As the episode begins, we’re taken to New Zealand in 1866. A woman, Anna (Eve Hewson), walks through the woods at night and looks up at the moon. Nearby, a man is shot before he drops to the ground. Anna walks into a cottage and notices gold flakes around her stomach area while two men outside wonder who she is. Anna steps outside of the building and collapses to the ground. The man who was shot gets up and Alistair Lauderback (Benedict Hardie) is told that there is a body nearby. After the intro, we jump back in time and watch as Anna Wetherell wakes up on a ship. She steps outside and notices a man laying on the ground below her.

Before too long, Emery Staines (Himesh Patel) gets up and joins her. They introduce themselves and chat about the sea and how the horizon was square and had corners. Since it is Emergy’s birthday, Anna gives him a button from her sleeve so he can fix his vest. He invites her to hang out with him at his motel that night and she agrees. He gives her a note with information about his motel so she can find him. Then, we experience another time jump and Anna is brought into town in the middle of the night. Alistair believes Anna is drunk and he wants to transport her to the hospital but the town doesn’t have a hospital.

George Shepard (Callan Mulvey) recognized Alistair as a politician and explains they do not see many of those around here. George tells Alistair to bring the woman to the jail but Alistair reveals there is something else. Anna and Emery leave the boat and enter the city. A young boy steals Anna’s purse and she chases after him. The chase stops when Lydia (Eva Green) grabs the boy and retrieves the purse. She returns it to Anna and they chat briefly about Anna visiting from London. Anna reveals that today is her birthday and Lydia describes herself as a fortune teller. She explains she operates the House of Many Wishes. Lydia wants Anna to call on her that evening but Anna can’t because she wants to meet with Emery.

She shows Lydia the note and Lydia immediately realizes that Anna can’t read it. She helps Anna and tells her the name of the motel on the note. Anna is told that the note reads The Matterhorn. Meanwhile, Emery and his pals check into the motel. Anna stops in the street and watches a man weigh some gold and confirm that it is indeed pure gold. During this time, Emery speaks with Graves (Charlie Corrigan) and the others about good luck and bad luck. She says he would rather be Juliet since she had better lines only to be reminded that she dies in the end too. Anna finds a place to stay for the night while Lydia tracks down Francis Carver (Marton Csokas).

He wonders if they should sell everything and move away but Lydia isn’t ready to do that. She gives him money and says she needs him to get rid of someone. Anna visits the auction house and looks at pinchbeck through the window. A man outside tells her about it and what he would do if he had a homeward bounder. She asks him for directions to the Matterhorn Hotel before heading that way. We jump time again and Anna wakes up at the jail. She finds that she is chained and cannot escape. Shepard tells Alistair that he can’t let her go since she was drunk, disorderly, and attempted suicide.

She watches through the window as the men leave on a carriage. Shepard visits the body and has a brief run-in with a native. We see that the man in question looks like the one that was shot that night. He tells Shepard that he did not see the man die and Alistair says he was outside at the time. Anna makes it to the motel but Emery isn’t there. She is humiliated when a man asks if her if she has something to sell. Emery gets dressed and waits for Anna but she never arrives. A distraught Anna leaves the motel and recollects herself in the alleyway. In another time jump, Anna listens to Devlin and the others.

Shepard believes a murder would get them proper funding including an asylum and chapel if they want it. The man with them reveals that he is the dead guy’s brother and he isn’t going to leave him. Shepard threatens to shoot him before holding a rifle on him. Tauwhare (Richard Te Are) leaves before Shepard and the others unload the corpse. Anna watches as the men take the body inside and Tauwhare sings from a distance. Emery learns that the woman isn’t going to come. Francis Carver sits down with him and they share a drink.

Meanwhile, Anna runs into Dick Mannering (Erik Thomson) and he offers her a drink. He reveals he is the landlord and he is there collecting rent. Lydia joins them moments later and explains that Dick is an investor who speculates on properties. Dick leaves while Emery chats with Francis about Hokitika’s and other places to search for gold. Anna complains about being betrayed by Emery before Lydia tries to cheer her up. She also invites Anna to stay in her husband’s room. Anna wants to know what it means to share a birthday with someone else but Lydia says it is common and means very little. However, some people are Astral Twins because they’re born around the exact same time.

This would cause their natal charts to be identical and their fates would be one and the same. After that, Lydia shows off her natal chart and tells Anna all about it. Lydia says if she can convince someone that a certain path is destined for them, they will most likely choose that path. Once again, Lydia invites her to stay before Emery says goodbye to his new friend. However, Francis isn’t going to let him leave alone. He wants to know Emery a contract of sponsorship but Emery isn’t interested. A Chinese man enters and calls Francis by his name. He pulls a gun on him and fires but misses. They get into a fight and Francis beats him up pretty good. Emery leaves before Anna searches through her new place.

She tries on a jacket and finds a purse in the pocket. Anna tells Lydia she knows where her purse is. She says she went for a swim and must’ve left it on the beach. Lydia takes the jacket and leaves the room. She dresses Anna up later that night while Emery tries to track her down. Emery looks everywhere until he runs into Dick. However, he doesn’t accept Dick’s assistance. Anna serves men at the pub while Lydia speaks to a man about her. In another time warp, Anna looks at the dead body from across the street. She tells George that she didn’t kill him before he tells her that she will be executed for murder.

Anna is asked about Crosbie Wells after that. Anna asks to see the man’s face before Gascoigne introduces himself. He explains that he represents the Magistrate’s Court. Anna checks her dress before she is asked what happened but she claims she can’t remember. She shows the man a piece of gold and tells him that it is everywhere in every seam. In exchange for the gold, he releases her on bail. Then, Alistair is told that a newspaper is asking for him. Gascoigne chases Anna and tells her that she should come with him. He gives her clothing that belonged to his wife. Alistair meets with Ben Lowenthal from the West Coast Times. Anna changes clothes before helping extra the gold from the dress. Alistair speaks with the newspaper man about his reasons for visiting.

They also discuss Anna. Shepard goes to Tauwhare with a shovel and tells him he has a job for him. He eventually agrees to bury his brother while Shepard tries to learn more about the murder. After that, Anna tells Gascoigne that she went with Dick and everyone stared as she walked down the street. She went to his tent before waking up late. She says she felt strange and didn’t feel like herself. Emery freaks out as well. She says she felt like she had become someone else and Emery is shown doing drugs. Anna is asked about Crosbie Wells once again and she says she didn’t kill him. Lydia invites Ann over to play the wheel of fortune. She spins the wheel before a man bursts in with a lot of gold. Lydia says the man is her husband Crosbie Wells.

 

The Luminaries Review

I felt The Luminaries was interesting but a bit hit and miss. Where do I start? The acting wasn’t bad at all. I noticed that they brought out some of the best actors and actresses from around the world for this production. The scenery was gorgeous as well. However, I think the story could’ve been pieced together much better. The constant time jumps are too much since they make it very difficult to understand.

I know little about the novel so I need to understand everything and the episode didn’t do that for me. It wasn’t bad but I need to be spoon fed a bit more. The episode scores a 7 out of 10.