As this episode of The Castaways begins, Lori (Sheridan Smith) climbs a tree in hopes of finding food. Once she gets down, Jack Bantock (Joseph Mydell) tells her not to put him through that again. Lori soon finds out that she won’t be able to eat the fruit so she asks if there could be more nearby. She offers to give Jack the good half. They end up finding a bag with chocolate in it. Daniel Eldridge (Dominic Tighe) wants to know who betrayed them. Jack insists they don’t need to do this. Daniel wants to know who the Judas is. Felix (Lasarus Ratuere) hopes they’re not blaming him. Jack admits he wouldn’t blame someone for hiding food.

Lori asks why they don’t accuse her since she is the one who found them. Jack says they have to forgive because they only have each other. Lori tries to give Jack chocolate, but he says he isn’t hungry. Jack admits they were Heather’s chocolates and he kept sneaking off to eat them. Lori follows him, tells him that was bull crap, and gives him the chocolate back. She doesn’t think anyone is coming. Jack insists she’ll survive this because she is stronger than she thinks. He goes on to say the others need her to lead them. Mike Brass (Brendan Cowell) and Erin Holme (Celine Buckens) are shown together. Mike says there’s a bus to Suva every two hours. Erin wants to know what happened to her sister. She knows about the accident and how they said the plane landed in the ocean.

Erin questions why he hasn’t told anyone he’s back. He tells her to go home so Erin threatens to speak to the police. Mike says everyone died in the plane crash except for him. Erin doesn’t want to believe it. Mike tells her not to answer the call and not to tell anyone she’s with him. Mike learns it is his daughter. Tash tells Mike there is a woman in her house and she says he needs to come there now. Amber Gordon (Charlotte Vega) tells Lori she is a mother who is unable to feed her baby. Lori tells her she doesn’t have to keep a secret. Amber says it’s complicated because he is married. She begins worrying that her baby is giving up. Lori tells Felix they wouldn’t have made it this far without the fish he caught.

She tells him that Amber isn’t producing milk so Sonny is starving. Felix suggests he’d be out there fishing if he thought he could feed the boy. He gives her a spear gun and tells her to try her luck. Daniel yells at them to come see this. He shows them a box that must’ve fallen off a cargo ship. They try to figure out how to get it. Lori thinks Jack can help them, but she doesn’t know where he is. Jack is shown taking off his clothes before walking into the water. Lori finds his clothes and expects the worst. Mike tells Erin that she is after what he’s got in the back. If he doesn’t show up, there is nothing she can do. Erin reminds him that his daughter is being held hostage by a very dangerous woman.

They argue about whether Tash wants to see him. Mike tells her to stay there. He goes inside to check on Tash. Erin comes inside and joins them. Mike tells the woman that he has the money, but he doesn’t have it on him. She wants Mike to take her to the island. Erin manages to get the young kid out of the house and sends them to safety. Mike agrees to take Natasha to the island. Tash tells Mike to stay out of their lives. Erin follows Mike and Natasha when they leave. Lori carves Jack’s name into a piece of wood. Amber says they should be happy for Jack because this is what he wanted. Lori questions how much worse it is going to get. She runs over to the edge and jumps into the water near the box.

Lori begins pushing the box around the water. She ends up going under before Felix pulls her out of the water. When they open the box, they’re disappointed to find dryers. Erin hides on the plane before Mike and Natasha take off. Lori looks at the names carved into the tree. She talks to Felix. Lori tells him that her mom was a hairdresser and she always wanted to be like her. Felix thinks they can use the electric cords as ropes. They manage to make a raft. Once they test it, they begin talking about the nearest land. Even though their chances are slim, Amber is adamant that they need to try. They discuss who should go on the raft. Daniel doesn’t think they can trust Mike because he is liable for the crash. Daniel says Felix should go.

Erin hides on the plane as Natasha asks Mike who else survived. Mike says Daniel, Felix, Amber, Sonny, and Lori. Felix tries to teach Lori how to use the spear gun. Lori tells him she knows he isn’t a killer, but Felix admits everything they say about him is true. He tells her how it happened and how he just wanted it to end. By the time he came out of it, his mates were dead. Felix says his family wanted him out of the business and he didn’t take it well. Later, Felix tells Lori he hopes this isn’t the last time he sees her. They kiss. Mike takes the spear gun and sneaks away on the raft. Lori finds out but she can’t stop him. She manages to shoot him with the spear though. Mike keeps paddling anyway.

Erin remains hidden on the plane. Natasha tells Mike to take her to the group. She won’t say what she is going to do with them. Mike finds out that Erin is hiding behind her. When they exit the plane, Erin follows them. It appears not to be the island with the camp.

 

The Castaways Review

The third episode of The Castaways was okay although the story is quickly turning into a convoluted mess. Some of the performances are odd making certain scenes very cringey, especially those with Natasha holding Mike at gunpoint. Even though the characters are stuck on an island, there doesn’t seem to be any urgency to survive or find a way to escape.

As a result, this makes the whole island situation feel a little like a nothing burger. Many of the scenes are very predictable, especially the romance stuff and Mike’s escape. The only original aspect of the series is the fact that they are stuck on an island. Another character is so monotonous regardless of the situation that it seems they’re just reading from a script in a studio, but at least that character is gone now.

One stupid thing was Lori shooting Mike with the spear gun despite the fact that she had only received minimal training with it and he was a good distance away. Otherwise, you’ve seen it multiple times before and it was probably more enjoyable in the past. If viewers are looking for realism, they won’t find it here.

The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Castaways 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. Discuss this series and more at the Reel Mockery Forum.