Tapeworm – As the finale of Apple Cider Vinegar begins, Hek (Phoenix Raei) speaks to a group about his former client’s interview. Tara Brown (Sibylla Budd) interviews Belle Gibson (Kaitlyn Dever). Hek talks to the group about Belle while the interview with Tara Brown continues. He claims Belle drank apple cider vinegar and pulled a tapeworm out of her mouth.
Three Months Earlier – Belle tries to contact Clive (Ashley Zukerman) who is with her son. Belle sneaks into Milla’s funeral while Arlo (Chai Hansen) is speaking. Chanelle (Aisha Dee) is not happy to see her there. She snarls. Arlo sings a song.
Earlier That Morning – Belle receives the email from Justin and Sean. She tries to contact Clive to tell him about the email. Belle sends them a quick email and insists she still plans to give the money as specified. Belle complains about her vehicle. At the funeral, Belle begins panicking. She begins sobbing and causing a scene. After the ceremony, Belle speaks to a woman and says she thought Milla would’ve been cremated. She’s told Milla is going to be buried next to her mother. Belle offers to drive the woman to the wake. Justin (Mark Coles Smith) is distracted at work. Sean (Richard Davies) and Justin are told they need the Belle story for the weekend. Justin says he’s trying to find her partner, Clive Rothwell. Emily says they should be careful since it’s International Women’s Day and they’re tearing down a young woman in business.
When Justin leaves, Sean tells Emily that Justin’s wife has cancer. Justin steps outside and calls Linda Rothwell (Genevieve Picot). He explains that he’s a journalist with The Age. When Justin mentions Belle, Linda says Belle is not her daughter-in-law and they’re not married. Justin says he’s investigating claims that Belle has been faking her brain cancer diagnosis. Linda ends up hanging up on him. Belle reads the email at the wake. At one point, she looks outside and sees Chanelle looking at her. Belle approaches her to say she has to approach the promo stuff at three. Chanelle says Milla didn’t hate anyone but she hated Belle. Seconds later, Belle rushes off. While she’s in the car, she receives a call from Fiona Cross (Edwina Wren) but she ignores it. She eventually answers it and says she’s at a funeral right now. Fiona says they saw Teddy Mac in Sydney and he’s agreed to take Hunter as a patient.
She goes on to say he needs the 60k deposit right now. Belle asks if they’re surgeons or vultures. She questions when she needs it because there’s a cash flow. Fiona thought the money would be in her account since it was raised for Hunter. Belle asks if she’s been speaking to journalists. She tries to talk Fiona out of using Dr. Mac. After the call, Belle blocks the contact. Pete (Stephen Phillips) checks on Fiona. Clive calls The Age to threaten legal action if they continue harassing his parents. Justin tries to get Clive to speak, but Clive doesn’t want to speak to him. Justin attempts to get Clive to meet him. Clive tells him not to call his parents again before hanging up. Belle returns to the wake and finds Joe (Matt Nable) sitting alone outside. When Belle picks up the cat, Joe tells her to be careful with her because she had a ringworm.
Belle puts the ice in the cooler before looking around Milla’s room. Arlo enters the room and crashes on the bed. Belle talks to him about the stone. She claims Milla told her about it and said she was falling in love. Arlo figures out who she is. He says she talked a lot about her because she gave Milla the creeps. Belle gets upset and leaves. Joe checks on her outside to see if she’s okay to drive. Chanelle stops her outside to say she hates her too. Belle checks into a motel. She checks The Age and begins reading the article about her. Chanelle checks the article from elsewhere. She contacts Justin and Sean to complain that there’s nothing about cancer in the article. Chanelle worries that people will defend her. Belle also tries to defend herself. She imagines that Milla is with her and she writes a comment for her. Belle finds one negative comment. Then, there’s another negative comment. Lenny also gets involved by leaving another negative comment.
Belle freaks out and asks Milla what to do. She asks about calling her a lie and talking behind her back. Sean notices that Belle is deleting the comments. Someone questions what else Belle might’ve lied about. Lucy comments asking if it’s been verified that Belle has cancer. Joe checks on Chanelle. Fiona sits with her son in a hospital room. Belle wakes up in the morning and reads the negative comments. Clive contemplates whether to visit Justin. Julie and the team watch the video interview with Belle. Julie (Catherine McClements) gets tired of hearing it and tells Poh (Jullian Nguyen) to turn it off. Julie says they should put out a response saying they’re seeking an explanation from Belle Gibson. She tells Jeremy (Hamish Michael) he’s not going to use this to gut her label. On the plane, Belle calls Clive to say she’s going to San Francisco and everyone at Apple is in her corner. Fiona tells Justin that Belle has blocked their number. She says they could use the money if he happens to find any of it.
Fiona just wants to know if she has to cancel the surgery. Sean tells Justin he needs to go see Clive. He shows him the headline he’s been working on about Belle’s cancer claims. Clive takes Belle’s son to see Nathan. Clive talks to him about the possibility of getting full custody. He offers to help financially with school pick-ups and such. Nathan (Julian Weeks) isn’t sure how Sara would take it. He also believes Belle is a good mom and loves him. Justin continues waiting for Clive but he never comes. Belle is stopped by a security guard who doesn’t let her in. She ends up getting back on a plane. Later, Poh gets in touch with Belle to tell her that her books will be in a warehouse in Artarmon before they’re pulped. Belle thinks that’s a big mistake. Poh hangs up the call and gets rid of the books. Belle finally makes it home. Her son follows her into the bathroom to say she needs a Band-Aid. Belle says she’ll kiss them better. She removes the bandage on her son’s arm and says he doesn’t need it.
Clive argues with his mother on the phone. After the call, Belle asks Clive if he’s going. She says he liked it and has been here the whole time. Clive admits he’s staying. Belle asks if he’s staying because he loves the boy. Clive says he loves both of them, but Belle doubts he loves her. Clive insists he wouldn’t lie about something like that. They eat together and talk about a reset. Belle suggests going someplace where there is an actual start-up culture.
Three Months Later In Beverly Hills – Belle asks about Tara. She tells the producer she needs the entire 75k now. Once Tara arrives, they get ready for the interview. Tara asks Belle about her treatment. Belle says she believed she was having radiation at the time. Pete and Fiona also speak to the media. Tara asks Belle if she lived in fear of being found out. Belle says she wasn’t living in a space where she didn’t know this wasn’t her reality. Tara asks if she has cancer. Belle says she really hopes not. After the interview, Belle sees Clive outside by the pool with her son. Justin sits with Fiona who says Hunter is stopping treatment. Justin tells her about his wife. Fiona talks to him about love and having to face it. Justin visits Lucy at the café. Lucy continues treatment with Dr. Chidiac (Doris Younane).
Apple Cider Vinegar Review
The finale of Apple Cider Vinegar was more of the same. Once the writers decided to concoct a fake story, they really painted themselves into a corner and this was the outcome. As a result, we got a rambling start from Hek who was unnecessary to begin with. Once that was over, Belle went to Milla’s funeral and caused a scene.
Then, we had the confrontation between Belle and Chanelle which was also not real. The writers even had the bright idea to bring Milla back from the dead so she could help Belle defend herself from nasty comments online. The episode ended with Justin and Lucy. Once character was bogus and the other was a Netflix replicate of a real journalist.
The final scene was Belle telling viewers to “Google it”. Unfortunately, the series never made its purpose clear. At times, it felt like the goal was to make Belle Gibson a sympathetic figure. At other times, it was about ridiculing alternative medicine and pushing conventional medicine. Sometimes, the storytelling was so messy that none of it seemed to matter.
It’s a shame really because many people were likely negatively impacted by Belle Gibson’s actions. That hasn’t been covered well at all even in the interview. In the series, Lucy was the only character who was led astray, but that was sugarcoated in the end since she just returned and continued conventional treatments.
In the end, the series barely told viewers anything about Belle Gibson, her victims, or the actual Milla. Hopefully, this story will be covered in documentary form at some point with Netflix watching from the sideline. The series is really no better than Belle Gibson considering it’s also just filling people’s heads with lies. The finale scores a 4.5 out of 10.
Recaps of Apple Cider Vinegar can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion here.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.