As the episode begins, we jump back in time. We see Robin Griffin (Elisabeth Moss) vacuuming her room. She looks at hew wedding dress. Then, we see Johnno (Mark Leonard Winter) and a half naked girl running through the woods with dope. Both are arrested seconds later. Robin gets ready for her wedding. She soon finds herself at the jail to be wed to Johnno. Instead of marrying him, she runs off and leaves him locked behind bars. Then, Robin tells her friend that she is going to have to return to work. Her friends burn her wedding dress. Back in the present, Robin and Miranda (Gwendoline Christie) inspect the body. Robin gets hit on by another detective. Then, she meets with Ray (Geoff Morrell) at the morgue.

We learn that the victim was pregnant. The face has been damaged severely making it impossible to identify the Asian female victim. After the examine is over, Ray invites Robin over for barbeque. She tells him that she is all alone. At the office, Robin speaks with Adrian (Clayton Jacobson) in hopes of ditching Miranda. Adrian refuses to allow that to happen. Moments later, Robin learns that Miranda is pregnant. Nevertheless, she continues smoking. The team gathers for an update. It is disclosed that the victim’s identity remains unknown. DNA and fingerprints have been taken to run against their records. They agree that the victim is either Australian or in the country on a fake passport. Robin writes a letter to Mary and her parents later that night.

The following day, Robin begins stalking Mary (Alice Englert). Then, we jump to the nerdy computer club kids. Nothing eventful happens, besides Cinnamon’s boyfriend learning that an Asian girl has been found dead on the beach. He heads to the brothel and tries to visit Cinnamon. Instead, the guy is hooked up with another girl. He approaches the woman in charge and asks about Cinnamon. Then, he is placed in a room with other prostitutes. He learns all about Puss and his mistreatment of the girls. Puss (David Dencik) arrives moments later and learns that the boy is a student in IT. Moments later, Robin and Miranda visit Linda (Michelle Lim Davidson). Linda agrees to help them try and discover the woman’s identity. Robin gets a call and agrees to meet with someone the following day.

Linda is shown a picture of the girl’s face as well. They head to a brothel and begin asking for information. Robin looks in the room where computer guy was. She spots a big panda teddy bear inside, but computer boy is gone. When they return to the office, Robin zooms in on the panda. Otherwise, they get nothing of interest about Cinnamon. Miranda believes it is weird that Linda is wearing legitimate Prada shoes. Robin speaks with Adrian and asks him about the missing panda. He makes an excuse and pretends to have given it to someone else. Then, Robin changes clothes and meets with Julia (Nicole Kidman) and Pyke (Ewen Leslie). She learns about Mary and how the girl has been a total nightmare. Julia makes it clear she blames her for the problems. Then, Robin learns about the couple’s divorce and Julia’s new lesbian lifestyle.

When Robin returns home, she finds her brother outside with Miranda. They go in for dinner. Robin’s brother gives Miranda a meditation session of sorts. Robin gets a call from Robin and agrees to meet her. The meeting happens the following day. They chat about nothing interesting. Robin apologizes for not responding to the letter. Then, they head outside to smoke together. They also take a picture together. Mary agrees to get in touch with Robin later. Later, Robin visits Ray. She learns that the DNA from the baby doesn’t match the victim. The quickly realize that the woman must’ve been a surrogate.

 

Top of the Lake Review

Boy, they’ve really destroyed this series. I was optimistic that it would get better when the body in the suitcase was discovered. It didn’t. In fact, the series hasn’t even made an attempt to improve. The writers have given us a total idiot in Miranda Hilmarson and none of the male characters are any better. It was a desperate attempt to try and make Robin Griffin look superior to everyone else. I hate when shows dumb down everyone just to make a single character looks so intelligent. It is obnoxious.

I am also repulsed by the sexualization for really no good reason. Every time we turn around, the writers are trying to turn Elisabeth Moss into a sex icon. Or, we’re getting cringey cock and balls jokes. I do not care about Nicole Kidman or Robin’s daughter. Stop focusing on this irrelevant drivel. Get on with the investigation and you could potentially save the series. At this point though, I regret it coming back.

Perhaps it would’ve been better as a single season? The second sure hasn’t doing anyone any favors. This far in, Top of the Lake’s second season has been a stark disappointment. The second episode scores a low 4.5 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Top of the Lake now!