The show begins with Nathan Spears (Matt Nable) having a flashback of Sonia Spears (Silvia Colloca) telling Claire Spears (Coco Jack Gillies) about her pregnancy. Claire reminds him of how he dodged a second pregnancy for years until now. Nathan orders her to shut up while splashing her with wine. She tells him that he makes her sick before leaving the table.

Back to the present, Nathan tells Sonia that he is the defense’s only help in getting reasonable doubt. She reminds him that Kate Lawson (Kate Mulvany) is on trial, not him.

Alice Merrick (Victoria Bradman) tells Georgina Merrick (Brooke Satchwell) that she is no longer in love with her father, Jamie Merrick (Hamish Michael). Georgina denies the allegations. Jamie reminds her of what he said about Gabby (Rhondda Findleton) picking up Alice, Oscar Merrick (Gilbert Bradman), and Marcus Merrick (Alastair Bradman) after school.

Alexi Menelaus (Damien Strouthos) speaks to someone on the phone about his father’s death.

Lucy Bloom (Marta Dusseldorp) asks Nathan about his marriage to Diane Lawson (Jenni Baird). He tells the jury the marriage was good until infidelity on his part. Bloom asks about his relationship with Claire. He refers to Claire as everyone he could’ve hoped for in a daughter until Kate influenced her. He has a flashback of finding a stuffed bear he’d previously gifted Claire with her red school uniform tie around its neck. Claire is nowhere to be seen. Kate meets him in the driveway to say Claire’s in bed. He asks if Claire told her why she ran away. Kate warns Diane will be distraught when she finds out. He suggests not telling her. He and Claire discuss her photos of Claire. She sensually touches his hand when he accepts a glass of wine.

Back to the present – Nathan explains how he believes Kate’s photos are a form of therapy for someone troubled. Brett Colby (Sam Neill) objects to his comment. Judge Muir (James Lugton) orders Nathan to stay on topic. Nathan tells the jury that Kate was manipulating Claire with her art. Bloom asks what he did to protect Claire. When he claims to have begged Diane to stop Kate from grooming Claire, Kate calls him a “fu**ing liar.” Bloom smirks while some of the jurors laugh.

Sonia asks Diane how a mother could put their daughter in the care of someone like Kate. Diane sarcastically tells her that she will never know when Sonia rubs her stomach.

Vanessa Young (Catherine Van-Davies) and Zoe (Sheridan Harbridge) meet with the doctor (Joanna Briant) to discuss a sperm donor.

Garry Thorne (Brendan Cowell) confronts Margaret Brown (Gennie Nevinson) about her nasal sounds. While mimicking the noise, Garry tells her it is distracting. She suggests he worry about himself, not her.

Nathan refuses to look at Claire’s dance video. Bloom asks when the video came to his attention. He tells her that he saw it on Instagram. In a flashback, Sonia is experiencing abdominal cramps when he shows her the video. He tells her it is important that he address it. She tells him that the video isn’t all that bad. He points out that Claire is taking shots of vodka before heading out the door.

Back to the present, Bloom asks when he last saw Claire. He tells the jury that it was he met with her at Kate’s house. Bloom asks if he thought Claire was in danger. He admits to being concerned about Claire being under Kate’s spell. Bloom asks if Claire agreed to go home with him. He says Claire told him that she’d promised to help Kate prepare for her upcoming art exhibition. In a flashback, Nathan is irate when he demands to know what Kate told Claire. Kate denies saying anything to her. Corrie D’Souza (Pallavi Sharda) jots down “Check the wife” on paper before slipping it to Jarrod Saunders (Ngali Shaw). He looks over at Sonia who repeatedly rubs her stomach.

Jamie and Georgina have their children at the pool when they spot Gabby. He demands to know if she talked to Gabby about them going to the pool. She admits to telling several of her co-workers. After he confronts Gabby about her decision to come to the pool, Georgina invites her to the café. Jamie sarcastically tells Gabby that Georgina is good at “blowj**s.”

Alexi informs Flip Menelaus (Ben Mingay) of his plan to give Luiz  Alves’s (Will Santana) family some money. Flip tells him that Luiz chose to not wear a harness when scaffolding. Alexi reminds him of how they turned their back on him to protect their business. Flip suggests they worry about their own family.

Jarrod meets Bryce (Yalin Ozucelik) to inquire about his scholarship being suspended. He tells Bryce that the police arrested him for a crime he didn’t commit. When Bryce promises to conduct an investigation, Jarrod picks up a document while knocking over a cup. Jarrod asks if he is worried he will hit him. Bryce asks him to leave.

Vanessa, Zoe, Adam (Matthew Backer), and Jay (Johnson Chong) discuss being parents and raising a child. Jay asks if his name will be on the birth certificate. Zoe admits she is okay with not being on it. Vanessa reminds them that she is the one who will give birth and have the final decision. Jay and Adam aren’t happy when they leave.

Colby asks Nathan about Kate returning Claire to the boarding house after he signed her out. Nathan tells the jury that Claire had his permission to go to Kate’s house because Sonia was sick. Colby asks what he told police when they spoke with him the first time. He tells the court that he told the police that Claire was probably killed by Kate. Colby questions how he instantly assumed Claire was dead even though she had a history of running away. Colby asks him to tell the court who Daisy Curtis is and why she has TikTok and Instagram accounts. Nathan admits it was he who made the accounts utilizing another girl’s photos to befriend Claire. Colby asks if he ever got physical with Claire. Nathan says no more than any parent who loves their daughter.

Simon Cavanaugh (Nicholas Cassim) tells Garry that he understands Nathan’s an overprotective father. Garry describes his posing as a young girl as “creepy.” Simon explains to the others how he stresses to his daughter why not post bikini videos online. Mai (Gabrielle Chan) tells him it is their privacy. He assures her if she had children she would do the same thing. She warns there is a  risk of losing their trust forever. Vanessa tells the others that Nathan shows signs of being “unhinged.” Farrad Jassim (Hazem Shammas) says their statements are “reasonable doubt that warrants an acquittal.

Margaret and Peter Brodsky (Daniel Mitchell) have lunch on a park bench.

Colby asks what happened last night after he dragged Claire to his vehicle. Nathan tells the jury that he visited a nearby cinema to calm his nerves. Colby asks if he has a habit of saving the ticket stubs before asking about his friend’s boat. Nathan says the boat is at the Middle Harbour Marina. Colby asks if he drove the boat to a jetty in proximity to Kate’s house and returned home several hours later. Nathan denies seeing Claire after leaving Kate’s. Colby asks where he put his daughter’s body. Raising his voice, he accuses Kate of murdering Claire.

Corrie walks upon Alexi while he’s talking about Luiz’s wife Carla. After a short conversation, Alexi and Corrie end up in the restroom making out.

Jenny Raison (Amy Kersey) invites Bloom out for a drink when Farrad pulls up. She gets in his vehicle before he drives away. She warns his actions could result in a mistrial. He assures her the jury act has no mention of incidental contact. She asks if he actually read the jury act. He tells her that he is a former lawyer.

Zoe confronts Vanessa about her trying to sabotage Jay and Adam. When Vanessa blames her behavior on the trial, Zoe says it is a habit of hers to deflect. Zoe warns not to repeat the same mistake again.

Jarrod and Professor Lowanna Porter (Rhoda Roberts) his essay believed to have been plagiarized. She denies having anything to do with it. He suggests it could be the “pin-pushing administration.” She tells him to go through the school’s appeal before explaining the plagiarism process. He pleads with her to help him get it straightened up. He blames it on the trial.

Georgina plays around with her children before entering the house. Jamie asks Alice who picked her and her brothers up at school. Georgina says Gabby because she would be too late getting there. He asks her to get dinner started. When she asks if he would start setting the table, he slings the TV remote across the room. Alice and Georgina briefly discuss Kate’s guilt. Jamie tosses his frozen dinner in the trash bin before giving the kids ice cream.

Sonia is looking at her work when Nathan offers to give her a massage. She refuses before reminding him that Claire went missing from their house. He tells her it was the only way to avoid a broad explanation. She demands to know what else he’s lying about. He denies lying about anything. She asks if he went to the theater and watched a movie as he walks away.

In a flashback, Nathan emerges from the theater. After getting inside his car, he hits the steering wheel and curses. He arrives at the marina as the episode comes to an end.

 

The Twelve Review

One of the better episodes since it focused more on the trial and less on the jurors. While I find the jurors’ lives interesting, they fail in comparison to Colby’s questioning. I could watch Sam Neill “Peaky Blinders” and “Tutankhamun” and Matt Nable “Barracuda” and “Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms” perform every day of the week. If I’m not mistaken, this is the first time these two extraordinary actors have performed on the same stage.

We now know Nathan is keeping a lot of secrets. His actions on the night Claire went missing are questionable. I would assume this is the writer’s way of trying to deter our focus from the real killer. If I had to guess, I would think Sonia had something to do with it. After all, she chose to remain quiet about Claire being at their house when she disappeared. It also wouldn’t surprise me if Claire reemerged in the finale, but anything could happen at this point.

What is up with Bloom and Farrad’s relationship?

The cinematography and editing are subpar. The acting is sometimes overplayed, but overall decent.

I really enjoyed the episode, hope the remainder follows the same layout. The episode deserves a 6.5. Get more The Twelve recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.