Episode 8 begins with Mack/McKenzie Leigh (Rachel Griffiths) sneaking into one of the motel rooms and dressing up like one of the Sweetheart’s girls. She is soon interrupted by Lolly (Florence Hartigan) who has a customer named Martin (Villa Junior Lemanu), who has locked himself in the bathroom and reciting bible verses. Although it is Mack who Jimmies open the door, it is Lolly who solves her own problem by suggesting they propose a fake marriage to make Martin feel more comfortable about the whole ordeal.
Things don’t look too good for Alex/Deziyah (Danielle Cormack) when she visits the local unemployment offices to discover that despite her extensive experience in administration, she’s not going to be able to earn anywhere near her usual wage. In addition, her last foray in the field was in 1986.
At Sweethearts, Mack is now in physical pain due to her earlier cosplay but refuses to leave the staff alone because Jules Varma (Rima Te Wiata) isn’t around and what happened last time she left time. Deziyah sees this as her opportunity to prove that she can be more than just another of the girls, but Mack is immediately suspicious. This eventually leads to Deziyah breaking down and telling Mack the truth about everything from her pregnancy to keeping the baby.
Mack eventually agrees to give Deziyah the opportunity to prove herself, but soon learns that she still has the problem of driving herself home. Luckily, Tui (Ariana Osborne) is not only around to help with this, but she has a solution to help with the pain as well, mushrooms.
While Tui and Mack’s trip takes them to the beach, Deziyah attempts to make the most of her opportunity by making a deal with Dion (Wesley Dowdell). Fiyah (Eden Hart) and Cherry (Gemma-Jayde Naidoo) clearly aren’t happy with this but pose little resistance. Things are certainly no better when one of Dion’s customers, Dooly (Joe Witkowski) recognizes Cherry from high school. She immediately accuses him of mistaken identity but doesn’t bother taking his money. Surprisingly enough, he only wants to talk.
Tui and Mack continue to bond at the beach over stories of their childhood as Deziyah keeps a close watch on things at Sweethearts. Dion immediately notices Deziyah’s new, stern attitude and accuses her of being on the rag at one point. Dooley and Cherry’s conversation reveals that she is in fact the girl from his high school. Not only that, but they apparently dated at one time and he dumped her for her best friend because she let him go further. At the time, she gives him the impression that she isn’t interested in keeping in touch, but it is later suggested that she likes him or could like him.
Once Jaz (Johanna Cosgrove) and Goldie show up, it doesn’t take the girls long to crack $6,000. Deziyah soon discovers that she has one major problem on her hands – Dion is gone and the men are revealed to be groomsmen who Dion was supposedly treating to one last hoorah. It isn’t long before Mack is called in to handle the dispute. Deziyah finally gets the opportunity to air her grievances when she reaches Dion on the phone. He practically tells her that she isn’t management material and should have been smart enough to collect payment before servicing the men.
Much to Deziyah’s surprise, Mack isn’t at all upset about the blunder and even agrees to sit down with her to work out some type of arrangement to help with the pregnancy.
The episode ends with Mack telling Deziyah to make sure she locks up when she leaves.
Madam Review
Not a horrible episode. I am really enjoying the crow the universe is feeding Deziyah as well as Mack and Tui’s bonding. I’m not sure if I missed it somewhere along the way but I don’t believe the father has yet been revealed. I’m almost betting that it might be Dion. I’m not sure what inspired Mack’s cosplay at the beginning of the episode but I can see how it was crucial. I also thought Cherry’s reunion with her old high school flame brought an interesting aspect to the story. It was nice to step away from their Leigh family drama for an episode, so I’d have to leave it with a 5.4 out of 10.
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