In the second season of Rake, Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh) is pretty much up to his old tricks, which primarily involve getting into trouble, keeping people out of trouble and ticking people off. Of course, the season brings new and old enemies alike, including Harry, Sorry, David Potter (Matt Day) and Cal McGregor (Damien Garvey).

This time around, Mick Corella (Richard Carter) isn’t a problem. Instead, his wife, Kristy Corella (Robyn Malcolm), and her new henchman, Col Mancusi (Steve Le Marquand), take over. However, there isn’t much that changes, since they resume their harassment and beatings of Cleaver.

At the beginning of the season, Cleaver is still on the outs with Barney (Russell Dykstra) and Scarlet Meagher (Danielle Cormack). However, nothing good lasts forever and the pair eventually find themselves working together once again. Melissa Partridge (Adrienne Pickering) disappears for awhile, before resurfacing with a new friend, who brings all kinds of trouble to Cleaver’s courtroom.

Lincoln Lincoln (Rhys Muldoon) continues filling in for and making mistakes on the behalf of Barney. He certainly brings a little silliness to the array. Of course, things are fairly subtle, until Cleaver’s dad passes away and his family discovers that the incredible Lane Hole (Phil Lloyd) has swindled his father out of his money. Obviously, Cleaver seems fit to take matters into his own hands.

From there, he teams up with Col and things turn pretty sour. He also winds up teaming up with a news reporter, Polly Nesbitt (Maeve Dermody), which only encourages him to act a little more immature. Cleaver gets in over his head and things turn from bad to worse, which winds up in an ultimate showdown with Cal McGregor.

Will Cleaver Greene be able to escape justice himself? Or will all of his dirty deeds finally catch up to him?

Review


While many television shows lose steam between the first and second seasons, Rake does not falter a bit. Richard Roxburgh remains, as nutty as ever. Barney’s relationship with Scarlet continues to be fragile and Melissa returns to play with Cleaver’s emotions. Keegan Joyce and Caroline Brazier remain awesome, as Cleaver’s son and wife. Suffice to say, Fuzz continues his wild sex expeditions.

The show continues to put a nail in the coffin of political pundits. Of course, it does so in a cleverly smart manner. Once you begin watching Rake, you’ll want to binge it, until every single episode is finished. Thankfully, there is a Rake season 4 in the works. Can’t wait to check out season 3. Until then, season 2 deserves a 9.5 out of 10.