Karl Kennedy and Susan Smith
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Karl Kennedy and Susan Smith Kennedy Kinski Kennedy are the two fictional characters who make up the couple Karl and Susan Kennedy in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. Karl is played by Alan Fletcher, and Susan by Jackie Woodburne.
They are widely regarded by fans not only as two popular characters in their own right for their personal attributes, but also because - despite repeated setbacks - they have always ended up returning to each other, regardless of temporary obstacles such as infidelity, remarriage and amnesia.
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[edit] Storylines
[edit] The beginning
The characters have been in Neighbours since 1994, when they moved in to Ramsay Street with their three children, Malcolm (Benjamin McNair), Libby (Kym Valentine) and Billy (Jesse Spencer). Karl Kennedy became the local General Practitioner, and Susan Kennedy got a job as a teacher at the local secondary school (including becoming principal for a period).
[edit] First breakup: Karl's affair
The first storyline which tested the Kennedys' marriage came in 1998, when Karl had an affair with his secretary, Sarah Beaumont (Nicola Charles). Susan found out through neighbourhood gossip, after Ruth (Ailsa Piper) and Phil Martin's (Christopher Milne) wedding. Susan slapped him in public for this, but eventually forgave him and the couple reunited.
[edit] Second breakup: Susan's amnesia
In 2002, Susan Kennedy developed retrograde amnesia when she hit her head after slipping on some milk. This amnesia meant that she had forgotten the last thirty years (including her entire marriage to Karl) and could not remember anything that happened to her after she was sixteen. With a mental age of 16, Susan was scared by Karl and the couple were forced to split again.
As months progressed, despite still being unable to remember the missing thirty years, Susan fell slowly in love with Karl again, and at the end of 2002, they renewed their wedding vows. At the altar, Susan's memory spontaneously returned and she was able to recite her vows from her first wedding; Karl was able to do the same.
[edit] Third breakup: Karl and Izzy
Whereas the other two breakups only led to temporary separations, Karl and Susan's third breakup resulted in a divorce. It came about gradually, caused in part by Karl's mid-life crisis and alcoholism, as well as the arrival of sexy and manipulative Isabelle "Izzy" Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte). Whilst Karl never had an affair with Izzy (they did not get together until after Karl and Susan had separated), he became increasingly dissatisfied with his marriage; until the point in 2004 that he announced that he wanted to divorce Susan. Susan was devastated by this admission, and she became bitter rivals with Izzy.
Over the course of the next year, Karl began a relationship with Izzy. Izzy's manipulation and presence meant that Karl and Susan's divorce was a bitter process for many months, until their final meeting about the division of their assets. In this meeting - attended by Karl, Susan, Izzy, and their lawyers - the arguments reached a peak, before Karl and Susan realised that the hostility was getting them nowhere, and abandoned the meeting to discuss things amicably in private instead. They finished this private meeting with a passionate kiss, before returning to the room with Izzy and the lawyers and continuing with their separate lives. From this moment on, they became friends again, though at this stage the writers did not choose to imply that either character was still in love with the other (though Karl did telephone Susan as well as Izzy when he believed he was dying of a heart attack). The divorce went through, and Susan temporarily changed her name from Susan Kennedy back to her maiden name of Susan Smith.
[edit] Remarriage
Karl and Izzy were due to be married at the end of 2004, but the wedding did not go ahead after the Lassiter's complex exploded. It was not rescheduled, as Karl discovered that Izzy's baby was not his and the pair ended their tumultuous relationship.
Instead, it was Susan who fell in love with the terminally ill Alex Kinski (Andrew Clarke), who was Karl's patient. She married Alex, and became Susan Kinski but was widowed almost immediately after the ceremony. Alex's children were left orphaned, having lost their mother several years earlier; his adult daughter Katya (Dichen Lachman) was awarded custody of younger siblings Rachel (Caitlin Stasey) and Zeke (Matthew Werkmeister). The responsibility soon proved too much for her, and so all three moved in with Susan, coming to accept her as their stepmother.
[edit] Current status
In the course of 2006, Karl and Susan have slowly rediscovered their attraction to each other. Karl was the first to rediscover his feelings for Susan, after supporting her throughout Alex's death. After the plane that many Ramsay Street residents (including Susan) were travelling on crashed in the Bass Strait, Karl revealed his true feelings towards Susan to his friend Max Hoyland (Stephen Lovatt).
Later in the year, Susan confessed her love for Karl (after his brief relationship with councillor Jenny ended amicably), and the couple briefly reunited before having to end their relationship for the benefit of Susan's stepchildren Rachel and Zeke, who felt that Susan was being disrespectful to their father by reuniting with Karl. As the year closed the Kinski children began to accept the relationship, and Karl moved in. Karl and Susan are currently engaged.
