This week on Home and Away in Australia, Justin takes the brunt of Dimitri’s rage, while Mia and Chloe debate if Summer Bay is their future…
Theo Poulos’ (Matt Evans) great secret was finally exposed to Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Justin (James Stewart) this week after several months of living with his aunt Leah (Ada Nicodemou) in Summer Bay.
Theo had previously told John Palmer (Shane Withington) that his father Dimitri (Salvatore Coco) had physically assaulted him since he was 14 years old. Dimitri had always had a fiery temper, and when Theo reached the age where he could fight back, Theo began to beat him.
Both Leah and Justin had been pushing to reunite father and son, unaware of Theo’s relationship with Dimitri. Theo was fearful of Leah discovering the truth about her big brother and breaking her heart.
Dimitri tried to play happy families with Theo in front of Leah and Justin when he arrived in Summer Bay two weeks ago, but his attitude quickly shifted once he was alone with his kid.
Dimitri insisted that Theo accompany him back to the city, admitting that his wife Cassandra had abandoned him.
Last week, both Leah and Justin began to question Dimitri’s motives as Theo continued to avoid him, with Justin concerned about Dimitri’s remark that Theo needed more discipline.
When John was introduced to Dimitri, he had to bite his tongue, but he made it plain that he was aware of his dark secret, which disturbed Dimitri.
When Dimitri confronted Theo, Theo’s rage erupted, and he knocked Dimitri to the ground. Justin and John had to stop Theo from pursuing Dimitri any further.
Almost to the point of breaking, Theo continued to refuse to talk about what was truly going on, blaming it on his terrible mood after being rejected by Chloe (Sam Barrett).
Both Leah and Justin could see that something was wrong, and in the end, it was John who was obliged to breach Theo’s trust and tell them the whole tale.
Leah and Justin were heartbroken for Theo, who blamed himself for the chaos, and they made it clear that Dimitri would never have another chance to injure him.
Dimitri remained unrepentant when Leah confronted him, informing her that Theo needed strong treatment to keep him in line.
Leah was disgusted by his lack of sorrow, so she accompanied Theo to visit his mother in the city.
“When Leah realizes what Dimitri has been up to,” Matt Evans told TV Week, “it affects her perception of her brother.” “She won’t have anything to do with him until he gets his act together.”
Dimitri blames others for the predicament this week, accusing Leah and Justin of turning his son against him. He had already blamed Leah for Cassandra’s departure and chastised her for always putting her nose in and attempting to repair things.
Despite Leah’s demand that Dimitri leave town, he refuses. Dimitri’s aggravation drives him to serve Justin a taste of his parenting approach when he goes to the garage and gets a serve from Justin, who says he needs to take responsibility for his actions.
When Leah goes to the garage to look for Justin, she is surprised to discover him lying on the floor, barely awake, and terribly battered.
As Leah dials an ambulance, she realizes she must make a difficult choice: should she denounce her own brother to the police?
Mia (Anna Samson) is staying in Summer Bay after making the decision to leave town for good last week.
Mia and her daughter Chloe have struggled to move on with the death of Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams). Chloe’s guilt over Ari has caused her to avoid her mother at all costs, while developing an unhealthy infatuation with Bella (Courtney Miller), and it’s only been in the last week that she’s begun to make headway by talking to Mia.
Mia’s own battle has resulted in her sleepwalking, and with traumatic memories of Ari haunting her at every turn, it was a word from Jasmine (Sam Frost) that convinced Mia that she needed to take action.
Mia’s decision to leave Summer Bay with Chloe came as a complete surprise to her brother-in-law Tane (Ethan Browne), who was concerned that she hadn’t considered things through. He was more upset when he discovered she hadn’t even told Chloe about the incident.
When Chloe entered and inquired about what they were discussing, she was shocked to learn of Mia’s plan.
Mia has always made decisions on her behalf when it isn’t her place to do so, according to Chloe, and Mia will no longer have that power over her. She’s not going anywhere.
This week, Mia’s mother and daughter are still arguing about her decision.
“Chloe’s pain is often entwined with witnessing her mother’s grief,” Sam Barrett told TV WEEK. “Because she’s so close to Mia, it’s challenging.”
“It’s incredibly unfortunate that they can’t spend time with each other because of the different ways they grieve.”
Chloe is divided between her desire to stay in Summer Bay and her knowledge that Mia intends to go, especially since the two have only recently resumed proper communication.
“Chloe has lost her sense of security,” Sam continued. “She’s on the lookout. They’re both in such a bad way.”
Meanwhile, Chloe, frustrated, turns against Bella and Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo), with whom she’d only recently begun to get back on track.
Chloe believes they were in on Mia’s scheme and accuses them of only being nice to her the day before because they knew Mia was about to take her away from Summer Bay, which they both deny.
Will Mia and Chloe’s differences of opinion tear them apart? Or, as she starts to alienate her closest friends, will Chloe opt to leave Summer Bay with her mother?
