As the third episode of No Escape begins, the forensics team tells Chief Inspector Sarah Craven (Susie Porter) that they’re finished on The Blue. Emma (Abigail Lawrie) boards with Sarah who points out the dozens of bullet holes on the yacht. There are traces of blood on the deck as well. Emma learns that the entire thing will be recorded. In the past, Lana tells Kitty (Rhianne Barreto) that it’ll be okay because their plan still works. They know where the money is so they’ll get another chance to grab it. She hasn’t figured out where they’re going to go without passports though. Lana confesses that she couldn’t leave because Denny (Sean Keenan) showed up.

Kitty thinks Aaron (Jay Ryan) will kill them when he figures out they don’t have any passports. Lana says she is going to sort it out because it was her fault. Lana briefly speaks to Michelle (Colette Dalal Tchantcho) on her way out. Michelle approaches Kitty to see if there is something she wants to say. She knows Kitty has been lying to them since the first day they met. Kitty seems willing to say something. Aaron picks up a part for the boat. A local says there is plenty of bad luck around already. Aaron also learns that police have been searching boats, especially foreign boats. Once Aaron pays for the part, a police car drives by with its siren blaring. He tells the man to keep the change before running from the shop.

Kitty tells Michelle that she and Lana met in foster care where they grew up. She goes on to say they used some stolen credit cards. Michelle asks if she stole her wallet. Joseph (Narayan David Hecter) ignores Aaron’s call to Michelle when her phone rings. Aaron hides the gun in his pants and tries calling again. Michelle and the others hear the sirens around the boat. Joseph tells Michelle and Kitty that they need to come see this. Aaron manages to get in touch with Michelle who is instructed to dump the diamonds and money right now. Michelle is approached by police who ask if she owns the boat. Aaron is stopped by police as well. Lana finds Denny lying on the beach. When she tells him about their passports, Denny suggests going to the consular office.

Lana admits they can’t do that and she thought his friend in Balakot could help. Denny thinks there is someone he can ask. Michelle tries to prevent the police from searching The Blue. When Aaron arrives, he is introduced to Captain Dizon with the Philippine Police Service. The Captain has a warrant empowering them to search all boats in Balakot. Aaron agrees to let them search the yacht. Dizon also wants to look at the logbook, crew rosters, and passports. He notices that they were all the way out to Sagisag three days ago and straight back. Aaron claims they did a bit of snorkeling. Dizon is interested because something happened not far from Sagisag three days ago.

Kitty tells them about her passport being stolen and how she hasn’t managed to file a police report yet. Dizon warns Aaron that having a crew without documentation is very serious. It seems the police have found something. In the present, Emma walks through the boat with Sarah. They go to Aaron’s cabin and find a lot of blood. Emma notices that a panel is missing from the wall. In the past, Aaron is forced to remove the panel. The police look at the money. Aaron claims he was planning on purchasing another boat and that is why he had the cash. He says he brought the cash from Australia even though the money is in pesos. Dizon says the boat is going to be impounded and their passports will be taken.

He wants them to answer more questions from his boss. Michelle tries to convince them that this is a mistake since they’re leaving to the Philippines anyway. She suggests they make good on their mistakes. Michelle tells Dizon to take the cash and call it a fine for her friend for being undocumented. They’ll go on their way without saying anything. Dizon tells her to put the money in the bag. In the present, the group moves to other cabins. Emma shows them her cabin. It looks like someone else moved in. Since the place is a mess, they suspect someone was looking for something. Emma notices the message on the wall that says “I confess”. Heinrich questions why Joseph is speaking to an officer and hopes he wouldn’t snitch on them.

Dizon tells the group that he wants them out of Balakot today. Once the police leave, Michelle asks Aaron about the diamonds. He is more concerned about finding his brother. Denny and Lana speak about last night. Denny is taking her to see his old weed dealer. If they strike out on the passports, they’ll at least get to smoke pot. Aaron tells the others that the cop mentioned an incident near Sagisag three days ago. He confesses that he messed with the logs to put them further away, but it is the same general area where they found the bag. Michelle says the problem is that they didn’t know what the bag was. Kitty is more concerned about finding Lana and Denny. Heinrich thinks they’re gone with the diamonds, but Kitty says Lana wouldn’t leave without her.

Aaron is adamant that they’re leaving soon even if they don’t return. Aaron takes Heinrich somewhere private. He tells him that he has been in a bad place and that wasn’t fair for him. He apologizes. As they start talking about fixing the boat, Aaron puts a gun and knife in the drawer nearby. Michelle interrupts to say they can’t leave Denny. Aaron reveals that the search warrant was issued under anti-terrorist law. That’s why they need to get out of there. Kitty overhears and says she is going to go find Lana. Joseph decides to show her around. Aaron warns him that they’re out of there once the boat is fixed. Joseph is surprised to find so many people out since it is usually quiet on New Year’s.

When they see police around, Joseph says they’re not interested in them. Denny and Lana reach Navarro’s place. They find him dead. Lana looks outside and learns that the attacker is still there. She tells Denny they need to get out of there. They flee the building and end up being chased by a group of men. Joseph and Kitty find themselves in what they believe is a funeral. Kitty asks if the policeman told him anything. Joseph says he only knows that it is a funeral. Lana and Denny find a place to hide. Joseph tries to find out what happened to the boy before telling Kitty that they need to go because it is not safe. Denny tells Lana that they’re trying to get rid of witnesses. She questions why they would do that to anyone who sells weed.

Kitty gets separated from Joseph. Denny and Lana run from the men. Kitty manages to reunite with Joseph. He tells her that they’re going back to The Blue because it is too dangerous. The men have to stop pursuing Lana and Denny when they encounter police officers near the pier. Denny gives Lana the bag of diamonds and admits he took them from Aaron’s cabin last night. He did it because he was stupid. When he heard she needed passports, he thought he could trade one of the diamonds for them. After he admits he doesn’t know what Aaron will do, Lana says he doesn’t need to find out. Aaron and Heinrich finish working on the yacht. Aaron approaches Denny and begins arguing with him.

They talk about the police visit, the diamonds, and Denny’s friend being murdered. Lana claims to have lost Denny’s bag during the chase. Aaron doesn’t believe it so Denny tells him to search him. He doesn’t find anything. Lana suggests Denny take them was a good thing because the police would’ve found them otherwise. Aaron says they’re shipping out right now. Lana doesn’t want to leave until Kitty and Joseph return. Despite Lana’s efforts, the yacht begins leaving the pier. Joseph and Kitty make it back to the pier and see The Blue leaving without them. Lana and Michelle try to get Aaron to stop the boat. Michelle manages to convince him to slow down after Joseph and Kitty jump into the water.

They get back on the small boat a short time later. The gang members take a picture of the boat as it sails away. Kitty and Joseph get back on The Blue. Heinrich is told to take the wheel. Aaron thinks the others should clear the air. He is going to put the safety of the boat first so they’re getting out of the Philippines. He is setting a course for Palau and then down to the Solomons. Then, they’ll eventually head back home to Australia. Joseph reveals that the money they took was a ransom paid by a powerful Filipino family to get their kidnapped son back from a BLF. Aaron says BLF are terrorists. Joseph argues that they killed the 14-year-old boy because they got to the money first.

The men chasing Denny and Lana were BLF and they led them straight to the boat. In the present, Emma says she left The Blue and went to a bar she used to drink at. The owner said the crew had some trouble in Mindanao in a town called Balakot. She thinks it was with a local gang. Emma suggests looking into boats that are heading back to the Philippines. Sarah says they have a man with the PPS based in Balakot and she is about to sit down with him. She’ll tell him about the rumor. Once Emma leaves, she goes to the Townsville Bus Station where she looks at the diamonds.

 

No Escape Review

The third episode of No Escape continues to be plagued by some of the same issues as the episodes before it. Furthermore, new issues were added to create a dull affair. At this point, it is all about waiting for the payoff and to see what actually happened to the people on The Blue. The pacing of the show is its biggest issue by far because it is already sluggish in episode three and there are still too many episodes left.

Now, the story is taking a lot of unbelievable turns with the gang stuff and the murder of the 14-year-old boy. Other aspects have been done too many times before. Truthfully, the core story is very intriguing, but the pacing has slowed the momentum of the show to a crawl making it a bit of a chore to get through.

Depending on the outcome and its effectiveness, No Escape may be a worthwhile binge when all is said and done though. Nevertheless, there will still be countless yawns through each episode before we ever get there. This one scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of No Escape can be found on Reel Mockery here.

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