The show begins with Detective Sam Chedid (Louisa Mignone) studying Kate’s photos of Claire Spears (Coco Jack Gillies).

Lucy Bloom (Marta Dusseldorp) asks Dr. Polly Cantor (Di Adams) to identify a brown substance on a photo of Claire. Cantor tells her the laboratory determined it was blood that matched Claire and Kate’s DNA. Bloom asks if the lab results show any chemicals. Cantor tells the jury highly concentrated sodium hypochlorite was detected in the various blood samples. When Bloom asks what is it, she says a “bleaching agent” utilized by manufacturers of household cleaners. She adds the solution was a highly concentrated formula found in commercial cleaners. Bloom asks what its presence means. Cantor suggests someone utilized it to clean Kate’s studio and wheel barrel.

Corrie D’souza (Pallavi Sharda) has a flashback of finding a dead body. Cantor tells the jury that lab results shows a specific blood sample was dated back about a month before Claire was reported missing.

Trevor Morros (Warren Lee) describes his bird-killing cousin as a “spaz.” Vanessa Young (Catherine Van-Davies) warns not to utilize the word. Simon Cavanaugh (Kate Mulvany) disagrees before reminding her of Australia is a free country.

Alexi Menelaus (Damien Strouthos) warns Jarrod Saunders (Ngali Shaw) that falling asleep during court will get him kicked out. Jarrod says he is probably right before complaining about an uncompleted English essay.

Garry Thorne (Brendan Cowell) questions if Carton believed Kate killed the dead crow. Peter Brodsky (Daniel Mitchell) questions if any photographer would be interested in snapping pics of a dead bird. Mai (Gabrielle Chan) suggests unconventional art doesn’t make Kate unstable. When Corrie comments about the bloody thumbprint on Claire’s photo, Garry asks if someone with her history can be objective. The Court Sheriff (Lee Robinson) calls the jurors back into the courtroom.

Brett Colby (Sam Neill) questions Cantor about blood on a retractable blade. She tells the jury blood wasn’t in the lab report. He asks if the lab found blood on the samples from Kate’s vehicle. She says,” No.” He asks if any samples were collected from Nathan’s home or vehicle. She says, “No.”

Booth informs Colby that Nathan Spears (Matt Nable) has been removed from the witness list. They leave as the news reporter (Eleanor Stankiewic) says the defense questions why the prosecution didn’t test Nathan’s house.

Sonia Spears (Silvia Colloca) and Nathan discuss the prosecution’s decision to not collect samples from his home and vehicle. She suggests they go to court like Diane Lawson (Jeni Baird).

Vanessa tells Jay (Johnson Chong) and Joe (Tom Wilson) that Kate utilizes dead birds and her own blood for her art. Zoe (Sheridan Harbridge) reminds Vanessa of the rule that prohibits jurors from discussing the case outside court. Vanessa tells her it is no big deal, they are her family. They celebrate Jay’s “gold medal swimmers.”

Jarrod asks profressor Lowanna Porter (Rhoda Roberts) why she never accepted his English essay. She reminds him that it was past the deadline. He tells her that it was barely late. She suggests he file an appeal with the school. When he gets out, the security guard (Johnny Cordukes) gets involved. Porter calms a hostile Jarrod down before the security guard makes him leave.

Alexi and Flip Menelaus (Ben Mingay) inform their father, Nikolaos Menelaus (Lex Marinos) that they plan to sell their construction business.

Simon and Emily Cavanaugh (Rachel Gordon) discuss a photo of Ava Cavanaugh (Olivia Allen) showing off her new heart tattoo. She suggests it isn’t as bad as being pregnant.

Margaret Brown (Gennie Nevinson) picks up Peter for court.

Georgina Merrick (Brooke Satchwell) drops Alice Merrick (Victoria Bradman), Marcus Merrick (Alastair Bradman), and Oscar Merrick (Gilbert Bradman) off at school. Before they head off to school, she informs them that Gabby (Rhondda Findleton) will pick them up.

Dr. Lee (Virginie Lavedure) asks Sam why the Dokic case cannot be brought up in court. Sam claims Judge Muir (James Lugton) ruled the subject “prejudice.” Lee suggests it is associated with Kate’s behavior.

Bloom questions Lee about Kate’s borderline personality disorder. Lee tells the jury that sufferers may be infatuated with someone one minute and detest them the next. Bloom asks if it is in her professional opinion that sufferers experience instability in their personal relationships. Lee tells the jury that the condition is generally caused by some form of childhood neglect or heredity.

Garry informs Georgina and Lily Powell (Bishanyia Vincent) of Corrie’s parents being murdered her their home. Alexi suggests he not share Corrie’s tragedy with the other jurors. Garry tells him that it impacts the jurors when Corrie enters the jury room. She asks if anyone believes she should step down as the jury foreman. Garry reminds Farrad Jassim (Hazem Shammas) of his previously wanting to be the jury foreman. Farrad and Alexi assure him that she is going great. During a vote to see if Garry should replace Corrie, no one raised their hand.

Corrie asks Alexi to not make their relationship complicated just because they slept together. After he leaves, she has a flashback of her parent’s death.

Colby questions Lee about Kate’s borderline personality disorder. He asks her about the commonality of the condition. She tells the jury that it is more commonly diagnosed than any other mental health condition in the country. He asks if sufferers harm or self-harm. With a bit of hesitation, she says self-harm.

In a flashback, young Belinda Bain (Charlotte Lucas) poses as young Kate Lawson (Jade Potts) takes her picture. Belinda teases her about young Steve Dokic (Joshua Brennan). Kate pushes her into the water. Belinda shoves her back while asking why she did it. When Kate suggests she do it to her, Belinda denies being psycho. Kate warns her not to call her a psycho.

Back to the present, When Diane acknowledges knowing of Diane’s condition, Nathan scolds her for letting Claire stay at her house. He asks if she really knows Kate. Diane tells her that she is her sister before walking away.

Vanessa asks her mum (Gabrielle Chan) about her grandmother’s mental health issues. Her mum refuses to discuss it.

Simon goes to the Rose & Crown tattoo parlor to confront Joe (Tom Wilson) about Ava’s tattoo. He threatens to call the police on him for tattooing an underage girl. Joe escorts him around the back where Ava is working.

Zoe shows off a pink headband she purchased for their baby. Vanessa threatens to choke her if it touches their baby’s head. While Zoe is outside, Vanessa breaks down sobbing.

Simon scolds Ava for tattooing herself. Ava describes it as a form of art.

Sam watches a video of Kate being questioned by the police. Kate claims Steve requested her to bring Belinda to him.

Ezekiel Aku (Mandela Mathia) and Kate discuss Bloom portraying her dead bird photo as a murder metaphor. He says her photos show the jury how much she loved Claire. Kate suggests telling the jury about Dokic.

Bloom questions Mr. Bell about Kate’s photo exhibition. Bell tells the jury that he and Kate trust each other. The jury receives a copy of Kate’s photo portfolio. Bloom asks if Kate urged the exhibition to move forward after Claire’s disappearance. He says Kate wanted to cancel. She asks him to tell the jury what “object art means.” He provides a brief explanation describing Kate’s photos as beautifully provocative.

The jurors discuss Kate’s photos. Garry suggests the art will be very valuable if Kate gets an acquittal. Jarrod describes her photos as portraying real life.

Colby asks Bell if he was ever faced with legal issues related to Kate’s photos. Bell tells the court that Kate’s photos are fine art, not “child nudity.” Colby asks what his experiences with Claire were like. Bell says she showed the potential to be a fine artist one day. Colby asks it is possible Kate murdered Claire to benefit her art. Bell tells him the mere mention of it is “pure insanity.”

Jamie Merrick (Hamish Michael) watches Gabby and his children leave the school.

Benji (Mark Paguio) convinces Jarrod to go to the pub instead of working on his essay.

Alexi becomes upset about a news article on the death of Luiz Alves (Will Santana).

Zoe suggests the trial is taking its toll on Vanessa.

Sam watches a video of Dokic swearing he never harmed Belinda. He admits to knowing she was underage.

Kate has a flashback of being with Dokic while developing a photo of Belinda.

 

The Twelve Review

An uneventful episode with drab scenes. The show doesn’t put jurors in a good light. They are portrayed as incompetent, rule breakers, entitled, and troubled. After watching this, I pray to never find myself in a position in which I am judged by my peers.

The wardrobe is inappropriately atrocious. The court should be a place of respect. Shirts that expose the cleavage and stomach are prohibited in court.

Two jurors have sex while another juror discusses the case with friends.

The script appears to have been written by an amateur writer or a child. The cinematography and editing are no better. Camera shots are off by a mile. Viewers can’t see the courtroom TV when evidence appears on the screen.

The show would have been more effective told from the perspective of Kate or Diane and Nathan.

The episode deserves a 5. Get more The Twelve recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.