Descend – When Episode 5 opens, Senior Constable Zilficar ‘Zil’ Ahmed (Akshay Khanna) is not only being vilified openly in the media, but snippets of his conversation with Senior Constable Greg Hall (Jackson Heywood), suggesting that he was coached after the train incident have surfaced. Dalia Tun (Zoe Boe) has successfully expanded into the nightclub scene but a brief confrontation with two partygoers shows that it isn’t without its risk. Ahmed finds himself in a similar situation with fellow officer Greg when he freezes after a detainee becomes combative during booking.
Sometime later, Senior Constable Peter Emery (Oliver Acklan) seeks advice from Inspector Ivy Tsuma (Zindzi Okenyo) on how to handle the Ahmed and Greg situation. She tells him to leave it with her since she is headed to a meeting with Superintendent Trevor Latt (Erik Thomson). During that meeting, Tsuma learns that Detective Sergeant Edith Barcelos (Simone Kessell) has been given the Crime Management position.
Dalia attends a co-therapy session with Sabine Horvat (Annie Rose Buckley) where she tries to explain how her past experiences with officers caused her to run. She further acknowledges that it was the wrong move. In turn, Sabine apologizes for her friend’s posting their fight online. Ahmed’s meeting with Kasim (Akkshey Caplash) doesn’t go anywhere near as well and basically ends with Kasim telling Ahmed that he’s writing him out of his life.
Edith attempts to extend an olive branch to Tsuma, but Tsuma makes it clear that she wants nothing to do with her. Things don’t appear to be going any better on the task force as Senior Constable Sandra Ali (Roxie Mohebbi) and Constable Rory Hooper (Aidan Gillett) get into a brief argument when she tries to assign him some case files to look through. Ahmed attempts to reach out to Dalia at school but finds Yvonne Kaczmarek (Emily Martino) instead. After leaving his card, she tells him that he might be able to find Dalia at her boyfriend’s.
Ahmed tails Hayden Broadis (Jai Waetford) to Ty Egan’s (Hunter Page-Lochard) bakery. Hayden not only gets lunch but a resupply for Dalia. Theo Leon (Richard Brancatisano) happens to be there as well. Things end up going badly for Hayden when Ty and Theo learn that he and Dalia have bought a 3D printer and are making and selling pocket-sized containers. Ty tells him to stop and later tells Dalia the same thing.
Ahmed eventually follows Haydn to where he meets Dalia downtown to drop off the lunch and drugs. This leads to him seeing her dealing but instead of arresting her, he offers his help. She spits in his face in return. Things only get worse for him when it’s revealed that Ali has witnessed the entire incident as well. She confronts Ahmed and accuses him of blowing her only lead for the task force. He doesn’t put up any resistance and clearly feels that he is responsible for what Dalia has turned into.
Ahmed is so overrun with guilt about Dalia that he visits Shanika Thorpe (Dalara Williams) and tells her about the pressure he put on her with the increased bail checks and increased searches. Shankia appears completely stunned and asks if he is sure he wants to go on the record with the statement. He claims it’s him making amends.
While getting a reserve trace on Dalia and Hayden’s cell phones, Ali hears rumblings about Dalia’s little toys. Other than this, they don’t learn much more than the fact that Hayden and Dalia are in constant contact, using burner phones. At the same time, Shanika tells Dalia about Ahmed’s visit. Dalia appears just as stunned as Shanika initially was. Although Dalia wants to drop the matter, Shanika clearly wants her to pursue it further. This eventually leads back to Dalia telling her about her strip search experience. Shanika hints that they can turn her situation into a huge financial gain.
Before Detective Graham McKeown (Richard Sydenham) and Ali end their day, they decide to have surveillance increased on Hayden and Dalia. Things get awkward when McKeown suggests Ahmed for the surveillance. Due to Ahmed’s problems with Dalia, McKeown leaves it up to her to find a suitable replacement. Ali later approaches Greg Hall for assistance with this.
Elsewhere, Ahmed shares his confession to Shanika with Trevor and Tsuma. He even admits to harassing her. They are obviously not happy with him and tell him to go home and get a lawyer. Before doing so, Ahmed just happens to stop by his desk where he sees Ali’s order for increased surveillance on Hayden and Dalia.
Theo visits one of her girlfriends, Ruby Samuels (Maia Thomas), and discovers that she has just busted her young son, Jason Samuels (Reagan Swao), with one of Dalia’s toys. While the toy was only used to conceal a Vape Pen, he clearly isn’t happy. When Dalia returns home that evening, she finds Hayden right in the middle of disassembling the 3D printer. This leads to a huge argument and her suspicion that it was him who told Ty about the toys. He assures her that it wasn’t but she clearly doesn’t believe him. Things only get worse when he learns that she wants to keep the printer at Yvonne’s house.
By this time, Theo and Ty have learned about the warrant on his phone records. Things only become increasingly heated when Theo pulls out the toy he confiscated from Jason. Merely seconds later, Theo calls Hayden with the request to meet him at the pub to talk about a future opportunity. This turns out to be a setup not only to get Hayden out of the so but so that Theo can pummel Hayden.
The episode ends with Ty visiting Dalia.
Critical Incident Review
This wasn’t a horrible episode but I feel that the series has always had one major problem and this continues to prove true, at least in my eyes. There are no segues. Take the 3D printer and Dalia’s toys for example. This came right out of left field. Although things are eventually somewhat explained in a reverse manner, I feel that it would have been much more effective storytelling to have some kind of introduction to the scenario.
That wasn’t the only instance. There were plenty of other scenes like that. Ali’s setting up surveillance in the downtown office building could have been better explained. The problem could be there are too many characters and stories. While the acting is subpar at best, I have enjoyed the series. I’d give this episode a 5.7 out of 10.
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