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Magic Moments
> 2019
> Sonya's Memorial
Episode 8056
Written
by Sandy Webster, Directed
by Kate Kendall, Produced
by Natalie Mandel and Natalie Lynch
Channel Eleven: 11/03/19, Channel 5: 11/03/19
A weakened Sonya tells Toadie that she wants a memorial by the lake when she dies, not a funeral... Plans are underway as to who will give speeches at the
memorial service... Susan feels guilty at how long Finn has been in a coma and wants to go and see him... Elly discovers that Mark has called the wedding off
and drowns her sorrows with some wine... Elly makes a move on Chloe and they decide to take things further...
At no. 24, a worried Elly removes herself from Chloe's bed before dressing quickly, but she is unable to prevent Chloe from waking up as she does so. Chloe
is understanding of Elly's need to leave before David and Aaron get home and as Elly prepares to exit the house, she has a sudden flashback of herself and
Chloe taking things further last night. She also notices a photograph of her and Mark smiling and picks it up. She stares at it for a short while before
putting it down and leaving the house.
 ..
Over at the hospital, Susan signs herself in with the police guard and precedes to enter Finn's hospital room, saying a strained hello to him. Finn replies
and asks Susan if they know each other, but Susan decides to keep her cards close to her chest and simply describes herself as an old work colleague. Relieved
to find someone that knows him, Finn wants to know how he ended up in Erinsborough hospital and why there is a guard outside his door, but Susan is
uncomfortable with his line of questioning. After Finn asks Susan for her name, she becomes decidedly more panicked and decides to leave the room, despite
Finn's requests for her to stay.
Returning home to no. 28, Susan informs Elly about her trip to see Finn, drawing the conclusion that she wasn't sure if he was faking his memory loss or
not. Still feeling upset after her night with Chloe and Mark's disappearance, Elly becomes angry at Susan's news regarding Finn and admits that things are
just too much for her. Susan is taken aback by Elly's reaction and asks her if everything is okay, to which Elly reveals that Mark has gone missing and
therefore the wedding is off. She goes on to reveal to Susan that Mark couldn't even phone her to let her know that he couldn't go ahead with the wedding,
leaving Susan to console her niece. Overcome by the day's events, Elly decides to head to bed so that she can be there for Toadie and the kids at Sonya's
memorial tomorrow.
 ..
 ..
The next day there are flowers and photographs of Sonya at the Lassiters Park as various residents including David, Aaron, Paul, Piper, Ned, Shane, Dipi,
Leo, Chloe and Gary start to gather for the memorial service, wearing bright colours in adherence to Sonya's wish for them not to be dressed in black. A
few guests have also arrived including Lucas and Vanessa, who share a hug with a grieving Jade who is struggling to comprehend the loss of her sister as
well as her parents. Meanwhile Chloe notices Elly at the memorial service but there is a silent acknowledgement between the two of them that they should
wait until after the ceremony to talk about last night's events.
Toadie and Callum arrive for the memorial service; they share a hug as Toadie tries to reassure Callum with words of comfort. He also goes to give Nell a
hug as she is brought over by Dipi, whilst acknowledging the arrival of Willow who has decided to make the trip over to pay her respects. He tells Willow
how happy Sonya would be to see her here, and then tries to lighten the mood by complimenting Nell on her dress. Understanding of how difficult this must be
for his children, Toadie makes sure that everyone is okay before they head over to begin the memorial service, with friends and residents already gathered to
watch proceedings.
 ..
 ..
The memorial service begins as Susan announces to those gathered that today is to be a celebration of Sonya's life, as requested by Toadie and his family.
She then moves away to allow Toadie to make his way to the front to talk about SonyaŐs life. He begins his eulogy:
"There were times in Sonya's life where she had to fight hard to find joy. But she was fierce, and she found it."
He then talks directly to his children, assuring them that Sonya loves them so much and even though she is gone the love she had for them is still alive and
within them, both beautiful and strong. Turning back to the rest of the mourners he admits that he and Sonya didn't get the miracle they were hoping for in
beating the disease, but he believes that there is hope for other women fighting a similar fight and having everyone gathered here today allows them to
acknowledge the fierce and driven woman Sonya was, who wouldn't let the cancer defeat her despite her death.
He sees Angie holding baby Hugo and continues his eulogy:
"My best mate, my soul mate, my beautiful, my love, my life, my smart, driven, wise, sometimes wild wife, who would challenge me on a daily basis just to
pay attention. It's important to pay attention, you have to. She made me be a better man. Even on our last day together, she pushed me to see that our lives
will go on."
He then looks at a photograph of Sonya as he concludes:
"Sonya, we love you. I promise to find a way to honour your passion and love for our kids and our family and our friends and our community. I miss you."
As he finishes his eulogy, he tries to cheer up the gathered mourners by reminding them how lucky they were to know and love Sonya, and as a tribute to her he plays an East 17 song, 'It's Alright, from a CD player.
The music comes to an end and Lucas heads up to the front of the service to give his own eulogy, regaling the mourners with his memories of Sonya. He
remembers how stubborn Sonya could be, but admired the way she was able to use this stubbornness to fight the addictions that haunted her, knowing that she
couldn't waver from her commitment to be clean for the sake of her son. He goes on to tell the mourners that Sonya showed that it is love we need to survive
and make sense of our lives, particularly during the tough times, and feels especially grateful for the help Sonya gave him when he was struggling himself,
never giving up on him when he needed her help, allowing him to become a better person because of this.
 ..
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As Lucas goes to sit down after finishing his tribute, Callum makes his way to the front. He takes out a piece of paper which contains a eulogy he has already
written, but then decides to toss it away and speak from the heart instead. He begins:
"Mum I've been thinking some crazy thoughts, about you, about us, about how if you hadn't come to find me all those years ago, I wouldn't be hurting like I
am right now. I'm so glad you did. It meant that I got to have a mother."
He struggles to continue and is assisted by Angie, who gives her own tribute to her daughter-in-law, before Callum manages to compose himself and resume his
speech, calling Sonya "the best listener, the best champion of my dreams, best guide dog puppy trainer in the world." He finishes by referring to Sonya as
"the best", bringing the eulogies to an end. As Callum goes to sit back down Susan invites everyone to take a flower and place it on the lake as a tribute
to Sonya and a way of saying goodbye, whilst Bea sings 'Amazing Grace' in the background. Assembled mourners gather to place their flowers in a lake, whilst
a forlorn Toadie remains at the ceremony with tears streaming down his face, using this moment to remember Sonya and the impact she had on his life.
Everyone is sombrely talking at the end of service, as Piper heads over to chat with Aaron, who is lamenting the fact that Mark wasn't there for the
service. Feeling that it would have helped Mark deal with his grief, Aaron admits to Piper that they have no idea where he is although he does recall Mark
once telling him about his time in witness protection. He wonders if there is anything in the file that Toadie possesses which could help track Mark's
whereabouts, but Piper reminds him that it wouldn't be appropriate to talk to Toadie today. Desperate for information on Mark's whereabouts, Aaron pleads
with Piper for her assistance, and she reluctantly agrees to help, promising to meet him in the Waterhole later to reveal anything she finds. She warns him
that no-one can find out about this, but Aaron is keen to update Elly and, without divulging any specific details, goes over to ask Elly not to cancel the
arrangements for the wedding yet until she hears from him again.
 ..
At the Waterhole everyone has gathered for the wake, as Angie laments to Shane about how unbelievable it is for Toadie to be going through this again after
what happened with Dee. Shane and Dipi assure Angie that they will look out for Toadie and the kids to help him manage his grief.
Meanwhile, outside, Lucas has some good news for Bea, informing her that he won't be selling the garage as the insurance will cover the repairs required,
and he will now begin the search for a new manager. Bea is grateful for the good news.
 ..
Back inside, Paul is talking to Callum, offering him his condolences and revealing that Sonya spoke about him often and was immensely proud of his career
path. He offers his services to Callum and the family if they need anything, but Callum is feeling guilty and after Paul leaves, he admits to Yashvi that
things at work have not been going well and he is about to lose his job. He hopes he can see the positives of being here for Toadie and his siblings in their
time of need but begs Yashvi not to say anything about his precarious work situation. Having been rummaging in Toadie's office, Piper returns to the Waterhole
and hands over Mark's file to Aaron. The file includes a list of the locations Mark was placed in while he was in witness protection, and Aaron has a feeling
that Mark could be staying in one of these places. He sees a place called Silverton and plans on going there, admitting to Piper that although it is a hunch
he has nothing to lose. She wishes him luck and Aaron admits that if he can find Mark, it may help to repair his fractured relationship with Elly and enable
the wedding to go ahead.
The wake is coming to an end as people start to leave the Waterhole; Bea, Karl and Susan are worried about Elly's state of mind with Mark missing and Finn
waking from his coma. They are sympathetic to Elly's dilemma but hope that if there are any trust and honesty issues it is best that they come out now. A
guilty Susan uses this moment of truth to reveal to Karl that she went to see Finn last night, which leaves Karl astonished. She confesses that she wanted
to see for herself that Finn has retrograde amnesia and admits that from what she saw she was convinced by Finn's diagnosis. Karl wishes that she had left
the diagnosis up to the professionals before quickly realising that the Waterhole isn't a suitable place to be having this discussion.
 ..
At the lake Toadie and his youngest children are having a moment of contemplation, as Nell places a flower into the water. Once she has done this Toadie
takes Nell's hands and tells his children that they are going home.
Back at the Waterhole Chloe takes the opportunity to have a chat with Elly about last nights events, asking her if she was sure about her decision to sleep
together. Elly agrees that despite her reticence now she did want to take things further last night, which leaves Chloe confused as to what Elly's motivations
are. Before they can discuss this further Piper interrupts them, informing them that Aaron is chasing up a lead about the whereabouts of Mark. She tries to
offer Elly assurance that it will all work out, informing her that Aaron has a good feeling that he will find him. As Piper leaves Chloe once again tries to
broach the subject of last night to a tearful Elly, asking her if she truly wants Mark to come back for the wedding after what happened between them. Another
untimely interruption arrives as Karl and Susan inform them that they are heading home, which gives Elly the opportunity to cut the conversation short and
leave with them, telling a bemused Chloe that she is exhausted and they will discuss things tomorrow.
 ..
At no. 24 Chloe is on the phone to Aaron, asking him where he is. He tells her that he is going to find Mark, but Chloe pleads with him to stop his search
and come home, leaving Aaron confused. An upset Chloe admits that she doesn't want him to find Mark as she believes he and Elly should not be getting married
after the way he has treated her. Aaron wonders if this is a cover and asks Chloe if the real reason for her motivations is because she is still in love with
Elly. Wondering whether she should reveal her tryst with Elly last night, Chloe instead steers the conversation back to Mark's flaky behaviour, insisting that
he will keep hurting Elly if they do get married. She admits that she is still in love with Elly but doesn't divulge what happened between them, leaving Aaron
puzzled as to why Chloe is so vehemently against the wedding. He tells her that it's not up to her to decide whether Elly and Mark get married and that they
need to figure things out for themselves, suggesting that unless she has a better reason for stopping him from finding Mark, he's still going.
Featured Regular Characters: Toadie Rebecchi, Nell Rebecchi, Shane Rebecchi, Dipi Rebecchi, Yashvi Rebecchi, Kirsha Rebecchi, Susan Kennedy, Karl Kennedy, Elly Conway, Bea Nilsson,
Ned Willis, Paul Robinson, Piper Willis, Leo Tanaka, David Tanaka, Chloe Brennan, Aaron Brennan
Guest Cast: Scott Major as Lucas Fitzgerald,
Alin Sumarwata as Vanessa Villante,
Rob Mills as Finn Kelly,
Lesley Baker as Angie Rebecchi,
Morgan Baker as Callum Rebecchi,
Gemma Pranita as Jade Mitchell,
Mieke Billing-Smith as Willow Somers,
John Turner as Hugo Somers
Trivia Notes
• John Turner (Hugo Somers) is credited in both the opening and closing credits
• Sonya's date of birth is shown as 18th September 1981, with the 18th
September later becoming the date that Toadie would marry Terese Willis
Summary
by Michael
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