer finds Rosie in the kitchen. He’s looking for the number of a taxi firm as Bessie is playing up, but Rosie says that she’s helping Carmella with her fruit deliveries, so she could give Frazer a lift. He’s suspicious of her being nice to him, but she apologises for hitting him. He then apologises for provoking her.
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In London, Izzy and Susan are standing away from the newspaper stand. Izzy explains that she loves Pete and he’s stuck in a marriage with a woman who’s been cheating on him for years. Susan asks Izzy why she can’t give her side of the story to the press, but she doesn’t want to make things worse for Pete. Izzy says that it’s great to see a familiar face and Susan comforts her with a hand on her shoulder, but Izzy warns her that the paparazzi could be lurking, and she has no idea what they’d make of this. Karl then comes over to Susan, talking about the shocking stuff about Izzy in the newspaper, not realising that the woman herself is standing right there. He isn’t happy to see her, and asks if her inability to conceive was just another lie. Susan drags Karl off, telling him that Izzy’s in trouble and explaining, unconvinced, that the baby’s father is just some guy from Lassiter’s. Susan says that they have to try and help Izzy.
At number 28, Rachel and Zeke are having breakfast, as Toadie speaks to Steph on the phone, telling her that he’s fine about what’s happened and they all need to start moving on with their lives, without Stingray. After hanging up, Toadie sits down on the sofa and Rachel and Zeke look at each other, before going to join him. He insists that he’s fine, but they point out that he hasn’t got dressed, or showered, in days. He says that none of that will bring Stingray back, and starts to cry as Zeke tells him that he needs to grieve. Toadie doesn’t want to cry, but then he breaks down.
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At the race track, Frazer is making notes as the horses go by, and he says hi to a little girl who walks past with her dog. Rosie says that she needs to get going, but first, asks Frazer not to talk to Milly about her. Frazer is confused, but Rosie says that Milly mentioned her being immature. Frazer insinuates that her current behaviour is proving that, before accusing her of talking about him to Pepper. Rosie claims that it’s different, as Pepper is her best friend and, besides, he talks to Oliver in the same way. Frazer wonders why they always end up arguing, and Rosie claims it’s because they hate each other. Frazer says that he can’t hate Rosie, though he’s tries, and is about to confess something else when he spots the little girl run out onto the track after her dog. Frazer sees the horses coming and runs out to save her. The girl, however, runs off and Frazer is trampled by the horses, as Rosie screams his name and races over to his lifeless body.
Regular Cast Credits
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Summary
by Steve