As this episode of The Split begins, Hannah (Nicola Walker) is surprised when a man delivers food to her home since she didn’t order anything. When she looks at the paperwork, it is addressed to Kate Stern. Once Hannah brings the items inside, she learns that Rose has already left. Ruth (Deborah Findlay) asks her whether she has seen Melanie’s interview on television. Melanie Aickman (Anna Chancellor) talks about helping couples push the eject button. Hannah tells the kids not to touch anything until she calls Nathan (Stephen Mangan). Once she calls him, Nathan explains the groceries are for tonight which happens to be his night at home. While he’d normally order pizza, Kate has offered to cook. Hannah complains that bringing Kate wasn’t part of their agreement.

Hannah insists the kids aren’t ready to hear she is pregnant yet so Nathan agrees not to tell them. After she learns Kate will be staying the night, she asks Nathan to take the guestroom. He reminds her that she is late for their meeting. When the call ends, Liv (Elizabeth Roberts) admits she knew about Kate coming over, but she was going to a gig with Gael anyway. The other kids have plans too. Hannah asks them to be here because Nathan will blame her otherwise. Christie (Barry Atsma) returns to London. Leondra calls Hannah to tell her the psychologist is coming for a visit this morning. Hannah tells her not to answer any questions that make her feel uncomfortable in any way.

She explains that she is a psychologist so it is her job to probe and assess her, but it is not Leni’s job to answer. Hannah informs her she’ll be in court for a few hours before they head into the courtroom. JJ apologizes to Hannah that Kate will be meeting Leni while admitting Melanie suggested it. Before the court action begins, Hannah tells Nathan to establish the long family history in the sense of ownership of the brand. Then, Nathan asks Mr. Giustizia how long he has run the restaurant. Nathan is told 25 years. Hannah reminds Nathan that Giustizia means justice before Mr. Giustizia reveals they’ve been running restaurants since 1912. The name is priceless because it has a deep personal attachment and it is used for the restaurant.

Nathan reminds the judge that his client has already offered to give his wife the adjacent property to the family restaurant to do as she wishes. She is about to open a new restaurant and Mr. Giustizia has been fully supportive of that until he learned she has taken the same name. Mrs. Giustizia is a culinary talent who believes she is entitled to the brand. She screams out that they built the brand together. Mr. Giustizia reveals he had to beg her to take his name when they got married, but she won’t give it back now. Nathan tells them about the saying in Italian that means, “The heart wants what the heart wants”. Mrs. Giustizia gets upset and asks her husband if that is why he slept with Yara when her back was turned.

Nathan admits the detangling of lives is painful, but the wife breached the terms of the legal agreement. He wants the court to give effect to their agreement. Mrs. Giustizia storms out of the courtroom. Outside, Mr. Giustizia celebrates as Nathan says it was the right decision. Mr. Giustizia talks to the media with his new girlfriend by his side while Nathan reminds Hannah to smile. Hannah says there is a woman over there who has been evicted from more than her name. There is winning and showing a little respect. Nathan says Nicola has asked if NHD wanted to join him tonight at Giustizia because he wants to cook for them all. JJ tells Hannah he is interested in seeing the outcome of Kate’s assessment because he spoke with an extremely distressed Felix Samuelson last night.

Felix believes there is a third party after he found a series of trips to Zurich on a credit card. JJ asks Hannah to discuss it with her client before their meeting next week. Meanwhile, Kate asks Leni how she would describe herself as a parent. She wasn’t always relaxed and might’ve been a little too vigilant. When asked just about her, Leni says she’d like to think she got the measure right. Kate knows she went back to work when they were just three months old and that must’ve been hard on her. She wonders whether she regrets her decision.

Kate would like to get a sense of their early bonding. Leni quickly says they bonded well. She believes Kate is judging her. Kate has no doubt she is a good mother and reminds her she has been asked to help them through this as a family. When Leni claims that her mental health is fine, Kate insists nobody was questioning that. She is there to support her and her family. After Kate asks to use her bathroom, Leni says yes before calling Hannah to say Kate is probing her harm. She asks Hannah to come. Kate looks through the bathroom and finds some of the medication Leni has been taking. Once Hannah arrives, she tells Leni to leave it to her. She tells Kate that her client called her when she was highly distressed.

Kate admits she has finished anyway, but she’d like a private word with Hannah first. She doesn’t think she asked anything provocative although she didn’t know that Leni was anxious. As they walk outside, Hannah reminds Kate that she said divorce is one of the human tragedies that reduces them to accountants. Kate suggests she is just an onlooker although Hannah doesn’t believe that. She tells Hannah that her job is to calmly come into an often toxic and hostile environment and quickly understand what the issues are. Kate mentions the riluzole prescribed in her name in the bathroom and how it is a strong medication. While Hannah says she is crossing a line, Kate is just pointing out that her client is using a medication used to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Then, the conversation turns to Kate meeting with Hannah’s children tonight. Hannah tells her they’re her children so she should tread carefully. Kate is asked not to break her news to them yet because they’re still processing everything. She would argue that the healthier option is full transparency. Hannah tells her to enjoy her evening. Kate is sure they will. Hannah goes inside and shuts the door behind her. She goes to Leni to tell her about Kate finding the medication in the bathroom. Hannah asks whether the General Medical Council knows that she has a condition that could impact her performance as a surgeon. Leni says she would never put a patient at risk.

Hannah doesn’t think their lie is sustainable since JJ is asking questions that she doesn’t have answers for. Leni begins explaining the trips to Zurich such as a work trip and a conference. They are looking at things to try to find out why Leni is doing this and whether she is having an affair. Hannah recommends talking to Felix who might be more supportive than she knows. Tyler (Damien Molony) works with Nina (Annabel Scholey) to find a suitable rental. He wants them to have a home that is safe. Although it isn’t built yet, he wanted to gauge her opinion. Nina notices that a lot of the properties have already been sold. She admits it could feel like home before asking Tyler to do it with Cora and her.

She knows it is crazy, but Tyler quickly says yes anyway. He agrees to make the call right now. Rose (Fiona Button) returns home with the bike and begins looking through James’s stuff. Christie joins Ruth who says New York suits him. He agrees before saying he woke up listening to her podcast. He asks how everyone is doing although Ruth believes he is asking about Hannah in particular. She is as well as could be expected. Christie already knows about their divorce. Ruth shows him what she has and asks whether she is right to be concerned. Christie looks at it before saying it correlates with what we already suspect. After Ruth asks whether they’re ready to talk to Zander yet, Christie says not yet. They need a little more evidence like a video.

Tyler and Nina return to the office as Zander (Chukwudi Iwuji) asks Tyler where he has been. Tyler asks Nina if she feels Zander breathing down his neck. Nina admits he is helping her find somewhere to live. Once Zander leaves, Tyler confirms that their offer has been accepted. Moments later, Hannah runs into Ruth and Christie who says he is going to be in town for a few days. Ruth leaves. Christie tells Hannah he had business in town and wanted to draw on Ruth’s experience. He didn’t tell her because they haven’t spoken for 10 months and nine days. Christie tells her about New York and admits he met great people and a person although it isn’t the same as her. Before their conversation ends, Christie tells her where he is staying in case she is interested.

Hannah is happy by the time she makes it back to the office where she tells Zander they won since the respondent can’t use Giustizia anymore. She tells him that they’re going to the restaurant tonight so Nicola can cook for them. Zander begins telling everyone else. Hannah asks Ruth why she didn’t mention Christie coming back. Her mother thought it would be a pleasant surprise. Nina joins Hannah in the bathroom moments later to check on her. Hannah says she is okay. Nina believes their mother is going to interrogate Tyler and Zander on her podcast. After Hannah learns about Nina’s property, she checks to make sure she can afford it. Nina learns about Nathan bringing his girlfriend over and Christie being back.

Hannah finds it odd that her sister is being giggly and jangly. Ruth begins the podcast interview with Zander and Tyler. Despite Zander’s experience as a family lawyer, he and Tyler threw caution to the wind and married spontaneously with no prenup. Zander believes lawyers are allowed a moment of rash spontaneity. He thinks he found someone who was worth taking the risk for. When Tyler is asked whether it was out of character for him, he confesses it was pretty radical. Nina hears him talking. He goes on to say home is wherever the person he loves is. Ruth finds that romantic but suggests there is something interesting that they can explore. She wonders whether someone was the driving force behind the prenups.

Tyler says you can put it down on paper and have it signed. They haven’t done that because they wanted to keep it very simple. He says what is Zander’s is Zander’s. If they break up, he doesn’t want anything. Zander jokes he hopes he backed the right horse. Rose goes to the church to give Glen (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith) some items for the sale. She tells them that the women are very efficient as they grab her stuff and sort through them. Glen knows it must’ve been hard to give his stuff away, but she says no. He asks how it is going. She claims she is doing great. When they hear a crash nearby, Glen has to go deal with it so Rose offers to watch the kids. After Leni finishes with a surgery, she is surprised to find Felix in the hallway. He tells her he has been checking the bank statements.

Felix wants to know about her payments to the Bardane Hotel in Zurich. Leni tells him this has to stop and there is no one else. Rose goes to Hannah’s house to pick up her stuff. When she arrives, Liv tells her that Kate is cooking so she might want to get out. Hannah calls Rose to make sure she is okay. She asks Rose how long she is going to be like this with her before apologizing for comparing her grief to Rose’s. Hannah questions whether the guest bedsheets are clean. She finds it brutal that Kate is staying the night. Rose invites her to dinner, but Hannah can’t since she is having dinner with the entire office. Rose promises to change the sheets before she leaves. Once the call ends, Hannah finds a message from Christie asking for a nightcap. Ruth tells them that Ronnie has been acting odd.

He has been creeping up behind her and looking at her blankly when she confronts him. Hannah wants to know what her mother is doing with Christie. Ruth says she is helping him unpick some financial trails, but she won’t say any more than that. Meanwhile, Kate learns that Liv and Gael (Alex Guersman) met at a club named Expression in Sao Paulo. Liv and Gael don’t agree that he found her outside sick and walked her home. Nathan reprimands Vinnie (Toby Oliver) when he opens a beer although Vinnie says his mom always lets him. Rose interrupts to say the guestroom is free and the sheets are fresh.

Kate gives Rose her condolences for her loss. She says they often forget, but Rose doesn’t think so. Nathan follows her to apologize before admitting Kate is open. Rose insists she is fine before leaving. Kate finds Nathan looking at old pictures of himself and Hannah. He tells her he is coming. At the Giustizia restaurant, Mr. Giustizia tells Hannah that his wife is angrier tonight because it is her last shift. Ruth tells Ronnie (Ian McElhinney) to just eat his food although it freaks him out when the food wobbles. Before long, Mr. and Mrs. Giustizia begin arguing nearby. Ruth says second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience. Zander admits he isn’t sure he could survive it a second time.

Ronnie takes a picture of everyone with Nicola. Ruth looks at the picture on her phone and notices that Nina and Tyler are particularly close. At home, Liv finds it odd that Kate drinks normally but isn’t drinking right now. As Nathan gets the ice cream, he tells Kate they hate him far more than they hate her. Vinnie rushes off on a school night again saying his mother lets him. Liv and Gael prepare to leave to catch up with Sasha too. Kate knows how disorientating this must be for all of them. She insists it is important to come together and find a way to communicate because she isn’t going anywhere. Vinnie slams the door. Liv asks whether she is pregnant. Nathan asks her not to be rude. Kate breaks the news that she is pregnant.

Liv tells her dad congratulations before trying to leave with Gael. Tilly (Mollie Cowen) isn’t eager to have ice cream after learning about the pregnancy. Once they’re alone, Nathan scolds Kate for telling Liv the truth. At the restaurant, Zander asks everyone what they’d take if their house was burning down. Nina is surprised to learn that Tyler would take his entire Marc Bolan back catalog. Zander tells her she doesn’t know this man. When Zander mentions that he doesn’t have much, Tyler apologizes that they don’t all have a penthouse apartment. Ronnie tells them it is people that you should really treasure since everything else is replaceable. As for Hannah, she would take her mother and children. She agrees that the rest is just stuff.

Memories are bound in her house and a fire won’t take those memories. Ronnie says he’d save Ruth preferably for the rest of his life. Nicola brings in a cake for Ruth as Ronnie asks if she’d do him the honor of becoming his wife. She says yes, everyone congratulates her, and Hannah welcomes Ronnie to the family. Gael and Liv hang out at the club. When Gael comes out of the bathroom later, he finds Liv making out with another guy. Hannah approaches Mrs. Giustizia and learns about her new place before apologizing for today. She knows how crappy it can be. Hannah says he is going to miss her. Mrs. Giustizia says that is little justice. Hannah jokes it is a good name for a restaurant though. When Ruth and Nina join them, Hannah says she’ll stay at Nina’s.

Ruth intends to stay at Ronnie’s as her daughters joke it could be for the rest of her life. Hannah gets a call from a crying Liv who says she has done something really, really bad. Hannah leaves in a hurry to deal with it. Before she goes, she warns Nina to be careful with Tyler. Rose watches her wedding video before going to the church and bangs on the door. Hannah catches up with Liv and Gael. Liv just kept drinking despite what Gael said. She is sick and cries that Kate is having a baby. Nina tells Tyler they can’t do this anymore because he is married, but Tyler insists he is going to tell Zander. Nina pleads with him not to let her down. Zander sees them as they begin kissing. Hannah takes Liv home and suggests she got drunk because she heard her father is having a baby.

Kate understands Hannah is upset, but Liv is a grownup. Hannah doesn’t think she should tell her what her kids need. She reminds Kate that these are still her kids and Nathan is still her husband. Hannah tells Nathan to share how much he is freaking out because he knows what it is like to be a parent. She grabs the bucket from Kate before telling Nathan she has taken her husband but won’t get to clean up her daughter’s vomit too. Hannah has a panic attack as she heads to the bathroom. She pulls herself together and tells Gael to sleep in Liv’s room so she can put Liv in the spare room. Once Liv is put down, Nathan asks Hannah if there is somewhere she needs to be. She says Christie is in town. Nathan tries to find out more. Hannah says he has his pregnant girlfriend lying in their bed so he doesn’t get to ask questions like that.

Hannah meets with Christie. Meanwhile, Nathan tells Kate he just wants to go to sleep once he gets into bed with her. Hannah admits she lost it tonight. She sometimes can’t control her feelings and it feels like her heart is going to burst through her chest. When they talk about the baby, Hannah believes they should know better at their age. She insists it is different when he asks about being fresh out of law school. She apologizes and asks how she does this. She wonders how you separate yourself from someone else and begin again. Although Christie has been divorced, he just says that it happens. You just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep yourself open to the possibility of a future.

He argues it is coming whether you like it or not so you have to decide what to let go of and what you want to keep. Hannah asks what he is really doing there. Christie doesn’t think it matters since he is there. They wake up together in the morning. Rose is at the church when the volunteers arrive. She wants some of the stuff back, but she is told donations can’t be returned. Rose calls Hannah to tell her about the mistake she made when taking James’s clothes to the jumble sale. Hannah, Nina, and Ruth go there together to offer them a donation from Noble Hale Defore in exchange for James’s items. Once they return to the office with the items, Hannah tells Tyler to back off of her sister. When Nicola arrives, he finds out that his ex-wife’s restaurant is going to be called Little Justice.

He smiles and nods at her. Ruth sends the picture of Tyler to Christie. Hannah gets a text from Christie who says he hasn’t stopped thinking about her.

 

The Split Review

The Split is really starting to ramp up the intensity, backstabbing, and emotions. Although I could be wrong, I think I can see where things are heading with many of the main characters and their relationships. The addition of Christie has added a new layer of drama to the show. Nina’s relationship with Tyler is quickly becoming problematic as more people find out. I suspect Tyler might have more problems to worry about though.

This was a good episode of The Split so it scores a 7.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Split can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support Reel Mockery at this link.