Why does Reece's search for her sister have to be a secret? Does anyone understand this?

On Neighbours during the week of 11-06-23, Tess pushed Reece to go back to the States after Reece wouldn't insist Byron sign an NDA. And Paul took the gold in jumping to wrong conclusions after sneaking into Reece's room to find out what she was up to.

 It felt like unnecessary drama.

Neighbours prides itself on being a series in which people talk to one another -- for the most part, anyway. Sometimes, people keep secrets for what they think are good reasons, leading to a mess.

In this case, though, the story seems to rely on my least favorite, most tired trope: drama from a misunderstanding that could quickly be resolved if people communicated.

Of course, Reece isn't obligated to share the truth with anyone who wants to know what she's up to. Paul's behavior was so far over the line that there was no excuse.

Leo: Even if you're right, it's a dog act to weaponize an addiction.
Paul: Excuse me?
Leo: Would you use Terese's to exploit her?

• Permalink: Would you use Terese's to exploit her?

Leo has often been annoying, but he shined as Paul's self-appointed guardian this week. He tried every which way to get Paul to realize he was being ridiculous, but of course, Paul didn't listen.

Leo should know by now that trying to reason with his father is a waste of energy. When Paul Robinson wants something, there's no talking him out of any plan, no matter how off-the-wall.

I laughed when Leo tried to convince Paul not to break into that clunker Reece and Byron had bought. Surely Paul has better things to do -- doesn't he have a hotel to run?

So why is Paul so interested, other than not being able to stand something going on that he's not privy to?

Leo told Terese that Paul needed a new girlfriend and later asked him if he would exploit her alcoholism the same way he wanted to do to Reece's alleged drug use. Are we setting the stage for a Paul/Terese reunion? Or, at least, a one-night stand?

With Neighbours gearing up to tell the story of what went wrong between Paul and Terese, it seems likely that they're endgame. Much like Days of Our Lives' Nicole with EJ, Terese appears to be able to get through to Paul when no one else can.

Maybe she'd even get him to stop pulling fire alarms and attempting to break into cars.

Still, there'd better be a more explosive aspect to Reece's backstory that we haven't learned yet.

I get that her family may be embarrassed to have a missing daughter who abuses drugs, but Reese pretending to do market research so that she can track Krista down, and Tess demanding Byron be legally forbidden from telling anyone take the idea of privacy way too far.

Reece finally admitted the secrecy is itnerfering with her ability to find Krista, but so far she hasn't acted on it -- let's hope she does.

Meanwhile, the reveal of the DNA test results felt anticlimactic.

JJ stole Andrew's motorcycle to try to run away from his pain just as the results came in... only for it to turn out that Andrew is not his father and that there's no way to identify the other potential sperm donor.

This felt like a lot of drama for nothing, leaving viewers scratching their heads.

For the most part, DNA test switches only happen in Salem or other American soap towns.

Neighbours stays away from that kind of nonsense 99% of the time. But some viewers wonder if the series might have made an exception; it feels like there has to be more to this story than we got.

The story seems to have morphed into Andrew wondering why Philippa ripped pages out of her diary, so maybe that's where something more will come from.

Both JJ and Dexter have a good rapport with Nell, but does Dexter like her as more than a friend? Something about the sweet, shy way he asked her to the anime movie with him made it seem like he had a bit of a crush.

On the other hand, JJ has bonded with Nell over their complicated family situations and the need for answers.

I don't want to hurt Terese, but I need to go. I have to see Melanie.

Nell

• Permalink: I don't want to hurt Terese, but I need to go. I have to see Melanie.

Nell got JJ to cover for her while she checked out Melanie's last known address, but she walked straight into danger, so he had to come forward. When he finds out, will Dex be as angry at him when he does as he was over the paternity question?

In some ways, the fight between Remi and Cara over the sperm donor issue felt like a potential split for the sake of drama. Understandably, Remi is miffed that Cara never told her there was a second sperm donor when they were trying to conceive.

But it's not as if Cara had an affair that resulted in a child. Someone had to donate sperm so that the women could have a baby, and regardless of who that person was, they ended up with a son that they both love very much. So, what difference does it make who the donor is?

Half of the problem is the continued bitterness between Wendy and Cara, but at this point, Cara is far more to blame.

Wendy: It's my famous chicken curry. Our family all really like it and we're hoping you do too.
Cara: We've got plenty of food.
Remi: That smells delicious. We'd love to take it. Thank you so much.
Wendy: I know this doesn't make everything right. But I do hope you like it.
Remi: Thanks.
[Wendy goes]
Cara: How long before she comes flying back in here accusing us of stealing it?
Remi: Wendy's trying to make amends for a mistake. You of all people should be sympathetic to that.

• Permalink: Wendy's trying to make amends for a mistake. You of all people should be sympathetic to that.

She refuses to give an inch and is still harboring a grudge over Wendy accusing JJ of stealing her watch. The Linwood Brothers incident doesn't help either, but as Remi said, at least Wendy is trying to make amends.

Cara's attitude is so obnoxious that I wouldn't mind if she returned to Werribee and left Remi and the boys alone, nor do I feel bad that Remi decided to go to her parents for a bit. 

I just hope that doesn't mean we're stuck with Cara while Remi disappears off-screen!

Wendy's not blameless, but she seems to do things impulsively and then try to fix it when she realizes she screwed up. Cara's just angry all the time, and it's wearing.

Sadie inherited her mother's nosiness and pushiness, but is she right about Mackenzie and Haz?

Mackenzie's determination to pretend she isn't into Haz won't work long-term. The facade is already cracking; the more Holly tries to get Haz's attention, the more obvious Mackenzie's jealousy is.

To most people, anyway. Not to Holly, who is focused on winning a man's heart who keeps giving off signals that he has no interest in her. And what on Earth was she doing, trying to get his attention while Nell was missing?

Holly's been more likable lately, but this is pushing her back into being a nuisance. 

Thank goodness Nell turned out to be all right! Toadie's relief when she came home mostly unharmed was understandable, but he needs to also impress on her that she must never do that again.

But first... what's the real story behind Melanie's disappearance? And what will Toadie do once he's heard it?

While I expected Melanie's apeparance to be our Thursday cliffhanger, I didn't realize how powerful it would be. Monday can't come fast enough, especially since all roads seem to lead to Eden.

I don't flly understand how he's connected to Melanie's backstory. And how did he end up at that other house where he locked Holly in the shed if he's been living with Melanie, which is what it seems happened?

What did you think, Neighbours fanatics? Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know.

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

Neighbours streams on Amazon Freeve in the US and UK and Amazon Prime in Canada. New episodes drop on Mondays through Thursdays.

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.