Secret Designs – The episode opens with Dawud Mansour (Hazem Shammas) looking through Goodes’ fashion design sketches. He shows Angela Mansour (Azizi Donnelly) a magazine clipping of Charlotte Egan wearing their Genevieve gown replica. She boasts of her new full-time job at Goodes. Farouk Mansour (Ubai Dahoud) reminds her that she has a job and has Goodes’ “look book.” Angela is a Mansour, not the same Mansour family who owns Country Stores. In Richard White’s (Tom Wilson) flat, Lisa Miles (Clare Hughes) wakes to find herself in nothing but a bra and panties. He promises nothing about last night will change their relationship.

Stefan Szombathelyi (Russell Dykstra) tries to tell Magda Szombathelyi (Debi Mazar) about his relationship with George Szombathelyi’s (Carlos Sanson Jr.) mother, Teresa Szombathelyi but she shuts him down. Insisting she knows, he says after the war, he wanted to join George and Teresa in Cuba but she had already remarried. George calls him a liar. Magda demands Stefan take George and leave. Lisa races to a public phone booth to call Dorothy Miles (Sacha Horler). Angela stops to admire a window display before entering Goodes for her first day as an assistant in Ladies Cocktail. Magda welcomes her on board. Seeing Lisa is late and wearing the same outfit, Virginia Ambrose (Miranda Otto) suggests she purchase a new shirt. Magda considers taking off her wedding ring. Fay Janosi (Jessica De Gouw) informs Lisa that Angela will be working with them in Ladies Cocktail. Angela says Lisa’s hair smells like an ashtray. Dorothy approaches Lisa and asks why she didn’t come home last night. Angela claims Lisa went on with her because she had too much beer.

Voula’s mother (Kaliopi Eleni) is looking for Voula a white dress for her brother’s wedding. Magda suggests something more age-appropriate when Ambrose interrupts and pulls her away to try on a Leboucher. Magda later delivers the Leboucher and a spaghetti-strap floral dress to Voula’s dressing room. Ambrose insists she takes the floral dress away. A short time later, Voula’s mother is impressed with the Leboucher. Adam Conroy (Ngali Shaw) gives Elias Khalil (Julian Maroun) an Italian Chervo Gran Marco hat to try on. Elias offers 10 pounds for the hat. Adam says the hat is cheap. Elias laughs and calls him a “born salesman.” Adam asks if he would talk to Mr. Mackenzie (Todd McKenney) about promoting him to sales. Elias warns him against trusting an Englishman.

Fay tells Dr. Thomas (Terence Crawford) that she is interested in birth control pills. He says at 28, she doesn’t have long to get pregnant. At Goodes, Angela cannot check out a customer because she is unfamiliar with the cash register. Lisa completes the purchase. Angela intervenes to keep her from giving the customer the incorrect change. Lisa questions why Angela doesn’t know the cash register when her family owns Country Stores. Angela sarcastically says she can count money, even with a hangover. Lisa tells her that she didn’t ask her to lie to Dorothy. Angela asks if she planned to tell her about being out with that creep, Richard who coerced her into having a drink with him. Mrs. Lynch (Melanie Munt) throws her Genevieve gown at Angela and accuses her of lying about it being unique. She shows her the magazine clipping of Charlotte Egan wearing the same dress. Magda assures her that the dress is original. Ambrose takes control of the situation.

Enid Marlow (Krew Boylan) picks out a turban for her anniversary and asks Fay to recommend it to her husband, Ken Marlow (Hamish Michael). Elias confronts Angela about her deception. Farouk and Dawud create replicas of luxury fashion designs. He threatens to tell Mr. Ryder until she reminds him that he is supposed to be a respectable writer. He says she is thieving. She expresses her desire to work in fashion and refuses to work with Farouk’s soon-to-be wife, Nadia (Roxie Mohebbi). They strike up a deal to tell no one and create no more knock-offs.

Ambrose tells Mr. Ryder that Magda is undermining her. Mackenzie says there are too many workers in Ladies Cocktail. Magda assures him that everything will work out when Lisa returns to university and Fay leaves to start her own family. Elsewhere, Angela insists on returning Goodes’ look book but Farouk won’t let her. She tells Dawud about Lynch who acquired the original Genevieve dress. Farouk urges her to quit. She says if Mr. Ryder finds out and connects it to her, they will come after them. Dawud agrees to let Angela return the look book. Angela accuses Nadia of making her life miserable.

Stefan claims Mr. Miles borrowed money from loan sharks and now, they are demanding to be repaid. Lisa says they can barely cover the mortgage. He suggests they take George on as a tenant. George accuses Stefan of trying to pawn him off on strangers. Fay tells Rudi Janosi (Thom Green) that Stefan and Magda have a lot of debt. He vows to repay them. She informs him of her decision to start taking birth control pills when George and Stefan arrive. Fay and Rudi agree to let George stay with them and give him a job.

Magda foils Angela’s plan to immediately return Goodes’ look book to Mr. Ryder’s office. A short time later, Magda assists a woman (Lisa Lanzi) try on a pair of shoes. Angela tries to be nice to Lisa before leaving to see Mr. Ryder. Fay urges Lisa to get along with Angela when Ken approaches. She shows him the turban that Enid wants for their anniversary. He says she looks amazing. She accuses him of lying to her about being single. She rejects his advances. In the locker room, Angela shows Elias the Goodes’ look book. He urges her to wait until tea time to return the book. Fay informs Magda that George is staying with her and Rudi. Magda says her dream boutique is lost and wishes them luck. Fay gets a little touchy when Lisa mentions Ken. Angela apologizes to Lisa for calling Richard a creep before returning the look book to the executive floor. A short time later, she applauds George’s piano double (Marco Callisto) when Magda approaches and scolds him for being there. Stefan arrives with a bouquet of flowers and follows her to Shoes. He says it was easy to live without Teresa and George but her, it would kill him. She refuses to let him come home. A short time later, Elias comforts her.

Lisa tells Angela that she doesn’t know if she and Richard had sex which she knows little to nothing about. A short time later, Richard confirms her suspicions. He says they are two different people and urges her to return to the school newspaper. Elsewhere, Angela learns Nadia and Farouk traced the sketches of Goodes’ gowns. Nadia boasts of how beautiful her impending wedding will be. She is shocked to discover they will be married in three months. Elsewhere, McKenzie warns Mr. Ryder that their designs have been copied. Ambrose suggests it is the same person who copied their Genevieve gown. The episode ends.

 

Ladies In Black Review

Magda kicks Stefan and George out. Fay and Rudi invite George to stay with them. Stefan tells Dorothy and Lisa that Mr. Miles owes money to loan sharks. After a night of drinking, Lisa wakes up in their underwear at Richard’s place. With limited knowledge, she is unsure if they had sex. He later confirms that they never had sex and insists they are too different to be together.

Farouk and Dawud created a look-a-like of the Genevieve gown from Goodes’ designs. Mrs. Lynch returns the original after a photo of Charlotte Eagan in the replica shows up in a magazine. Angela returns the look book to Goodes but not before Nadia and Farouk have time to copy the gown sketches. Elias and Angela know each other. He promises to keep the look book a secret if she doesn’t say anything about him not being a writer. Mr. Mackenzie realizes the sketches have been copied.

 

The series portrays women as passive which is terribly difficult to believe. While there is a noticeable improvement from the pilot, the story remains chunky and the characters robotic. The subpar editing alters the flow of the story. It is refreshing to see a plot, other than the typical crime drama. The episode deserves a 5.7 out of 10.

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