RECAP: In what feels like a little burst of deja vú, Shortland Street returned for 2024 on Monday with a time leap from where it left us hanging in 2023.
In a similar, but slightly less anger-inducing version of the show’s 2023 return (remember when the hospital burned down, but they worked out that kink by leaping ahead to post-rebuild and fresh lick of paint?), Ferndale’s four weeks on from the kidnapping, overdosing, operating room death at the hands of a fake doctor going down in December.
Spoiler alert: Almost everyone lives. Nobody’s all that happy, though.
Viewers are treated to a quick little montage to catch everyone up on the happenings of Ferndale, since we last saw Harry’s dead colleague in the operating room, and Marty collapsing in an overdose heap as the Chris Warner’s party-goers rang in the new year with a hearty rendition of Olde Lang Syne.
In the space of a few minutes and a song, Marty gets wheeled into hospital with things looking grim, Esther looks gutted, there are tears, he wakes up and clears out his locker. Meanwhile Madonna shut the door on her priest lover with just a pang of regret on her face as a quick reminder that she’s got some things to figure out, too.
Over at Drew and Harper’s place, Vili’s up and rubbing his head before he’s off back home (We can only assume one of the doctors sitting near him gave the poor guy a thorough concussion check before sending him out to to make his way home), Harper’s acting out shoving motions to the police, and we can only assume someone cleaned up the signs of kidnapping, bat beatings and basement violence before the kids come home – happy families at house McCaskill.
Back at the hospital, Harry watches on while Stella cries over Rahu’s body, Stella wheels him out of the room while Harry watches on and Chris Warner comes running in to hug his fake doctor son while … Harry watches on again with those eyes holding all those secrets.
Shortland Street returned for 2024 with a few sad faces, whining and arguing and a bit of hugging it out.
Rahu has a funeral, Marty goes to rehab.
And in present day Ferndale, the town residents all appear to be at the talking, whining, arguing and being generally pretty miserable stage of the New Year’s chaos.
Central have let a bunch of staff go, so Shorty gets a handful of new arrivals, including Monique’s New Year’s fling. Surprise – he’s actually a surgeon, and now they’re colleagues.
In what’s bound to be a drawn-out romance drama, Monique spots him, whines about it, gets stroppy at him then lets him charm his way out of her wrath.
But wait, is he flirting with the other cute new doc on the scene? Watch out Monique – I smell drama on the horizon.
Everyone’s talking about blast from the past – “vile, abusive, racist dinosaur” emergency doctor Emmett Whitman who has a history of rubbing everyone the wrong way.
Will Harry Warner’s house of cards crumble in 2024?
Marty’s clean and sober and is at the “talking things through” stage of recovery. He’s grateful. Esther’s worried about leaving him alone to get back to work. Marty understands.
Harry gets boosted from a surgery, so he kicks off the year in a huff. He whines, gets angry and then argues with Stella about the whole Rahu dying on the operating table thing, he manipulates her, they hug it out.
And sure, as disappointing as it is to not kick off the year with lives on the line and brutal, violent chaos, there’s still plenty of room for drama to come once everyone’s had a chance to get the talking, arguing and whining out of the way.
What on Earth happened to Owen after he escaped his basement captivity, and gave Vili a back-of-the-head thumping with his bat? And is anyone going down for any of that “should have thought things through” madness?
Shortland Street returned for 2024 on Monday.
Will the walls come crumbling for fake surgeon turned dodgy doctor, Harry Warner? And just how is he going to react if his house of cards starts to really crumble?
It feels like a while since a full-blown serial killer doctor’s graced the screens, after all – and a desperate attempt to keep a career-ending secret feels as good a reason as any.
And who better to become a truly evil villain than the “tell me that is not your penis” son of Ferndale’s OG Doctor Love, Chris Warner?
One can only hope, right?
