Episode 5164

Extended Summary

Marilyn presses Mitzy to tell her whatever she has been waiting to say, but they keep being interrupted. When she finally does, it’s to tell Marilyn what her real end date is. It’s only a couple of months away and Marilyn is devastated. Mitzy tries to reassure her, tries to make it all okay, but Marilyn is too shell-shocked to talk about it. She just needs some time. She goes to see Sid, and after some time together, she eventually tells him what’s going on. Sid is furious that Mitzy has done this, telling Marilyn he thinks she’s a bad person to have in her life.

With the latest incident with the box of photos, Alf finally decides to tell Miles the full story about Tulip and what happened. How he had an affair with her over twenty years ago, and that she was Penn’s mother. It wasn’t long after his wife Martha died when Alf met Tulip in a bar, who was also grieving having recently lost her daughter to SIDS. Tulip’s husband was often away on business and with Alf and Tulip helping each other through their grief, they soon started an affair.

When Tulip’s feelings for Alf became too strong, he felt he had no choice but to end the relationship. When she later died after taking an overdose, Alf locked away his feelings, but he now feels that he should have tried harder to be there for her. Alf believes that this is the reason that Penn has come to Summer Bay, to re-open an old wound.

Meanwhile, Penn has a progressive check up from Sid and is about to be released from hospital. Through flashbacks to his time in an institution, we learn more about Penn’s past in conversations with his doctor.

Penn’s father found out about Tulip’s affair, but when Alf ended it, Tulip was forced to stay with her husband. Soon afterwards she took the overdose that ended her life and Penn found her body. When Penn was 12, his father committed suicide, with Penn finding his body also. Penn went to live with other family, but the hurt and anger stayed with him and he eventually snapped – taking it out on a group of guys who called him ‘an orphan’. From this incident he ended up in the institution.

Penn was eventually released after he was able to convince the review board that he no longer harboured ill feelings towards Alf Stewart. But it is clear that he still blames Alf for everything that’s gone wrong in his life, and is intent on revenge.