The Castaways Series 1 Episode 5 Recap

The episode opens with Erin Holme (Celine Buckens) waking up to find Pilot Mike Brass (Brendan Cowell) gone and her phone missing. Looking at her watch, she rushes to the airport to discover Skyline Pacific Flight 281 had already departed. Later, she tells Detective Tawaki (Ateca Ravuvu) that she missed the flight because she overslept. Deputy Council Steven Wills (Dugald Bruce-Lockhart) assures her that the British High Commission in Suva fully supports her. She says it just doesn’t feel reel.

Present Day – Erin pulls the boat up to a beach. After covering Mike’s lifeless body with a tarp, she jumps out of the boat and heads to the beach. Daniel Eldridge (Dominic Tighe) watches her from a short distance away. Erin finds the plane wreckage. Rushing to the boat, Daniel tries to start the engine before finding Mike’s body. Erin finds her phone at the survivors’ camp. In a flashback, Lori (Sheridan Smith) informs her of Pete’s (Sam Hoare) affair. Back to the present, Erin finds Sonny asleep in a basket. She calls Tawaki with the Sulva Police Force to tell her about the plane wreckage and Sonny. Tawaki questions her claim when the signal is lost. She finds a piece of driftwood with the deceased survivors’ names, including Lori. In a flashback, Lori is disappointed to learn Erin knew about Pete’s affair. Back to the present, Erin breaks down sobbing. In a flashback, Lori tells Erin that she sacrificed everything for her. Upset, Erin runs away.

Touching the engraving, Erin finds it covered in blood when a faint phone signal reappears. She pleads with Tawaki to track her location. Hearing a cracking noise, she grabs the flare gun. Armed with a knife, Daniel follows her until she disappears. Lori has Erin’s mouth covered with her hand, hiding a short distance away. She tosses a rock to distract him. Erin is shocked to find her alive. As they make their way to the camp, Erin trips. Spotting Daniel up ahead, Lori orders Erin to prepare the boat before racing toward the camp. When she arrives, Daniel is holding Sonny. He tells her that a woman arrived on a boat. She demands he put Sonny down. He blames everything that happened on Amber Gordon (Charlotte Vega) before putting Sonny in his basket. He claims the affair lasted only a weekend and when he tried to end it, she threatened to tell Camilla Eldridge (Alex Childs). He says Amber used Sonny to trap him. Lori tells him that Amber betrayed them when she stole her father’s lighter.

Erin reaches the boat. Lori warns Daniel that the police are en route. She suggests telling the police that she scratched his neck to keep him from going to prison. He informs her of Mike’s body on the boat. Seeing them approach, Erin pulls the flare gun out of the bag. Daniel asks her to identify herself. Pointing the flare gun at Lori, Erin claims to having been hired by Camilla who knows everything. She urges him to burn anything that could be utilized as evidence against him. She tells him to leave Sonny. He races back to the camp. Lori says she thought Erin was going to shoot her. Erin shows her that the flare gun is empty. Daniel laughs while watching the photo of him and Amber burn.

On the boat, Erin tells Lori that Mike and Daniel planned everything. Starring at the camp, Erin says Felix Vatubua (Lasarus Ratuere) saved her. Erin blames herself for Lori being on Flight 281. Lori assures her that she understands. Daniel returns to the beach to find the boat gone. Lori admits to being hurt when Erin missed the flight. Erin tells her about getting wasted and spending the night with Mike who took her phone. When she made it to the airport, the flight had already departed. Felix washes up on the beach. Daniel races toward him. Lori jumps out of the boat and swims to Felix. Holding Felix at knifepoint, Daniel threatens to kill Felix if Erin doesn’t abandon the boat. Erin joins them on the beach. Felix bites Daniel’s arm. Erin hits him with a stick. He holds her head in the water. Erin stabs him in the back with a spear. Lori beats him with a rock. Daniel floats face-down in the water. She rushes over to check on Felix. Erin watches them kiss. The show switches to a flashback of young Lori (Katie Shelley) and young Erin reading. A man is deceased inside a crashed vehicle.

Felix voices concern about being blamed for the deaths. Lori assures him that they will get through it together. He tells that he will not go back. She refuses to let him stay. Erin urges Lori to go with Felix to start a new life together. Felix puts Daniel’s body in the boat while Lori says goodbye to Sonny and Erin. He drives the boat into a sea cave.

Namaka Police Station – Erin explains how she found the plane wreckage on the island. Tawaki asks what happened to Brass. Erin claims he left Suva on a motorcycle. Tawaki asks about a photo of her and Brass at a pub before the flight. Erin says they were at the same bar before accusing her of victim-blaming. Wills ends the interrogation. Tawaki demands Erin stay in Fiji. He tells her that Erin is free to leave if she is not going to press charges. Erin is bombarded by journalists.

Tosh finds a note that reads, “Look in the storm drain” with an airplane. She finds a bag with rolls of cash. Elsewhere, Erin delivers Sonny to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon (James Lailey, Gloria Garcia). She gives them “The Enchanted Forest” book.

Erin tells Pete about her new job. He gives her a settlement check from the airplane crash. He claims to regret giving Lori a reason to take Flight 281. She embraces him.

Lori and Felix are living on a beach. She is pregnant. He helps her reel in a fish as the episode ends.

 

The Castaways Review

The finale was in many ways unrealistic. The idea of Felix and Lori raising a baby on a deserted island is asinine. It is even more so for Felix to resurface after entering the water in the middle of the night to search for Amber. Drowning takes only 40 minutes for an adult to drown but Felix survives after spending hours in the water.

The series is the product of weak writing. There is so much that could have been done to produce better results. The finale deserves a 4.5 out of 10.

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