As the finale of Ten Pound Poms begins, Arty Farthington (Berynn Schwerdt) and Veronica Miller (Libby Fleming) watch the news at the theater. She tells him that the war won’t happen again, but Arty isn’t sure about that since they said the same last time. Veronica says they can hide on a deserted beach until it is all over. They cuddle in bed later. Arty tells her that he has a stove burner in his hut and no one knows about it. When he goes to his hut, the roof crashes in. A piece of wood impales his chest killing him. During a funeral ceremony, Terry Roberts (Warren Brown) speaks about Arty in front of a small group.

Before long, everyone begins blaming JJ Walker (Stephen Curry) for his death. Annie Roberts (Faye Marsay) asks them not to do this because Arty wouldn’t want it. Later, Terry shows Annie what he found in Arty’s wallet. It is a note about life being brief and enjoying it. Annie tells him to keep it in his wallet and they need to live by it. Marco (Roman Delo) pushes over Stevie Cartwright (Declan Coyle) before they get into a shoving match. Bill Anderson (Leon Ford) stops them and tells them to fight like animals elsewhere. Stevie and Marco arrange to fight later. Sheila Anderson (Emma Hamilton) approaches JJ Walker to speak to him in private.

She wants to thank him for the wonderful times they had, but she is a married woman. Sheila believes she has no other option than to accept her situation. JJ tries to convince her otherwise because he thinks they could be happy together. JJ walks outside to ask the others if they want to have a go at him. Bill tells him that people are saying his neglect killed Arty. Henry Broad (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) speaks to a man about purchasing his van. Kate Thorne (Michelle Keegan) watches her son from a distance. Then, she goes to their house and claims to be from the adoption welfare unit. Kate learns that the woman’s husband works as a finance officer for the Chrysler company.

When asked about Michael, Fran says he has been through some rough times. She goes on to say his birth mother didn’t want him and tossed him into care. Kate gets her to admit that her husband offered the orphanage a large donation so they could adopt an English child. She climbs into his bed every night to tell him that nothing bad is ever going to happen again. Kate asks if he ever speaks about his past life. Fran isn’t sure how much he remembers, but he knows she didn’t want him. Kate goes to the bathroom to collect and calm herself. Before she leaves, she approaches Michael to ask if he is happy there. He seems to be. She tells him that she’ll come see him again very soon.

Marco and Stevie box. Pattie Roberts (Hattie Hook) tells Stevie he is cut and should just stop it. Stevie doesn’t want to pull out because Marco would win. She doesn’t want him getting hurt. Stevie says the only thing that will hurt is losing to that braggart. After Marco taunts him, Steve returns to the fight and ends up knocking him down. Bill and Sheila decide to take a break from painting to eat. They talk about the possibility of getting a boat one day. Bill says it is good to see her smile. When Kate returns, she is shocked to see Henry in her hut so she begins running away. He eventually stops her and takes her back inside. Henry tells her how surprised he was to have woken up knowing he missed the boat. Kate says she is sorry.

They briefly talk about Kate’s son. She doesn’t know why he cares. Henry reminds her that she has been wearing his ring. Kate insists this wasn’t the plan all along, but he didn’t want her talking about Michael. He is Kate’s son and she wants him back. If Henry is going to tell her otherwise, she thinks he would get back on the boat. Henry confesses that he was broken when he found out what she did. He thinks he is a realist and knows how the world works. Henry argues that her boy is someone else’s boy now. He reminds her that she couldn’t offer him a loving home at the time. Kate didn’t agree to it. She thought it was temporary until she got herself into a better place.

Kate explains that her son haunts her every thought. Henry tells her he loves her. Kate made her choice and she came there to look for Michael. Henry has a job lined up in military training in Cairns. They’re not expecting him for another money and he wants Kate to come with him. He wants her to drive up the coast with him in the van he bought. Henry believes they’ll have a child of their own one day. Terry learns that they’re renovating huts for new arrivals. Terry tells Annie that they’re burning Arty’s things and no one should be in that hut. Annie takes Maria to confront JJ and Mrs. Walker (Tina Bursill) about burning Arty’s things. JJ explains that Mrs. Walker is his mother and she makes the decisions. Mrs. Walker mentions that Arty was running an illegal alcohol business.

When Terry arrives, Mrs. Walker tells him why they’re getting rid of Arty’s things. Annie calls her a liar. Mrs. Walker threatens to kick her out if she does that again. She reveals that Arty was their informer. After calling her a liar again, Annie tells them to wake everyone up and knock on doors. Once they gather everyone, Annie argues that they need better conditions because the hostel is falling apart. They begin chanting in hopes of getting rid of the workers. Ivan torches the hut while Mrs. Walker calls them animals. Annie reminds them it was supposed to be a peaceful protest. Mrs. Walker tries to have Annie arrested. Annie is taken away by police despite some resistance.

Pattie collapses to the ground. Terry is worried about the baby. Peter runs to Kate to see if she can help. Then, he tells Stevie that they need his dad’s van. Kate tells Terry that she’ll go with Pattie to the hospital. Annie is locked up while Pattie is rushed to the hospital. Sheila goes out on a boat. Annie calls Marlene Chase (Cheree Cassidy) to tell her she has been arrested. At the hospital, Kate tells Terry and the others that she doesn’t know whether the baby will survive. Marlene goes to the police station where she tells an officer that Annie is innocent and claims police brutality. She also says a close friend works in television. Stevie asks Terry if he can speak to him for a minute. He says he thinks he loves Pattie and he believes she likes him.

Terry says otherwise because Stevie barely knows her. Stevie begins crying as he says he can’t lose her before they even started. Kate tries to find out something from one of the nurses because the family is getting desperate. She is told to put a gown on. Kate is told that Pattie is still sedated before being shown the baby. JJ goes to Sheila’s house and finds a note saying “at last I am free”. There are envelopes on the table. JJ asks the neighbor if she knows anything about Sheila. Once he learns she is out on the boat, he asks about the other boat. Kate tells Terry and the others about the baby and Pattie who is fine. She talks to Terry in private about the baby not being white. Annie makes it to the hospital and learns about the baby girl.

Kate goes outside where she tells Henry that she believes everything will be okay. She agrees to go with him and they can build a family together. JJ tries to catch up with Sheila who begins putting on a heavy backpack. He sees her dive in so he goes after her. He manages to save her. JJ tells her that he loves her. Kate watches her son from her vehicle. Terry and Annie are allowed to see their daughter. Stevie tells her that she doesn’t have to give it up. He tries to propose to her. He doesn’t care that people will know the child isn’t his and he believes Pattie can still go to school. Pattie accepts his proposal. Kate approaches her son and offers to give him a lift. She shows him a picture of her holding him as a baby and explains the situation to him.

Kate explains that she never wanted to get rid of him, but they took him from her. Michael asks if he can go home to mommy. Kate agrees to take him home, but she wants to go for a little drive first. Terry and Annie sit outside and talk about Pattie’s future. Terry thinks they should face whatever comes as a family. A bus with new arrivals arrives at the hostel.  Mrs. Walker greets them.

 

Ten Pound Poms Review

The finale of Ten Pound Poms would’ve been okay if there was a guaranteed second series in the works. However, the show was plagued by many problems with too many farfetched stories being the biggest issue. When everything came to a head in the finale, there should’ve been emotional fireworks. Unfortunately, it never seemed to reach an emotional peak at any point. The death of Arty probably could’ve been more impactful if the character had been built properly from the beginning of the series.

However, that didn’t happen and the way he died didn’t help matters either. Very little around Kate’s story made sense and Henry showing up made it even more baffling because the previous episodes made it seem like she was running from someone abusive. Few of the characters were likable. In particular, Terry was an indecisive pushover who never got over that. As for Annie, she was too much of a do-gooder who always had to be in the center of everything and that got worse in the latter episodes.

Besides the cast, scenery, and even cinematography, everything else is a miss with the writing being the biggest flaw. The series may well be renewed thanks to its international reach, but the quality of the show shouldn’t be credited for that. There is nothing about Ten Pound Poms that warrants another season or gives any confidence that it’ll be any better than this one.

Despite an interesting premise, the series turned out to be a dull affair stuffed with pictures viewers have undoubtedly seen too many times already. The finale scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Ten Pound Poms can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.