Home and Away Spoilers — Did Nikau rob the diner?
As Leah deals with the aftermath of the break-in at the Pier Diner on Home and Away next week in the UK, could the perpetrator be someone we all know?
After interrupting an intruder trying to rob the till in the diner after hours, Leah (Ada Nicodemou) was violently pushed to the floor as the robber made their escape, where she then lay crying as memories of her recent trauma consumed her.
When Leah doesn’t show up at Salt for a drink with boyfriend Justin (James Stewart) as planned, Justin decides to go and investigate.
Arriving at the diner to find the front door open, Justin enters and finds the till open.
Eventually he comes across Leah cowering in the corner of the kitchen, but she can’t even look at Justin as he tries to reassure her that she’s safe.
Justin immediately calls the police and also Leah’s friend Roo (Georgie Parker), in the hope that she may be able to help him get Leah home.
A police officer tries to take some initial details from Leah but she remains in shock.
Justin and Roo take Leah home, and realising how fragile Leah is, Justin offers to sleep on the couch. Leah retreats to their bedroom where she immediately bursts into tears again, as Justin and Roo fear for Leah’s mental health.
She’s only just started living a normal life again after her kidnap experience, and this could set her back significantly.
Meanwhile, after storming out of the house earlier in the evening—after an argument with Gemma (Bree Peters) over her friendship with Ben (Rohan Nichol)—Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) has returned home and is in the kitchen quietly packing some stuff into a rucksack.
Tane (Ethan Browne) catches him in the act, asking where he’s been all evening and what he’s doing, with Nik explaining that he needs to get out of there.
Despite Gemma’s assurances that nothing is going on between her and Ben, Nik says he can’t stay and watch Gemma get together with another man less than a year after his father’s death.
Tane tells him that he can’t run out on his family, and points out that he’s not going to get very far with no car and no money.
Nik is torn and Tane eventually talks him into staying one more night—if he still wants to leave in the morning, then Tane will help him.
The next morning, Tane talks to Nik further about his plan to leave when Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams) returns home, interrupting their conversation. He notices them acting shiftily before telling them that the diner was broken into.
With the family’s criminal history, Ari tells them that they need to keep their heads down, and Tane tells him they’ve nothing to worry about—as he covers for Nik’s absence by saying they were both home all night.
Ari later interrupts another conversation between Nik and Tane which arouses his suspicions further.
When he later overhears Leah and Justin talking to Mackenzie, Leah explains that she didn’t see the intruder very well and all she can confirm is that he was tall with dark hair.
Ari puts two and two together and storms home, asking Nik outright whether Tane was responsible for the break-in and if Nik is covering for him.
Although Ari and Tane nearly come to blows as he denies any wrongdoing, it’s Nik who reminds Ari that they need to trust each other, and he apologises.
Back at the diner, Colby (Tim Franklin) has started the investigation, and asks Leah for her fingerprints for elimination purposes, along with all the other diner staff.
When he later asks if there’s any further employees that they’d need to eliminate, Leah points out that Gemma was working there until recently. As Colby leaves the diner he bumps into Ari and asks him if he saw anything suspicious.
Unfortunately Ari’s past dealings with police means that he immediately becomes defensive rather than answering Colby’s question.
When Colby later heads around to the Parata house, Ari, Tane and Nik are immediately put on edge.
But when he explains he’s there to see Gemma, and asks if she’ll be willing to provide her fingerprints voluntarily, she refuses.
She doesn’t want her prints on the database if she’s not a suspect, and slams the door in Colby’s face, which only arouses Colby’s suspicions about the family further.
As the investigation continues and Colby begins to set his sights firmly on the Paratas, things aren’t going to end well.
But with no other suspects coming to light this week, that still leaves us viewers with the question….
DID Nik rob the diner?
It would seem the show certainly wants us to believe that Nikau could have been the one, given his intentions to run away that evening, the similar clothes, and the similar build of the intruder.
Some viewers who were watching at Australian pace were quick to place the blame, but if you were watching closely, there may be a couple of clues that indicate his innocence….
The Actor
To get the obvious one out of the way, whoever it was who forced their way into the diner, it wasn’t actually Kawakawa Fox-Reo who acted out the scene.
All it takes is a quick look at the credits to see that an actor named Kabir Singh is credited as playing the ‘Hooded Figure’. Whether he was there merely as a stand-in to throw viewers off is still to be determined.
The Jeans
Secondly, in something only the keenest of eyes may have spotted, Nikau was wearing fairly slim jeans with holes and tears down the front when he stormed out of the Parata house that evening.
The intruder however, was wearing plain jeans of a much looser fit.
The Hoodie
Although the hoodie that Nikau was wearing appears to be quite similar to that of the intruder’s, it again seems to be of a much slimmer fit.
Nikau was also wearing quite a bulky watch all day, which tends to sit in front of the cuff in his scene in the Parata house later that evening.
There is no such watch visible in the diner scene, where the intruder seems to have much looser cuffs hanging down from his wrist.
Unfortunately Colby doesn’t have the luxury of these comparisons, so he’s going to have to rely on his own investigative skills… such as they are!
Here’s the full spoilers for next week in the UK:
Monday 20th July (Episode 7351)
Ryder reveals to Evan that he knows his secret.
Ari is concerned that Nikau and Tane are hiding something from him.
Justin worries if Leah is strong enough to get through another trauma.
Tuesday 21st July (Episode 7352)
Evan and Ryder come to loggerheads.
Tane and Ari navigate a tense situation.
Colby commences his investigation.
Wednesday 22nd July (Episode 7353)
Evan and Ryder’s bond is put to the test.
Bella celebrates a milestone.
Maggie makes a heartbreaking decision.
Thursday 23rd July (Episode 7354)
Bella’s newfound independence inspires everyone.
Ziggy desperately tries to keep her family together.
John and Marilyn face some harsh realities.
Friday 24th July (Episode 7355)
John finally receives some promising news.
Ben’s final grand gesture.
Jasmine makes an alarming claim.
Leah gets back to a normal life.