Right, Let’s Set the Scene
Seven weeks in and the wheels are officially wobbling. Half the cast has “design block,” the other half hasn’t slept since the Bledisloe Cup, and somewhere in the middle of all that Kristian and Mimi went full amateur detective on House One, allegedly enlisting “the AFP” to dig up old renovation videos of Maddy and Charlotte. Spoiler: it wasn’t the AFP. It was a mate called Chelsea and a search bar.
This week it’s guest ensuites, the room nobody asked for but everybody has to build anyway, and it turns out to be the great leveller. A basketball shootout against actual Opals players nearly took someone’s head off before a tile had even been laid, Charlotte and Maddy had a full DEFCON-1 ladder argument, and Marty Fox found a bathroom he compared, unfavourably, to a tourist maze. Buckle in.
Final Score Card
| Rank | Team | Score | Judges’ Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1st | Maddy & Charlotte (House 1) | 27.5 | “I love the girls’ direction… this is the first space that is truly theirs.”, Shaynna Blaze |
| 🥈 2nd | Ricky & Haydn (House 3) | 25 | “This is a really, really exciting room.”, Shaynna Blaze |
| 🥉 3rd (tie) | Kristian & Mimi (House 5) | 24.5 | “Now, this is what I like. This is clean, marketable.”, Marty Fox |
| 🥉 3rd (tie) | Kylie & Brad (House 4) | 24.5 | “They’re on the money here. They have something special.”, Darren Palmer |
| 5th | Courtney & Grant (House 2) | 24 | “It’s an optical illusion and I absolutely hate it.”, Marty Fox |
All scores confirmed on air. It was tighter than it sounds, 3.5 points covered the entire field, and House 3 dodged a roasting entirely for the first time this season. But the real story of the night wasn’t the margin, it was what happened the second the winner’s name was read out, because not everyone was in a clapping mood.
Key Moments This Episode
- DRAMA Kristian and Mimi’s “outside source” investigation into Maddy and Charlotte turns out to be a mate named Chelsea doing a YouTube deep dive, uncovering a Sika Australia ad and a not-so-secret property-flipping side hustle.
- ARGUMENT Charlotte accuses Maddy of not knowing how to carry a ladder mid-sand, Maddy claps back with “Charlotte, without me, there is no room… would you like to win?” and things get frosty fast.
- DISASTER Kylie and Brad’s tiler saga hits new lows, a tiler who had a baby, a tiler who had a car accident and a tiler who just didn’t show, before they finally lock one in on Friday afternoon. The shower is still ungrouted at reveal.
- ARGUMENT Courtney accidentally scrapes paint off a freshly finished door after zero sleep, Grant throws a paintbrush and swears loudly enough for the censors to earn their pay.
- RIDICULOUS PURCHASE Maddy buys “every colour of green towel you could possibly find” plus an entire olive tree, insisting “I have to have four options. That’s how I shop”, while Charlotte fumes back at the house on a deadline.
- DISASTER The Ford basketball challenge against Opals stars Maddy Rocci and Steph Reid turns into a genuine contact sport, with elbows flying and a very real “stop hitting me!” mid-game.
- DRAMA Marty Fox compares Courtney and Grant’s guest ensuite to “walking into the Phillip Island maze” and flatly states “I absolutely hate it”, while Darren Palmer calls the exact same house his favourite of the season.
- DRAMA Kylie and Brad refuse to clap or congratulate Maddy and Charlotte on the win, prompting accusations the competition is “rigged” and a very public “most hated people on The Block” call-out.
Maddy and Charlotte: From “Cagey New Girls” to Room-Winners in One Week
Let’s deal with the elephant in the ensuite first. This week opened with the rest of the cast finally cracking the case on Maddy and Charlotte’s actual renovation pedigree, a Sika Australia ad, an “entrepreneurial” property-flipping history and a handy tiling skillset nobody had mentioned. Kristian and Mimi went full private investigator, complete with jokes about hiring “the AFP,” and the neighbourhood was not pleased. “They’ve lied. They’ve lied.” “It’s schneaky,” said one Blockhead, which is either a typo or the harshest insult of the season.
“None of it adds up. So, straight away, them hiding it is just… damaging their character. It’s just dumb.”
Then, mid-build, the sisterly harmony collapsed entirely over a ladder. Charlotte, sanding solo while Maddy was out on a four-option towel-buying bender, snapped that Maddy “doesn’t know how to carry a ladder.” Maddy, upon returning, delivered arguably the line of the night.
“Without me, there is no room, so, if you’re having a go at me for going out styling, um, would you like to win? ‘Cause we can deliver a room with no tiles and no styling if you’d like.”
Somehow, despite the sniping, they delivered the goods, and the judges went weak at the knees. Marty Fox called it more sophisticated than “what Jesse and Paige were doing,” officially confirming this is now Maddy and Charlotte’s house to lose, and Shaynna Blaze coined them a brand new style: “classic simplicity.” Darren Palmer noted they’re the youngest couple ever on The Block and still produced this. The result: 27.5 points, the win, and a very awkward silence from House 4.
Ricky and Haydn: The Circles Are Working, Apparently
After weeks of being told to stop playing it safe, Haydn and Ricky finally leaned into their “custard and mustard” colour palette and it paid off, mostly. The judges loved the layout, the femininity of the materials (a first for this famously blokey house) and the running motif of circles turning up in ceilings, bathrooms and now the kitchen island. Shaynna called it “well done, boys” energy after last week’s kitchen roasting, and Darren admitted the circular theme was “actually working for them.”
“Is it an amazing bathroom that gets the senses going? No. But is it marketable to a large range of buyers? Yes, it is.”
Their one wobble was clashing yellows, Darren clocked a warm yellow fighting a cool yellow across the same wall, suggesting they repaint the inside of the door to match. Minor gripe, no roast, second place on 25 points and an entirely finished bathroom for the first time this season. Progress.
Kylie and Brad: The Tiler Who Wouldn’t Stay Hired
If there’s a Block curse this season, it belongs to Kylie and Brad’s tiling department. This week’s recap montage alone ran through a tiler who had a baby, a tiler who had a car accident, and a tiler who simply never turned up. They finally locked one in on Friday at 2pm, for a room due Sunday. Predictably, the shower grout didn’t make it to the finish line.
“It’s missing its grouting, the finishes aren’t there and they really stand out. It’s hard to feel like you’re in a completed room when it’s just not.”
Judges did love the “day spa” ambition, the blush-pink Nood Co basin as the hero piece, and the timber-look tile creeping up the shower ceiling, though Marty wasn’t sold on materials “masquerading as something else.” A tied third on 24.5 points is a respectable result off the back of a genuine trades crisis. What wasn’t respectable was the mood back at the house when Maddy and Charlotte’s win was announced, Kylie and Brad sat stony-faced, no clap, no smile, prompting neighbours to brand them “the most hated people on The Block at the moment.” Ouch.
Kristian and Mimi: Consistent, Competent, and Just a Bit Boring
Kristian and Mimi walked into this week with a full-blown case of “design block,” admitting on camera they had “no idea what to do” for their tiny downstairs guest ensuite. Their solution: do exactly what they’ve done in every other bathroom, just in a different colourway. It worked, sort of, the judges loved the consistency across the house, but couldn’t shake the sense of déjà vu.
“It’s rinse, lather, repeat. Is it a wow factor? Absolutely not. Does it work? Absolutely, yes. Is it consistent? 100%.”
Marty also caught a mirror hung so wonky you could genuinely see the tilt from the doorway, docking points for attention to detail slipping. Still, “clean, marketable, well put together” was enough to land them tied for third on 24.5, and their morning drama, spent lecturing Maddy and Charlotte about honesty after their own quiet “digging” operation, aged like milk once the votes came in.
Courtney and Grant: The Phillip Island Maze Nobody Wanted
Courtney and Grant went bold with a striped green-and-white shower carried through onto terracotta and bone-coloured floor tiles, a full commitment to the “Moditerranean” bit that has defined their season. The judges were split right down the middle, which is code for “somebody’s about to have a bad night,” and that somebody was Marty Fox.
“This is like walking into the Phillip Island maze, and I absolutely hate it.”
Weirdly, Darren Palmer called the exact same house “one of the most beautifully finished, luxurious, design-centric homes that I’ve seen on The Block ever” and “definitely my favourite on this season”, proof that one judge’s maze is another judge’s masterpiece. Shaynna landed in the middle, torn between calling it “a waste of space” for a secondary ensuite and admitting it was “in a league of its own.” None of the goodwill translated into points: last place on 24, their lowest score of the season, and a paint-throwing meltdown between Courtney and a sleep-deprived Grant to top it off.
How It All Wrapped Up
Maddy and Charlotte silenced the doubters and the neighbourhood gossips with a first solo win on 27.5 points; Ricky and Haydn dodged a roasting for the first time all season with a colourful, circle-obsessed 25; Kristian and Mimi proved consistency beats flair, tying third on 24.5 despite a wonky mirror; Kylie and Brad tied them on 24.5 despite a genuine tiler apocalypse, then couldn’t bring themselves to clap for the winners; and Courtney and Grant’s boldest swing of the season split the judges and still landed them last on 24. Grab a coffee, get comfortable, and we’ll see you back here for the next disaster.
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