As the episode begins, Maggie Cabbott (Rachelle Lefevre) goes for a swim and Jack McGregor (Matt Nable) watches her as she swims in the opposite direction. Once Maggie swims out a good distance, she dumps the drug pipe into the water along with the cloth she found with it. Next, Tom Cabbott (Matt Whelan) hides a kayak and continues his journey before Jack speaks to the searchers on day 3 of the search. Once the speech ends, Esther (Emily Piggford) introduces herself to Jack and tries to found out if there is foul play involved. She tells Jack that she is there serving the Cabbott family. Once Jack steps away, Esther asks Hannah (Morgana O’Reilly) about other rooms that do not face the water so Hannah suggests another establishment. Kath Hines (Tandi Wright) confirms that she has a room available.

During this time, Tom does push-ups and recalls a prior conversation he had with Maggie about his love for her. Tom checks the faucet and realizes it is not working. He goes outside and finds a leak in the hose so he tries to fix that immediately but the hoses are too short. While he is trying to fix the problem, a water tower falls down on him and his arm crashes into a nail. Moments later, Maggie catches up with Stuart (Peter Elliott) and tells him about Esther. She asks him if there is anything she needs to know. Seconds later, Esther contacts Nate (Josh McKenzie) and tells him about the case before offering to look into the insurance policy. Frank (John Bach) asks Esther if she has talked to Maggie yet before she confirms that is coming next.

She sits down with Maggie moments later and they discuss the ongoing case. Maggie reminds Esther that Frank stays in Canada and sends his accountant instead of coming. As for Esther, she says the Cabbotts wanted someone on the ground to help with resources. She is also there to protect the Cabbotts’ interests. Maggie tells her that the hatchery has nothing to with Tom but Esther believes otherwise. Then, they discuss Stuart and Maggie takes up for him by saying he is grieving but Esther isn’t sure about that. Hannah interrupts before Esther tells Maggie that they’ll talk more a little later. She leaves and the conversation ends. Next, we’re introduced to Annette McGregor (Sara Wiseman). Stuart tells her he thinks he is in trouble before she tells him they’re all in trouble. Jack enters and interrupts. He tells Stuart he could use him in the air.

Jack realizes something is wrong and he tries to get his brother to speak to him but Stuart isn’t going to do that. Jack checks on Annette to make sure they’re keeping it together but she doesn’t say anything to him. Kath shows Esther the room she is renting before they chat about the Cabbott family. Esther tries to figure out how long they’re going to search for Tom’s body but Kath doesn’t have an answer for her. Esther accepts the room and finds out that they do not have a Wi-Fi password so she is out of luck on that one. Maggie goes through her text messages until Jack interrupts and tells her about his encounter with Esther. Jack makes sure Maggie knows he is doing his job when asking the tough questions. She says it hurts more that they’ve given up already.

Jack tells Maggie that she isn’t alone and that they do not need a second rescue mission. He tries to get her off of the boat and she finally agrees. Maggie joins Hannah and helps her cook as they chat about Maggie’s family and other things. Hannah tells her about the baby and how her stupid sister got pregnant. Maggie escapes to the bathroom and looks through the pictures on the phone. She notices a picture of cleavage and a red rose tattoo on another woman. We jump over to Kaikoura Town and see Zoe (Anna-Maree Thomas) in bed. She wakes up and looks around on the ground before calling for Hayden because something has gone missing. In a flashback, she remembers coming home with a guy and he stole drugs from her. Half a kilo has gone missing and she still needed to deliver to Nelson and Motueka.

Meanwhile, Tom tries to find a way to free himself and we see a flashback of him with Maggie. He tells her that he lost everything with the recycling deal and he believes his dad was right. He calls himself a waste of space before Maggie admits she cannot fix this. She believes Tom can fix it though. Hayden and Zoe hit the road in hopes of finding the drugs or a fortune to make up for it. In a flashback, Zoe meets with Tom on the boat and tries to make out with him before offering him drugs. Tom agrees to one last hit before making Zoe leave. She gets upset and hides the drug pipe on the boat before leaving. Hayden becomes concerned that Mitch is going to find Zoe and punish her. Esther tries to head out on the boat but freaks out and cannot do it.

She is approached by a photographer and comes up with a plan. Back inside, Maggie tries to learn more about Pania Cottle (Vanessa Rare). Hannah explains that Pania caused a fuss with the fishery so Maggie approaches her and tries to find out more but Pania isn’t willing to talk about what she said at the party. Esther gives Dane instructions while he tours and films inside the boat. That comes to an end with Maggie enters and finds him. Dane tells her about Esther before apologizing for everything. Maggie tracks down Esther and tells her that the yacht is already insured but Esther doesn’t seem to care about that. Maggie tells Esther that she doesn’t have a reason to mistrust her. Zoe is dropped off at a convenience store before being left. Maggie visits Tom’s office and looks around inside. She leaves and speaks to Pania once again.

Maggie tells her that she spent more of her legal career fighting for the things Pania believes in. She says the salmon farms are going to be more environmentally friendly than others but Pania finds that funny. Pania finally tells her that she saw Tom doing something he shouldn’t have been doing. She saw him with another woman on the boat when she was out fishing one morning. Tom continues trying to free himself from the water tower. He tries to grab the shotgun while Maggie returns to her room and contemplates what she heard. Tom grabs the gun, shoots the tower, drinks water, and makes the tower lighter. He remembers a conversation between himself, Maggie, and his family about his intentions to do good. When Tom stands up for himself, his father jokes about it.

Esther decides to visit Stuart’s office. She accesses the computer and begins collecting information from it. Zoe gets a ride from a stranger before checking her phone and looking at her messages. She visits the pub and tries to find out where Tom has gone. She is surprised to find out that he has disappeared or drowned. The men try to track down Zoe in hopes of getting their drugs, money, or revenge. Esther finishes stealing files from Stuart’s computer before learning that the workers are not going to work because Stuart isn’t paying them. Kath calls Jack and tells him that there is a slip at Matai Bay and she is going to check it out. He tells her it has been a long day and she should come back. Jack marks off Matai Bay on his map. Annette is awoken when Zoe enters and sits down on the bed with her.

They chat briefly before Zoe asks to borrow Annette’s car. Maggie looks through the photos on Tom’s phone and sees that the girl was wearing the same sweater as her. She grabs the black shirt she found and looks at it. After that, Jack tries to get the kids to cooperate while speaking to Maggie about Hannah and the kids. Maggie wonders if she is going to get to say goodbye to Tom. Jack tries to give her confidence before Maggie finds out that his wife died of cancer when Hannah was young. Jack promises that Maggie will get through this. Jack receives a call and has to leave because a car has gone off the road on the Old Coast Pass. She agrees to stay behind and keep up with the kids. When Hannah returns, Stuart is with her and Maggie learns about the walk off at the factory and everyone being angry.

Maggie agrees to start the grill with Stuart so she can chat with him privately. She tries to find out what is going on with the walk off. She tells Stuart about Esther and warns him that he is next. Stuart says they’ve been waiting on a crucial report but Jack enters and ends that conversation. Zoe drove Annette’s car off of the road. She turns around and tries to find out why Maggie has her child. Zoe comes at her before Maggie notices the tattoo on her chest and realizes she is the one Tom was with.

 

The Sounds Review

I am still holding out hope for The Sounds but I didn’t think this episode was very good. The opening episode was a bit better but neither was spectacular. I normally enjoy Matt Nable and everything he is in so I couldn’t ignore The Sounds. Still, I won’t be blinded by my fandom. The Sounds just isn’t great but there is still time for it to improve. At times, it feels like they took pieces of various shows and slung them all together trying to create something unique.

I’ll continue giving it a chance but my hopes are dropping lower. The episode scores a 6.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of The Sounds can be found on Reel Mockery.