Collective Responsibility – As series two of Bay of Fires begins, a man and a woman go hiking and talking about protein bars. Taylor (Leinad Walker) and Saffron (Rosa Ablett-Johnstone) stumble upon the mystery town. The couple walks to the town and films it. Brony (Emily Milledge) turns her vehicle around and speeds past them. Bong Cha (Kim Ko) watches them enter the pub. The female hiker asks why the town isn’t even on the map. Magda (Pamela Rabe) sits down with Heather nearby. Saffron says Taylor might be able to help because he’s an influencer. Sammi (Ilai Swindells) listens from nearby. Taylor explains that he sees himself as a life coach. They speak forever about him being an influencer. Tarquin (Ben Knight) enters moments later. Magda says this young man could put their little town on the map. Kerry (Elle Mandalis) tells them they should try the mushrooms.
Heather (Roz Hammond) is the resident mycologist. Before long, Taylor and Saffron wake up near a bus stop. Their phones have been destroyed. They get on a bus and leave. After the intro, Douglas (John Stanton) tells Stella Heikkinen (Marta Dusseldorp) that the bushfire was a $5 billion nightmare. If she pays, she won’t have a company to run. He’s worried about corporate watchdogs crawling all over their books. Allesandro (Alex Dimitriades) tells Stella he’s worried he’s becoming too close with her father. Anika Van Cleef is called to the stage moments later. She’s introduced as the daughter of industry leader Douglas Van Cleef. Anika is given the Corporate Woman of the Year award. Anika talks to the crowd and says she wants to be driven by more than just the bottom line and shareholder returns. Allesandro is thrilled about the game in the audience. In the present, Stella is tortured by Behrouz (George Kanaan) and Luther (Mick Davies). Stella reminds them that she doesn’t cook drugs. If she increases what they pay, it will alert the Russians to the scam.
Behrouz says the boss wants her to find a way regardless. Stella reminds him that Frankie caused the shipment to be lost. Behrouz demands she increase their take by 50%. Bong Cha takes Graham (Nicholas Bell) his sandwich. Otis (Imi Mbedla) tells Iris (Ava Caryofyllis) that she can’t show Stella the paper. Iris says Miss Butler says her mom has to sign it and come in. Otis begins writing his mom’s signature until Stella comes in and interrupts. Stella agrees to come to the parent-teacher meeting although Otis thinks it’s too dangerous for her to leave town. Later, Stella tries to figure out how to make more money. In a flashback, Allesandro plays with Otis until Anika sends him to bed. Anika knows Allesandro didn’t listen to her speech because he was watching soccer. He asks if collective responsibility is just an excuse for taking no personal responsibility. Allesandro asks Anika about the bushfire claims. She isn’t eager to talk about that. Connor (Bob Franklin) and another man pack stuff onto a truck. They talk about the asbestos threat.
Jeremiah (Toby Leonard Moore) guides his dad, Graham, through town. They meet Bang, Sammi, and Brony. They’re all going through the packages they’ve recently received. Kerry comes for her inflatable kayak. Jeremiah is asked how long his lady friend is going to keep this going. Brony yells for them to get out. Graham asks for a couple of stamps. Jeremiah tries to explain his relationship with Stella to his father. Next, Jeremiah is with Iris who is cleaning before Stella interrupts. In private, Jeremiah tells Stella that everything frightens Iris. Stella insists she has things under control. Jeremiah warns her that these people won’t go away. Stella complains that the world still wants her dead. She’s convinced her kids are safer there. Jeremiah says there are places they won’t find them. He asks if she wants him there. Stella didn’t stay that. In the middle of the night, Stella begins hearing a thudding sound. A flashback shows a man trying to come in with his kids. Anika asks if this is about an insurance claim.
The man complains that he paid the company money for years. He missed two payments because their mother was dying in the hospital. The bushfire took their home and she won’t pay them a center. Anika threatens to call the police unless he leaves. He asks how she lives with herself. He leaves with the kids moments later. The next day, Connor tells Stella that they’ve promised to be done with her car later today. Stella tells Sammi that she got Connor to order her a car because they have a relationship now. She hopes he wouldn’t be stupid enough to steal another car from her. Stella tells him about the purpose of the meeting. Bang arrives. Sammi warns Stella that they’ll turn on her if she tries to take away their income. Stella speaks to everyone and explains they have some rocks ahead in their economic terrain. Some believe they should get more, but Stella insists they have to take less. Magda complains about the current prices and says they’re eating each other alive.
Magda and Heather admit they still want more money. They ignore Stella and vote to get more money. Stella says they’re getting less money. Jeremiah joins her and questions what she was hoping to achieve. Stella explains that Bruce is demanding more money to pay off Frankie’s debt. Otherwise, she is being asked to make drugs. Jeremiah says he has mates in Luang Prabang. He believes they could make it there. Stella has no interest in going there though. That night, Stella sees a weird man so she tries to wake up Tarquin. When she looks back, the figure is gone. Meanwhile, Magda and the others wonder what Stella is trying to do. Kerry says Stella let Manfred burn and just watched him die. Jason (Andre de Vanny) insists she didn’t do that. Brony isn’t sure about that though. Magda believes they’ve made the town porous and people are showing up at the town limits every day as a result. Heather suggests the outside world is less of a threat now. Jeremiah eventually joins them. Connor goes on a rant about lost love. He mentions that his wife was abducted outside of North Clayton shops on the day of the solar eclipse.
When Connor leaves, the others agree that he’s getting worse. Stella tries to come up with a way to make more money. She tries to find Sammi. Stella tells him they need to increase what they cream for the Russians. Sammi is worried because they might notice. Stella says they’ve been varying the amounts anyway and they have to withdraw from a lot more banks this time. Stella insists it’ll be fine. She talks to the others and gives them instructions. Magda says they’ll be there. Stella says she’ll be pretending to be a mother. She rides with Jason in his police car and her kids. At the school, Stella speaks to Iris’s teacher who says Iris has fallen behind. The teacher says Iris is anxious and she’s been drawing terrible pictures. She asks about Otis being transferred to St. Leonard’s. Stella says Otis is very happy. As Stella leaves, she tells Iris she should miss a few days so they can spend time together. They find Otis running away. Stella tries to convince him to get into the car.
At the bank, Heather is asked to wait a second. Magda is behind her in line. Magda creates a distraction so they can leave. Tarquin tries to get his money next. He’s asked to wait as well because the manager needs a word. Kerry worries they’re onto them. They flee. Stella returns to town with the kids. Magda and Heather approach her. Magda goes on an outrageous rant before finally getting to the point. Sammi is waiting to see Stella in Zurich. When Stella joins him, he shows her an article about an attempted bank robbery. Sammi points out that the Russians noticed as well. Stella is grabbed on her way back and taken to Neil Roebuck (Benedict Hardie). She realizes he was the one outside her house. He explains that he makes honey. Frankie’s brother killed her and Behrouz sanctioned the murders all by himself. With Frankie and Arthur dead, Stella is in charge of the town. Stella says it’s over and there’s no more money for anyone. Neil says it’s time for Stella to don her crown and run his business.
He says Frankie produced the finest heroin in the market. Stella refuses to take part in anything that can ruin people’s lives. Neil thinks Tarquin could guide her. Stella insists she can’t do this. Neil says Stella brings people together. Stella claims she didn’t mean it then and she won’t help him. Behrouz because Stella won’t help. Neil tells her this is how it is from now on. Stella returns home with a jar of honey. In a flashback, Anika finds the car crash that killed Allesandro. In the present, she kills a bee with the jar of honey.
Bay Of Fires Review
The opening episode of the second series of Bay of Fires really makes one wonder why this was commissioned. The series obviously had potential, especially early on. It could’ve thrived just based on the cast alone. Sadly, the script just isn’t good enough so the series is not going to be for everyone.
There are multiple issues here preventing the series from being enjoyable. For starters, it’s bloated in pretty much every way. There are too many people and too many things going on simultaneously. Viewers will never be able to keep up with all of these characters and their purposes if they have any.
The series hasn’t given us enough justification to do that at this point. The show also tries too hard to be humorous, but it doesn’t work at all in that category. It’s just ridiculous and cringe more than anything else. There are some great Australian shows out there, but Bay of Fires isn’t one of them.
The opening episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Bay of Fires 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 at the Reel Mockery Forum.
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.