Episode 40 Recap | Despite a major cash injection earlier in the week, Han and Can admitted they are already thousands over budget on The Block.

It was another jam-packed Wednesday night on The Block, with baking battles, emotional family reunions, and even a wedding vow renewal taking centre stage. While contestants grappled with looming shed and alfresco deadlines, celebrations and surprise cash wins kept tensions running high across the site.

Despite a major cash injection earlier in the week, Han and Can admitted they are already thousands over budget on The Block. (image – Channel 9)

The episode kicked off with a sweet twist — the Arnott’s baking challenge, judged by Lorraine, Charlotte and Peta from the local Country Women’s Association. Contestants whipped up their creations, but the expert judges weren’t easily impressed. While Mat’s lemon cheesecake went down well and Can-gella Lawson’s TimTam cake won points for presentation, Alicia’s quick lemon slice was dismissed as something that “doesn’t take much talent.”

After all dishes were tasted, it was Britt and Taz who rose to the top, thanks largely to Britt’s TimTam smash cinnamon scrolls, pocketing a sweet $10,000 win.

“It was beautiful, it was really nice,” said Britt later in the episode, reflecting on events still to come. “I think the ice was broken a bit. They’re here for their kids, we’re here for ours.”

No sooner had the icing sugar settled than the sound of a train whistle brought another twist — the contestants’ families had arrived en masse. Tears, hugs and plenty of emotion flowed as parents, children and friends poured onto the site to surprise their loved ones. For Sonny and Alicia’s three kids, the timing couldn’t have been better, as they were on hand for their parents’ vow renewal ceremony.

The wedding itself proved to be one of the season’s more unusual detours, taking contestants off-site for an entire day. Luckily, Mat, who is a registered marriage celebrant, stepped in to officiate, delivering vows with his trademark humour.

“Will you stand by him in good times and in bad as a faithful and caring wife, even when he installs the towel rails too high?” Mat quipped, to much laughter.

Alicia grew emotional as she told her children she hoped they would one day find relationships as supportive as their parents’, moving Blockheads and families alike to tears. The ceremony also helped thaw icy relations between Alicia and Britt, who had been at loggerheads after a fiery body corporate earlier in the week.

But once the confetti settled, attention turned back to the competition. Scotty Cam and Shelley Craft arrived for their Friday walkarounds, this time joined by Joel from CommBank. Joel was tasked with awarding $20,000 to the house with the strongest case for sustainability.

Each team pitched their eco-friendly features. Taz proudly highlighted his vegie garden, greenhouse, chook pen made from site offcuts, solar panels for his hot tub and sauna, and reclaimed timber landscaping — though some of that timber haul was noted by others as excessive. Ben and Emma showcased a grey water system, while Sonny and Alicia spruiked their recycled bricks, reclaimed timber beams and water tanks. At the other end of the spectrum, Mat and Robby, who forgot about the challenge altogether, offered little more than “I recycled yesterday.”

Despite heated competition, Britt and Taz won yet again, adding another $20,000 to their haul. Their $30,000 week left fellow contestants unimpressed.

“There is no way in hell that they should have won that at all,” fumed Mat. “Their whole house has underfloor heating which is not energy efficient. That is the most unsustainable house on the street.”

“How sustainable is that?” added Sonny, claiming some of Taz’s stockpiled timber could have been used in his own yard.

Meanwhile, financial pressure mounted for Han and Can. Despite a $50,000 cash injection from CommBank earlier in the week, Scotty revealed they were already $6000 over budget. The pair admitted their situation was dire.

“I didn’t realise how grave the situation was,” said Can. “There’s massive concern about completing.”

Refusing to give up, Han decided to insulate and plaster their shed herself to save on labour costs, ignoring warnings from both Foreman Dan and Scotty.

When Britt heard how dire things had become, she went next door to offer encouragement — and her tradies.

“Your buyer is not my buyer. You’re not my competition. I want you guys to do well,” Britt told Han, offering her chippies to help with doors.

But back home, Taz was unimpressed. “These are the same people who were absolutely rinsing us on Monday,” he pointed out, reminding Britt of past tensions. Britt remained unmoved, sticking to her philosophy: “Kill them with kindness.”

By episode’s end, Britt and Taz had cemented themselves as the week’s runaway winners, while Han and Can stared down their mounting financial nightmare. With only days left until the alfresco and shed reveal, and one team spiralling into budget chaos, the stakes on The Block have never looked higher.

Viewer Feedback

Online reaction skewed sharply towards frustration, with many complaining the episode sidelined renovations for side quests. Multiple viewers asked, “Is this a building show?” and groaned about “baking, a vow renewal and GOAT YOGA.” Others said the hour felt like “MAFS lite,” with one noting they tuned out without realising the goat yoga even happened.

Calls to “show us some construction” were loud, with one lamenting the episode should’ve come with a disclaimer: no building involved.

The CWA judges stole scenes — and the internet — thanks to the now-infamous verdict that a lemon slice “doesn’t take much talent.” Plenty loved the blunt delivery, declaring they “would not mess with Lorraine.” There were running gags about the “white” lemon slice, Can’s one-liners, and the chorus of “With CommBank, I can” echoing after the cash challenges. Viewers also snickered at the idea that “not needing lights in the day” was pitched as revolutionary.

Britt and Taz’s sweep of the $10,000 baking challenge and $20,000 sustainability prize lit up the comments. Some were convinced the pair are on an unstoppable roll; others fumed there’s “no way in hell they should have won,” pointing to underfloor heating.

A counter-chorus insisted underfloor heating is energy efficient, while another group shrugged that it’s simply “pitching and baking — the others should’ve done it better.” Theories about extra baking time and editing “stitch ups” also bubbled away.

Han and Can’s budget blowout drew equal parts sympathy and tough love. Fans called the situation “insane” and urged Han to “pivot” by shelving plans to make the shed habitable. Britt’s quiet check-in and offer of tradies was widely applauded — “really kind” — while a few questioned the fairness of the “hardest worker” nod elsewhere, grumbling that “doing a ton of work yourself” earned nothing. The consensus: House 2 needs cash, fast.

The family reunion was emotional, but many bristled at loved ones being whisked to a vow-renewal instead of spending proper time together. Comments ranged from “imagine flying across the country for a stranger’s wedding” to jokes about a child’s eye-roll during the vows.

The episode sparked comparisons to wedding reality shows, with one deadpan line summing it up: “There’s no building.” Frankie the Kelpie cameoed in multiple threads — from a cheeky “leash” sighting to general adoration.

Odds and ends peppered the chatter: scepticism about a shed wine bar (the “Shiraz with two-stroke” gag landed), queries over Sonny’s accessories, and a claim the build site sits “in the middle of a paddock” with “no view.”

Some asked to “bring Keith back,” others begged the show to “wrap this up” and return to reno basics. One viewer, perhaps speaking for many, wrote: “I miss the days when this was a renovation show.”