This week on Home and Away in Australia, as Justin and Cash make another attempt to rescue Andrew, Justin’s desperation ends with him getting shot.
In recent weeks, the case of Andrew (Joshua Hewson) has intensified. When a woman claiming to be Andrew’s long-lost mother Esther showed up at the Yabbie Creek Police Station, Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) believed he had made a breakthrough. Esther hadn’t seen Andrew since his father abducted him when he was just 4 years old.
In reality, the woman who had arrived in Summer Bay was actually Margot (Mandy McElhinney), the leader of Vita Nova, the mysterious doomsday cult of which Andrew’s father had been a member.
In the end, Andrew made the decision to depart Summer Bay with “Esther,” leaving Justin (James Stewart) and Leah (Ada Nicodemou) happy to have reunited Andrew with his mother while also sorry to see him go.
Or so they thought.
Once back at their headquarters, Andrew found himself being punished by Margot as she repeated Vita Nova’s mantra that “we are only as strong as our weakest link.”
“You gave those people information, you let them into our lives,” Margot explained.
“You understand, don’t you, why we can’t discuss our way of life with strangers? We need to be strong, and if we don’t prepare, we don’t survive.”
Cash was removed from Andrew’s case after the task force learned Margot’s real name because he had neglected to properly check his ID.
Cash made the decision to take matters into his own hands because the task force did not view Andrew’s case as a priority because he was 17 years old and still eager to cooperate.
When Rose (Kirsty Marillier) let him know that the task force had located Vita Nova’s headquarters, she refused to hand over the details, knowing it would be a terrible idea for Cash to go rogue. Yet a quick trip to the police station later, and Cash had got the address from the case files.
So, Justin and Cash made their first visit to the Vita Nova compound to try and rescue Andrew. They drive up to the doomsday cult’s headquarters in broad daylight, with Cash in civilian clothes, and simply demanded to see Andrew.
Knowing that Andrew had already been brainwashed at that time, Margot was more than willing to comply. He claimed he was content to stay with the cult and would not leave with Justin and Cash.
The task group offered Rose a significant update at the conclusion of the previous week, which she immediately relayed to Cash. The actual Esther, Andrew’s mother, had been found dead, and her remains had been found in a suitcase in a storage facility. She has been deceased for at least ten years, according to DNA testing.
While the cause of death hasn’t yet been determined, Cash pointed out that “you don’t die of natural causes and end up in a suitcase.”
This week, now knowing exactly what the group are capable of, Cash and Justin become even more desperate to get Andrew back.
“Alright, get in,” Cash says to Justin in Monday’s episode, after filling him in on the shocking new development. “Let’s go get Andrew!”
Simple is the strategy. Cash will enter the facility through the main gate and try to keep as many cult members busy as he can. Justin will find Andrew in the meantime and enter via a gap in the fence to free him without being seen.
Cash says, “I’m going to the gate, make a distraction.” I’ll give you all the time I can. I’ll see you two back here.
As Cash drives towards the gate, this time in his police car and full uniform, Justin heads to the fence with a pair of wire cutters.
Justin cuts a hole and climbs in unnoticed, while Cash faces an intimidating situation as two cult members open the main gate, one holding a menacing bow and arrow.
Justin soon discovers Andrew organizing supplies in an outbuilding while the majority of the cult is diverted. He begs Andrew to come with him, but Andrew continues to insist on sticking put.
Andrew yells for Justin to leave as many members of the cult pass by the structure, drawing the attention of the powerful men outside.
They quickly swoop in and grab Justin, before taking him to Margot, who’s busy conversing with Cash.
Their game is up and they’re sent away empty-handed.
Many people might be turned off by the experience, but Justin isn’t prepared to give up without a figut. He discovers another note from Andrew in his belongings, and even though it warns him to stay away, it just serves to fuel his determination, according to TV Week.
“Andrew is brainwashed… but it’s also a case of Stockholm Syndrome – he doesn’t know any better,” James told TV Week. “Justin sees the note as proof Andrew is still thinking for himself, having independent thoughts that Vita Nova and Margot aren’t controlling.”
When Justin shows Leah the note and explains that he has to make another rescue attempt, she tries to stop him, telling him: “we know these people are capable of murder.”
Naturally, he pays no attention, and when Leah awakens the following morning, Justin is nowhere to be found. He returns immediately to the compound, where he is easily apprehended.
Margot isn’t as eager to let him go this time. He is locked up after she confiscates his phone.
Later, Andrew visits him; he is visibly attached to the man who cared for him for a couple of weeks despite not wanting to leave.
Justin begs Andrew for assistance, saying, “You know that these people are never going to let me go.”
Eventually, Andrew agrees to create a distraction, giving him a chance to escape. Justin makes a break for it, running across the compound in search of an exit route.
However, as he gets close, he’s hit in the thigh by an arrow.
“Who knows what their intentions are, but they’re not good,” James tells TV Week.
As Leah anxiously waits at home, she tells Cash, “he could be dead for all we know.”
With Home and Away promising that one character won’t come home after this week’s dramatic episodes, will Justin meet his maker at the hands of Vita Nova?
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