Chapter Three: The Blue Loon – The episode begins down memory lane with a young Birdie Bell (Rosie Mitchell) and her mother, Margeaux (Heather Mitchell) looking at old slides before and after the marriage to Birdie’s father, Gordon. After a very brief discussion about true love, a now much older Birdie (Asher Keddie) is revealed to be in a therapy session with Christine (Cecilia Low) where they discuss Tessa Rain’s ominous ‘run’ warning. There is a brief debate about the meaning of the message and how Birdie should proceed before Christine ultimately assigns her a trust exercise.

During her train commute to work, Birdie looks at old photos of Gordon on her phone and makes a reservation for five at Bistro Ginette. At work, Birdie hears rumors from Peggy (Louisa Mignone) that Virginia (Michelle Perera) might be getting axed. Birdie’s attention is soon turned to Joe Burt (David Wenham) who calls to extend an invitation to spend the weekend on his newly upholstered boat. Birdie has to refuse the offer the offer due to Saturday being her mother’s wedding anniversary. It turns out that this anniversary is especially important being that it’s the first since Gordon’s passing. Joe is obviously disappointed and makes a big fuss about wanting to show off his boat. Due to their conflicting schedules, the only free time they share is the following morning.

Birdie receives word first thing the following morning that the boat isn’t finished after all. Instead, she goes to her interview with Chef Niall Campbell (Paul Ireland) where he introduces her to smoked ram’s testicles, cooked in cream, single-malt whiskey, and seared fish semen. Birdie makes a joke about his ‘very reproductive’ dish and he in turn makes a joke about her ‘swallowing’ after she tries a bite. During the interview, Birdie also texts Joe about the progress of the boat but after telling her that he’s with his children, he simply stops responding.

By the time the evening rolls around, Birdie is still yet to hear from Joe. When he finally does contact her, a slight argument ensues. He cleverly shifts the blame on her by claiming that she is being needlessly anxious. Much to her surprise, he soon has her believing that he is the aggrieved party because she doesn’t want to introduce him to her family.

Through no easy means, Birdie convinces her to spend her anniversary on Joe’s boat. This goes wrong from the moment Margeaux shows up at Birdie’s apartment with an ungrateful attitude. She practically scoffs at Birdie’s gift of flowers and orders her to put them in water. It is only minutes later when they are joined by Rory (Annemieke Kedmenec), Anton (Nicholas Brown), Tovey (Spencer McLaren), and behind lead via text by Joe to the jetty. Despite the shady feel of the whole thing, Joe’s directions appear to be clear and precise.

Although Joe claims to be just around the corner, he never shows up. The longer they wait, the sullener and more critical Margeaux only becomes. A brief conversation with a Man in a Canoe (Graham Jahne) and several glasses of champagne later, Margeaux goes a bit far by bringing up Birdie’s dalliance with her journalism teacher. Her bad attitude appears to rub off on Anton because he also mentions the time Birdie got stood up by another man in London. It isn’t much longer after this that Joe explains his absence by claiming to have intercepted an SOS call that led to a drowning boy.

Despite the news of the rescue, Birdie’s situation doesn’t become any better when she learns they’ve inadvertently locked themselves in. Rory is hoisted over the gate in an attempt to unlock it from the other side, but it is Margeaux who luckily locates a safety switch that releases the gate. At the car, Birdie finally receives a call from Joe, who apologizes profusely while trying to explain everything that happened with the rescue. Plans are soon made to meet at Estelles. The restaurant must be exclusive because Anton and Tovey appear to be impressed that Joe can phone ahead and get them a table so easily.

Joe finally shows up at the restaurant and makes a big deal of his rescue efforts, even quoting Mike Tyson at one point: (Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth). Everyone appears to be having a good time and even enjoying Joe’s company.

Later that evening after returning home together, Joe’s phone begins to ring while he’s in the shower. Birdie struggles with the idea of sneaking a peak and her curiosity nearly wins out when she sees the 12 missed messages and 6 missed calls. The episode ends with her deciding not to snoop.

 

Fake Review

If there is one positive I can say about this series, it is that it is getting progressively better. I don’t know if it is a familiarity with the characters or the story but I find myself becoming more and more rapt every minute. I really enjoy the awkwardness of the events. If you can imagine how you would feel in the same situation. The scene where they were waiting for the boat gave me the same awkward feelings I got when I watched, ‘Meet the Parents’ for one of the first times.  I’d have to give this episode an easy 6 out of 10.

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