In the upcoming episode of Home and Away in Australia, Mali defies Rose’s advise and goes surfing just weeks after rupturing his eardrum. Will it turn out badly?
Last week, Mali (Kyle Shilling), who was pursuing the van that contained the bomb that Stunning Organics had delivered Marilyn (Emily Symons), became an unusual victim of Marilyn’s (Emily Symons) battle with the corporation.
Marilyn received a bomb from the shady cosmetics company in one of their standard cardboard boxes. As they passed the box throughout the town, no one in Summer Bay noticed anything suspicious because these are often loaded with cosmetics.
It finally came into the possession of John (Shane Withington) and Roo (Georgie Parker), who intended to take it to the dump along with all of the prior deliveries from Stunning Organics and a tonne of trash from the surf club and campground.
Marilyn received a text message from an unknown adversary just before it was scheduled to go off that contained a picture of the box’s actual contents.
When Marilyn suddenly realised that her ex-husband and closest friend were in serious danger, she raced outdoors and ran into Mali.
Mali leapt into his campervan to chase after John and Roo after she briefly described what had happened, and Maz desperately tried to call them.
On the outskirts of the city, Mali caught up to John’s rented van and motioned for the two of them to stop and get out. He just made it before the van detonated, sending Mali hurtling backwards and severely injuring both John and Roo.
The worst-case scenario was Roo, who broke a disc in her neck and had to be evacuated to the city for specialised care. John also did poorly, with an abdominal haemorrhage.
Mali was well at first, but shortly after getting to Northern Districts Hospital, he lost his footing and puked. Bree (Juliet Godwin) examined him and found that he had a perforated eardrum, which was impairing his balance.
Mali was dismayed to find that he would need to avoid the water while it healed, which, according to Bree, may take a few weeks. The damage is mild and will go away on its own.
However, the next week he disregards his doctor’s (and girlfriend’s) advice and goes surfing instead, just like every other surf-obsessed Summer Bay resident before him!
In a preview for the episode airing on Monday, Rose (Kirsty Marillier) approaches Mali at the beach where she discovers him diligently caring for a surfboard.
Even seeing her boyfriend out and about is too much for Rose to stomach, even if he isn’t near any bodies of water and doesn’t appear to be exerting himself much.
What are you doing here, Mali? Asks she.
“This thing called work,” he answers sarcastically.
She reprimands him, frustrated that her on-again, off-again partner won’t just take a nap at home, “You’re supposed to be resting,” she says.
Mali tries to persuade Rose later on that it’s okay for him to return to the outer world when they are back at Rose and Xander’s (Luke Van Os) flat.
Mali begs, “Perhaps the doctors are being too cautious.” “I’m doing fine,”
Rose, however, is not having it and says, “No, Mali, don’t go there!”
Rose is right to be worried because Summer Bay’s best surfers have a history of pushing themselves too far after visiting the hospital, which never turns out well.
The most recent instance was Xander, who returned to the ocean just a few weeks after suffering an abdominal injury after an attack on him and his friend Jamie (Hugo Liu) at work.
Although Xander’s surfing session went well, he soon passed out on the sand and Mali had to take him home.
Back in 2021, Justin (James Stewart) made a comparable error by diving into the water just after having his back operated on. After arguing with Leah, he decided to cool off in the ocean.
He was instantly struck by a massive rogue wave, which paralysed his back and rendered him unable to maintain his head above the water. He was saved and brought safely to shore thanks to Dean Thompson’s (Patrick O’Connor) quick thinking.
Mali makes his own trek into the surf the following Monday without learning from his companions’ previous errors, and it appears that he will regret it.
In the advertisement, he can be seen putting an earplug in his ear in an effort to prevent aggravating his perforated eardrum.
As he paddles towards the waves after diving into the sea, everything appears to be in order.
He places his finger to his ear while standing on his surfboard and wonders if he is simply adjusting his earplug or if the vertigo has already started.
A wave wipes him out in the promo shortly after he encounters problems.
Mali is seen straining to keep his head above the waves as they continue to crash over him in another promo that was shown during Thursday’s episode.
Mali’s empty surfboard is shown floating back to shore as the clip comes to a close, leaving us to wonder if she will make it through the ordeal.
Thankfully, the episode summaries for the following week’s episodes indicate that Mali does live, but that his stubborn nature is likely to persist.
On Monday, “Mali is stubbornly headed for a wipe-out,” while the programme summary for the following Tuesday informs us that “Mali’s too proud to ask for help.”
Will Mali keep pushing himself too hard during his rehabilitation?
