New Home and Away promo hints at Susie McAllister return

The search for Susie McAllister has continued in earnest this week, and now a Home and Away promo hints that she may be back sooner rather than later. Will Leah, Justin and John finally get the justice they’re looking for, or does Susie have one more trick up her sleeve?

Ever since Susie McAllister (Bridie Carter) skipped town with $90,000 of Leah (Ada Nicodemou) and Justin’s (James Stewart) savings earlier this year, alongside a sizeable chunk of Surf Club fundraising money, Leah has made it her aim to track down the scammer and bring her to justice.

She’s hit dead end after dead end as she collaborates with internet detectives to chase up potential sightings of the scammer. In her first bit of good luck, Australian viewers have recently seen her get some additional help from Stephen Tennyson (Bren Foster), a man she met on the Scam Stop forum and who claims he was also a victim of Susie’s scheming.

He seems just as determined to track her down. Considering Leah hasn’t been able to count on Justin’s support, and even John (Shane Withington) hasn’t been sure the search is worth the emotional stress, it’s been a relief to finally have someone in her corner.

His charm and charisma quickly won Leah and John over, as he recounted how he’s spent the past few years trying to track down Susie. However, while they’re delighted to have another person on their side, it isn’t particularly encouraging that Stephen has dedicated so much of his life to tracking her down, yet is still no closer to finding her.

This week, Aussie viewers saw Stephen convince Leah and John to hire a private investigator, presenting them with a shortlist of options he’s drawn up himself. John obviously went with the cheapest option, but it’s still a substantial chunk of money for the pair to stump up, with no guarantee that it’ll get them what they want.

We don’t yet know whether Stephen is a legitimate victim of Susie’s, or the next stage in her grand plan, but he’s certainly ringing alarm bells in our heads. Was Stephen’s list of private investigators simply a rouse to get Leah and John to part with even more of their hard-earned cash, which will go straight into Susie’s pockets?

Leaving that aside for one moment, John received the shock of his life this week, when he received a text from Susie herself.

“Hey Mr President. Heard you’re looking for me. Susie xx”

It’s the first he’s heard from her since the day she fled Summer Bay, when she left him feeling both heartbroken and foolish at having fallen for her scam. He doesn’t recognise the number – but that makes sense, with “Susie” running over her phone before she left the bay – but he also questions how Susie could possibly know that he’s looking for her. After all, it’s Leah who’s been all over the forums, not him.

Could Stephen be passing on messages, or even be sending the messages himself?

As the new promo shows, next week will see John, Leah and Stephen try to organise an ambush as John agrees to meet up with Susie.

The promo begins by recapping what went down. “She stole everything they had,” it reminds us, over a shot of Susie packing up her stuff, including a bag filled with thousands of dollars cash, and leaving John’s house behind.

It then cuts to shots of Leah and Justin, as they realise what she did. “Ninety grand of our life savings,” expresses Justin, stunned, as Leah puts her head in her hands. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

Then there’s a potential new shot. Susie lurks in the shadows in what appears to be John’s house, tapping her fingers against the wall. It could simply be footage from a previous episode that we don’t recognise, but could it also be Susie paying John an unexpected visit?

After more flashbacks – Susie knocking Irene out, a frustrated Justin on the phone to the police, and Susie driving off from John’s house for the final time – we’re brought back to this week, as John suddenly received a text from Susie as he sat in The Diner.

“Susie is playing games with you,” says a sceptical Stephen.

However, it seems that John is willing to take the risk.

Next week, Susie proposes that she and John meet up. “I’m ready if you are,” she texts him. He’s overwhelmed that he may actually get to see her again, with part of him still hoping she’s sorry for what she’s done and is ready to make amends.

“Let’s see if Susie takes the bate,” says Leah. She wants to make the most of Susie’s messages to John, and plans for them to ambush her when she arrives back in town.

Of course, Susie isn’t that stupid and clearly knows John won’t be arriving alone.

Next week’s episode summaries, which you can read in full below, give us a hint as to what’s to come. “The search for Susie heats up,” says Tuesday’s summary, but it comes as no surprise that Wednesday brings the trio back down to earth with a bang, as the summary tells us that “the Susie stakeout doesn’t go to plan.”

“Will they get their revenge?” asks the new promo.

“This time, I’m in control,” John promises, passionately. However, Stephen, who also knows what she’s capable of, reminds him that “with Susie, you’re never in control.”

Yet it’s not just Leah, John and Stephen at risk. Justin wants nothing to do with their search for justice, but it looks like he’s about to get caught up in it.

“Will she be back for one last victim?” announces the promo’s voiceover, as we cut to a shot of Justin back at the Morgan house, seemingly just out of the shower.

There’s a knock at the door, and as Justin throws on a top and answers it, his face turns to utter disbelief when he sees what’s waiting for him.

Is it Susie?

The promo finishes with a shot of Justin collapsed on the floor of the garage, as Leah runs in to find her boyfriend unconscious. It’s worryingly reminiscent of his initial collapse at the garage, which kicked off his carcinoma storyline in the latter half of 2020 and has led to his current pain killer addiction.

Is his collapse really a new vicious act by Susie, or just another attempt by the Home and Away promo producers to mislead us? We know that his painkiller addiction is getting further and further out of control, meaning it could be either Susie or an overdose of pain meds which causes his dramatic collapse.

We’ll find out soon enough, as Home and Away returns to Australian screens on Monday. UK viewers will see these scenes just over five weeks later, from Wednesday 7th July.

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Here’s the full spoilers for next week’s Home and Away episodes in Australia:

Monday 31st May (Episode 7572)

Christian avoids Tori but confides in Rachel. Nikau asks Tane to help him get fit and look his best. Ziggy feels lost when Tane starts work at the gym.

Tuesday 1st June (Episode 7573)

Justin’s deceit continues to grow. Nikau receives, and ignores, good advice. Although struggling, Roo decides to go it alone. The search for Susie heats up.

Wednesday 2nd June (Episode 7574)

Mackenzie continues to make new friends. The Susie stakeout doesn’t go to plan. Chloe is suspicious about Ryder’s sudden change in demeanour.

Thursday 3rd June (Episodes 7575-7577)

Chloe confides in Ryder. Ari and Mia have a hard time convincing Chloe. Justin’s cold turkey comes home to roost.

Justin struggles with his reality. Christian makes a bad choice. Roo and Marilyn rally around their friend.

Nikau becomes obsessed with his image. Christian makes a devastating decision. Tori’s world is shattered.