In the aftermath of Ari’s shocking confession, Tane and Felicity’s relationship is on the rocks in a new Home and Away commercial showing in Australia — will Tane give up a shot at love to keep his family safe?
After an annual summer hiatus, Home and Away returned to Australian screens on Monday, January 31st. The show’s return episode opened up where the last season left off in 2021, with Mia Anderson (Anna Sampson) attempting to flee town only to be pursued by Senior Constable Cash Newman (Nicholas Cartwright).
After Chloe (Sam Barrett) accidentally killed Matthew Montgomery (James Sweeny) – Chloe’s biological father – in the season finale, she was driving away with his body in her boot.
Cash (Rob Kipa-Williams) captured her and detained her in the dramatic return episode, only for Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams) to claim responsibility for Matthew’s death a few hours later.
It was the only option for Ari. He wouldn’t let Mia or Chloe go to prison, and he wasn’t willing to risk Chloe claiming self-defense, knowing that Mia’s efforts to hide the body had diminished their chances of succeeding.
So, in the most recent episode to air in Australia, Ari accepted responsibility for Matthew’s death and, to make matters worse, was denied bail due to his previous history. The Parata patriarch was sent to the remand center at the end of the episode, and his future seemed gloomy.
The Paratas will fight to keep the exact circumstances of Matthew’s death hidden in the coming weeks. Chloe’s problems have already been glimpsed in a commercial for the 2022 season, as she suffers with the shame of what she’s done.
Bella (Courtney Miller) notices her suspicious behavior and quickly realizes the truth, utilizing her own experience of her father’s death at the hands of her brother Colby (Tim Franklin), trains Chloe on how to keep it a secret.
However, a new trailer reveals that it isn’t just Chloe and Mia who are dealing with the fallout from Matthew’s death. Tane, Ari’s younger brother, is dating Cash’s brother, Felicity Newman (Jacqui Purvis), and dating a cop’s sister is tricky business.
Tane accused Flick of stalking him after he tried to end their brief but passionate friends-with-benefits relationship, and the two have had a tumultuous history.
In actuality, the stalker was Felicity’s friend and coworker Anne Sherman (Megan Smart), who held the two of them hostage after her jealousy grew out of control as a result of Tane’s attention being drawn to pretty much any lady but her.
Fortunately, the two were rescued — by Cash and Ari, no less – and their ordeal drew them closer together.
It didn’t take long for their romantic sentiments to revive, and they closed the 2021 season with a romantic retreat to a log cabin.
Their relationship would be thriving if it weren’t for recent occurrences. Tane now realizes that he must keep his distance from Cash’s sister, or he risks giving out crucial information that might lead to the arrest of Chloe, Mia, or possibly the entire Parata family.
The teaser opens with the two sharing a private moment, with Flick whispering “hey you” and Tane responding, “I’ve missed you.”
“HOT COUPLE ALERT” reads the title card, as we see clips of the various intimate moments the on-again-off-again couple has shared over the past few months.
“So you two are a thing now?” questions Ziggy Astoni (Sophie Dillman), Tane’s most recent ex, as she and Flick share drinks in Salt.
Flick is the first to notice something is wrong when Zig cautions her that “he has a lot going on right now.”
It’s unclear how Ziggy learned of Tane’s problems; will he confide in his former flame, believing he can trust her more than his current romantic interest?
“DANGEROUS”
“FORBIDDEN”
“A MURDEROUS FAMILY SECRET”
Tane puts the brakes on their burgeoning new relationship, and things quickly escalate.
He tells her, “I need you to give me some space,” barely months after he previously requested her to back off, and the distraught look on her face as he walks away from her shows that she’s not pleased with this new development.
She’s willing to be there for him, and she’s baffled as to why he feels the need to push her away again again.
He informs someone, possibly Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), who has been battling the most with Ari’s decision, “No more talking to cops, no more talking to girlfriends,”
“Someone died,” says an emotional Nikau, before Tane reminds him to “just remember what’s at stake. If we slip up, we both go to jail.”
Felicity emerges in the Parata house’s doorway at that same moment.
Is it a case of her overhearing the two talking about their possible jail sentence, or is it just some smart editing by the Home and Away marketing team?
“You may talk to me,” Flick says in a new scenario, although Tane appears to be reluctant to do so.
“I get it, we’re keeping our distance,” she adds hesitantly from behind the bar at Salt. A new job at a pub seemed to be a good distraction from everything else going on in her life.
“It sucks you two can’t see each other,” Nikau says to his uncle at the beach, as a sad Flick watches on from a distance.
Tane, on the other hand, seemed unfazed, advising his nephew that “sometimes you simply have to be strong.”
Keeping their distance, however, proves to be more difficult said than done for the passionate young couple in late 2021.
Even though she tells him that she respects his decision to slow things down, the two appear to have their hands all over each other in an impending evening scene.
“CAN THEY RESIST?” asks the promo, over more shots of the two kissing – at the club, in bed, at the beach.
While they may be acting as if they’ve broken up in front of everyone, it’s evident that lust is getting the better of them.
Tane takes Flick and pulls her against the wall, where he kisses her passionately as they walk towards the Surf Club door, ostensibly on their way to their respective occupations.
They kiss again in another scene, this time in the Caravan Park, with Flick remarking, “That was not keeping your distance.”
“I’ll see you around then,” Tane says with a smile as he goes to leave before Felicity pulls him back in for another embrace.
Will Mia and Chloe’s inability to keep each other at arm’s length be the catalyst for their worlds collapsing?
