After two dramatic crashes, Felicity, Eden, and Leah’s lives were in danger when Home and Away made its return to Australian television. Did everyone make it through the dramatic 2023 season return?
Home and Away is back on Australian television after a six-week hiatus, and it all began with a dramatic episode that left the fates of Felicity (Jacqui Purvis), Eden (Stephanie Panozzo), and Leah (Ada Nicodemou) in limbo.
The couple was unaware that their brakes had been tampered with by a member of the Death Adders bikie gang as they were traveling to Felicity’s wedding to Tane (Ethan Browne) at a remote country farm in the final moments of the 2022 season finale, which aired in Australia at the end of November.
After Cash shot their leader Marty (Ben Wood), the gang put a bounty on his head, but they had been hiding out lately. The newly restored ute that Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) was going to use to take his sister to her wedding the following day was tampered with the night before Felicity’s wedding by an enigmatic man who crept onto the Paratas’ driveway.
In the end, it was Eden who took the wheel of the ute after Felicity’s pre-wedding jitters caused a change of plan.
Leah and Justin (James Stewart) also left the wedding ceremony early in the final episode of 2022 after Marilyn (Emily Symons) called to inform Leah that there had been a disaster with the wedding cake back at the diner.
The two hopped in their car to return to Summer Bay, as had been hinted at numerous times over the previous few months. They soon discovered themselves, though, headed straight for Flick and Eden.
While Eden drove quickly to make up for lost time, Felicity passed the time by practicing her vows.
Eden tried to slow down as she approached an orange campervan but found that the ute’s brakes had failed. She found herself hurtling toward Justin and Leah’s car when she swerved around the van and into the other lane.
In order to avoid hitting them, Justin swerved, flipping his and Leah’s vehicle, which then fell to the ground.
After speeding recklessly for a few more meters, Flick and Eden’s car crashed through the wall of a gas station and came to a stop perilously close to some gas pumps.
At the wedding venue, Tane’s nerves built as he awaited Felicity’s arrival. Felicity was late – hardly unusual – but as time ticked on, it eventually became clear that the bride-to-be wouldn’t be arriving for her wedding.
In order to avoid hitting them, Justin swerved, flipping his and Leah’s vehicle, which then fell to the ground.
After speeding recklessly for a few more meters, Flick and Eden’s car crashed through the wall of a gas station and came to a stop perilously close to some gas pumps.
Only Cash and Gary (Peter Phelps) were aware that Felicity had serious doubts the night before the wedding and even considered calling it off.
Cash put off the wedding party’s realization that Flick was late by explaining to Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) that there was a chance she might not show up at all because of a problem with her wedding dress.
Eventually, Cash was left with the difficult task of breaking the news to Tane – Flick wouldn’t be coming.
Justin and Leah were left in a bad way after their crash. When Justin came to, he looked to his left to see a metal pole through the windscreen, and Leah next to him gasping for breath. The pole had punctured Leah’s abdomen when the car landed, and she needed help, fast!
In the end, Cash was left with the challenging job of telling Tane that Flick wouldn’t be coming.
After their collision, Justin and Leah were in terrible shape. When Justin regained consciousness, he glanced to his left and noticed Leah suffocating next to him and a metal pole visible through the windscreen. Leah needed assistance right away because the pole had pierced her abdomen when the car landed.
He was able to call 000, and soon the ambos and police were on their way.
Justin drove her to the hospital after they were able to cut the pole, stabilize her, and get her into an ambulance.
Eden was unconscious next to Flick when she came to when she was awake, and she was unable to wake her. Even worse, she was unable to escape because the impact had crushed her car’s door.
When the police and paramedics arrived, Xander (Luke Van Os) tried his best to help by securing Eden’s neck in a brace and assuring Flick that they would be able to free her. Rose (Kirsty Marillier) coordinated the situation.
When Tane returned to the location to cancel the wedding, Gary rushed in to say there had been an accident.
Felicity and Eden were still inside the car, but the medical team had to free them because the firefighters were occupied at another incident.
The team decided it was safe to start cutting because there were no signs of a fuel leak, so they cut Eden out of the car while she was still unconscious. During the rescue, she experienced full cardiac arrest, was not breathing, and the situation didn’t seem promising.
Only after disclosing to the paramedics that Eden was his girlfriend did Cash accompany her to Northern Districts. It appears that the crash has caused him to recognize his true feelings, just as he runs the risk of permanently losing her.
The disaster was beginning to become known to the remaining citizens of Summer Bay. Back at the Diner, Maz threw the wedding cake—the incident that led to Leah and Justin’s involvement in the collision—into the trash.
John (Shane Withington) was left comforting Nikau at the Parata residence because he was unsure of what to do.
The episode also featured one of the gang members watching Cash attack Justin while he was being treated at Northern Districts Hospital, blaming Justin for the accident’s delayed brakes. The gang member was on the phone with someone, most likely Tex, giving them an update on the situation.
“He definitely wasn’t in the car,” he explained, as he watched Cash lay into Justin. “I’m looking at him now, there’s not a scratch on him. Regroup and put Plan B into action.”
Back at the accident site, as the team started work on rescuing Felicity from the vehicle, they realised that they couldn’t do it from the passenger side of the car, through which they’d rescued Eden.
As they shut the passenger door, it caused a rupture of the fuel tank, and petrol began to leak from the ute’s underside.
A medic also her concerns over Felicity, telling Gary that Flick had been trapped for longer than they would have liked, with her legs compressed.
The medical professionals escorted everyone away from the ute after spotting the petrol leak.
Felicity was instructed to stop moving, but she began to freak out and tried to ram the ute’s door open on her own.
This caused the ute to shake back and forth, which prompted a stray spark to light the gasoline that had been spilled, igniting it and engulfing the ute in flames with Felicity still inside!
Tane was left to attempt to save his fiancée from the burning car because the fire department was still nowhere to be found.
He ran through the flames, putting his own life in danger, wearing only his suit jacket as protection.
The dramatic episode ended with us wondering whether Felicity, Eden or Tane would make it.
Do Tane and Felicity survive?
Thankfully, with the flames confined to the outside of the vehicle, Felicity survives the explosion, and it seems running through fire doesn’t have much of an impact on Tane.
Photos of the aftermath of the crash show Tane carrying Felicity in his arms away from the vehicle.
Both Ethan Browne and Jacqui Purvis have been seen filming together in recent months, confirming that Flick makes a full recovery, and that the two remain a couple.
Whether they go on to say their vows, or whether the event puts Felicity off marriage once again, remains to be seen…
Does Eden survive?
As far as we know, Stephanie Panozzo is still filming for Home and Away, meaning Eden also survives the accident.
We’ll have to wait and see how she recovers from the dramatic crash, as the doctors appear to be worried that she might have sustained a permanent injury in the promo for tomorrow’s episode.
Does Leah survive?
Thankfully, we know that Leah makes a full recovery, as actress Ada Nicodemou has been seen filming with fellow Home and Away cast members in recent weeks.
Several members of the cast traveled to central Sydney in early November 2022 to film scenes in a stunning setting with views of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.
Justin, Theo (Matt Evans), Cash, and Roo were with Leah (Georgie Parker).
Everyone is dressed in formal attire, and Justin and Theo are dressed in suits and boots, so it appears that later this year, we can expect something fancy, such as a wedding, celebration, presentation, or something else entirely.
Justin plans to take responsibility for the accident in the coming days.
Cash asked Justin to revive the ute before the wedding because it used to belong to Felicity and Cash’s father and hadn’t been used in decades. Justin can only assume that he botched the repair and is to blame for Flick, Eden, and Leah’s injuries since the brakes failed on the newly restored car’s first proper outing.
But it appears that the moment when the truth is revealed will come quickly. The bikie gang will undoubtedly attempt Cash’s life again soon since he is still alive.
The episodes of the following week begin with “Cash uncovering a horrifying truth” (possibly learning that he was the target of the tampered brakes), followed by “following a lead” on Tuesday and “launching a rogue crusade” on Wednesday.
Will he reach the group before they do?
Home and Away airs Monday–Thursday on 7 and 7Plus.
The Home and Away 2023 season return will air in the UK on Monday 9th March.
