Home and Away Spoilers – Justin and Cash go after Andrew’s captors
This week on Home and Away in Australia, Justin and Cash track down Andrew and his cult captors, but they’re in for a shock when he refuses to leave.
Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) is determined to put things right over his recent stuff-up with the Andrew (Joshua Hewson) case, as he and Justin (James Stewart) go on a quest to find the base of the sinister Vita Nova cult.
After Justin came to Andrew’s aid last month, it was revealed that his father had been a member of the doomsday prepping cult, and had gone on the run with his son when Andrew was only 4 years old, leaving his mother in despair.
When a stranger (Mandy McElhinny) came into the police station last week after being alerted to Theo’s (Matt Evans) social media post about Andrew, she claimed to be Andrew’s mother Esther. All it took was showing Cash a quite frankly dodgy-looking driver’s licence for him to take her to her word, and he was pleased to reunite ‘Esther’ with the son she hadn’t seen in over a decade.
Justin and Leah (Ada Nicodemou) also took ‘Esther’ at face value, even inviting her to stay for dinner, as an uncertain Andrew struggled with knowing what to do—he had no recollection of this woman.
Taking Justin’s advice to give her a chance, and overhearing Leah talk about how heartbroken ‘Esther’ would be if Andrew didn’t want to connect with her, was enough for Andrew to decide to go with the stranger.
It wasn’t until Andrew had bid a fond farewell to Leah and Justin that Cash received word that the woman was actually Margot Dafoe, the leader of the cult that they were trying to protect Andrew from! Apparently no-one at Yabbie Creek police thought to look up who was running the cult when they first started investigating, so that Cash could recognise her when she walked in…
The news had come from Andrew’s estranged sister, Tegan, who is currently working overseas, and had explained that the real Esther had disappeared not long after Andrew was taken.
When we last saw Andrew, Margot was subjecting him to brutal physical exercises as punishment for talking to someone in the outside world about the cult.
With Cash taken off the case by the (let’s be honest, equally inept) taskforce, he vowed to Justin that he was going to track Andrew down himself, and he wanted his assistance.
A Yabbie Creek police officer going rogue? That always ends well…
This week, Margot continues her brainwashing of Andrew as she keeps him captive in a darkened room, repeating the mantra that plays across the cult’s tannoy system—“We are only as strong as our weakest link.”
“She’s a woman of great belief and faith in her way of seeing the outside world – as a dangerous place that’s falling apart,” Mandy told TV Week. “There’s an element of truth in that – you just have to look at the news. So she’s created a place that protects her family from the world.”
“Everything she’s doing is to protect Andrew,” Mandy continues. “She feels it’s her duty to save him, even if that means punishing him to make him see what she does.”
Meanwhile, Cash falls back on his usual way of finding out information after being taken off a case—he asks Rose (Kirsty Marillier), after hearing from her that the taskforce have now actually managed to find an address.
Eventually discovering the location of the cult’s compound, Justin and Cash pay a visit, finding it guarded by men armed with bows and arrows.
Nevertheless, TV Week reports that Justin won’t back down; he wants to see Andrew.
Seemingly confident that her teachings have been successful, Margot claims she has nothing to hide as she invites the pair to see him.
Justin is relieved to see that Andrew is okay, but he’s shocked when Andrew then refuses to leave, stating that he has now found his home.
It’s clear that Andrew has been indoctrined, or is simply too scared to speak up. Justin tells Andrew the truth about his newly found sister, but not even that is enough to convince him to leave.
As Andrew is 17, there’s no legal ground for Cash to have him removed (even if he was there officially), and so the pair reluctantly leave.
Justin is determined to bring Andrew to safety, but how will he manage to do so?
Spoilers for later in the week reveal that Cash is set to go rogue again, so it’s far from over…
Elsewhere in Summer Bay, Marilyn (Emily Symons) is a bag of nerves as she continues to be threatened by Stunning Organics.
The shonky company have been coming after Marilyn since she spoke to the press about her ordeal with them. Despite Marilyn having gotten what she wanted, to be released from her contract, she refused to return her last delivery, and stated to the Coastal News that she wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that others are out there suffering in the same way.
After receiving a threatening voicemail warning Marilyn and her friends to watch their backs—both Alf (Ray Meagher) and Roo (Georgie Parker) were also named in the article—Marilyn went to the police.
Although the caller hadn’t withheld their number, Rose soon discovered that the number had actually been spoofed, meaning that they were dealing with some sophisticated techniques—this wasn’t just a prank call.
With Marilyn taking care of the plants at the Beach House whilst Irene (Lynne McGranger) is away, she had decided to turn the place into her anti-Stunning Organics campaign HQ, and chose to stay there rather than return home. Given the company already have the address, since she had her last delivery sent there, we’re not sure it would be any safer.
Indeed this was proved correct when Stunning Organics decided to make another delivery—a message attached to a brick, thrown through the window—warning Marilyn not to conduct any more interviews.
Earlier that day, Marilyn had been speaking to John (Shane Withington) at the coffee cart about how a journalist in the city had wanted to pick up the story, just as a shady-looking gentleman nearby seemed to be taking a keen interest in her.
When the gentleman, Dylan (Simon Emmanuel) left, he made sure to place the Coastal News featuring Marilyn’s story face up on the table, as if to send her a warning.
“It’s a frightening wake-up call for Marilyn, as she realises they’re prepared to go to great lengths to make her stop what she’s doing,” Emily told TV Week.
With Marilyn now knowing for certain that the company is spying on her, she battens down the hatches in the Beach House, determined to not involve her friends any further.
This week, Marilyn speaks to the police again, only for Cash to tell her that they’re no nearer to finding who is behind the harassment.
“Cash has a serious conversation with her about how to deal with it,” Emily added. “But it escalates in a way she never imagined.”
When Marilyn hears a commotion at the door that evening, she arms herself with a frying pan and lies in wait…
As someone enters, Marilyn starts to launch herself at the would-be assailant…. only to find that it’s Irene!
Irene coming home from overseas to a living room full of boxes, a boarded-up window, and a crazed Marilyn coming at her with kitchen equipment must be quite the sight to see, as she demands an explanation.
With Roo soon on the scene too, the pair rally round Marilyn who is clearly in a very fragile state… but could her ordeal be about to get a lot worse (and we don’t just mean after Irene sees the electricity bill)…?
Here’s the full spoilers for this week’s Home and Away episodes in Australia:
Monday 22nd May (Episode 8042)
Margot torments Andrew. Justin and Cash locate Vita Nova. Marilyn’s friends rally around her.
Tuesday 23rd May (Episode 8043)
Marilyn doubles down in her fight against Stunning Organics. Theo confides in Justin. Xander attempts to ease his survivor guilt.
Wednesday 24th May (Episode 8044)
Xander and Kate take comfort in each other. Mali and Rose’s siblings push them back together. Theo and Kirby call it quits.
Thursday 25th May (Episodes 8045-8047)
Kirby drowns her sorrows. Mali finds his way back to Rose. Rock chick Mercedes explodes into Summer Bay.
Rose and Mali are stuck in limbo. Kirby avoids Theo. Lyrik implodes.
Mercedes makes waves throughout the Bay. Rose lays down the law for Mali. Cash goes rogue.