Episode 2 begins with Dani Oxley (Kara Tointon) on the verge of panic after seeing her and Jimmy Spencer’s (Will Mellor) intimate footage online. She manages to collect herself outside, but not being able to reach Tim Oxley (Emmett J. Scanlan) does not help matters. Tim’s absence is soon explained in a brief visit to Nina Webster’s (Niamh McCann) flat. Despite everything, she appears to be holding things together. This is until Robert Caulfield (John Nayagam) mentions that the students want to hold a vigil in Zac Webster’s (Cal O’Driscoll) memory. Tim will use her distraction to steal Zac’s cell phone.
Matt Spenser (Forrest Bothwell) is still struggling to cope and Jimmy’s lackluster attitude about the entire ordeal doesn’t put him at ease. Tim and Dani’s opportunity to discuss the intimate footage will be put on hold when DI Linda Calgetti (Gwynne McElveen) appears at their home to request Dani’s presence at the station. The encounter is brief yet very official. Once Calgetti gets everything on record, she wastes little time letting Dani know the authorities will be pursuing criminal charges. It’s also revealed that it was a student who stumbled upon them and took the photo.
Dani’s situation will only get worse from there as she returns home to find Tim’s note, demanding that she move out. She’ll also get suspended from school but when she goes in to collect some of her personal items one afternoon, a conversation with Sienna Ryan (Joni Morris) suggests that she might not even return. She will also briefly encounter Caulfield who demeans her for cheating on her husband while he was out sick. The mention of the illness takes Dani by complete surprise.
That suspicion will only grow throughout the episode. Calgetti will also pay Dani another visit but with a search warrant this time. According to her, Zac’s case is now being investigated as a homicide. It won’t be long before the cops show up and close down the school as well, but before doing so, Matt and Sienna will be able to speak at Zac’s vigil.
By the time Dani confronts Tim, she has a bundle of evidence, including deleted conversations with Zac and GPS coordinates linking him to the Mallory. Rather than denying anything, he turns the whole ordeal into an argument. At the same time, Matt confronts Jimmy about sleeping with Dani and although Jimmy claims it had nothing to do with the split from Matt’s mom, the situation goes no smoother.
Dani visits Chloe Novak (Ebby O’Tool-Acheampong) in search of answers to Zac’s death but learns nothing more. Chloe does appear to be on the verge of sharing something but ultimately chooses not to. Dani will also attempt to speak with Matt about his supposed feud with Zac but gets no further than Jimmy. Despite this, Jimmy encourages her to go to the police with what they know. Dani is clearly not interested in that route.
Sienna has trouble speaking at the vigil and only does so because of Dani’s insistence. Sienna also appears at one point that she wants to share something with Dani but ultimately chooses to stay quiet. After both Matt and Sienna speak at the vigil, Calgetti will show up and arrest Tim Oxley for the murder of Zac. Dani visits Nina after the arrest and despite everything, Dani becomes agitated that Nina isn’t more upset with her than she is. This will change when Dani mentions the knife and asks if Zac was afraid of anyone. Nina is almost unbelieving that Zac would be carrying a knife and this is where the meeting ends.
Jimmy will apologize to Matt for getting involved with Dani while she and Stan Oxley (Calum Jess) openly discuss Tim’s arrest. She assures him that the arrest is a misunderstanding but doesn’t appear to believe it herself. At the same time, Calgetti has practically learned everything that Dani uncovered herself. Despite the pile of evidence against him, Tim continues to remain silent about the context of his and Zac’s conversations. Calgetti assures him they will find out anyway.
The episode ends with a quick scene showing Matt trying to hide Zac’s knife.
The Teacher Review
This one is like a slow, slow burn. The episode was certainly more informative but introduced several mysteries at the same time. I do enjoy that the blame is being pointed at Tim for the time being because it gives Emmett J. Scanlan more opportunity to shine, although his performance has seemed rather drab. It could be because he hasn’t had much of a chance but that is likely to change. As for Dani, she does okay at times but I feel that she lacks the emotional depth to carry such a big role. I am surprised that Nina appears to do a better job.
Of course, this is just my opinion but the series seems to be shaping up rather nicely. I’ll certainly continue watching. This one gets a 5.6 out of 10.
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