At the beginning of the episode, Gary Hyde (Matt Nable) and his partners track down Abed (Benjamin Calleja). Abed is eventually cornered on a bridge. He jumps off and takes his secrets with him. Moments later, Jackie Walters (Mandy McElhinney) arrives at the scene and scolds Gary for allowing Abed to kill himself. They find an address for Abed. Kevin Soga (Tai Hara) and Gary visit the man’s residence. The couple break in and search through Abed’s belongings. During their search, Claire McKenzie (Emma Hamilton) calls and gives Gary and update on her search of Abed’s background. Claire suggests the man is wanted in connection with a bombing in Jakarta. Kevin and Gary find a block of gold in the man’s suitcase.

Gary returns to headquarters and tells Andrew Mills (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) that no weapons or explosives were found. It is revealed that Abed was linked to a terrorist sect, but not a leader. It is suggested Abed could be working with Malik and their target might be the Asia Pacific Security Forum. Jackie has a brief squabble with Andrew, before she agrees to keep him in the loop. Andrew asks Claire how she is settling in. He also admits she comes highly recommended. Seconds later, Tanya Martin (Claire Lovering) tells the group about Abed’s phone. She reveals that Abed was texting Dale O’Halloran in the past few weeks. Dale, who is a pilot, also possesses a fake New Zealand passport.

It is also revealed that Abed was scheduled to fly out to Cairns the following day. Gary and Claire decide to fly out to Cairns and attempt to locate Dale. Gary makes it clear he doesn’t feel secure with Claire as his partner. Nonetheless, Jackie insists she is capable. Gary and Claire argue about her involvement, once they arrive at their destination. Seconds later, Dale is spotted. Gary makes is clear he intends to pretend to be Dale’s contact. Gary makes his way into Dale’s shack, while Claire venture deeper into the nearby town. During his search, Gary receives a call from Oscar (Bede Warnock), who wishes to speak about deadly snakes. Around this time, Angela Petrides (Stephanie Panozzo) speaks with Sonya (Zoe Ventoura). Angela speaks about her newfound suspicion of Muslins.

Sonya tries to convince her to think otherwise, before Angela’s water breaks. Claire makes her way to a restaurant, where she orders wine. She gets the chance to speak with Dale and asks him for a flight. Her request is denied, but she does hear Dale receive information about someone in his shed. She tries to get in touch with Gary, but is unable to do so. Meanwhile, Tanya Martin manages to trace the gold bar to Aaron Ling (Jemwel Danao). Jackie tasks Tanya and Kevin with following the man. While watching Aaron, they argue about Tanya’s choice of clothing. Claire searches Dale’s camper, while simultaneously trying to reach Gary. She finds a picture of a young girl and immediately believes Dale to be a pedophile. Dale catches Gary trying to break into his computer.

Gary manages to disarm Dale. He orders him to sit down, before questioning the man. Meanwhile, Kevin and Tanya continue watching Aaron. Kevin discovers that the man is gay and has been active on Grindr. Claire joins Gary and tells him about Dale’s pedophile activities. It is revealed Dale is wanted out of Canada for child sex crimes. Claire immediately comes up with a plan to torture Dale to get the information they need. Gary consults with Claire outside and tells her torture would be a bad idea. Claire is very persuasive. Gary agrees to go along with her scheme. Jackie contacts Tanya and tells her the gold was finances from an account in Brunei. She orders Tanya and Kevin to begin Aaron into custody. Kevin has no trouble arresting Aaron, who immediately blames his father.

Meanwhile, Dale tells Gary and Claire about his contact with someone online through a private chatroom. He admits the man gave him money and a passport. After he started a new life, the man wanted more and blackmailed Dale into helping. He reveals the man’s name was Malik. Dale admits the man contacted him a few weeks ago and ordered him to pick something up. Dale is forced to contact the man and arrange for the pick up. Jackie interrogates Aaron. The man refuses to cooperate with Jackie, but he denies being involved with terrorists. He admits he will be killed, if he is deported. Tanya interrupts seconds later. Andrew tells Jackie that Aaron’s father is closely linked to the Sultan of Brunei and will need to be sent back soon. Andrew gives her until the morning to try and break Aaron. The man agrees to cooperate, as long as he gets to speak with Kevin.

Meanwhile, Gary fills a bag with rocks. He speaks with Claire. She is forced to admit she worked for the SIS, but eventually quit when she found out it wasn’t for her. They agree to make the drop together. Gary calls Sonya and learns about Angela’s pregnancy. The baby has arrived early. Dale flies the couple to the meeting location. Claire is urged to make contact with backup, while keeping an eye on Dale. Gary meets with the contacts. During this time, Aaron admits he went on the dark web and met a man, who could get him out of Brunei. He insists he was afraid of getting stoned to death for his sexual preference. He suggests the man helped him escape, before blackmailing him later. Gary meets with 3 men and forces them to show the merchandise, which turns out to be a rocket launcher.

Gary hands over the bag of rocks and everything turns to chaos. Claire shows up and helps Gary subdue the men. Gary speaks with the smuggler. The man admits he is a smuggler and just gets paid to deliver. Claire admits she believes him. Afterwards, Jackie tells Aaron he will be deported. Tanya and Kevin do not like the idea, but they have no say so in the matter. Gary and Claire return to headquarters. The couple covers for their bad behavior. Gary suggests they’re in a good situation now. Malik is likely angry and that could play right into their hands. On the way out, Gary admits to Jackie that he now trusts Claire. He heads to the hospital and meets with his wife. Together, they visit their Godson.

 

Hyde & Seek Review

The 3rd episode of Hyde & Seek was slightly better than the previous two. The interaction between Claire and Dale was definitely memorable. Matt Nable and Emma Hamilton make a good pair. Nonetheless, I still find myself cringing at much of the dialogue. The show is also unfortunately overloaded with propaganda. That is to be expected though. A 6.5 out of 10 is deserved. Catch up with previous recaps of Hyde & Seek now.