Is Toadie softening toward Melanie?

He said he didn't want anything to do with her, yet he called in a favor to get Legal Aid to re-assign her case to a more competent lawyer.

Nell was thrilled, Terese was nervous, and Toadie insisted he was only trying to be decent. But did the process of putting Toadie and Terese back with their original partners begin on Neighbours during the week of 11-27-23?

Partner swaps -- the kind where two people are married to the 'wrong' spouse and belong with one another -- are a tired soap trope I'd hoped to avoid here.

Soap operas should be about true love, but I never bought Toadie and Melanie as a couple. IT felt like the show was trying too hard to replace SOnya after her death, with Toadie and Melanie engaging in similar silly pranks and behavior.

It fell flat every time. Melanie is not Sonya, and trying to make her Sonya 2.0 couldn't work.

And now, Toadie's moved on, and Melanie, to her credit, believes it's too late. She seems to understand that the best she can ever hope for is a friendship and somewhat of a co-parenting relationship and isn't pushing him to leave Terese for her.

As for Terese, she and Paul have had several go-arounds already. I know some fans love them, but after several breakups caused by Paul's sneaky b behavior, isn't it time to throw in the towel on this couple?

Paul's so arrogant about it, too. He's convinced Terese wants to be with him and hasn't admitted it to herself yet, and unlike Melanie, he'd be thrilled to break up Toadie and Terese to further his goals.

That's not a winning formula for a super couple relationship. It's pure manipulation, and it needs to stop.

Paul's not a good partner for anyone. He's always involved in something shady that blows up in his face sooner or later -- sometimes literally.

It's not any surprise that he was falsely accused of causing the 2016 boiler room explosion at Lassiter's that took the life of Terese's son, considering all the other things he's gotten up to!

If Terese were to reconcile with Paul, one of them would have to change. Either she'd have to accept Paul's sneaky behavior, or he'd have to stop doing illegal things. Neither of those sounds likely to happen, and it wouldn't work well if they did, so let's not go there again.

If Terese and Toadie break up for the sake of drama, that'll hurt Nell deeply when she's already lost Sonya and Melanie, and Nell will probably become even more determined to get Toadie and Melanie back together.

Ideally, Nell could have a relationship with her former stepmother without Toadie having to reunite romantically with Melanie. That would make the most sense and be fairest to her.

And I know Hugo is still a little boy, but why does everyone talk about how Melanie's leaving affected Nell and leave him out of the conversation as if he doesn't exist?

Hugo wasn't happy with Nell's manipulations to try to get Terese out of their lives, but other than asking why they can't visit Melanie in jail, he's had no reaction whatsoever to her return.

What does he feel? Also, does he know he's not Sonya's biological son? If not, that could be an interesting path to follow someday.

Elsewhere, David went over the top with his insistence on staying away from Erinsborough, only to change his mind after Krista needed him.

His real problem is his lack of purpose and grief over losing his medical license. When he began working with Krista, he stopped being obnoxious and seemed more like himself.

Still, there's no excuse for telling his husband to choose between him and Erinsborough. He's lucky Aaron gave him a second chance after that Paul-like behavior!

David's willingness to help Krista was strange, considering he had put his foot down about Ernisborough moments before. He lived hours away, so he didn't seem the best choice.

Still, I can overlook the plot holes if that keeps him in town. David, as the compassionate helper who assists Krista with her sobriety, is far preferable to the temper tantrums he was throwing about moving back to Erinsborough.

Reece's plan not to tell Krista about their father's death was stupid and doomed to failure. Paul's idea was silly -- surely Krista would eventually notice that her TV and Internet didn't work and complain to the front desk.

Holly wasn't to blame for Krista's relapse, but why didn't she stay with her after she realized that Krista didn't know about Conrad's death? She came over to offer support, then conveniently disappeared so that Krista could run away and score drugs.

I'd think Krista would want to get the drugs back to her hotel room before she took them, as it's less exposed than in front of a parked car. Either way, I'm glad David found her before she began using and that she flushed the drugs rather than taking them while in the bathroom.

Reece is gone, but is her relationship with Byron over? She calls everyone but him to deal with loose ends. And Nicolette was worried that he was expecting something that wouldn't happen with his plans to join Reece in the States once Krista was settled.

Nicolette's plans for the protest seem ill-timed. And if she thinks this is such a great idea, why is she insisting on secrecy?

Susan: A protest, really?
Nicolette: How'd you find out?
Susan: That's not important.
Nicolette: You haven't told Mum, have you?
Susan: No, but you've answered my next question. She doesn't know, does she?
Nicolette: We don't want her to get her hopes up, or tell the police and have us shut down.
Susan: Andrew doesn't know either? The Education Department has made their decision. The Council have approved it. Terese owns the land.
Nicolette: Decisions can be reversed. I know that you're friends with Terese, but this is for the school.
Wendy: The school you love so much.
Nicolette: A protest may be a long shot, but we have to try. Please don't say anything.

• Permalink: I know that you're friends with Terese, but this is for the school.

It would have made sense if she'd done this a month ago when the school could still be saved. But Susan's right that now that the school has been closed and Terese has bought the property, it's too late.

It brings Summer back to town, which should be interesting. I can't wait for her to interact with Holly.

But still, this seems like a recipe for disaster, and all the talk about how it's not like they're breaking into the property makes it sound like things will get out of control quickly.

There were a few more lighthearted stories to balance out the heavy drama. The boys' plan to recreate their mothers' first date was cute, though I don't know how they got them that perfect pasta!

Haz's inability to tell Holly not to hang around all the time led to a predictable blow-up.

I'm not sure why Mackenzie and Byron are so upset. Haz's last girlfriend practically lived at the shared house, and no one had a problem with that.

Still, Mackenzie being Haz's sounding board and encouraging him to make things work with Holly when she secretly has feelings for him should lead in a refreshing direction.

Your turn, Neighbours fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and tell us what you think of this week's shows.

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

Neighbours streams on Amazon Freevee. 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.