As Karl’s lies begin to unravel, so does his sanity – and Darcy’s return only shakes the doctor more.
This week in Neighbours, Karl’s once-scheming nephew Darcy (Mark Raffety) is back, and the first stop on the pair’s reunion tour is retirement complex Eirini Rising, so that Karl (Alan Fletcher) can show off his greatest achievement.
“Karl is very wary of Darcy because of his historical behaviour,” Alan, 67, tells TV WEEK. “He is prepared to give Darcy some benefit of the doubt but he remains very watchful.”
Long-time Neighbours fans will recall Darcy was tangled up in Karl’s dramas involving Izzy Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) in the early 2000s. While Darcy is impressed by his uncle’s latest project, he picks up on something that rattles Karl, who is silently battling a prescription painkiller addiction ever since his bike accident in Europe.
Vera (Sally-Anne Upton) is suffering from serious stomach pains, and what Karl brushes off as indigestion, Darcy notices is actually far more serious.
“Because Karl has been in the grip of addiction, he is desperate to cling to the idea that he only missed Vera’s condition because he wasn’t party to vital information,” Alan implores. “It is this need to feel innocent that Darcy can exploit.”
When Susan (Jackie Woodburne) questions Karl’s judgement about the situation, he snaps, creating a divide between the pair. Susan is left questioning where this erratic side of her husband has come from.
Susan and Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou) are both concerned about Karl and his effect on the residents, so Darcy calls an emergency meeting – where Karl is sure Darcy is going to expose him.
“Darcy genuinely wants to help Karl but is uncomfortable covering for him with Susan,” Mark tells TV WEEK. “But he also sees there’s a mutual benefit to having Karl’s back.”
Are Karl’s concerns rooted in a drug-fuelled paranoia or has Darcy really returned to clear the air with the ones he has wronged in the past and is finally ready to do what’s right?
Neighbours airs Monday to Thursday, 4pm, 10 and 10Play; 6.30pm, 10 Peach
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