My Joe – The episode begins by showing Birdie Bell (Asher Keddie) locking herself in her apartment, getting in bed, and ignoring all her calls, including Joe Burt’s (David Wenham). At one point, things get so bad that Margeaux (Heather Mitchell) has to come over and get her out of bed. Margeaux gets Birdie up to drink some coffee and does some of her chores. She even puts on some music, but it only seems to make matters worse.
Birdie manages to make it to work, and when she does, she asks Peggy (Louisa Mignone) if she will help her investigate Joe. She agrees to help and immediately sends in a request for Joe’s land records. When the documents come back, Birdie realizes that the house is in Mary’s (Natalie O’Donnell) name and has been for 20 years. Peggy even tracks down Mary’s number and gives it to Birdie. When Birdie calls, Mary tells her that she is sorry if Joe broke her heart, but don’t call back again. Not long after this, Peggy learns that Joe has been in bankruptcy three times longer than the normal person because he’s refused to work with the trustee. She also discovers that he has a criminal record, involving something with his former business partner, Peter Van Rotterdam (Greg Stone). Before things get any further, Eliza Caldwell (Eliza Matengu) shows up and asks to speak with Birdie.
Eliza asks Birdie what she wants to write about. Birdie tells her that Lina Malik has a new restaurant opening. Eliza tells her to go ahead with that article, but if she has any other ideas, her door is always open. Later that night, Birdie texts Susan and tries to get Kirtsy’s (Ming-Zhu Hii) number, but doesn’t have any luck.
Peter tells Bride that Joe is a compulsive liar and used a forged document on a planning application. It wasn’t until Peter received the notification two years later that he found out. This was when he was charged with professional misconduct because Joe listed him as the responsible architect. She also tells him what Joe said about Mary (Natalie O’Donnell). Peter tells her that Mary is a lovely woman and pushed Joe off the ladder because she thought he was an intruder trying to break into her home.
Sometime later, Peggy tells Birdie that she thinks she should file a police report. Birdie tells her there is no crime. Peggy says there is fraud and rape by deception. Birdie tells her that she was very willing, but cannot go there. Birdie ends up storming off and running into Allan (Justin Wang). He asks her if she has seen Joe. This is when she learns that Joe told him that she had access to confidential minister briefings. She ends up telling him that she can’t help him and leaves.
The next morning, Birdie goes down to a local pub where Joe says that he hangs out at. The bartender doesn’t recognize him and says that if he told her he was living anywhere in the area, he was lying to her. From there, she goes to the address he gave her but gets run off the property.
Susan finally returns Birdie’s call. She tells her that she would be more than happy to pass on Kirsty’s number, but they don’t really speak anymore because Joe won’t let her talk to her. After this, Birdie returns Tessa Rain’s (Freya Stafford) message and tells her that she’d love to meet and is thinking about writing an article about Joe.
Tessa tells Birdie that she met Joe on a dating app and went on a few dates with him until he started talking about buying her a house. Tessa admits to being interested in him for a couple of months and ignoring the red flags. Tessa also tells Birdie that Joe is still on the dating app and shows her his profile.
Next, Birdie meets with Joe’s mother and two brothers to learn the truth about their relationships. They ask her not to use their names in the article. They don’t know where he is living, but say that someone saw him showering at the marina.
Birdie tells Peggy that she is going to publish her story after she confronts Joe. She seems to think she knows where he is. Birdie goes to the marina in search of The Blue Loon. This is where she learns that Joe never owned the boat and only looked at it a few times. He had promised to pay the deposit, but never did.
Sometime later, Birdie receives a message from Joe, asking if she is going to write about him. He says that he always thought his life would make a good movie. Not long after this, Birdie manages to track down Joe’s truck. It is yellow-tagged and looks like it hasn’t run in months. This also leads her to an abandoned boat with what appears to be Joe’s belongings. Birdie goes home and writes her piece.
After writing her story, Birdie meets with Eliza. Eliza tells her that she had a friend in New York who had a similar story. Next, Birdie calls Kirsty and Mary to tell them that she is going to release the article.
Birdie’s friends and family read her article and tell her they love it. She also receives undisclosed emails from a variety of women who have the same stories. She even receives a message from Joe, but chooses to ignore it about halfway through.
Birdie’s story blows up, and she even gets invited on the ABC Morning Show. Birdie gets so overwhelmed with the news that she has to step outside at work and catch her breath. The episode ends by showing Birdie swimming with several other women.
Fake Review
Not a horrible way to end the story, although I hate to see Birdie get so popular for being so naïve. I mean, she did seem like a nice lady, but just because she was naïve enough to get scammed doesn’t mean that she deserves the type of fame and popularity she received. On top of that, Joe never even went down. He could go back to scamming other hopeless women without batting an eye. I felt the series was well acted, but I just don’t know how much I cared for the story. In some way, I felt sorry for Birdie, in some ways I felt sorry for Joe, but the worst character of all had to be Margeaux. What a way to treat your own daughter? I’d give the series finale a 5.8 out of 10.
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