Reece's search for her missing sister was a weak storyline until the reveal.

On Neighbours during the week of 11-13-23, we learned that Krista and Eden were the key to understanding everything that had happened before the time jump.

It was a risky move for the Australian soap; some viewers were lost, confused, or annoyed by the non-linear storytelling. But it paid off beautifully for those who stuck with it til the end.

Neighbours masterfully put together a mystery, letting Melanie and others tell just enough of the story each day to leave viewers eager to know what happened next and how it all fit together.

In newly created flashbacks, we first learned that Melanie had been the Sincalirs' housekeeper and had ended up on the hook for drug crimes in the UK after trying to protect a teenage Krista from a drug dealer.

That left me guessing that Eden was Krista's dealer, only to find out later that he was an opportunistic loser who dumped Holly for Krista without bothering to tell her.

And if that wasn't bad enough, the story ended tragically...for now, anyway.

We got another piece of the puzzle each day, but as the credits rolled, we were often left with more questions than answers. Talk about jaw-dropping cliffhangers!

I kept guessing what it all meant, only to be proven wrong the next day. That's very unusual for me; I often guess the shocking twist on TV shows and in mystery novels early on. Well done, Neighbours!

The story also served as a cautionary tale about what happens when you keep unnecessary secrets, my least favorite soap opera trope.

Melanie didn't tell Toadie that Krista was bothering her or that she suspected Eden was behind sabotaging the van and causing Hugo's accident. Nor did he know about her past with Krista or that she was wanted for drug crimes in the UK.

Not telling him was a colossal mistake. Toadie is a lawyer, for goodness sake! And he stood by Sonya after she confessed to crashing through a window while drunk and nearly killing David and Piper, so there was no real reason to think he'd abandon Melanie if he knew the truth.

Why should I trust you, Melanie? You have done nothing but lie. Why should I believe a word that comes out of your mouth?

Toadie

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Instead, she remained silent even after Hugo's accident, which led directly to Krista's. And when she took off and claimed not to want anything to do with Hugo or Nell, she deeply hurt the entire family.

Terese seemed jealous during the early part of the story as if she were afraid that Toadie would decide to pick up with Melanie where he left off now that Mel's back.

It doesn't seem like that's a realistic fear (Sorry, Nell!), but Terese doesn't appear to be over Paul. She was more angry that he lied to her than she was that he covered up a death!

Paul: I didn't want to drag you into what had happened.
Terese: I told you that I accepted you for who you were. If you had just told me, we could have worked out some solution. But you lied.

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Now that the truth is out, what does this mean for everyone's future? Terese has mixed feelings about Paul, and her reaction suggests that her marriage to Toadie was an effort to get over her heartbreak.

Hopefully, she'll consider Nell and Hugo as she debates her next move.

A lot also depends on what the legal ramifications are for the coverup of Krista's death. Spoiler scenes suggest Melanie is in jail and Paul isn't, which seems unfair. But then again, Melanie was wanted in another country before all this began, so the cops may not have any choice but to hold her.

David, Aaron, and Holly have been released but warned not to leave town. In Holly's case, that doesn't seem fair. She didn't do anything wrong other than date a guy who wasn't worth it.

I thought I was a good judge of character. But Eden was a terrible person. I brought him to Erinsborough, and look how many people he's hurt.

Holly

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If Krista and Eden had left town and not continued to harass Melanie. Eden would have been a footnote in Holly's history. She's not the first person, either in soapland or real life, to dump a guy who cheated on her.

She didn't know anything about Krista's death; as far as she was concerned, that painful chapter in her life ended when she told Eden she never wanted to see him or "Kelly" again and came home.

Holly kept unnecessary secrets, though, mainly deciding not to let her family know she was in town after learning that her mother was cheating on her half-brother. (Only on a soap could such a thing ever happen!)

Izzy does not define Holly, and Susan and Karl know how flighty and ridiculous Izzy is.

Izzy falsely accused Karl of pushing her down the stairs the last time she was in town, so this cheating incident was tame for her. And in any case, they would never reject Holly because of what her mother does.

Still, Holly was incidental to the story of Krista's death and the subsequent coverup, and all that should happen to her is that she gets a stern talking-to about not wandering off with people she met five minutes ago.

Is Krista dead, though?

Fake deaths are more likely to happen in Salem than in Erinsborough, but this is one time where we might have gotten conned.

Melanie was gone all of two minutes after getting Krista out of the pool, yet Eden claimed to have disposed of the body. He was not disheveled or out of breath, and he had no blood on his clothing, even though Krista was bleeding badly enough that there was fresh blood on the ground by the pool.

All of that points to a major con game. Eden and Krista needed Plan B after Melanie refused to give them any more money, so if Krista regained consciousness after Melanie left, she could have hidden somewhere while Eden demanded money from Paul in exchange for his silence.

As an aside, it would have made more sense for Paul to send David to check out the situation. Although David lost his medical license, he could still confirm that Krista was dead and call emergency services, and he likely would not have given in to Eden's threats.

But Paul took charge himself, as usual. He always makes a mess out of things when he takes matters into his own hands. Thanks to him, half of Erinsborough was marched out of Terese's house to answer for the events leading to Krista's disappearance.

Reece'll be devastated when her search ends with the information that Krista is believed to be dead, and doubly so when she finds out Paul was involved.

All in all, the flashbacks answered some lingering questions about what had happened in the two years since the original series finale and set things up nicely for the aftermath of these reveals.

Technically, we didn't learn everything. It's not clear why Melanie disappeared or why Eden was at her house, but we can infer that he continued to blackmail her even after getting an enormous payoff from Paul.

Next, the police need to catch up with Eden and make him answer for a ton of crimes, starting with using Krista's plight to demand money.

What do you think, Neighbours fanatics? Did flashback week live up to your expectations? Where do you think things will go from here?

Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know.

Don't forget to check back over the weekend for the latest Neighbours spoilers.

Neighbours streams on Amazon Freevee in the US and UK and Amazon Prime in Canada. New episodes drop on Mondays through Thursdays after broadcast on Australia's Peach 10.

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.