As the second episode of No Escape begins, Kitty (Rhianne Barreto) has a nightmare about finding her mother dead on the floor. Lana (Abigail Lawrie) wakes her up and reminds her that it was only a dream. There is no sign of anyone following them so the bag is all theirs. Heinrich (Elmo Anton Stratz) interrupts to tell them there is a crew meeting on the beach. They’re told to swim to the beach. Denny (Sean Keenan) is the first one to jump into the water. Lana has to urge Kitty to jump in and follow them. Once they reach the beach, they’re told that the bag contains about 20 grand in US dollars. Joseph (Narayan David Hecter) says there were uncut diamonds under the money.

Aaron (Jay Ryan) suspects the diamonds could be worth more than a million. He calls the boat a dead drop in which a buyer leaves cash and the seller leaves drugs. Michelle (Colette Dalal Tchantcho) thinks they should sink the bag, but some of the others do not agree. Heinrich says he needs that money or he’ll have to go home and start a regular life soon. Denny says they’re all going to run out of money soon and no one wants to go home yet. He votes that they should keep the money. Aaron agrees that everyone should get to vote on this. Michelle is the only one who votes not to keep the bag. Lana suggests dividing everything up right now, but Aaron says that isn’t how they do things.

He explains that The Blue is a collective so the money will be held collectively. Once Kitty agrees, Aaron says the engine was blowing smoke last night. They’ll need to use some of the money to make repairs on the boat. Denny is tasked with getting rid of the bag. In private, Kitty tells Lana that they should take the money because they need it more than the others. Lana reminds her that she is the one who wanted to stay on the yacht. Michelle asks Aaron if they can trust them. Aaron isn’t worried about them though. Kitty reveals she turned her phone on yesterday because she needed to know what was happening back home. The police are looking for her.

They know what she did back home. With the money and diamonds, they could disappear and be safe. Denny interrupts to say they’re going to hike up to make sure they’re not being followed. Once he leaves, Lana tells Kitty she wants to see what they say when Aaron isn’t around. She wants Kitty to find out where he stashes the bag on the yacht. In the present, Lana or Emma tells her boss that she quits. Chief Inspector Sarah Craven (Susie Porter) tells her that search and rescue have found a body. Lana enters the room with Peter (Gary Sweet) and Rachel Winbourne (Anne Looby). She confirms that she sailed with The Blue back in the Philippines.

They tell her that they’re Denny and Aaron’s parents. They briefly talk about the discovery before Rachel leaves to take a call from her brother. Peter finds it odd that Emma is back at the home port for The Blue. In the past, they hike to see if anyone is following them. Joseph speaks to Lana about karma. Joseph tells her what they think about it back in the Philippines. Kitty and the others return to the yacht with the bag. Aaron asks Michelle to teach Kitty how to secure the tender before he takes the bag. Kitty doesn’t get a chance to see where he hides it. Denny, Heinrich, and the others do not see any boats so they do not believe anyone is following them. Michelle asks Kitty about being on a yacht before. Kitty says she was although she did more drinking than sailing.

Denny spots a waterfall. They climb to the top before Denny jumps into the water below. Once it ends okay for Denny, Lana decides to follow behind him. They meet under the rocks where Denny says he doesn’t think they can hear them there. He wants to say or do something, but he doesn’t get the chance before the others jump into the water. When Lana gets up in the middle of the night, Aaron offers her a drink. They talk about celebrating anniversaries. Aaron’s old man used to say they are only ever about looking backward. He only ever wanted to look forward. Although he is retired now, he used to be a judge. Aaron offers her a drink again and says it was a wedding present.

Once she takes a drink, Aaron says it is his wife’s anniversary tomorrow. It was the night she died. He mentions that she wasn’t on the trawler for long. Lana says the boys were ready to go once she reached the deck. Aaron says it was like Heinrich knew exactly where to look for the bag. He knows they got off to a rocky start, but he is glad that Lana is on board. The next day, Kitty tells Lana that Michelle thinks she is dodgy. Denny interrupts to see if they want to come to the market to pick up some supplies. Kitty reminds Lana that they don’t have any money. Lana thinks they should search the yacht for the bag when they get the chance. Kitty says she is getting some money while they still can.

While the others are busy, Kitty begins looking through the cabins. Once Aaron approaches, she pretends she was going to invite him to the market. Aaron says he has a bit of work to do. He reveals he dug out a bit of cash because it is New Year’s tonight. Denny tells Lana that he’ll see her over there. Kitty tells Lana she found his hiding spot and she got 20,000 pesos spending money from their glorious leader. They agree to grab the rest when they’re at the party tonight. Aaron reminds Heinrich that they have a lot of work to do. Aaron pushes him in the water and says he wants to have a conversation before letting him return. He wants to know what actually happened on the trawler. Heinrich is worried about the stingrays in the water.

Denny tells Lana that Aaron loves the agimat which are like Filipino protection charms. While Denny buys one, Lana steals a small ornament. Denny tries to get her to wear it, but she doesn’t believe in magic. Since Denny does, Lana tells him to wear it. In the present, Peter Winbourne apologizes to Lana or Emma if he has been prying. Rachel interrupts to say the helicopter is nearly there with the body. It is a young man who was apparently wearing a distinctive medallion. Emma claims that a medallion like that means nothing to her. The parents identify the body moments later. In the past, Lana tells Kitty it is best for her to stay at the party to make sure Aaron doesn’t come back to the boat.

They can meet at the bus stop at midnight and run. Kitty is worried about being caught, but Lana says she never gets caught. Lana asks for her phone so she can chuck it into the sea when they get the bag. While the others head to the party, Aaron stays on the boat and thinks about the past. Denny tries to get someone to sing karaoke with him before Michelle arrives with emergency supplies. Heinrich gets upset and walks away from the group so Denny follows him to find out what is going on. Lana tells Kitty that they’re going to go now. Michelle hangs out with Joseph while Kitty spies on Aaron from a distance. She watches as Aaron approaches and attacks Denny. Kitty tries to distract him and prevent him from going back so she kisses him.

Lana manages to get the bag, but he has to put it back when she hears Denny on the boat. Aaron stops making out with Kitty and walks away from her. She calls his name before Aaron walks into the water and begins screaming. Denny tells Lana that he had a bit of a dustup with Aaron. He explains that Aaron got the idea that there was something dodgy with the money they found. He was blaming Heinrich s Denny tried to stick up for him. Lana is unable to escape with the money. When Kitty sees the fireworks, she begins realizing that Lana isn’t coming. While Lana has sex with Denny, a man steals Kitty’s purse. Joseph sees Denny and Lana on the boat together. Kitty tells Michelle that the man robbed her and took their passports.

Michelle says they can fix this. Joseph watches Lana run from the yacht. Aaron pulls out a gun and contemplates shooting himself. In the present, Sarah Craven asks Emma if any of the crew had a grudge against Aaron Winbourne. She reveals that his throat was slashed and he was murdered. They’re towing The Blue in right now so the forensics team can search the yacht for evidence. Lana says she met a lot of their friends when she was on The Blue. If her stuff is still on the boat, it might remind Lana who she is. In the past, Lana tries to catch up with Kitty who is working on getting her passport back. Michelle gives her a form to fill out, but Kitty leaves without doing it.

She tells Michelle that she doesn’t want her help before leaving to meet Lana. Kitty tells her that none of it matters now because they’re finished. In the present, Lana heads to the yacht with Sarah. Another property is searched by authorities too. In that house, there is a broken picture of Kitty, Lana, and a woman.

 

No Escape Review

There is a lot to like about No Escape, including the gorgeous scenery, reliable cast, and fairly interesting story. It isn’t always easy to connect to the characters, but it is easy to want to know what will happen next. However, the series is being held back by a handful of hurdles. The biggest issues are the glacial pace and the episode count with the latter confirming that the first issue will only worsen.

At times, it feels like the series is going nowhere because the pacing is so sluggish. The believability of the series could also be debated. If the series didn’t have so many episodes and it got to the finish line sooner, it probably would’ve been more impactful. Due to the sluggish pace, it can be a chore to get through the episodes while waiting for something to happen.

The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of No Escape are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent work at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.