Tonight’s Home and Away in Australia has confirmed that Theo Poulos was caught up in a dramatic crash, which is set to take his life.
Back in mid-August, after Irene’s (Lynne McGranger) emotional departure aired on Aussie screens, a dramatic trailer previewed what was coming up in Summer Bay in the months ahead.
As well as giving an initial look at Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) and Eden’s (Stephanie Panozzo) wedding, the promo briefly showed a scene of a car revving its engine and accelerating along a country road, followed by a woman running towards the scene of an accident.
While only seen from the back, the woman bore a striking resemblance to Leah (Ada Nicodemou). She was shown running towards the accident scene, as Sergeant David Langham (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) did his best to stop her from getting too close.
In the background was a bagged-up body being loaded into the back of a private ambulance, confirming that at least one person involved in the impending accident wouldn’t survive.
A later version of the promo confirmed Leah’s identity, as Justin (James Stewart) could also be seen running just behind her in a suit matching the one he wore to yesterday’s wedding.
More recently, Home and Away aired another promo, confirming that this week’s wedding episodes would see one of our Summer Bay favourites leave forever.
The promo asked “Who won’t make it home?” over shots of Abigail (Hailey Pinto), Theo (Matt Evans), Levi (Tristan Gorey), Justin, Tane (Ethan Browne), Remi (Adam Rowland) and Lacey (Sophea Pennington).
With all of the actors apart from Matt Evans having been seen filming in recent months, it seemed almost certain that Theo would be the one to meet his maker in this week’s episodes.
The dramatic incident finally aired in Australian tonight’s episode, where Theo was struck at high speed by a car driven by Councillor Craig Wendell (Justin Smith).
The episode doubles up as the UK Season Finale, and will air on Channel 5 in November before Home and Away takes its annual Christmas break.
While British viewers will have to wait over a month to find out if Theo survives, Australian viewers will see the aftermath tomorrow – and it’s not looking good.
While Theo’s condition hasn’t yet been officially confirmed, it’s expected that he will die of his injuries in tomorrow’s episode, with actor Matt Evans believed to have filmed his final scenes for the show earlier this year.
While Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) and Eden (Stephanie Panozzo) were busy getting married in the picturesque Hunter Valley, Lacey was back in Summer Bay putting the finishing touches to her plot to bring down Councillor Wendell, the man she believed to be responsible for the accident which killed her mum.
Lacey’s sister Jo (Maddison Brown) had been driving at the time of the crash, which happened some two years ago, before the family moved to Summer Bay.
While Jo survived, she was left with little memory of the incident, and it wasn’t until a hypnotherapy session two weeks ago that she was able to recall the involvement of another vehicle, which ran her and her mum off the road.
Jo’s memory of a partial number plate led their dad David to track down the car’s owner, a Councillor Wendell, who was at a community event in nearby Red Gum Falls on the afternoon of the accident back in 2023.
However, Councillor Wendell’s lawyer soon warned David to back off, and, after a call was made to David’s superiors with a complaint that he was too involved with the case, he was ordered by his Superintendent to cease his investigation.
Meanwhile, Lacey had realised that Wendell was the prime suspect after she snuck into her dad’s office and took a photo of his whiteboard of evidence.
She soon revealed to her dad that she’d called Wendell using a fake name and had threatened to expose him to the press if he didn’t come clean. She also told David and Jo that she’d spent a night watching the councillor’s house, much to David’s shock.
David made clear to Lacey that she’d broken multiple laws in her pursuit of justice – stealing evidence, unlawfully entering police premises, and extortion.
He also pointed out that her piling on the pressure had potentially resulted in Wendell fleeing the country, never to be seen again. Jo then ripped into her sister, accusing her of putting the entire investigation at risk.
With little chance of the case being reopened, Lacey, determined to bring down her mum’s killer, decided to continue her investigation, despite David warning her that they had no idea what Councillor Wendell was capable of.
She cornered Jo, telling her that they needed to book her in for another hypnotherapy appointment as soon as possible, so that she could remember even more.
“She wants closure,” Sophea Pennington recently explained to Aussie magazine TV Week. “She wants the truth, not revenge. She wants justice for her mum, and a reason.”
David later opened up to Justin, telling him that “it’s taking all of my strength not to turn up on his doorstep.”
When Leah and Justin later called around to the Beach House with lasagne to cheer David up, he was about to take another look through the case file, as he continued with his own rogue investigation.
In yesterday’s episode, Theo put thoughts of Lacey’s search for justice behind him for the day as he joined Leah and Justin in celebrating Cash and Eden’s wedding in the Hunter Valley.
However, he was concerned when he couldn’t get hold of Lacey throughout the day – she was meant to be turning up after accompanying Jo to her next hypnotherapy session, but as the evening descended, she was still a no-show.
Tonigh’s episode saw the aftermath of the wedding, and the party spirit continued, with Theo even catching the bouquet.
However, despite Marilyn (Emily Symons) recently expressing her hope that Theo might be considering proposing to Lacey himself during their planned trip to Tasmania, it looks like they won’t be making their romantic getaway after all…
Back in Summer Bay, Jo was in the middle of another hypnotherapy session at the Beach House.
She remembered a figure in a suit approaching the car and approaching her mum’s pulse, before walking away without helping. However, she couldn’t remember his face, so couldn’t confirm that it was Wendell.
At the wedding, as the evening continued, Theo agreed to join as the first artist on Remi’s (Adam Rowland) record label… making major plans for his future just hours before his downfall.
Soon after, Theo finally got in contact with Lacey, only for her to confirm that she wouldn’t be making the wedding after all. She then headed back to the Pier apartment, where she called Wendell.
She told him that she knew he caused the accident, telling him that there was an eyewitness. She then told him to meet her at Warratah Drive in two hours’ time.
With the evening winding down, Lacey finally arrived, but only to ask Theo to come with her to meet Wendell.
It led to a blow-up with Leah and Justin, as Theo revealed to them that he was going her mum’s potential killer. Leah desperately tried to stop him, reminding him of what happened last time with the River Boys, but Theo shouted back that Leah needed to back off.
“Fine. Don’t expect me to be there for you when it all goes wrong,” Leah retorted angrily as she watched her nephew walk away.
Nonetheless, Theo left the wedding and headed back towards Summer Bay, where Lacey was ready to put her plan into action.
With Theo by her side, Lacey prepared to come face to face with Councillor Wendell for the first time, as they pulled up on the deserted country road in the dead of night.
As they got out of the car ready to talk to him, Wendell then showed what he was truly capable of.
After Lacey told Wendell that she knew exactly what happened, giving him the information from Jo’s latest hypnotherapy session, she had him right where he wanted her.
She told him she wanted him to go to the cops and confess, and he agreed to go right away.
However, he then got back in his car. He accelerated hard and drove towards Lacey at full speed in an attempt to mow her down.
Theo was able to jump in front of Wendell’s BMW at the last second, pushing Lacey out of the way, but was hit full force by the vehicle.
As the episode came to a close, Theo lay lifeless in the road, and we were left with no idea of the extent of his injuries or whether he would survive.
Spoilers for tomorrow’s triple episode reveal that “Tragedy rocks Summer Bay,” as we learn the extent of Theo’s injuries. Then, in the third episode of the triple bill, “Bree is the bearer of bad news.”
With Matt Evans believed to have left the show, having not been spotted at Sydney’s Palm Beach for a number of months, it seems highly likely that we’ve already seen Theo alive for the final time.
In the synopsis for the second episode of Thursday’s triple, “David hunts for a wanted man.”
The promo from August has already given us a glimpse of what’s in store, with shots of Cash and David chasing down what’s now certain to be Councillor Wendell as he speeds away from the scene of the crime.
As David and Cash chase him through a neighbouring town, the promo shows David’s car screeching around a corner.
Another scene from the promo shows Cash chasing after a suited figure, now believed to be Wendell, before diving on top of him.
Will they bring the criminal councillor to justice, as we say goodbye to Theo once and for all?
Theo’s final episodes will air in Australia tomorrow, in a triple bill from 7pm.
UK viewers will see the crash as part of the Home and Away UK Season Finale on Friday 21st November, and the aftermath will air when the show returns in early 202
