Yep, they're a match all right. Sparksey and Simon. City Homicide's odd couple.

So what will Sparkes do if Simon really does walk away from it all?

Let's take a moment to reflect on how this weirdly comfortable partnership developed over the series. In the beginning Joyner was having it off with Sparkes' wife and Sparkes was punching him out in the toilets. Simon was scared of Sparkes but not so scared as to stop shagging his missus. Commonsense was not Simon's strong point back then.

Then Sparkes has his heart attack and a little while later Simon gets dumped by Lorraine. So now they both have bruised manly egos dealt out by the same woman (and while we're on the subject, let's have a little hurrah for Lorraine - you know you want to. She was sassy and foxy and got what she wanted. And now she's sunning herself in Queensland - good for her!).

Sparkes comes back. Simon is crapping himself. Sparkes enjoys toying with him then reveals he's happier out of the marriage. An uneasy truce is called. Old dog sets about teaching the young pup some new tricks, only to realise Simon can teach him a few things too (like, welcome to the internet-age, Grandad).

Then Simon is hit with twelve tonnes of trauma when first Calabrese, then Reg Brown the armed robber, hold guns to his head. And what do you know, Ol' Crankypants is first on the scene looking out for him with a warm coat for the shock. Sparkes knows that you don't get over that kind of trauma in a couple of days. Along with Jennifer, Sparkes is the one to notice that the class clown is no longer looking on the bright side of life.

Now we've just gone and done what we said we wouldn't do, which is a recap. But it's necessary to understand where this partnership has come from to get the enormity of Simon's action at the end of this episode. Simon's resignation isn't just about Sparkes being shot and the fear that he could be next. It's all caught up with the gold heist trauma and the empty relationships and the compounding tragedy of Homicide cases. And here's the scary thing, Sparkes is out of action for now - going to make the most of some recuperation with Kelly looking after him - yet he's the only one who knows how close to the edge Simon is. With Sparkes out of the picture, is there anyone who can stop Simon from dropping out of Homicide altogether?

Did you guess that Waverley was a single mum? Must have been in the way she's so well organised and capable. What we love about Waverley is that she obviously has the whole work-life balance thing sorted out. Throughout the series she's always been off home at a sensible time, yet able to get everything done that her high-powered position requires. She has a strong support network of friends and she has a close, affectionate relationship with her son Josh. That ex-husband of hers is really missing out, huh? Unless she really did eat him, of course... But Waverley's an interesting contrast to Stanley, who's so dedicated but clearly struggling with the work-life balance.

COMING UP: Oooh, final episode of 2007. Matt's mum is found. She's been murdered. The prime suspect? Very close to home. Let's just leave it at that.
The Creative Team, CITY HOMICIDE