As the episode begins, George (Erik Thomson) enjoys some alone time at home. Woody (Rick Donald) interrupts and finds George making a fool of himself. Woody has two favors to ask. First, he wants George to be his best man. Second, Woody needs protection from a stag party. He is worried that they’re going to spring it on him when he least expects it. Katie (Anna Jullienne) arrives with coffee. Katie tells George that the stag party is happening at Big Mac’s whether or not Woody wants it. George writes an article about empty nesters. He seems optimistic about his life as an empty nester. George calls Woody and leaves him a message about the party. Woody speaks with Tracey (Emma Leonard) about his decision to make George best man. Tracey speaks about how difficult it is to choose her own.

Poppy (Jessica Redmayne) enters when they’re on the verge of kissing. Woody encourages Poppy to have breakfast even though she isn’t a breakfast person. Hannah (Cian Elyse White), Katie and Fiona (Michelle Langstone) speak about the upcoming stag party. George pays a visit to Big Mac (Peter Elliott). He finds Lindsay (Manon Blackman) and Arlo (Benson Jack Anthony) fleeing. He learns that Ike (Alex Tarrant) is going to be a safety officer. He takes George’s keys. George meets with the others. Smiler (David Fane) and Monty (Jonny Brugh) trap Woody. They force him to join the party. George gets a call from Tracey. He tells her about the party and the green tea. She tells George to make sure that Woody survives.

Siouxsie (Olivia Tennet) goes home with Shay (Melina Vidler). They decide to enjoy the food that George bought recently. Katie decides to keep Tracey and Poppy company while Woody is away. Woody tries to talk his way out of the party. It doesn’t work. Woody is forced to wear a silly hat. Tracey learns that she is going to have her own party at the restaurant. Lindsay and Arlo invite Poppy to George’s place. Woody and the boys go shooting. Woody is a horrible marksman. Woody expresses his concerns to George. George takes over by drinking Woody’s shots. George continues writing about the stupid decisions he has made as an empty nester. Arlo and the others join Shay and Siouxsie. They encourage Arlo to cook. Poppy agrees to help him. Lindsay seems a little jealous.

Ngahuia (Miriama Smith) joins the girls at the party. A party bus arrives for Tracey. Woody is taken to play paintball with the boys. The girls play never have I ever. Ngahuia pokes at Katie over and over. She fires back. Poppy speaks with Arlo about Woody’s father skills. Shay and Siouxsie notice that Poppy has taken to Arlo. The paintball games continue. George’s team wins and he keeps dealing with Woody’s liquor. Fiona encourages Katie to apologize to Ngahuia. Fiona admits she is glad she didn’t have a child with Robby. The guys turn to miniature golf. Monty is surprisingly good. George is somehow better. Zac (Rob Kipa-Williams) notices that George is taking a big one for Woody. They speak about George’s new life as an empty nester. George is told that he shouldn’t hold back finding someone to fill the void now that the kids are gone.

Katie and Tracey speak in the restroom. Tracey admits she doesn’t think Poppy likes her. She doesn’t know what to do around her. Soon, they get pampered. Ngahuia speaks about her reasons for staying around. The women and men decide to go to a nearby BBQ place. Monty suggests otherwise. Arlo and the others enjoy dinner. Shay speaks with Poppy in private. Shay tells Poppy about the local boys. Poppy makes a comment about Lindsay. Poppy denies having feelings with Arlo. She also admits it would be social suicide for her to take someone else’s boyfriend at this point. The bouncer makes the boys pay to get inside. George asks Woody for a favor. The women and men run into each other. Tracey is told not to interact with Wood, because it could be bad luck.

Shay forces Arlo to walk Poppy home. Lindsay decides to join them. George tells Woody that best man should be old friends. It is clear that he is trying to convince him to pick Monty. Monty is shocked to find out that he is going to be Woody’s best man. Woody tells Monty all of the nice things he has done for him. Woody and Tracey make their escape. Ike agrees to take them back to Weld. Arlo speaks with Poppy on the walk back. She tries to remain standoffish with him. Lindsay tries to reassure herself with Arlo. George gets kicked out of the club for ridiculing the grammar errors. Katie apologizes to Ngahuia in her own unique way. They manage to smooth things over with one another before Katie gets thrown out too.

She joins George outside. Fiona prepares to get naughty with Zac on the party bus. George tells Katie about being an empty nester. Fiona and Zac are interrupted by George and Katie. The others return to the bus a short time later. Woody and Tracey return home to Poppy. She tells them about her night. Tracey tells Poppy that the home sickness will go eventually. Poppy agrees to let Tracey be her step mom if she wants to be. Tracey decides to choose Poppy as her bridesmaid. That prevents her from ticking off the others. Everyone tries to recover from the night before. George finds it especially rough. He gets a call from Jan (Bridie Carter). George sent Jan a terrible column about Stafford. Jan agrees to let George write her another one.

He finds a total mess in the kitchen and a note from Shay. George writes his column about empty nesters. Woody and his family join George. Monty joins in moments later. Monty seeks help from George. He explains that the wedding is going to be a disaster without help. He has trouble writing his speech. George helps Monty get the holiday rentals cleaned. George agrees to help him with the speech later. Ike and Tom (John Leigh) want to publish a news article about George and Katie getting banned from the night club. Billy (Reon Bell) and Lindsay are there to be interns. Shay is assigned the cleaning duties. Katie and George speak about their night. They also chat about Zac and Fiona. Katie is there to help Arlo find an internship.

Arlo doesn’t mind working at the boat club alongside Poppy. He is happy to get the day off instead. George gets a little flirty with Katie. Monty is difficult when working on the wedding speech. He gets on George’s nerves pretty quickly. Shay gets the rental properties cleaned. She is interrupted by Ollie (Henry Beasley). Ollie suggests going to the wedding together. She refuses. She explains that she doesn’t want to be a relationship. He reminds her of the psycho incident in the convenience store. Arlo and Lindsay speak with Poppy at the restaurant. Shay is surprised to find Ollie’s drone outside. She tells it and him to leave her alone. She smashes it to pieces. She heads to the newspaper office to speak with her father. Ike notices that she is distraught.

They end up arguing. Woody and Tracey separate before the wedding. Shay becomes paranoid. Siouxsie surprises her. Shay tells her all about Ollie. Shay begins blaming herself. Siouxsie convinces her otherwise. She also agrees to take care of Ollie for her. George and Woody surf and speak about the wedding. Monty gets stage fright. Woody decides to shave his face. Sioux helps give shay a Goth makeover. Shay doesn’t like having to change. She suggests that Ollie should change his behavior. Shay decides to give Sioux a makeover instead. The News of Weld goes digital. Hannah kids Zac and Fiona. The power goes out in Weld due to a car accident. That prevents Monty from printing his speech. The power outage prevents Woody from shaving. George visits Katie. He learns that Tracey is good to go.

Arlo and the others are surprised to see Sioux without her Goth makeup. There is no photographer or best man. They arrive just in time. The wedding ceremony begins. Surprisingly, everything goes pretty smoothly. Fiona apologizes to Zac for using him on the party bus. He reveals that he got himself snipped. Monty prepares for his speech. Ollie glances at Shay from a distance. George calms Monty and preps him for the speech. Monty delivers the speech while Katie cries. Monty is forced to go off script. The speech is a success. Ngahuia tells George that his wife was here. She can tell he has known real love based on the speech he wrote. She tells him about new beginnings and love going on. The dancing begins a short time later. Monty dances with Poppy. Ngahuia interrupts and saves her. Lindsay is sad to see Arlo with Poppy.

Ollie rubs it in. George invites Fiona to dance with him. Ollie complains about Shay destroying his property. He ridicules Sioux moments later. Shay calls him a creep. Fiona wants to ask George something. She is stopped because of Shay yelling at Ollie. Everyone turns on Ollie. He claims that he will be pressing charges against Shay. Hannah, Ike and Sioux want to teach Ollie a lesson for free. Katie and George comfort Shay. Hannah helps Ollie choose a porta potty. They lock him inside. They urge him to take an apprenticeship in Stafford. The potty is hauled away moments later. Shay and Sioux leave the party. George stays behind. Arlo finally realizes that Lindsay might be jealous. George tells Katie about Shay being okay. George tells Katie how he feels about Weld and the people. They share a kiss.

She apologizes for getting carried away at weddings. Arlo tries to get Lindsay to open up about her feelings. Fiona stops George. Lindsay pushes Arlo into the cake and tells him that she wants nothing to do with him. Fiona tells George about her wish to be a mother. Fiona tells him that she wants to have a baby and raise it by herself. She asks George for his help. She seems to want his juices. Fiona rushes off. Shay thanks Sioux for everything. Woody and the family head off on their honeymoon. George speaks with someone outside. He tells them that the answer is yes.

 

800 Words Review

800 Words is moderately entertaining most of the time. There are plenty of episodes that are hit and miss. In fact, even some of the good episodes have horrible scenes here and there. These two episodes were no different. The stuff with Ollie is really out there. The show never had that kind of stuff before. It is obviously a way for the writers to push Ike and Shay back together. That relationship is obnoxious and overdone at this point.

The friendship between Shay and Siouxsie is fun though. The wedding was pretty interesting. Heck, I don’t even mind the squabbles between Arlo and Lindsay. The show isn’t for everyone, but I find it tolerable. I wish they would stop throwing George together with all of the ladies though. These two episodes score a 7 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of 800 Words now!