The Block 2026 Episode 37 recap: A tearful Lisa points out double standards in judging

Courtney and Sev proved to be the copycats who got the cream, securing $50,000 thanks to a perfect score earned with a room ripped off from Jolene and Adam.

Their victory was a bitter pill for serial bridesmaids Lisa and Rosco, whose unfinished skirting board painting cost them perfect 10s from Darren Palmer and Shaynna Blaze — even though Darren Palmer and Marty Fox had given Courtney and Sev perfect 10s despite unpainted skirts the week prior.

“We’re all getting pulled up for the exact things that they got 10s for last week,” a

tearful Lisa explained. “It’s hard when you put your heart and soul into something and there’s different rules for different people. It starts to feel like, what’s the point? If we had gotten that score without those comments it would have been much easier to swallow.”

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Not even getting her own perfect ten could comfort a devastated Lisa.

Poor Lisa likely thought she had the win in the bag when the judges swooned over her kids’ room, created in homage to her young son, Lando. But when Darren spotted a missed patch of paint on the skirting and noted it would cost them a 10, Lisa saw victory slip away. The judges heavily praised Sev’s kids’ room instead, with Darren enthusing, “This is everything you could ever do and done super well!”

The judges loved Lisa and Rosco’s kids’ room with reading nook.

He added, “You talk about effort in House Three, this is effort plus” a comparison that left House Three’s Lisa visibly scowling.

It was Courtney and Sev’s redone lounge room that truly stole the show.

“This is perfect!” Marty Fox said with delight. “It’s the only house with a fire that’s an afterthought in the perfect location. And look at the marble insert! It’s one of the best living spaces in Block history.”

Courtney and Sev’s redone living area with copycat mirror and fireplace.

Darren wondered how Jolene and Adam would feel about the girls copying their mirror and fireplace concepts. Sev had been bracing for Cyclone Jolene all week, preparing a string of justifications.

“Here’s my rebuttal. I am fairly confident that (Jolene) got her inspiration from somewhere,” Sev explained. “That’s how life goes. You get inspired by what you see and what you hear. So, it was always on our radar we just finally got some money from Scotty Cam to implement it. They should be flattered.”

Remarkably, Jolene remained relatively calm about the girls repackaging her ideas into a $50,000 win, especially considering her own rooms copped a caning. Darren called their kids’ room “meh” while storage-obsessed Shaynna zeroed in on the wardrobe’s lack of hanging space and open shelving.

Adam and Jolene were critised for a terrible wardrobe design and for not presenting a kids room.

“So, kids don’t need clothes obviously, or they are going to fold everything neatly,” Shaynna remarked sarcastically, noting the curved finish cost them valuable storage space, making it “a really bad design”.

Critiques continued in Jolene and Adam’s redo room, which Marty felt wasn’t redone enough, suspecting they pocketed most of their $10,000 budget for landscaping.

“It’s just another lazy room and that has to be the worst flower arrangement this season,” Shaynna said, while Darren added, “The two rooms they have shown us today could still be redo rooms.”

Adam and Jolene’s redo room was a makeover of their failed guest room.

Tayla and Rick went into judging all smiles following an earlier clash, but their confidence was quickly dashed by mockery over their finishes.

“Let’s start with the positive, there’s no plant under the desk,” Darren joked, while Marty felt the room was “in the space of forgettable”. The judges liked the updated couches in the lounge room, but Shaynna nitpicked a small decorative painting she felt belonged in a $2 shop, declaring, “I’m disappointed”.

Rick and Tayla’s kids’ room.

The biggest disappointments were saved for wooden spooners Chantel and Wyatt, whose plain kids’ room led Shaynna to question whether this year’s contestants had

“an allergy to children”.

Darren called it a miss that used colour for the sake of it, prompting a sigh from Wyatt, who felt they couldn’t win regardless of whether they used beige or bright shades.

Chantel and Wyatt’s kids’ room wasn’t a kids room at all.

What left the expert trio completely gobsmacked was the living room, where Chantel and Wyatt stubbornly refused to amend their heavily criticised layout despite pocketing $10,000 for best budgeting.

“I’m beyond frustrated. If I could get them in front of me, I would shake them and say: ‘What are you doing?’” Shaynna said.

Chantel and Wyatt’s redo room was barely redone at all.

Marty labelled them “askholes” — people who seek advice only to let it sink into a hole of inaction. A dismissive Chantel rolled her eyes and scoffed, clarifying that she didn’t consider herself an askhole because she never asked for their advice to begin with.

FINAL SCORES

Sev and Courtney 30

Lisa and Rosco 29

Tayla and Rick 21.5

Jolene and Adam 21.5

Chantel and Wyatt 17.5

MISSED AN EPISODE? HERE’S ALL OUR RECAPS SO FAR

Episode 1: First tears shed on season 22 of The Block

Episode 2: ‘I will shut you down’

Episode 3: ‘I won’t help them again’

Episode 4: ‘You will only last five weeks’

Episode 5: Block couple ready to quit after scandal