The episode begins with Sinead Martin (Rachel Morgan) being arrested by Sergeant Bruce Harris (Scott Wills) for staging a riot at the Backpackers Hostel after discovering the hidden cameras. At the same time, Theo Richter (Richard Flood) and Diana Huia (Acushla-Tara Kupe) confirm that the cell phone did belong to Emma Wilson (Dea Doglione). Due to the size, discoloration, and thickness of the bones, the Medical Examiner on site suspects they are male and at least a century or older. After learning that the bones also contain puncture damage, Detective Sergeant Gwenda (Miriama Smith) suspects they lead to only one place but doesn’t reveal any more.
While Mervin De Leon (Nick Dunbar) denies all knowledge of the hidden cameras at the hostel, Diana theorizes that the bones came from a cave on the Motutapu Island, which acts as the sacred resting place for dozens of Maori men, women, and children who were slaughtered by the British over 150 years ago. The land is supposedly sacred and off-limits to visitors. Armed with the new information, Richter and Diana bring Frank Pastors (Owen Black) in for questioning. This is practically a waste of time but Richter is shortly called away to deal with an altercation between Anita Dalton (Clare Monnelly) and Aileen Ryan (Carolyn Bracken) at the motel.
Richter gets the confrontation at the motel under control but becomes just as frustrated when he realizes Aileen feels guilty for Derry Fallon’s (Aaron Monaghan) death. While he makes plans to later escort her to attempt to explain things to Anita, Diana pays an unexpected visit to Valeria Armstrong (Ella Gilbert) to tell her about finding her mother’s taonga. Valeria attempts to comfort her but Michaela Armstrong (Alison Bruce) shows up and practically tells Diana to stay away.
Bruce arranges to have several of the local’s weapons tested against the ballistic evidence from the cabin while Richter visits Doctor Ray Morris (Edwin Wright) for an examination and blood workup. Although they have to wait on the blood results, Ray is nothing but hopeful and appears almost stunned by the Richter’s superb health. Richter admits to eating right and exercising to stay ahead of the disease.
Later that evening, Diana visits Buster Huia (Wayne Hapi) and Aunty Wiki (Vanessa Rare) to not only share her earlier discovery but to ask for her help going to the island. Wiki appears extremely hesitant but ultimately agrees. As the locals perform a sacred ritual, to bless passing onto the island, Bruce and Richter discuss their own traditions as well as that of the Wiki Clan. Even with the ceremony successfully performed Diana and Gwenda are hesitant to travel to the cave because they believe they can still be affected, which leads to Richter and Bruce traveling alone. Diana and Gwenda guide them remotely.
Upon arriving at the cave, it doesn’t take Richter and Bruce long to discover that the remains have been disturbed. Shortly after that, they discover the rifle that killed Derry, but it doesn’t yield any further information.
Despite his earlier glowing medical report, Richter later receives bad news from the blood tests. It appears that he’s already developed the proteins that ultimately lead to the brain changes. Doctor Ray mentions a test trial but in order to even qualify, one must be a New Zealand citizen.
While Richter grapples with his health, Judge Hannah Martin (Michelle Fairley) confronts Sinead over her rash behavior as of late. This turns bad right from the beginning, with Sinead blaming all her problems on Hannah’s inability to separate herself from her career. Hannah ends up simply walking off.
When Bruce personally returns Vaughn’s (John Leigh) weapon and clears him as a suspect, he discovers a room filled with Ku Klux Klan memorabilia. Vaughn doesn’t know he saw the room but he can clearly tell that Bruce is shaken by something when he rushes off. Richter finds himself in an awkwardly similar situation when he escorts Aileen to speak with Anita. This doesn’t go very well and only gets worse once Aileen tells her that Derry killed her brother Brian Dalton (Diarmuid Noyes) on Bounce’s orders.
Ginge (Poroaki Merritt-McDonald) interrupts a Wiki Family dinner with a genuine apology and an earnest request to be welcomed back into the fold. As the entire clan welcomes him with open arms, Anita visits Judge Hannah. Although Hannah listens to her vows to bring down Bounce, she appears almost cold and uncaring. This only grows more evident when Anita admits to being too scared to help bring down the entire Fallon Organization. The brief encounter ends with Anita walking away.
Ray returns home to give a drunken Michaela a piece of his mind about the way she treats Valerie. He practically accuses her of giving all her affection to Mayor Ken Armstrong (Matt Whelan) and not only vilifying Valerie in the process but blaming her for Ken’s arrest. She is initially offended and denies his claims, but as he continues, she simply listens.
After a long and stressful day of fingerprinting the locals, Bruce and the authorities return to the station where he begins scanning Mervin’s hard drives. Once he uncovers a snippet of a conversation with someone named Tanya telling an unknown recipient to get a powerful gun and go to the hut, they realize they didn’t fingerprint Mervin due to insufficient evidence. As it just so happens, his water glass from the earlier interrogation is still on the table. A quick test confirms his prints as a match.
The episode ends with Bruce listening to the rest of the recording while Richter, Gwenda, and Diana race to Mervin’s house. They do not find Mervin but uncover what appears to be some sort of Goatman shrine hidden away in a secret room.
The Gone Review
So, it appears that Mervin is/was Frank’s outside operative and who is this new Tanya with her tyrannical ranting about darkness? I seriously doubt this will amount to much. Mervin will probably just end up being a patsy or dedicated follower. If this season follows a similar path as the first that means there are only episodes left, so things will begin winding down.
This episode was fairly enjoyable and had some intriguing aspects. It was nice to see Ginge welcomed back into the fold. I was also pleasantly surprised Anita learned the truth about her brother’s death so early after the reveal. I figured that would linger until the finale. The entire ceremony and visit to the island were abhorrent, but I understood their necessity and am equally glad that it’s over. All in all, the episode deserves a 5.3 out of 10.
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