After just shy of three years in Summer Bay, tonight’s Australian episode saw Rose Delaney leave for a new job in the city, marking Kirsty Marillier’s final scenes on Home and Away.
Her exit comes four months after her brother Xander’s (Luke Van Os) departure, with Xander’s move to Melbourne prompting Rose to make big decision of her own.
Last November, Xander left Summer Bay for Melbourne, after securing himself a six-week placement in the city as part of his business internship.
Although Xander assured Mackenzie (Emily Weir) and Dana (Ally Harris) that he would soon be back in Summer Bay, he ended up being offered a permanent position in the Victorian city, and opted to stay in Melbourne.
Rose told Dana that she was devastated that Xander had made the decision to move on without consulting her, considering they’d made the move to Summer Bay together.
Rose and Xander arrived in the bay within days of each other, back in late March 2022, as they tracked down Jasmine Delaney (Sam Frost), who was Xander’s half-sister, and Rose’s step-sister.
Jasmine’s dad had put her into foster care after the death of her mum, and Xander and Rose only discovered Jasmine’s existence after their dad Alexander Snr had passed away.
Jasmine left Summer Bay shortly after, to look after late husband Robbo’s (Jake Ryan) mother Wendy (Amanda Muggleton) and father Ian (Frankie J Holden).
Rose and Xander opted to remain in the bay without their long-lost sister, and soon settled into their lives in the bay.
After Xander’s exit, Dana asked Rose if she was considering leaving Summer Bay for Melbourne herself, but she explained that she hadn’t yet made a decision.
However, shortly after, she revealed to ex-boyfriend Mali (Kyle Shilling) that she was going to embrace Xander’s decision and make a big move of her own, by applying to become a detective.
Constable Delaney initially struggled upon moving to Summer Bay, when she discovered that small-town policing was much quieter than the fast-paced role she was used to back in ‘the city’.
While she eventually settled into life in Summer Bay, and soon discovered that the small beachside town had more than its fair share of serious crime to deal with – most of it involving her friends and boyfriends – she has always dreamt of one day moving back to the city and becoming a detective.
In late February, she told Cash (Nicholas Cartwright) that she’d finally applied for the ‘Advanced Diploma of Police Investigations’, the first step to landing her dream role.
“It’s exactly what I need right now,” she explained. “A change, to move to the city, to try something new,” she explained.
Within a matter of hours, she got the news that she’d been accepted onto the course, and before long Cash had been promoted back to his old role of Senior Constable, after Rose handed in her notice.
Rose has spent the last couple of weeks preparing her move, with Bree (Juliet Godwin) agreeing to take over the lease on the diner apartment.
Yesterday’s episode saw her on her final shift, stuck on patrol as her bosses didn’t want her taking on any new cases that she wouldn’t be able to finish.
Bree was surprised that she was spending her last shift bored and alone, and later teamed up with Kirby (Angelina Thomson) to make Rose’s last day special.
As Rose looked melancholy as she finished up paperwork at Northern Districts police station, the pair entered the station and ordered Rose to come with them.
Rose reminded them that she wasn’t due for her break yet, but it didn’t take much convincing for her to join them for a boozy lunch.
Today’s episode saw her leave Summer Bay behind, but only after Kirby talked Mali into heading to the station to say goodbye to her, after Rose expressed her sadness that the pair wouldn’t get a proper farewell.
The pair had one final walk along the beach, where Mali told Rose that he could’ve treated her a lot better, and has learnt a lot since they were together. She also had an emotional final goodbye to Cash at the station, where she thanked him for everything.
The following morning, as she went to drive out of the bay for the final time, Kirby, Irene (Lynne McGranger), and housemate Bree ran up to her, causing her to come to a stop.
After Rose stepped out of the car, Irene handed over farewell coffee and snacks from the diner for her trip.
Rose then hugged the trio one by one, and Kirby told Rose not to forget about them when she was a “hot-shot detective”.
The trio then waved her off, as she said goodbye to Summer Bay forever.
Rose has had an eventful three years in Summer Bay, with the sleepy beachside town proving to be anything but.
She and step-sister Jasmine initially struggled to connect, with Jasmine hurt that her father – who had left her in the foster care system after her mother’s death – had gone on to have a happy life with a new family she never knew existed.
Rose soon bagged herself a job at Yabbie Creek Police, while Xander secured a position with the local ambulance station. While Rose thrived in her career, Xander struggled in his role.
