In this week’s Home and Away, Ari and Tane need to decide between armed robbery and potential jail time for Tane. Is there even a right answer?

Tane (Ethan Browne) just can’t catch a break. His ill-fated decision to shift a van full of stolen goods has caused nothing but pain for the Paratas, and it looks set to continue.

Recent weeks have seen Willow, Ziggy, Ari and now Mackenzie rally round to try and get Tane his freedom, but each attempt fails more spectacularly than the last. Willow and Ziggy initially teamed up to get rid of the van of stolen goods Tane was trying to shift, handing it over to Willow’s River Boy friends with no idea it also contained $25,000 of drugs.

With Tane’s crim buddies not too pleased to lose both their stolen electrical items and their dodgy pharmaceuticals, they set upon the Paratas at their house. It was only Ryder’s call to the police that stopped the Paratas from being seriously injured, but they were left knowing that Paul, Leon and their boys could return at any moment.

In an attempt to buy Paul off, Mackenzie handed over the keys to her Porsche, worth more than enough to pay for their freedom. As far as she was concerned, that was the end of it, and even Ari and Tane eventually conceded that she’d done the right thing and that they could finally relax.

Yet the gang aren’t ready to give in that easily. They now see the Paratas as easy targets, and want Tane to complete yet another job. Each time they promise it will be the last one, that his debt will finally be paid off, but it doesn’t look like that’s anywhere near close to happening.

This week, their troubles are set to get significantly worse!

While sharing a coffee with Mackenzie in Salt, Ari (Rob Kipa-Williams) is set to receive a text from Paul, simply reading “Let’s talk”. Paul is showing off, attaching a photo of him in Mackenzie’s old car, and looking very pleased with himself.

Ari pretends to Mac that it’s nothing, just Nikau wanting to borrow some money, but he knows it can only be something bad.

Grabbing Tane from the house, he tells him that Paul has another job for them. The two head to a remote meeting point, where Paul and Leon pull up in Mackenzie’s car.

Yet the job is the last thing they were expecting. An armed robbery! The exact same crime that led to their brother Mikaere dying just a few years ago. “Reefton Lakes Leagues Club.” instructs Paul, giving them the details of their next job. “Easy hit, I’ll provide the artillery”.

“You’re talking about an armed robbery!” exclaims Tane, unable to believe that it’s come to this. Transporting some drugs or handling stolen goods is one thing, but this is next level.

“Tane never thought it would go this far and he’s gutted to do this to his family,” Ethan told TV Week. “Tane isn’t feeling too good about himself and where his life has ended up.”

For Ari, enough is enough. He tells Paul and Leon where they can stick their job. Yet he’s in for a huge shock when they give him something that leaves them cornered. Ari is handed an envelope of incriminating photos of Tane, and it’s enough to send his brother to prison for years.

Knowing Paul has them under his thumb, the two brothers realise that they may have to carry out the armed robbery after all. Yet it’s a crazy risk – don’t do it and they risk Paul handing the photos of Tane to the police, but do it and get caught and they’ll both face jail.

It’s lose, lose.



What will the boys choose?

As they discuss their options, Ari breaks down. He can’t cope with their family being split apart. At that moment, Nikau walks in, and they have no choice but to confess to their young nephew what’s going on.

Not wanting him to get caught up in their dramas, they tell him that he needs to move back to New Zealand. He had already planned to head there with Bella a few weeks ago, but those plans were put on hold after Colby was sentenced to jail. Now, he needs to stop thinking about Bella and protect himself.

Nikau refuses to leave, wanting to play his part in protecting his family, but his uncles make it clear that he can’t get involved. This is their fight, and his life will be in danger if he sticks around in Summer Bay.

When he talks to Bella, she tells him that he has to go! She’s already lost Colby to prison, she doesn’t want to lose him completely as well. Although she’ll be gutted to say goodbye, he has to head back to New Zealand until things cool down.

Will Nikau do the sensible thing and go? And what next for Tane and Ari?