As the fourth episode of One Night begins, Simone (Nicole da Silva) wakes up next to a man and tries to get up without waking him. When Vicki (Kat Stewart) gets up, she learns that Tess (Jodie Whittaker) was unable to sleep because she has too much adrenaline. Vicki recommends heading to Sydney. Tess remembers she was in control before they arrived. She complains about all these memories coming back. Tess doesn’t want to leave because she has to take control of it. She wants the Calleys to pay for what they did and she wants to destroy them.

In a flashback, a young Tess (Mikaela Binns-Rorke) tells Simone (Bridgette Armstrong) that she is leaving. Tess doesn’t want to speak about it. In the present, Tess tells Vicki she doesn’t want Lily anywhere near the Calleys. Helen (Tina Bursill) reminds Tess that she hasn’t told Lily what happened to her. When Simone arrives, Tess tries to pretend she isn’t home. Simone asks Vicki for five minutes. She yells to tell Tess that she is sorry and to say she wanted to explain why she wrote the book. Simone felt like she was left carrying the story and needed to write it to understand it.

Vicki says she doesn’t even know her anymore so she needs to move on. Simone doubts either of them will ever move on. Vicki suggests she hasn’t been doing anything and that is why she wrote a book about someone else’s life. As for Tess, she has done so much work to get to where she is. Vicki argues Simone has no right to that anymore, but Simone will wait for Tess to tell her that. When Simone gets home to her dad, she watches a news report about the book already selling out of its first run. Eden Murray is on the show talking about finding the author. She would love for the author to come forward.

Eden goes on to explain why the book is so successful and how the author is the victim and the witness. Don (William Zappa) turns it off just before the interview ends. Later, Simone watches a video of Eden talking about her mission. She hears the dogs barking so she goes outside to look around. Simone finds a derogatory slur on the windshield of her dad’s vehicle. In the morning, Don walks outside and alleges that Simone was out there smoking with Tess. He believes he is speaking to Kathy. Don says he heard the rumors and they keep coming to try to scare them. Simone curses Joey. Once she reaches the pub, Simone has a flashback in which she plays truth or dare with Joey and Tess.

Trevor joins them moments later and offers to show Simone how to kiss. In the present, Simone tells Joey Calley (George Mason) to stop coming around and doing this to her father. He tells her to go back to the hole she crawled out of. Simone tells him she has achieved more than a drug-pushing rapist. That statement convinces Joey that she wrote the book which he plans to end. They argue until Trevor tells Simone he remembers her. Before Simone leaves, she tells Joey he’ll never shut her down. Joey tells Trevor that the book is nothing, but Simone just ticks him off. Trevor asks if he should sleep with her. Joey calls him an animal.

Mary (Noni Hazlehurst) breaks up their spat. Hat (Yael Stone) calls Tess because she needs to tell her something bad. She tells Tess about Trevor being out before asking what she wants to do about the concerns notice. Although Tess spoke to Baris this morning, he never told Hat. Simone meets Mark (Damien Strouthos) who doesn’t want to get involved in their drama. Simone asks if Hat has spoken to anyone about her book. She questions whether Hat has spoken to Eden Murray. Mark says Simone asked him a bunch of questions and put everything in the book. Mark admits they’re all really angry about the book.

Once Simone leaves, she calls Andrew Sharma (Chum Ehelepola) to ask him about Eden Murray talking to the author. Andrew thinks it is good for publicity. Although he isn’t behind her, he might use her in the future. Simone spots some teenagers spray painting on a sign and smoking cigarettes. She stops to accuse them of coming by her house and painting her car. One teenager tells her that her dad tried to run him over. Simone threatens to report them if they come around again. Don plays a trick on Simone when she gets home. Later, she contemplates calling Hat before dinner. Simone gives her dad her novel and tells him she decided not to use her name.

She sends a text message to Andrew saying she wants a meeting with Lindy to talk about Eden Murray. Vicki finds Tess speaking to someone on the phone in the bathroom. Tess claims it is just work and asks her to go back to bed. The following day, Simone meets with John Zantiotis and Lindy. Simone thinks they’ll need to take action against Eden Murray. Lindy tells her that they’ve had to halt the second edition mid-print because they received a concerns notice which outlines the serious harm the publication has caused and could cause to the claimant. They need to know how much of the story is true and how much is Simone’s to tell.

The issue is that Simone signed an indemnity clause so some of the responsibility is with her. In a flashback, Simone remembers a man coming into her bedroom in the middle of the night and playing with himself. In the present, Lindy tells Simone that it was disappointing to receive the notice. Andrew argues it is in their interest to back Simone because One Night is selling so well. Simone asks who the claimant is. Vicki calls Tess to ask her about the car and the email from the bank. Tess is busy watching Trevor so she wants to talk about it later. She ends the call. Simone confronts Tess about the concerns notice, but Tess insists she isn’t doing it.

Hat admits to doing the notice. Tess reminds her she told Baris she didn’t want to do it. Hat says she had to because there are things only she could know in the book. Tess argues that all of this is because Simone decided to write that book. Simone says it is her story too and they don’t know everything. In a flashback, Simone tells Hat that she doesn’t know what to do now that Tess is done. Hat asks her why she didn’t say anything when it happened. She questions why Simone didn’t do anything when she saw her. Simone claims she tried to. In the present, Simone picks up Lily and asks where she is going. Lily is going to the Bells Road car park.

When Lily asks if she’ll tell Tess, Simone says they’re not really talking. Lily plays “Young Girl” by The Distillers and explains that Tess plays it all the time. Once Simone drops her off, she gives Lily her number in case she needs a ride again. Simone imagines Lily getting into a vehicle with Trevor before remembering kissing him. She tells him no, but Trevor claims she wants it. Simone tries to stop the vehicle, but it pulls away and Lily leaves. She goes to the pub where she tells Mary she is looking for someone. Simone imagines telling herself that she just stood there even though she has just kissed Tess. Joey slammed the door in her face and she knew it was bad, but she still stood there.

It was just like when she laid there when that man sat on her feet. In the present, Simone runs into Lily and Jason (Zac Burgess). Lily says they were just getting beers. Simone tells her she shouldn’t be down there and that she was worried about her. Once Mary interrupts, Simone says she isn’t leaving without Lily. Mary tells Jason to take her upstairs. She calls Simone a snack for always talking crap about her boys. After Simone calls her sons rapists, Mary grabs her and tells her to shut up. Joey interrupts and stops Mary so Simone can get away. At home, Simone learns that her father has fallen and can’t get up. She thinks he needs to go to the hospital.

Don says she doesn’t know what it’s like losing your brain. He urges her not to give up on herself. Once Don is taken to the hospital, Simone listens to an interview with Eden who argues with the host about consent. She calls Eden and tells her that she hasn’t met her. Eden believes she has already talked to the author. Simone argues with her before hanging up. Then, Simone tells the nurses that she wrote One Night and her name is Simone Strauss.

 

One Night Review

The fourth episode of One Night pushed the story forward with the release of Trevor and the second edition of the book being halted. Simone found out that Hat was responsible for the concerns notice while struggling with events from her past. The show is slowly unraveling the events of the “One Night” in question through flashbacks.

The performances remain consistent while the camerawork is pretty good. One Night showcases beautiful scenery from time to time. The story is obviously important and it has the potential to get very emotional. However, it seems the show is more interested in exploring the book and the conflict it has caused than getting to the core problem which is the incident from the night in question.

The Eden Murray character is really farfetched and even cringy at times. Was that character even necessary? Did the book really need to be the show’s focal point when the events of the night in question obviously mattered significantly more? It is unfortunate, but this is starting to look like a missed opportunity to tell a gripping, important story.

The episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of One Night are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.