Waterloo Road (16x8) ⁞⁞ Episode Spotlight

The finale of Season 16 of the long-running UK drama Waterloo Road featured a major climax for the storyline revolving around the show's gay characters. With the staff and students at the Waterloo Road school reaching the end of term, the secret affair between staffers Joe Casey (James Baxter) and newcomer Mitch Swift (Christopher Jeffers) continued. After Joe gets spooked in the cafeteria while the two are touching hands under a table, the two retreated to the storage closet in his classroom where they proceeded to make-out until being interrupted again by a cleaner looking to tidy up the room before classes began. When Mitch offered to spend some time together outside of work, Joe began to realize that he might have more in mind than a fling. Joe declined the date. The two later met in the stairwell where Joe apologized for making Mitch feel like their connection was trivial. He shared his insecurity and his guilt over the situation, which he knew wasn't great for Mitch or for his husband Mike (Ryan Clayton). Mitch assured him that he was making his own decisions. Joe was left unsure of what he was going to do about the situation. The two held hands, just as Agnes (Niamh Blackshaw) walked into the stairwell, seeing them. The surprised Agnes went to class, where she sat with her boyfriend Schuey (Zak Sutcliffe), Joe & Mike's foster son. 

Seeing something was on her mind, Schuey pressured her until she revealed what she saw. This led the loose cannon Schuey to confront Joe, telling him he knew his secret. Joe tried to calm Schuey and make him understand that the situation was complicated, but Schuey refused to listen to his excuses, given his past in a broken, criminal home. He shunned Joe, telling him that it wouldn't be long before the whole school knew about the affair. Joe called Mike, leaving him a message that they needed to have an important talk that evening. Joe was later caught off-guard when Mike showed up at the school, wondering what was going on. When pressed, Joe revealed his cheating, stunning Mike. He demanded to know why and with whom Joe was cheating. The emotional Joe struggled to explain his actions, but put all the blame on himself. After learning that he cheated with Mitch, Mike stormed off. Later, Joe found Mitch, explaining that Mike knew the truth. Mitch was shocked, but he looked to help Joe fix things. He told Joe to go to Mike and tell him that he made a mistake. Mitch offered to leave Waterloo Road and find another job to help the situation, but Joe revealed that he didn't want Mitch to leave. 

Mike returned later, looking to clear the air, wondering how their relationship got to this place. Joe brought up their recent strife and fights regarding Schuey's behavioral issues and how their life together became mundane beyond the fighting. Mike told him that he couldn't imagine life without Joe and he offered to work on things with him during their planned family holiday, but Joe then revealed to him that he wasn't sure he was in love with him anymore. This caused Mike to walk away, as Joe broke down crying. Later, Joe & Mitch crossed paths and Joe saw him with his resignation letter. He explained to Mitch that he shouldn't go and that he ended things with Mike. Joe & Mitch agreed that they needed time to clear their heads, but Mitch made it clear that Joe could seek him out when he was ready. He left after trashing the letter. Outside the school, Agnes found Schuey in the process of stealing Joe's bike out of spite. She made sure he was all right and he told her about being used to adults letting him down. Mike found the two and apologized, unsure of what all this would mean for Schuey. The teen made it clear that, despite their past conflict, he wanted to stay with Mike, which they could discuss on their holiday. Mike was surprised and happy to hear Schuey still wanted to go with him, even without Joe.