Episode 8380

Extended Summary

Levi arrives home and gets a warm but sarcastic greeting from Mackenzie, who notes she never sees him. Abigail comes bounding in, saying they’re going to have a family lunch. She admits she has to do a grocery run and also says someone will need to convince Eden. Levi volunteers. At the court, Kaia is giving evidence, saying Carl was always violent but became worse after Perri was born, being jealous of the attention she gave him. He needed to be in control and told her that if she didn’t leave and never come back then he would kill Perri in the back yard in front of her.

At the Diner, Leah is finishing a phone call with Martha and tells John, Justin and a newly arrived Marilyn that they’re right to be worried about Alf. Marilyn admits it might be her fault, since Alf left after she told him what happened at the hospital. Leah says according to Martha he barely ate or slept while he was with her and never went fishing.

Shortly after, Alf is bewildered to find Leah and Marilyn in the kitchen. They say they brought his mail from the bait shop and some leftover quiche and salad from the Diner. They also say that, since he never came to the Diner for afternoon tea, they’ll have it there. Alf declines and they say they’ll have it and he can join them if he wants to.

Levi turns up at the Lyrik house where Eden is preparing to tuck into pizza having come to terms with Cash staying. Levi stops her, telling her Abigail is cooking lunch. Eden is bewildered both by the lunch and by the fact that she’s invited but Levi suggests Abigail’s trying to reach out. At the farm house, Mackenzie is helping Abigail with the food prep. Abigail notes family lunches used to be a big deal for them but they haven’t had one since their parents split up. Levi and Eden arrive and Abigail tells them to set the table. She invites Mackenzie to stay, saying she’s part of the family, but Mackenzie has to go to work. Abigail apologises to Eden, saying Tim made her realise she was being harsh.

Jane delivers her closing statement: Perri suffered a lifetime of abuse at the hands of his father and his mother had to abandon him for his own safety. The violence continued after Perri left home and Perri froze after defending himself, unable to render aid. Perri barely seems to be listening as the magistrate adjourns court, suddenly being aware of Tane and Harper next to him. Kaia comes over, saying she’s been waiting for this moment, but Perri tells her to get away from him and walks off. Harper sends Tane after him.

Tane and Perri arrive at Salt and are greeted by Mackenzie. They note there were some surprises at court and Perri says his mum was the star witness. Harper, Jane and Kaia turn up but Perri is unimpressed to see Kaia there and he and Tane leave. Harper does introductions, explaining Perri stayed with Mackenzie. Jane explains that after Harper reached out to social workers, she got a call from a women’s refuge where Kaia had stayed years earlier and tracked her down in New Zealand. Harper didn’t know until Kaia turned up in court; Jane didn’t tell anyone because she wasn’t sure Kaia would make it. Mackenzie suggests Perri should have been told his mother was alive.

Eden and Levi are both impressed with Abigail’s cooking. She explains she tried to help their mum keep the tradition going but it wasn’t the same without Levi. Levi notes sit-down meals weren’t a thing at their dad’s, since Helen wasn’t a homemaker. Eden says she was more of a homewrecker and Levi tells her not to kill the vibe. Eden starts flicking peas at him, another old family tradition.

Tane and Perri arrive at the Parata house. Perri wonders if Kaia ever tried to find him or was glad to be free. Tane reminds him of what she said in court but says he doesn’t have the answers and Kaia does. Perri doesn’t want to see her. Tane says Kaia might be the reason he stays out of jail and suggests at least having a conversation.

At Salt, Kaia explains to Harper and Jane that she didn’t know Perri thought she was dead and assumed Carl would have told him she abandoned him. She asks Mackenzie, who says Perri is funny but tough to crack. Tane and Perri arrive, but before Perri and Kaia can talk, Jane gets an alert that the jury’s back. Tane and Jane muse that a quick verdict could be a good thing or a bad one. At the court, the magistrate asks the foreman about the verdict. The foreman says they unanimously find Perri not guilty on the grounds of self-defence. Tane and Harper hug in relief and Kaia looks teary. Perri still looks in shock.

Alf is sitting apart as Marilyn and Leah try to make conversation with him. He comments on their long break and eventually announces he’s leaving. Marilyn suggests a walk but Alf says he’s going upstairs for a sleep. After he’s gone, Marilyn says it’s time to bring out the big guns. Soon after, Marilyn finishes a phone call at the Diner. She tells Leah, John and Justin that Roo is on her way home: She’s going to catch a plane next time the ship goes into port.

Mackenzie arrives home to find Levi playfully arguing with Eden and Abigail over who does the dishes. She tells them that Tane texted and said Perri has been found not guilty. Levi says he’ll drop Eden off home. Abigail gives her the letter Tim got her to write, saying to read it when she gets home. Soon after, Levi and Eden arrive back at the Lyrik house. Eden worries about the letter but eventually reads it. In it, Abby says she looks up to Eden who she says is creative, determined and passionate and would never deliberately hurt her. Eden shows the letter to Levi, who thinks it’s good. Eden tells him she slept with Tim.

Kaia and Perri are walking near the beach, with Tane and Harper trailing behind. Kaia says she was worried Carl would take it out on Perri if she came back. Perri says he did anyway. Kaia notes him wearing a manaia and he says it was an 18th birthday present. Kaia guesses it was from Tane. Perri says he has people that care about him and that Kaia should go back to New Zealand and forget about him, walking away. Kaia asks Tane to talk to him.

Tane finds Perri crying in his room. Perri says Kaia left him with Carl knowing what he was like. Tane comforts him.