At the beginning of the episode, Hannah Stern (Nicola Walker) goes for a swim before jumping forward and seeing her on a bench with Nathan (Stephen Mangan). The kids bring them coffee so Nathan refers to them as horrible parents. Then, he wonders why Hannah’s family is always late. He is worried since he has to be in court by 9 and it is already 7. Hannah says nothing but receives a text message from Christie (Barry Atsma). Before too long, Rose (Fiona Button), Nina (Annabel Scholey), and the others arrive so they can spread their father’s ashes. It is very awkward and nobody is sure how they’re supposed to handle the situation.

One of the kids speaks about the grandpa before the ashes are haphazardly spread on the ground. Ruth (Deborah Findlay) throws the box into the garbage as the family walks away. Nathan reminds Hannah that they have plans for that night but Hannah says she is going to be busy. After that, Hannah, Ruth, and Nina walk to work. We see a bush with an advertisement for a band. The women arrive at the office building for Noble Hale and Defoe. They step inside and join Christie. He tells Ruth about his schedule for the day before he reminds Hannah that they have plans for that night. Hannah has to reschedule since she has other plans with her husband.

Hannah tells Christie in private that Nathan just sprung it on her. They step into an office and begin making out without shutting the door. He gives her keys on a keyring featuring small shoes. She grabs them before Maggie (Ellora Torchia) enters and interrupts the romance. Maggie informs Hannah that her 9 o’clock has already arrived. When Maggie leaves, Hannah researches the client, Fi Hansen, online. Hannah meets with the woman a short time later. Fi’s phone continues ringing throughout their conversation. They speak about I’m With the Band which is something Fi is doing with her husband before sitting down to discuss the prenup.

It has been 14 years and one of Fi’s friends got screwed by a prenup. Fi wants to make sure her prenup is going to protect her if she gets divorced. Fi wants advice before saying her husband is a brilliant dad. Soon, Fi says she needs to reschedule. She learns before she can receive any advice from Hannah. When Fi leaves, Hannah scours through the prenup. After that, Hannah decides to search for Nathan Stern and Indiana Ray on the Internet. She looks through the pictures she finds and also finds articles about the Indiana Ray Scandal and Nathan. She fiddles with her ring before putting Christie’s keys in her desk drawer. Rose and James (Rudi Dharmalingam) try to find out if they’re going to have a baby.

A pregnancy test confirms that Rose is pregnant. Seconds later, Nathan is introduced to Chloe who is one of the new pupils. He reminds her that he doesn’t get to make the decisions so he cannot choose her. She says she has read everything he has ever written. Nina steals food from a cafe and calls Rex telling him to leave her alone. Hannah sits down with the barristers and Zander (Chukwudi Iwuji). Zander tells everyone that they’re fully functional in midtown Chicago now. He also introduces everyone to his boyfriend and future husband Tyler Donaghue (Damien Molony). Zander has asked Tyler to help them out so he is going to be working closely with the firm.

Christie tells everyone about his client before Hannah says they might have a new client in Fi. She says Fi’s prenup is not good for her and she would’ve have advised her to sign it. Zander wants her as a client. After the meeting ends, Nina and Christie admit Zander’s behavior was totally inappropriate. Fi goes to the band rehearsal but she is a bit late. Once she enters the building, her husband begins picking out an outfit for her to wear. Fi wants to know why their nanny is eager to leave. He doesn’t want to talk about it. He tells her that she might want to go rest up because she is looking saggy around the eyes. Tyler begins working with the firm right away. He learns the ropes from Maggie. Zander tells Christie that being in Chicago raises your game and he should try it.

Zander wants to make sure Christie has sorted everything out because he doesn’t want to deal with any drama. After that, Hannah and Nina speak with another client, a priest. Tony has been married 48 years and he is eager to divorce his wife. He admits the marriage is good but he wants to experiment with something new now that the kids are grown. He says it is time and the possibilities seem endless. After the conversation, Tyler asks Nina about her office. He is surprised she has so much space for one person. It appears Nina and Tyler are going to get into spats in the future. Rose shows up at the office and tells Hannah and Nina that she is going to have a baby. The girls celebrate the news while Zander and Christie watch from another room.

Chloe shows up at Nathan’s office for the scheduled meeting. He invites her in before asking her questions about her decision to get into law. She tells him about her parents wanting to get a divorce and helping her mother fill out forms for housing benefits. Her mother was never able to find a lawyer who could show her that there was a way out. Chloe says they help women escape. The conversation continues before we see Liv (Elizabeth Roberts) and her friend speak to a boy at school. Fi confronts the nanny outside of her children’s school. Their conversation is interrupted by another parent asking about the book club meeting at Fi’s place that weekend. When the woman leaves, Fi grills the nanny about wanting to leave. She also accuses her of stealing stuff.

A photographer snaps pictures of Fi as she has a meltdown and throws the nanny’s belongings to the ground. Christie checks in on Hannah. She tells him to leave the door open so people won’t think anything. They chat about the Hansen prenup and find out that Fi agreed to work out and remain fit and active. Her husband did not. Christie reminds Hannah about the records her husband helped produce. They end up sharing a kiss before Hannah asks if he ever feels guilty. He says he doesn’t and she shouldn’t either. Maggie catches them on the way and says nothing about it. Everyone goes to the Stern house so they can celebrate Rose being pregnant. Hannah gets a taxi so she can join them. We see that she has taken Christie’s key with her.

The celebrations continue once Hannah makes it home to her family. She works quickly and discreetly to delete all of the emails from Christie Carmichael on her phone. The family looks through old pictures while Hannah receives a message from Christie about Grayling. She doesn’t answer him back. Ruth says you can tell how many children you’re going to have based on the lines on your hand. If she is right, Hannah would have another. Hannah gets a message from Christie about Grayling, Alaska. Moments later, Richie Hansen shows up outside to pick up his children. Fi and Nathan join them. They learn that the Hansen couple has just fired their nanny because she stole a handbag. Richie is a bit angry and he is eager to leave. He goes outside before yelling at Fi to come along.

Hannah speaks with Fi a bit about the prenup and offers to speak with her again. Fi leaves moments later. Nathan and Hannah agree that their visit was a bit weird. Once they’ve left, the family goes through old pictures of Ruth and others. James speaks before Nathan says he wants to say goodbye to a few bad months. He is glad he is still there with everyone. Hannah takes the trash out that night and notices Nathan upstairs putting the curtain down. She notices a fox across the street. Fi tells Richie about Hannah being a family lawyer. They kiss in the car before Richie tells her to never patronize him in front of people again. He shows her the article about the nanny being fired and says he promised to sort it out. He claims he always sorts it out.

Fi is worried that the nanny might go to the press. Richie gets a call and leaves Fi in the car. She is not happy about that. That night, Hannah looks through the prenup while Nathan finds the article about Fi and her tantrum. Hannah tells him about Fi’s visit that morning. Hannah tells him that he needs to stop trying to make everything fine. He asks if she is ever going to be able to forgive him and she says she is working on it. Meanwhile, Nina checks out Rex Pope’s social media while driving alcohol. She learns that he has started a new life with his ex-wife in LA. Meanwhile, Hannah eats and goes through Nathan’s emails. She finds an email from the new pupil Chloe. He looks through his briefcase a bit.

Then, he decides to sleep on the couch before receiving a text from Christie telling her to go to sleep. Hannah looks at the business card for Chloe Howell before going to sleep. In the morning, he meets up with Christie and they hold hands on the way to work. They split halfway there so people do not get suspicious. Once she arrives, Maggie tells her about the meeting with Grayling later that day. She also confirms that Fi has arrived. Hannah gives her advice about the prenup since the current one is not good for her. Fi reveals the nanny did not steal a handbag but did sleep with Richie. Fi explains it is not the first time and it gets easier when you ignore it.

This time it was different because the kids loved the nanny. Fi wants to know how she can get out. Hannah tells her to begin writing things down. She should keep records of his unreasonable behavior. Hannah will be able to use that to lessen the impact on Fi and her children. Zander and Ruth go to a restaurant. He encourages her to begin teaching but Ruth isn’t interested in doing that. Christie joins them and Zander wants a favor from Ruth. Bishop Tony’s wife arrives to speak with Hannah. She wants to know about the meeting she found in his diary. She also found a list. Number 10 on that list says Tony wants to leave Amanda and she doesn’t understand that. He was shaving and she found him on the floor with his list.

Tony has passed away. Nina joins in and tells her they cannot discuss Tony’s previous meetings. After that, Hannah tells Nina that they can’t drop things on people. They have to try to minimize the heartbreak. Hannah says it calculated risk but Nina says it is lying. Hannah remembers swimming with Christie while Nina breaks down. Rose goes to the bathroom and finds blood. Nina cries in the bathroom alone. Hannah calls home to tell the family she is going to hit the gym so she can swim. Nathan spends time with the kids while Hannah spends time with Christie.

 

The Split Review

I am really glad the Split is back since there isn’t much else worth watching right now. The show is a bit slow at times but the drama is spectacular. It is tough to turn away since you know something bad is right around the corner. I am not sure any of the characters are happy. If they are, I am worried something bad is going to happen to them soon. You don’t have to look far to find that out. Just take a look at Rose and James. They are the only couple doing okay but it seems Rose is going to have a miscarriage.

How will that impact their relationship? Hannah is taking a lot of risks and Maggie knows about the affair. Their secret will be exposed before we know it and that will split the family once again. The Fi and Richie situation could be very interesting as well. This was a good opener for the second season. It set up the main storylines and correlated well with the previous finale. The episode scores a 7.5 out of 10. Previous recaps of The Split are available on Reel Mockery.