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Magic Moments
> 2014
> Paige's Identity Revealed
Episode 6943
Written
by Emma J Steele, Directed
by Scott Major, Produced
by Jason Herbison
Channel Eleven: 06/08/14, Channel 5: 20/08/14
Toadie is rushed into hospital following Paige and Kathy’s accident... Karl tells Lauren that Kathy may not be here without Paige’s quick reactions... Karl discovers that Paige’s surname is Smith, not Novak...
Matt wonders why Kathy’s pills were in Paige’s bag, rather than hers... Paige rushes to leave Erinsborough, leaving behind both the teddies for Lauren to find...
Lauren rushes out onto the street with the two teddy bears, shouting ‘Hello?’ in the hope that whoever left them is still in the vicinity. She spots Mark and frantically asks him if he’s seen a young girl or a young woman hanging around.
Mark tells Lauren to calm down, and says that he hasn’t, but is surprised to see Lauren holding the teddy bears that Paige had. Lauren asks how he knows about the bears.
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Lauren and Mark head inside number 24, Lauren is screaming for Paige. Mark, confused, asks if the teddies were Lauren’s – Lauren tells Mark that one of them was. Lauren
asks Mark if he knows where Paige is, but he doesn’t and asks her to tell him what is going on. Lauren explains Paige has been in an accident, and carries on looking for her. Mark spots a note on the counter from Paige, leaving
her house keys and money for the rent. Lauren runs over to the printer, where Paige has left a sheet of paper with plane ticket details. Realising Paige has gone to the airport, Lauren rushes off to catch up with her, leaving Mark totally puzzled.
Paige is walking hurriedly while on the phone to a taxi company – she’s desperate for them to send a cab, but they’re too busy at the moment. She tells them to forget it and hangs up.
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At the hospital, Matt, Amber and Bailey wait by Kathy’s bedside. Daniel arrives, and Amber gets up to hug him. Matt looks awkward, as Amber explains to Daniel that Kathy’s still
unconscious but doing okay. Matt sends everyone out to the cafeteria to get some food, but while they’re gone, Kathy begins to wake up. Matt explains to Kathy that she’s in hospital following her car accident and heart attack but she’s going to be ok. Kathy asks
Matt about Paige and Matt tells Kathy that Paige is fine, and checked herself out a while ago.
Paige is waiting in a queue as a bus for the airport rolls up. Lauren is in her car, stuck behind traffic nearby, and bangs the steering wheel in frustration. Paige looks around sadly as she prepares to board the bus, and Lauren watches her, powerless to stop
her because of the traffic. The bus drives off.
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Back at the hospital, a fevered Kathy continues to talk to Matt; she tells Matt that he has to find Paige! Matt enquires why and Kathy declares that she is not who she
says she is. Matt looks worried.
Paige is on the bus, looking sad, when Lauren, who’s following in her car, starts beeping the horn. She drives up alongside, shouting, and Paige sees her. The bus continues on its way, but Lauren overtakes it and parks in the middle of the road, blocking
the bus’s progress, just as it’s about to cross the Erinsborough City boundary. Lauren leaps out of the car and rushes over to the bus. Paige steps off the bus and the two just stare at each other emotionally.
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Shortly afterwards, Paige and Lauren are sitting on the kerb. Lauren begins “So you kept it a secret throughout all our conversations”. Paige explains “And the longer I left it,
the harder it was to speak up. I was so scared that if I told you the truth, you’d hate me”. Lauren smiles and turns to Paige, reassuring her “You’re my daughter”. Lauren starts to recall how they first met in Harold’s, and how she felt a connection
with Paige even then. Paige tells Lauren that she felt it too. Lauren explains that she’s frustrated for not working it out sooner, but Paige reminds Lauren that she was dishonest about it. Lauren touches Paige’s face and says “Darling.
darling girl, I gave birth to you. Look at you now. And I can see it. I can see it – I mean you’ve got Brad’s looks more than mine, but – you and me, we’re part of each other”. “Aren’t you angry?” is Paige’s emotional reply, Lauren shakes her head
and tells her no. Paige informs Lauren that she wanted to come clean so many times. Lauren says to Paige “I want you to know. I never – I never gave you up. I would never do that”. Paige admits she already knew that, Bailey told her the whole story
about how Kathy arranged the adoption. Paige explains that she’s been spending time with Kathy to get inside her head, and try to understand why she did it. However, she found out who she was and the shock of that brought on her heart attack. Paige
declares that it’s all her fault; Lauren reassures Paige that this isn’t about blame and they should be glad that she’s still here and that they’ve finally found each other. Paige declares that she was so scared and Lauren admits that she was too, as
she thought she had lost her forever. Lauren starts to cry, and Paige asks what happens now. Lauren tells Paige that there’s someone else they need to talk to, she then kisses and hugs Paige.
At number 22, Brad is surprised and puzzled when Lauren turns up with Paige. Brad shows them inside, Brad asks Lauren what is going on and Lauren says to Brad “Err. Well, this is Paige”. Brad sees that Lauren and Paige are each holding the teddies and
slowly he realises what's going on. Lauren tells Brad “This is our daughter”. Brad looks happy and intrigued.
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Soon after, the three of them are chatting, and Paige asks Brad if he’s angry that she lied. He’s not, but is just trying to understand. Brad learns that Ethan is Paige’s brother, and
that Paige made him leave so Brad wouldn’t recognise him from Adelaide. Brad says that when he met Ethan in Adelaide, he was so convincing when he claimed that their family weren’t the right Smiths; Paige tells Brad that he was just looking out for her, as she didn’t
know at that point whether she even wanted to look for them. Lauren tells Paige they were worried about what sort of life she’d ended up with - Paige explains that it was true her adoptive parents are overseas, but they've been separated for a long time. Lauren
asks Paige what were they like, and whether they were good to her. Paige comments that they gave her everything money could buy, but not much else. Brad tells Paige that it would have been easier for everyone if she had told them from the start, and Paige admits
she went about things the wrong way. However, Lauren remarks that the most important thing is that they found her after all that time searching, “We’ve found our daughter! She’s here!” Lauren announces happily. Brad agrees with Lauren, adding that it is pretty
amazing. Paige wonders how the rest of the families will react; Lauren thinks they’ll be surprised, but will get used to it in time. Brad thinks they should tell them soon, but Paige asks if they can just sit here for a bit first. Lauren and Brad are happy to.
In the Lassiter’s Complex, Matt catches up with Terese and asks if she’s spoken to Brad in the last hour, as he wants to know whether Lauren’s spoken to him. Matt reveals that Kathy told him something, but he thinks they should discuss it as a group. However,
Terese insists Matt tells her what it is. Matt says to Terese “It’s Paige. She’s Lauren and Brad’s daughter”. Terese laughs and tells Matt that is just ridiculous... she see’s Matt’s face and realises he’s serious, Matt announces to Terese that they need to find
them.
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Back at number 22, Paige, Lauren and Brad seem to be getting along really well, as Brad reminisces about Paige coming into the gym for the first time – not knowing then that
she knew who he was. Lauren comments that they should call Matt and Terese now, but at that moment, the pair walk in. Terese reveals that they know the truth about Paige. Matt adds that Kathy has woken up; Brad proclaims that this situation has come as a
shock to all of them. Terese adds that it’s quite a story; Paige tells her that it’s not a story. Terese asks Paige why she didn’t say anything when she first got here, and Paige explains that she was worried that some people wouldn’t accept her. “Oh well I can’t
imagine why” is Terese’s quick reply. Lauren explains how the matching teddies prove Paige’s story. Terese says “Well – isn’t this a win-win?! You’re either an impostor or a girl who lied about her identity for months”. Paige marches off into the kitchen. Lauren
says to Terese “Did you have to be like that?” “What? Don’t tell me you’re both ok with this?” Terese replies sharply. Lauren comments that they are trying to process everything, and heads into the kitchen to reassure a worried Paige, but Matt follows and
tells them that he has questions too, asking if Paige was going to leave the state. Paige confirms she was going to as she thought it would be better for everybody. Lauren announces that they’re glad she didn’t and looks over to Brad who puts his arm around
Terese, however she pushes it off. Sensing extreme tension, Paige decides to leave the two couples alone for a while to discuss it, claiming she’s tired. Terese says, loudly, “Hmm. Never a dull moment!”
At number 24, Mark is reading Paige’s note, when there’s a knock at the door. It’s Paige, back with all her bags. She says that she forgot her key, then starts crying, and Mark hugs her.
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Matt and Lauren arrive at the hospital to visit Kathy, where Bailey, Amber and Daniel are sitting with her. Lauren’s smiling, Kathy promises she didn’t say anything, and the kids
wonder what’s going on. Sensing the family need some space, Daniel hugs Amber and leaves them to it. Lauren starts by telling Amber and Bailey that they’ve found their missing sister. Both Amber and Bailey are shocked and start asking questions. Lauren
announces that she has been here all along and tells them it’s Paige!. The smile drops from Amber’s face, and she says “Please tell me you are joking! As far as jokes go, this one would be really sick!”. However Lauren confirms that it isn’t a joke, there’s
plenty of evidence and they’ll be getting a DNA test to prove it. Kathy asks Lauren if she has spoken to Paige and Lauren confirms that they had a long chat. Amber rushes off to go and see Paige, claiming she needs to talk to her now – shouting at Lauren when she
tries to stop her. Bailey heads out to follow her in the hope of calming the situation. Kathy mentions to Lauren that Bailey was telling her that Paige saved her life, and Lauren confirms that she did.
At number 22, Terese and Brad are sitting out on the patio, discussing how Imogen and Josh will react to the news about Paige. Terese suspects that they’ll be angry as Paige has been amongst them all this time, watching them, talking to them and gathering information.
Terese comments that they might feel violated. Brad, shocked at what Terese has just said, wonders if that's what she feels. “Don’t you?!” is Terese’s reply. Brad admits Paige handled it wrongly, but thinks they should be understanding about her duplicity,
rather than being negative. Terese announces that she’s trying not to be negative, but she just doesn’t know who the hell Paige is and now she’s part of the family - is she supposed to go “hooray!?”. Brad comments that none of them know, but they should try and
keep an open mind. Terese tells Brad that she understands that he wants to make this work but she thinks they have to make sure they look after their own kids too. She then storms back inside.
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Paige enters number 24, to find Bailey and Amber waiting for her, wanting to talk. Bailey seems conciliatory, but Amber wants explanations about why Paige lied to them. Paige starts
by apologising; she declares that she just wanted them to like her before she told them who she was. Bailey comments that he likes her and she’s been really nice to him, especially when he was going through some trouble, she set him straight. Paige tells Bailey
that she couldn’t let her little brother go into some dumb downward spiral. However, Amber is not as kind and wants to know why she kissed Daniel in front of her, Paige tells Amber that she was just testing her, she was with Josh at the time and she didn’t want
her to make a mistake, Paige admits that she didn’t go about it the right way, but adds that she really likes them and now they are sort of a part of each other’s lives now they can start over. Paige’s phone rings. It’s Ethan, Paige quickly explains that Ethan is her
brother and Amber says “Oh, great. The surprises just keep coming!” While Paige goes in her room to talk to Ethan, Amber finds Paige’s sketchbook and starts flicking through it. She sees the sketches of the family, with Kathy labelled as ‘Grandma Witch’, Bailey
as ‘Loveable Nerd’…… and Amber as ‘Princess Skank’. Amber, not happy with what she has seen, says to Bailey “This is a burn book! Everything she just said then was rubbish. She hates us!”
At the Turner house, Lauren has her feet up and is staring into space holding one of the teddies and a photograph, when Brad arrives to speak to her.
At the Willis house, Matt arrives to see how Terese is coping, adding that he's just seen Brad go into number 32.
Back at number 32, Lauren tells Brad how Amber reacted badly to the news about Paige, but Bailey was his usual level-headed self. Lauren knows Matt is finding it difficult too, even though he’s doing and saying the right things.
Over at number 22, Matt says to Terese “It’s not that I’m not happy for them. Looking for their daughter’s been a long, hard road and it’s a miracle they’ve found her at all. It’s just that it is Paige”.
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Lauren says to Brad “I mean, don’t get me wrong. Everyone’s entitled to their own reaction, whatever that may be. But I don’t want the burden falling on Paige. I mean, she might
put up a tough front. But deep down she’s just a – she’s just a scared little girl who’s just desperate to be loved. And we have to do whatever we can to protect her”.
Terese says to Matt “I don’t trust her. And I’ve felt like that from the moment she arrived. But of course I can’t say that to Brad”. Matt tells Terese that he found Kathy’s pills in Paige’s bag and comments that if Kathy had been able to take one, it may
have prevented her from having the heart attack and crashing the car. Terese asks Matt if he thinks that Paige took the pills on purpose and Matt comments that Paige gave a plausible enough excuse, but he feels the same as her - that there’s something that
doesn’t feel right.
Back at number 32, Lauren shares her worries to Brad “Paige is gonna come under a lot of fire. And I’m worried. I’m really worried that if it gets too much she’ll just – she’ll pack her bags and leave. And I couldn’t cope if we lost her again”. Brad agrees.
Over at number 22, Terese says to Matt, “She’s a liar. And if she deliberately withheld Kathy’s medication, what sort of person is she? Matt, if you care about Lauren the same way I care about Brad, then we need to get rid of her."
Featured Regular Characters: Lauren Turner, Matt Turner, Amber Turner, Bailey Turner, Brad Willis, Terese Willis, Mark Brennan, Daniel Robinson
Guest Cast: Olympia Valance as Paige Smith, Tina Bursill as Kathy Carpenter,
Roy Edmunds as Bus Driver, Szumai Anderson as Lauren Stunt Driver Double
Trivia Notes
• Paige's surname has been changed from Novak to Smith in the closing credits
• Bizarrely, the ‘Welcome to Erinsborough’ sign is displayed when the bus is leaving Erinsborough
• Lauren’s stunt driver double, Szumai Anderson has played both Lauren and her mum Kathy in the same week
• Paige's note to Brennan reads ‘To Brennan, I gotta move on, thanks for everything. Paige’
Comment
A very strong episode, the whole Lauren-and-Brad's-long-lost-daughter storyline has been very well handled from the start, with good pacing, and that has just
continued in this revelation episode. I am glad the reveal has finally happened. It's been so cleverly built up, to the point that the audience totally understands Paige's motivations and why she did what she did. My favourite scenes of
the episode would have to be from the moment when Lauren spots Paige getting on the bus to the point where Brad, Lauren and Paige were hanging out on the couch together after breaking the news to Brad that Paige is his daughter! I found
the scenes with Lauren and Paige when she first got off of the bus so emotional and moving. Quite simple, yet incredibly effective and no words were needed to communicate in those moments. The acting in those scenes from Olympia Valance
and Kate Kendall was simply flawless.
Summary
by Kyle
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