totally

She reminds me so much of Tegan. But Tegan had the upperhand in everything (looks, femininity, bad girl attitude...). To me Ricky is a bad knock-off.

At first I found Natalie very unorganized. She seemed messy in her first episode, I did not like that. But I quickly warmed up to her. She genuinely wants to help other people, selfless, that is so good to see. I like what she did for Sasha, Jett, Casey... I expected her to get together with Brax, but I am happy with the way it happened. As Steve Peacocke once said in an interview, the Natalie/Brax relationship has been a slow burner. It was not Brax's being on the rebound, Brax started to like her for who she really was. And somewhere along the line she got interested in him as well. I would like to know more about her past, about what happened to her mother. Maybe one day her father can show up, so she has some family in the Bay. She has been really supportive of everyone and maybe next year she will get her own storyline. On a lighter note, I love the way Natalie is dressed. She is so feminine. The clothes, jewelry, hair updo's... make her look stunning every scene.

I think the actress who plays Tamara is very natural. Her role is very believable, even though, her being in the Outback at the time Casey and Kyle were there was a big coincidence. I am glad she told Casey a bit about herself, about her past. I wonder how old she is though. I think she will get together with Casey, even though their feelings for each other might be based on sympathy and gratitude. She is a bit messed up and I hope she gets her life on track in the following season. It would be great if she made some friends as well, other than Casey. I did not think I was going to like her, but I did and I give full credit to Kelly Paterniti for that.

It sounds like he has another rellationship besides Nat but why would he move on so quickly? I just want Nat and Brax together..... Steve once called Brax's relationship with Natalie a 'slow burner'. So I think they are referring to Brax/Natalie.

Heath came to Natalie for help. She tried to do what he wanted her to: talk to Bianca. She said that Bianca needed to come to her first in order for ir to work, but Heath insisted. Bianca would not have come to her, so she lured Bianca into coming, that is not a crime. She had Bianca's best interest at heart. When you watch some scenes during the Casey-trouble. It is not Natalie who interferes, it is Brax who calls her first. I have noticed that. Some of their scenes even begin with: 'I got your message, what is up?'. Brax asked for her help. And she was willing to give it because she cares about Casey. Sasha needs someone she can talk to. At home, everyone has their own problems (and Dex's). Sometimes it is easier to talk to a non-relative. Why should she be talking to Indi? Or April? Just because they are 'family'? She obviously feels good talking to Natalie about it and there is nothing wrong with that. I think it was great advice, staying away from Casey. How can Sasha get over her crush if they are still hanging out? The best thing you can do with and ex/ or a crush is to give each other some space in my opinion. I really, really, really do not understand this whole hatred against Natalie. I did not like her at first because of her first scene: her hair was messy, her desk was unorganized, her clothes were awful... I did not think that was appropriate for a counsellor who needs to come over as strong and in control. But I am loving her now. She is a breath of fresh air to the show. She cares about other people without being morally obligated to do so. Everyone else in the Bay is like: me, my family, my partner... don't care about the rest. (That does not count for Irene, Marilyn and Alf... But they are 'special characters'). I know lots of you won't agree with you, but you are entitled to your opinion, just as me. Like John said, I also like the fact that she stopped to take the time to think about her relationship with Brax. She is right, Brax does not have time for her at the moment. That is not his fault, but it is what it is. Brax might have said his life is always like that, but it is not, there are times where he only needs to be thinking about one of his brothers. Of course now he has 3 brothers, so that could mean more trouble to deal with . I hope they do get back together, for real, committed and sticking to their decision! Has anyone noticed how they keep mentioning Brax's private life (his life without his brothers) recently? Adam asked about it, Brax mentioned it to Heath. What could that mean?

If Sasha is 100% happy with being friends with Casey that is fine by me. I only hope she doesn't secretly sit around and wait for him to change his mind about her, she deserves better than that.

So is she supposed to have left after these 30 episodes? I don't think that is true because she posted a picture of her and Sasha on her Instagram a few weeks ago and last week she posted a pic of Palm Beach. It is not 100% proof though.

No one can be happy for long on this show, we better come to terms with that. I highly disagree with you about Natalie being shallow, to me, she is one of the most selfless people in Summer Bay. She genuinely cares about Casey, Sasha, Jett. She is a breath of fresh air and she is great addition to the cast. But that is just my opinion of course. Have you heard something about her departure, or is this only speculation? If it is, that is just fine, I just wanted to know if someone had heard something about how long she will be on the show (did she get a 3 year contract like most of the other cast or a contract for 18 months).

Oh waw, just caught up. Great story! I have no idea where you want to go with this. Is something wrong with Charlie? And why did she say she wasn't going to need a babysit anymore? I am really curious about the rest. I have my doubts over Angelo, obviously he is a better father to Conner now than before, but I hope he means it this time. I love how Conner thinks of Darryl! They are cute together.

I love those two together.

Cadyctslover - I find Brax less selfish now. He has always been very family-focused but now he is starting to care about others (non-relatives) as well (Liam, Sid, Leah). I think he is more calm now, like he realises he used to lash out for nothing, and that did not help. He fell in love with Charlie and that was new to him. He had to learn how to deal with his feelings and that helps him now with Natalie. He learned that talking about his feelings helps and is not a waste of time. He used to fight with his brothers when things did not go his way, now he tries talking to them first (well most of the time anyway). When I see Brax, I don't see that angry man anymore. Your question was not threatening at all, don't worry. I had to think for a second why I wrote that, maybe I should have written a calmer man instead of a better man, but calmer is better too.

I am a bit confused. I used to love Charlie and Brax even though I had always found Charlie uptight, whiny and selfish. During her relationship with Brax she was still whiney and selfish, but I guess I did not want to see that because of all the romance. Their love story was pretty romantic in my opinion. But when things went wrong in their relationship I always blamed Charlie, I even blamed her when Brax slept with Tegan, because she broke up with him and played with his head. I guess I always knew I loved Brax way more than Charlie. I was so upset when Charlie died, because the romance was gone, but now I am glad Charlie is gone. Her death has changed Brax, he is a better man now and I love him even more. I knew this already during the whole Leah-thing. Others could not stand seeing him with someone else, I actually enjoyed their scenes. But now Natalie is there and I love her character. I love how she is worried about Casey, how she helped Gina, Sasha, Bianca in the past. I know I can't compare characters, but I can't remember when Charlie used to help someone other than herself, her daughter or her boyfriend. I love Brax, I love Natalie, and I love them together. I love how they are together not together. They are not fighting each other, they are fighting together. I am loving it and I hope they have a bright future. But if they would break up and there would be another 'love' for Brax, I am going to be honest, I would like her as well. Steve makes it all look very natural and realistic. I have not enjoyed a character so much since Aden, good job writers, good job Steve.

I agree with you i also think it might be Kyle. I just cannot see Sasha sleep with Kyle then go back to Casey, i really hope Sasha has better sense then April and Bianca. I hope it is someone from school. Yes Casey has alot of making up to do when he realises that he wants Sasha i just hope she gives him a hard time. Really? She is a teenager + this is Home and Away, so of course she is going to swap boyfriends. My guess is that she will get together with both Casey and Kyle. I think Sasha and Casey are good friends and they understand each other. I must say that I rooted for them before Danny showed up, but now it is just too complicated. He faces jail time. Maybe when it is all over they can start something. Also, I liked Casey and Ruby because he protected her. It was like she was his princess and he was totally crazy about her. Sasha is not a 'princess', so it would be a very different relationship... We would get to see a very different Casey.

I hated her first. She seemed very chaotic, unorganized, sloppy dressed and way too young to be a counsellor. I guess that makes me shallow (since 2 of my reasons for hating her had to do with her looks). I love her now. I think Catherine Mack's acting has certainly improved. I think she is more than Casey's counsellor now. She is trying to be a person he can talk to, a friend, even a bit of a mother/sister-figure. I like that. I can see how some people find her unprofessional, but she has Casey's best interest at heart and this is a very complicated situation, no one can say she is not trying to help him. Oh, and her wardrobe has improved as well, not to mention how great her hair looks when it is up. And I do love them together. I like how they are friends now, not rushing into things. As long as it does not become an on/off-relationship I will be happy. There was enough drama in the Charlie/Brax relationship. I would like to see them dealing with things together, like now, instead of constantly fighting and making up (like Charlie and Brax).

I used to love Brax and Charlie together, the forbidden love storyline was so good. Deep down I knew it had to end badly. Esther Anderson leaving was the perfect way to do that. I was upset when I found out about this, but I have gotten used to it now. That makes me think I liked Brax more than Charlie. He is the one with the brilliant lines sometimes, the funny faces, the love for his brothers and mother. I like that Charlie has been mentioned a lot recently, but I reckon it is time for Brax to move on. Brax with Casey and Heath is great, but we have always seen 2 sides of Brax in the same episode (or at least in the same week). We have seen a lot of darker scenes: Cage fighting, Danny, drugs... It is time for some lighter scenes again. I want to see Brax having fun again, yes, with Nathalie. I can't deny they have chemistry. He has opened up to her in a way I never thought he would, that makes me think he really has feelings for her. Sometimes I hope that Leah or Alf talks to Brax about loving again after losing 'the love of your life'. I am hoping that once they get together they won't lie about it, not too many break ups (can't say none though, this is home and away). A stable, non controversial relationship would be good for Brax. The fact that she is Casey's counsellor does not make their relationship controversial if you ask me. Yes, Nathalie could do better than someone who grew up dealing drugs and hitting people, but she could do worse as well. I hope they stay together for a long time, or is that too much too ask? Oh look at me... I am talking about them staying together when they haven't even gotten together... Sorry!