As The Sounds starts, we see two people struggling in the water. It looks like Maggie and Tom. The man is kicked in the face and left floating in the water. We jump back and watch as Maggie (Rachelle Lefevre) and Tom Cabbott (Matt Whelan) meet at the airport. They embrace, kiss, and drive away a few moments later. Along the way, Maggie tells Tom that she felt bad about leaving their dog but Tom wants to look at what she is getting in return. Then, Maggie asks Tom about the deal and he promises that everything is good to go. That leads to an argument with Tom pleading with Maggie to cut him some slack. Tom says he never meant to upset her before saying it is him and her against the world. They drive through town and cross officer Jack McGregor (Matt Nable) before walking down to the pier.

Ru Kelliher (Tainui Tukiwaho) interrupts and welcomes them to paradise. Once Ru leaves, Tom surprised Maggie by showing her that he named their boat after her. They walk into the boat and Maggie tells Tom it is okay for him to feel the pressure before they begin making out. Tom’s cellphone interrupts that and he says it is time to meet with the troops. As they walk through town, Maggie waves at a woman and Tom tells her she can fit in anywhere but she says that isn’t true. She reminds him that she couldn’t fit in with his family and that is why they moved away. They walk across a banner that says “the future home of Pelorus Salmon”. Seconds later, Tom introduces Maggie to his business partner Stuart McGregor (Peter Elliott).

Stuart mentions one loose end before he takes to the stage and speaks to the locals about the epic deal they’re about to sign. He goes on to say that without Tom’s vision the Sounds would be staying before Pania Cottle (Vanessa Rare) interrupts and ridicules Tom and claiming he is trying to turn the seabed into a toxic wasteland with his soul-sucking greed. Someone encourages Jack to lock her up before Tom changes the conversation and continues on. Maggie listens as Pania warns Tom that he knows nothing about Pelorus. Pania believes she knows everything about Tom and what he is doing before Jack leads her away. The party starts before Maggie notices Tom fighting with another man and jerking a folder from his hands. Ru catches up with her and whisks her away for a dance.

Before too long, Tom takes his wife back to the boat and they sail off into the night. Later that night, Tom tells his wife that they’re at Nikau Bay and will see it in the morning. Tom wakes up earlier than his wife and leaves on a kayak. When Maggie wakes up, she decides to go for a swim. She returns to the boat and begins worrying when Tom doesn’t arrive. She gets on the radio and contacts Jack to tell him that something might’ve happened to her husband. Jack and his partner meet with Maggie and try to get more information from her. She tells them that she was asleep when Tom left and that he can swim for miles. She goes on to tell them about the items Tom would’ve taken with him before confirming he didn’t have a life jacket with him.

Jack tells his partner to return home, set up base, and sort out who is going where by sea. Kath leaves and notifies others via radio. Jack tells Maggie he is going to make them a cup of tea. While he is away, she looks through their belongings and quickly hides something hidden in a glasses case. The others begin searching for Tom and Kath Hines (Tandi Wright) gives orders. Maggie suggests Tom could’ve been back if she had called sooner and she wonders what she can do to help. She doesn’t want to leave because she thinks Tom will return there but Jack says otherwise since the kayak was found further away. When Maggie calms down, she tells Jack that she’ll need to notify Tom’s family so he offers to let her do so at his place. Stuart receives a text from an unknown number asking him if it is true about Tom Cabbott.

Hannah McGregor (Morgana O’Reilly) is happy when Jack arrives with Maggie so Jack can care for the child. Hannah tells Maggie that their guys know what they’re doing. Moments later, Maggie calls Nate Cabbott (Josh McKenzie) and tells him what has happened. When that conversation ends, Nate calls his father Frank (John Bach) and tells him about Tom’s disappearance. Jack allows Maggie to hold the baby. He says yes before she sits with the baby and cries. Nate meets with his father who is convinced Tom will turn up because Maggie is capable of handling everything on her own. Frank thinks everything will be okay because they have a highly paid expert on their payroll and he can find anything. They meet with Esther (Emily Piggford) and chat about Monty who they’ve been trying to track down.

They task Esther with trying to find out more about Tom. Jack and Maggie check on Ru who confirms they’re trying to do everything they can. He says they’ll send the planes back out tomorrow but Maggie doesn’t want to stop for the night. Kath sits down with Maggie and offers her a place to stay but Maggie says she is fine sleeping on the boat. Kath doesn’t accept that because she doesn’t think Maggie should be left alone. Hannah and Kath think it is best for Maggie to stay with Jack so he can keep an eye on her. Maggie returns to the boat so she can get her belongings and she takes the item she hid earlier. Then, we jump forward to search day 2. Maggie wakes up early and checks the item she hid. We find out that she had hidden drugs and a pipe. After that, Jack speaks to the locals and tells them that the Coastguard is going to head west.

Kath interrupts and tells Jack that she couldn’t stop Maggie who wants to search on her own. Jack confesses that he can’t stop her so Maggie does out alone. In a flashback, Tom tells Maggie that they can have everything they ever wanted. She makes the bed and checks the safe. Meanwhile, rescuers find Tom’s dry bag and Maggie goes through paperwork on the boat. Jack contacts her on the radio to let her know about Tom’s dry bag. She isn’t positive that it is Tom’s so Jack says they’ll wait and see. The weather takes a turn for the worse so Jake has to bring back all of the searchers. Maggie sits with Jack and he tells her that it is his job to ask more questions. He begins asking her about the morning of Tom’s disappearance and Tom’s attitude. She says that everything was okay and Tom didn’t seems distracted.

She goes on to say that Tom was excited about having her there and signing the fishery deal. She asks about Pania but Jack says she isn’t worth worrying about. In a flashback, Maggie asks Tom about the eco-warrior Pania and the guy with the folder. Tom pretends it is nothing to worry about because it was only paperwork. He says Stuart has problems because his wife is an alcoholic. Maggie tells Jack that they had a romantic evening before Hannah interrupts and asks Jack to watch the baby. He agrees and tells Hannah to bring the kids over that evening and he’ll cook them dinner. Jack steps away so Maggie watches the baby and we see a flashback of her holding a baby. Kath shows Jack the dry bag that arrived and he goes through it. He finds a candy bar and Tom’s cellphone. Kath tells Maggie about Bella and that the baby’s woman has gone AWOL and this isn’t the first time.

She says Jack is a sucker for punishment. Jack returns and tells them that everyone is going to stand down until the weather improves but that upsets Maggie. She is shown the cellphone and she immediately freaks out. Stuart gets a call while Greg tries to stop him. Stuart ignores Greg because his phone keeps ringing. Maggie looks at the messages on Tom’s phone before she says she cannot believe this is happening. Greg enters and tells Jack that his brother is becoming a problem but Jack escorts him out of the room. In another flashback, Tom and Maggie argue about the business. Jack returns and apologizes to Maggie before she asks about Stuart and Tom. Jack tells Maggie about having drinks with Tom a long time ago and Tom complaining about his father never being satisfied with him. In another flashback, Tom shows Maggie his coin and says he is five years sober.

Back in the present, Maggie tells Jack about the Cabbotts and their wealth. They agree that they lack ethics before Maggie reveals that Tom used his trust fund money to pay for the set-up expenses. She says that everything that belongs to Tom belongs to the Cabbotts and Jack says that friction would hurt. He also says Tom likely never got over the fact that his father picked his younger brother to be CEO. Maggie is positive that Tom would’ve never killed himself. She wonders if Jack thinks she had something to do with it before he asks if there is anything he should know. Maggie denies doing anything to her husband. She tells Jack she had never seen her husband happier before going to the bathroom. In a flashback, Jack wonders if everything is going to be thrown back into his face.

Maggie doesn’t put on any lipstick before returning to Jack who tries to sympathize with her. He says he needs to make sure that he isn’t missing anything that could help them find Tom. Then, Maggie says she thought Tom’s boy-next-door charm was an act when she first met him. She says she was raised by a single mom and went to college on a scholarship. She claims having money just makes their problems worse and that Tom wasn’t one of the Cabbotts. She says Tom is a good man before we see Maggie hiding the drugs in the ceiling. Maggie doesn’t think Tom would have anything to hide and she says she doesn’t either. Ru pulls Jack aside and he takes a phone call. Jack speaks with the Rescue Coordination Center in Wellington before telling Maggie that they’ve called it and the rescue mission has been downgraded to a recovery mission.

Maggie gets upset and rushes out of the building and straight for the boat. Jack follows her and Maggie asks him not to tell her that he isn’t coming back. We see Tom flip the kayak and swim to shore before pulling out another kayak and changing clothes.

 

The Sounds Review

While nothing groundbreaking right now, I thought The Sounds was decent. It was better than some of the other shows I’ve been watching lately and I think I’ll be able to tolerate it without any issues. The acting is mostly good besides a few hiccups here and there. The opener was a bit slower there in the beginning but it sped up midway through. The story is very interesting right now and I am sure that Tom and Maggie have more secrets waiting to be exposed. I am already eager to see where things are going to go from here and how everything will play out.

The opening episode was decent but nothing spectacular. I’d give it a 7 out of 10.