The final begins with the emotional breakdown of one of Jaz/Jasmine’s (Johanna Cosgrove) clients. He claims to be so lonely, despite her being right there with him. Fiyah (Eden Hart) puts Deziyah (Danielle Cormack) in a bad mood when their discussion about the pregnancy leads to finances. It certainly doesn’t help matter when Goldie (Carmel McGlone) and several others ominously question her stint as Co-Madam. Deziyah uses Jules Varma’s (Rima Te Wiata) phone dispute with Bradley (Benedict Wall) to flex her authority. Things don’t appear to be going much better for Tui (Ariana Osborne) who has returned to Helz’s couch. Her inquiries about Toby (Quinn Ashton) remain unanswered.
While preparing Toby for an outing, Mack/McKenzie (Rachel Griffiths) and Rob Leigh (Martin Henderson) briefly discuss moving his classes to an online setting. Things go from bad to worse when she later learns from Jules that in their attempts to quickly repay the fraudulent loan, they’ve had to let other bills slide. Those other creditors are now seeking payment. Although Toby and Noam Leigh (Angus Stevens) both have headsets on, listening to music, Mack immediately takes the phone off speaker. Mack’s solution is to let the loan payments go. There is also the slightest mention of Deziyah’s contract.
Deziyah is right in the middle of learning about Mack’s overdue loan when Jaz interrupts with the news that she might be a carrier for crabs. Much to Deziyah’s delight, this conversation is interrupted with the arrival of Bradley who later privately offers her nearly double the going rate for a girl. Deziyah chooses Mariyah (Lyncia Muller) for the job and although she appears to be up to the task, Jules sees them together. This prompts a call to Mack, who ignores the call and places her focus on Toby.
Mack’s newfound focus on Toby not only becomes a problem for Noam but for Toby as well. A later dispute over his physical therapy will unveil that Mack has even gone as far as to pull him out of school early since he is about to graduate anyway. Despite this, sometime later the school will send Rob a request about including Toby in this year’s graduation celebrations. While they appear to be in agreement about having a small gathering at the house instead, they do not feel the same about marriage counseling.
The Sweetheart’s staff, including Jules, will separately confront Deziyah once they learn about her asking Mariyah to service a blacklisted client. They are clearly not happy with the discovery and Goldie even hints at walking away from the business. Mack and Tui’s meeting doesn’t begin much better but surprisingly enough, ends on such a positive note that it inspires Mack to visit Lima (Robbie Magasiva). This encounter is briefly cordial and practically ends with them both amicably agreeing to put their relationship on ice.
Although Rob witnesses them hugging, he doesn’t mention it when Mack later approaches him with offers of dinner later that evening. Things don’t go much further than him agreeing to the date thanks to Jules’s call about Deziyah taking kickbacks. This discovery will not only lead to a huge confrontation at Sweetheart’s but it will put the whole business in jeopardy when Jules fires Deziyah. Despite the abrupt dismissal, both Jules and Mack offer to help her in any way they can but refuse to let her put the others at risk. This will ultimately lead to her finding the loan agreement, copying it, and sending the forged proof to Rob.
As expected, Rob is so hysterical over the loan forgery that he not only kicks Mack out of the house, but he refuses to let her stay at the hotel. Series 1 ends with Mack also learning that Deziyah will now be running Sweethearts permanently.
Madam Finale Review
It was fairly obvious as to where the series was going, but how it got there was a bit different than I initially expected. About halfway through the series, it was clear where things would end up and how they would get there, but up until that point, there was some mystery.
I could do without all the cringy intimate scenes, like the opening to this episode, but I can overlook them. I’m also not a fan of the handicapped son story but I can also understand how that might be dear to the creator’s heart if he/she did in fact have a challenged son. I still feel it would have been better if he passed in episode 9 but I get it. All in all, I feel that this will be a very underappreciated gem. It’d be a shame to not see a second season. I’d give the finale a 6 out of 10.
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