The show begins with Claire Spears (Coco Jack Gillies) and Nathan Spears (Matt Nable) signing Claire Spears (Coco Jack Gillies) out of school. Nathan tells house mistress, Fiona West (Danielle King) that Claire is not to be late when she returns to school after the weekend. He confiscates Claire’s phone before they leave the school.

Garry Thorne (Brendan Cowell) quietly feeds his dogs that were previously stolen.

Georgina Merrick (Brooke Satchwell) feeds her children, Oscar Merrick (Gilbert Bradman), Marcus Merrick (Alastair Bradman), and Alice Merrick (Victoria Brandman). Simon Cavanaugh (Nicholas Cassim) drops Ava Cavanaugh (Olivia Allen) off to take care of the kids for the day. Jamie Merrick (Hamish Michael) isn’t happy to see Simon.

Jarrod Saunders (Ngali Shaw) voices his frustration with the university’s delayed appeal process.

Lucy Bloom (Marta Dusseldorp) asks Blake Skerrett (Alex Fitzalan) to explain to the jury his relationship with Claire. Blake says they were together for over six months after meeting at a local café. Bloom asks if he is enrolled in the university. He tells the jury that he is a university student and part-time casino worker. Bloom asks when he last saw Claire. He claims to have last spoken to Claire on the weekend before her disappearance. Bloom asks how Kate Lawson (Kate Mulvany) felt about their relationship. He says Claire told him that Kate was possessive of her.

Marcus walks in on Ava and Joe (Tom Wilson) making out. Ava sends Georgina a photo of her children dressed in costumes. Farrad Jassim (Hazem Shammas) assumes Bloom was trying to show the jury that Blake’s parents would know if Claire and Blake were together. Trevor Morros (Warren Lee) reminds him of what Blake said about having his own apartment. Margaret Brown (Gennie Nevinson) suggests he wasn’t earning enough money to pay rent.

Colby asks Blake if he and Claire continued to talk after their breakup. Blake tells the jury that Claire would text him. Colby asks him to explain their last conversation to the jury. He claims Claire voiced concern about going crazy like Diane Spears (Jenni Baird). Colby says Claire was 14 and Blake 19 when they dated before asking if Kate not wanting them to date was reasonable. Colby asks if his parents were aware he supplied an underage Claire with drugs and alcohol. He denies his parents were aware of Claire. Colby asks if he rented an apartment around the time Claire went missing.

Ava draws a tattoo on Alice’s arm when she starts screaming. Bloom asks Fiona who was authorized to sign Claire out. Alice flinches in pain as Joe tries to wipe off the tattoo ink. She tells the jury that Diane, Kate, and Nathan were on Claire’s guardian list. Bloom asks if Claire’s return to school was delayed when she stayed with Kate. She says yes before she admits to altering the school records to keep Nathan from finding out.

Simon informs Georgina that Ava is calling. Lily Powell (Bishanyia Vincent) tells the other jurors that she would consider running away to Brisbane if Blake was her boyfriend. Jarrad reminds her that he was dating an underage girl.

Diane receives a voicemail from a girl claiming Blake is lying. She plays the voicemail for Jenny Raison (Amy Kersey), detective Sam Chedid (Louisa Mignone), and Ezekiel Aku (Mandela Mathia). She assures them it is Claire’s voice.

Bloom says fake phone calls are common during murder trials. Judge Muir (James Lugton) dismisses court to allow the police to investigate the call.

Simon informs Georgina that Ava has Alice in the emergency room. When he tells her that Jamie is aware already, she anxiously says they need to go now.

Sam tells Diane and Nathan that the police traced the call to a Brisbane payphone. Nathan tells her it isn’t Claire. Diane asks if he can identify his daughter’s voice. He says she is delusional. Sam points out that he seems convinced before asking if he’s withholding information from the police. He denies the allegations.

Diane rushes into the hospital to find Alice setting up in the bed. Alice tells her it was really painful as Jamie enters the room.

Sam and detective Owens (Alex Rowe) watch CCTV footage of the Claire lookalike (Sasha Kendall) entering the public telephone booth. Someone wearing a shirt bearing the logo of the university that Blake attends walks past. Sam orders CCTV footage within 5 kilometers of the phone booth.

Vanessa Young (Catherine Van-Davies) and her mum (Gabrielle Chan) work out when she breaks down. She tells her that she has always been a “drama queen.”

Jarrad asks Hope Saunders (Ursula Yovich) for money. She denies his request before suggesting he come back home to help her.

Zoe (Sheridan Harbridge) listens to Vanessa vent about being anxious.

Simon asks Ava what Joe was doing at Diane’s while she was babysitting. She assures him Joe is a good person. He demands she stop seeing him. He apologizes to Jamie for what happened. Jamie tells him that no one knew Alice was allergic to ink. Simon admits to feeling guilty about it. Jamie says Ava can no longer babysit for his kids. Georgina reaches over to touch his arm when he pulls it back.

Sam shows Blake a photo of Claire’s lookalike. Blake admits to knowing her. When Sam informs Nathan and Diane that the girl isn’t Claire, Nathan says, “Of course, it’s not.” Sam claims the girl took the message from Claire’s social media footage.

While Jamie packs Georgina’s suitcase, he threatens to report her to the authorities. She gets irate when he orders her to leave. He records her reaction.

Bloom asks Fiona if she and Kate are friends. Fiona tells the court that she met Kate when she was 17. In a flashback, young Fiona West (Julia Pierrette) visits young Kate Lawson (Jade Potts) in her room. She leans over to look at Kate’s art when she kisses her.

Simon suggests Fiona is in love with Kate. When he refers to her as a “frustrated lesbian,” Vanessa suggests he is being homophobic. Garry assures her that the jurors are on the same team. She curses at Simon when the Court Sheriff (Lee Robinson) informs them that court has been adjourned.

Georgina tells Garry that she is contemplating removing herself from the jury. Simon approaches to compliment Jamie for not blaming Ava for Alice’s health scare. After Simon leaves, she informs Garry of Jamie’s decision to kick her out before breaking down. He invites her to stay at his house.

Corrie D’Souza (Pallavi Sharda) discusses her decision to sell her house with Alexi Menelaus’ (Damien Strouthos). She gives him a tour. While explaining what happened to her parents, she has a flashback of tiptoeing through the hallway. Corrie’s mother (Gowri Karuppiah) and Corrie’s father (Gaurav Patni) is covered in blood on the floor. Back to the present, he informs her of what happened to Luiz Alves (Will Santana).

Colby asks Fiona if she ever saw Nathan get physical with Claire. She describes him as having a “short fuse.” In a flashback, Claire stomps past Fiona going to her room. She asks Kate what happened because Claire left with Nathan. Kate diverts her attention by complimenting her shirt. Kate rejects her offer for dinner before asking if she can still sign Claire in. Back to the present, Fiona tells the jury that Nathan informed Claire that he and Sonia Spears (Silvia Colloca) were pregnant. Colby asks if Nathan had gotten physical with Claire. She claims Claire discovered Nathan and Claire were having an affair. Diane stares at Kate in shock.

Kate admits to having an affair with Nathan while he and Diane were married. Ezekiel suggests Nathan will be recalled to testify before warning her of how she will appear to the jury. She assures them that Diane would’ve lost it if she told her. Ezekiel reminds her that Diane is now aware of their affair. Colby asks how Claire discovered the affair. She claims Nathan told her. He suggests it could’ve been a motive for Nathan to murder Claire. She admits Claire ran away on the night she disappeared.

Nathan denies having an affair with Kate. Sonia tells him there is no reason for Claire to lie. In a flashback, Nathan is lacing his shoes with Kate lying beside him. He asks if her photos of Claire are being utilized to manipulate him. She asks if it is working. As he walks to his car, Kate approaches with his wallet. Claire watches Kate sensually hand him the wallet as the episode comes to an end.

 

The Twelve Review

I think they forget this is a work of fiction. A graphic content warning needs to be at the beginning of each episode.

Fiona has an intimate relationship with 17-year-old Kate while 19-year-old Blake dated Claire when she was 14. While Australia’s age of consent is 16 or 17, the show eludes to Kate and Claire being victims of child sexual abuse. The table is turned as Kate is portrayed as the abuser.

The show feels a bit morbid as every character is doomed. Simon is a paranoid parent who over-disciplines Ava, Georgina is a victim of spousal abuse, Vanessa has mental health issues that plague Zoe, Margaret’s living environment is unsatisfactory, and Garry is drowning in gambling debt. Jarrad, Peter, Farrad, Corrie, and Alexi are far from having a stellar life.

As anticipated, Kate and Nathan were having an affair. Claire picked up on it when she saw Kate flirting with Nathan. Kate’s confession of Claire running away was left unexplained.

They are trying to shock viewers, instead winning them over. It is difficult to sympathize with any of the characters other than the children.

The episode deserves a 6.8. Get more The Twelve recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link.