Impact Player – As the finale of Plum begins, Peter is drinking with friends at the Origin Decider at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1999. In the present, Peter Lum (Brendan Cowell) remembers that day. He sits alone at a bus stop. Peter runs into Dave (Matt Nable) who checks on him. Dave pulls out a microphone and tries to interview Peter about punching the man in the pub. Once Peter goes inside, Oliver (Jemaine Clement) sets him up with a place to sleep. Oliver asks if he needs a prescription for anything. Renee (Asher Keddie) eventually walks in and interrupts Oliver who is talking about sex. She asks about Gavin. Meanwhile, Charmayne (Maria Duplaa) and Gavin (Vincent Miller) meet with Brick (John Tui) and others. Brick gives a speech in which he thanks Peter Lum. Gavin and Brick get a drink in private.
Brick asks Gavin to live with him and train with him. Gavin agrees to do so. Dana Hanlon (Jenni Baird) visits Plum, Renee, and Oliver. Peter learns that the police are not going to press charges. Renee thinks Dana is his ticket out of this. Peter says he doesn’t know how to talk about CTE. Renee says he just says he has it. She even offers to come with him. Peter doesn’t want to make excuses for his actions. Later, he sits alone and writes in his notebook. Gavin gets up and finds Brick still sleeping. Liz Lombardo (Sara Zwangobani) speaks to Peter the next day. He confirms he hasn’t had any seizures since he started taking those pills. Peter gets emotional talking about everything he’s lost. He admits he has a difficult time sharing because he doesn’t want to bother people. They talk about Peter playing rugby league. Liz thinks he should’ve been taken out when he got hit.
Liz insists CTE is not a death sentence. If he learns to adapt, he can live a long life. Liz urges him to tell his brain to win. Bobby D (Andrew Ryan) catches up with Gavin who says he’s been in Bali. Bobby says they’re all pretty upset at Sharks HQ. He reminds him of what they’ve given him for 10 years only for him to take a meeting with the Storm. Bobby mentions emails, but Gavin doesn’t seem to know anything about emails. Dave harasses Oliver outside. Oliver refuses to speak to him. He cleans up and pretends to be Plum until Gavin finds him. Peter returns from a swim. Liz asks what he writes down. Peter says he writes poems. Renee watches Peter’s interview with Dave. She asks him why he said that when he returns. Renee says he needs to stand up for himself. Peter says he’s going to fight. He says Gavin knows about them sleeping together.
She wants to make sure Gavin doesn’t find out. Renee tells him about Brick having sex with Charmayne. Oliver returns and interrupts. He says he saw Gavin who is still pretty angry. Brick’s gym is officially sponsoring him. Oliver points out that Gavin is living with Brick. Renee rushes away to confront Brick. She accuses him of selling the story to get all this money. Brick insists he wouldn’t do that. Charmayne enters. Renee asks if she’s see’ any red flags. Charmayne follows her outside and says she can’t stand being in this country anymore. Renee asks her to stay because she needs her. When Peter finds Gavin, he’s asked about any offers. Gavin learns that Peter doesn’t think he should play. He wishes things were back to the way they were. Gavin gets upset and leaves. Peter visits Dana and tells her about an accident he had in Thailand. Gavin calls Brad Malifa.
Meanwhile, Peter does an interview with Dana. He admits they’ll rip you a new one if you come off the field. Peter points out that you can’t diagnose CTE until after you’ve died. Liz says it lines up with her PET scans though. He denies going to work drunk. Peter says he knows he’s done some bad things. Dana continues grilling him. Peter confesses he’s sometimes wanted to end it all. He reveals he had a seizure or an epileptic fit at the airport and that’s part of CTE. He beat a guy in the pub because he had enough. Peter says he’s 49 and he can’t remember his son’s name. Gavin tells Renee he’s moving to Melbourne and will leave on Tuesday. They manage to smooth things over. Brick visits Peter who asks if he’s going to do a paternity test. Peter gets upset at him. Gavin arrives and interrupts. Peter tells Brick that Gavin is going to play for the Storm.
Peter says the joke was on them. They knew they wanted to win so badly that they’d end up losing everything. They get into a fight. Brick hits Peter before Gavin intervenes. Peter enters another world until he hears Gavin yelling for him. Later, Peter speaks to Gavin who says he’s going to Melbourne in a few days. They talk about Ainslee and Charmayne. Peter knows he can’t stop him. Gavin says he has to let him go because he’ll never grow there. Oliver returns to Renee who says Peter’s article is out. They go upstairs together. Peter finds Charmayne packing and asks her not to leave. He pleads with her not to run away this time. Three months later, Peter calls into a radio show and speaks to Maroon. He explains he’s doing a fundraiser to raise funds for ex-players. He hangs out with Oliver, Charmayne, Gavin, and the others. Charmayne and Peter admit they haven’t done a DNA test yet. Peter wants to wait and see.
Renee tells everyone that she knew about Peter’s issue because she’s the next of kin. She talks about everything they’ve gone through before saying they’re one big family. Renee will be their next of kin whenever they need her. Next, Tatiana (Janet Anderson) welcomes everyone to the Bike Shed for the fundraiser. Dana speaks and explains they’re hosting a sporty sport fundraiser that’s named after her late dad, The Mo Hanlon Charity For Brain Health. Peter takes the stage next. He decides to read a poem called Impact Player. He receives a round of applause when he finishes. After that, Peter sees Sylvia who says it’s time to go. She tells him he can say goodbye or it’ll come with him. Peter looks inside and sees Oliver performing CPR on him. He finds Charles outside. Sylvia is sure they’ll bring him back down because he’s a poet now. Peter leaves on a bus.
Plum Review
The finale of Plum was likely one of the strongest episodes of the season, but it also feels like a missed opportunity as a whole. The story probably needed more time or the time it had needed to be used more wisely. Less time should’ve been spent on Plum’s downfall and more should’ve been dedicated to his revelation.
Nevertheless, the finale had some strong moments, especially when Renee spoke to everyone and Plum finally recited his poem. The series really had to pack a lot into the final episode creating a sense that they only skimmed the surface. This makes some sense given the outcome, but there was still room here.
After all, the series jumped ahead three months near the episode of the episode. Despite that, Plum was decent as a whole. It at least did enough to make viewers care about Plum and the issues he faced. The strong performances from Brendan Cowell, Asher Keddie, and others definitely helped make the series worthwhile.
It’s really a shame that the show didn’t hit these high notes sooner though. The finale scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Plum can be found here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Join the discussion here.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
