The Block 2023 episodes 35, 36 recap: Kristy calls out Leah’s own two-faced Block bullying

Not since Regina George faced off with Cady and co has a battle between two mean girls been this unrelenting.

While doing their bit to help sick kids — with a challenge centred on making over Ronald McDonald House — Kristy and Leah somehow made everything about them and their petty squabble over who has behaved the worst on the show.

Here’s a news flash ladies, neither of you have covered yourselves in glory.

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While Leah is doing her ready best to rehabilitate herself before it’s too late, Kristy looks set to get a call up for the next season of SAS Australia.

With the reality of Kristy’s contempt setting in, Leah was plunged into deep sadness as she missed her shopping partner in crime.

Ash was nonchalant urging his other half to move on.

She found reason to smile when she found herself shopping with Liberty and Eliza instead. The trio got on like a house on fire shopping for outdoor furniture and decorative items for their barbecue area.

Kristy has found Leah’s sudden friendship with the other contestants hard to swallow after she had spent the first weeks of the show mocking them all with her.

“It was dinner and a show, really” Kristy griped of seeing Leah laughing with others at Ash’s birthday dinner, adding archly that she had been intrigued to watch “Leah’s new personality” come to the fore.

Given the recent dramas, the mood was understandably tense as the two women were forced to work together for the sake of sick kids.

Having been repeatedly and actively ignored by Kristy for days, Leah seized the landscaping project at Ronald McDonald House as her chance to try to rebuild a connection with Kristy.

Leah attempted to again explain her motivations for telling Kristy it was time to ease up on the bullying.

But Kristy wasn’t having a bar of being set up to be the head mean girl of The Block 2023.

She pointed out the hypocrisy of being told off by someone who had led the charge on a lot of the bad behaviour.

“Yeah upon reflection, when you were being really mean to Kyle and Leslie, when you were being mean to Steph and Gian, when you were doing it to (Block builders) Nine in Six and to Kinsman, I probably should’ve pulled you up on your bad behaviour then too,” she smirked.

And she certainly had Leah there.

It was a far happier story on the gardening team where everyone was getting along and getting on with the job with the help of 2022 contestants Jenny and Dylan. Steph even managed to use a colour other than beige in her design (and look happy about it)!

Landscape gardener extraordinaire, Dave Franklin was called in to judge everyone’s efforts, declaring the barbecue area the best.

“Hey, we may not all like each other, but we do work well together,” Kristy said of the victory.

Meanwhile work on the kids’ rooms was also well underway on site.

Kristy and Brett were using a washable wallpaper (featuring pictures of the Block judges, foremen and hosts) in their room. Because what kid doesn’t like to while away the hours colouring in Keith?

Leah and Ash were going loud and proud with rooms created in tribute of their son and daughter.

And the sisters had a couple of secret weapons: a heart-string tugging piece of art made by a sick child and a Lego statue built by Ryan McNaught (aka Brickman from Lego Masters).

“How did you get Brickman to do that?” Scotty queried upon sighting the impressive cheetah made of building blocks, knowing full well it was through her job as Hamish Blake and Andy Lee’s personal assistant.

Knowing Brickman through Blake, Eliza confessed she had “stalked him” until he agreed to do it.

Scotty wisely (and mischievously) pointed out the Lego statue could give Kristy and Brett more ammunition.

“One of the things that Kristy and Brett have been accusing you guys of is that you guys are working for us and are Channel 9 plants. And then you go and get Brickman to do this,” Cam chuckled.

The host then asked whether they had paid for Brickman’s services, pointing out that otherwise they could be accused of being cheaters for a cheetah!

Realising that receiving the statue gratis could be problematic, Eliza said she had wanted to pay for the blocks but that Brickman had refused payment.

“Because honestly if there’s going to be some big scandal we would rather not display it,” she said.

They ultimately agreed to insist on Brickman taking $500 for the piece.

For Kyle and Leslie, this week wasn’t just about the kids but righting past wrongs.

Having copped a world of pain from the judges for their cramped lounge (which Shaynna Blaze had even said could cost them a sale on auction day), Kyle and Leslie have decided to remove a wall (at great additional cost and effort).

With the space now opened up, Leslie wanted to do the unthinkable. Yep, she wanted to replace the wall with another wall. A smaller one with curves, granted. But a wall, nonetheless.

Hosts Scott Cam and Shelley Craft were aghast to hear this was even under consideration and urged them to abort the foolhardy plan.

Poor Leslie and Kyle have reached a stage in the game where — after weeks of negative feedback — they were second guessing every choice.

They were also desperately short of money. But they weren’t alone on that score.

With everyone’s coffers running low, producers have had to come up with new and unusual ways to get the teams some cash. This week that came in the form of a barbecue mini challenge where they were tasked with cooking Scott a dinner. The creator of the best meal would be gifted $15,000.

Eager to win, Brett bought cutlets from Scott’s favourite butcher.

Steph, meanwhile, stalked Scott’s Instagram to find his favourite restaurant then headed there for tips on how to recreate a dish on a barbecue.

Ultimately Brett retained his title as the Weber challenge, serving up some simple cutlets and a few vegetables.

After all, Scotty is a man of simple tastes.