Home and Away viewers had mixed reactions to the show’s hour-long season finale on Wednesday night, with many complaining about an “unrealistic” detail. Channel 7 had teased that the episode would feature “one of the most shocking disasters in the show’s 38-year history”.

It even made the bold call in promos that it would be “the greatest season final there’s ever been”. The episode centred around a group of Summer Bay residents heading to a three-day music festival called Off The Rails in Broken Hill to support musician Eddie Shepherd, played by Stephen Madsen.

However, they never made it to their destination as the train derailed upon impact with three children’s bicycles left on the tracks.

The episode ended with the passengers being slammed against the train windows and left unconscious as the locomotive flipped on its side.

Actress Maddison Brown previously confirmed to TV WEEK that someone dies in the finale; however, viewers will have to wait until the show’s return next year to see which character won’t return to Summer Bay.

‘No way in hell that would happen’

Following the episode, many viewers took to social media to unpack the disastrous train crash and question how it actually happened.

“A bike causing a derailment in a narrow tunnel, that would never happen. The bike would have been in a million pieces,” one viewer argued.

“That train would have just pushed those bikes aside,” another added.

While a third questioned: “A train can plough through a car, but a bike on the track derails it?”

“A train would not derail from hitting just push bikes. I’ve been growing up in a life of train people, and no way in hell that would happen,” someone else replied.

Others pointed out that the train may have gone off the tracks because the driver applied the brakes; however, they doubted it would’ve flipped over on its side

“Not enough room in the tunnel for the train to be on its side,” a fan commented.

“No way it could physically flip on its side, say there’s 50cm space either side of the train whilst on the track — it would lean and hit the wall and most likely correct itself,” one person explained.

“Exactly what I thought too,” a different user agreed, followed by someone else who “thought the same thing”.

Viewers complain about ‘boring’ finale

Meanwhile, many viewers complained that the episode didn’t live up to the network’s claim that it would be “the greatest season final there’s ever been”.

“All the hype and build up for the finale and it was crap,” one viewer shared, with another adding that “watching paint dry would have been more entertaining”.

“Surely that’s a contender for worst and most underwhelming final there’s been,” someone else said.

Others described it as “pathetic”, “anti-climactic”, “boring”, and “the worst season finale ever”.

When will Home and Away return?

Home and Away will return on January 19, with a new promo heavily featuring returning characters Darryl ‘Brax’ Braxton (Stephen Peacocke) and Erica ‘Ricky’ Sharpe (Bonnie Sveen).

It was first announced in August that the pair would be returning to the long-running soap for a landmark Home and Away event, which will reveal where their lives have taken them since 2016.

The TV special is being produced in partnership with Tourism Western Australia, and will deliver “high-stakes drama and emotional payoffs set against a stunning backdrop of WA’s rugged outback”.

Who dies when Home and Away returns?

As Home and Away is shot several months in advance, filming for next year’s season is currently underway.

Eagle-eyed fans who have seen the cast shooting scenes have reported that almost everyone will return to screens after the train crash.

However, Stephen Madsen, who plays musician Eddie Shepherd, hasn’t been seen filming the show in Palm Beach in recent months, which could suggest that he was the one who died.