As the first episode of Wakefield begins, we see a man walking near a waterfall and a young boy tap dancing. Nik Katira (Rudi Dharmalingam) walks to the edge of the cliff and sees a butterfly in the distance before looking down. After a brief intro, James (Dan Wyllie) talks to someone on the phone about the financial markets. He claims he is trying to maximize an asset in a fluid and dynamic market. When the call ends, James walks past two men arguing because one of them thinks they’re invisible. Nik tells everyone that the bar is open so James walks over and gets his medication. Nik asks for his phone but James isn’t sure it’ll work if he has to give up his phone. James gives up his phone and says he is on the verge of finalizing a business deal but can’t do it in a place like this. Trevor (Harry Greenwood) gets angry and attacks another man with his guitar.

James follows them outside. He approaches Nik and says he is one Skype meeting away from landing a huge investment. Nik finds out that James wants access to his computer. Trevor tells Nik that he is getting day leave to guest coach his nephew’s game, but Nik can’t join him since he has tickets to a concert. He returns to James who asks for a laptop and an office with a bit of privacy. Nik recommends talking to Linda Crowley (Mandy McElhinney) and James intends to do that immediately. She says all of their offices are in use so James says it can be any room. Linda isn’t sure she can help. He says he is responsible for many, many people and needs to secure the business deal to do it. Linda tells James she didn’t see his name on a lot of the lists for group attendance. She urges him to give mindfulness and depression meditation a chance. James tries to negotiate by offering to go to the group meetings if she gives him a room, but Linda says she’ll see what is possible when he starts attending groups.

He attends his first meeting with Trevor and some of the other patients immediately. Then, he approaches Linda who is busy talking to Nik about one of the other staff members quitting. He is ready for the room, but she informs him that one activity isn’t going to cut it. Later, another staff member checks on Trevor and James to make sure they haven’t topped themselves yet. He steps into the hallway and tries to get Nik to give him a room since Linda is a human handbrake. Nik tells him to come and see him in the morning. Sure enough, Nik agrees to help James in the morning. Trevor gets upset that James is going to give him a storage closet so James offers to give him access to his computer for keeping it quiet. Trevor agrees as long as he gets 15 minutes with the door locked and no interruptions. During James’s meeting, he is interrupted by his son Teddy. When asked what he is doing in a psych ward, James says he is trying to have some time out.

He blames his son’s mother and says it is the only way she’ll know for sure that he’ll get some rest. James denies trying to kill himself but Ted says he heard his mother tell Nan that he did. Ted asks whether he overdosed and what drugs he was doing. James says a doctor gave him some prescription drugs and he mixed them up a bit but promises it was an accident. James says his mom wants him to do three weeks or else, but he is going to do one week max. Teddy encourages him to stay the full three weeks so James agrees to do so. When his son leaves, James tries to return to the virtual meeting and Trevor wants his computer access. Trevor goes on and on until James gets upset and smashes his computer against the wall. His son watches it as Trevor calls him a psycho. We hear sirens and see a flashback of James’s overdose and paramedics working on him.

Later that night, James approaches Nik again to ask for another meeting and says he can use his phone. James reminds him that he came on the condition that he could stay in contact with his partners. James doesn’t think he is like the others in here but Nik wonders why he is here then. James asks why his balls are in Linda’s handbag since he is the go-to man here. He goes on to say they’re the same since they are ambitious and want success. He claims the only difference is that he isn’t letting anyone get in his way. Nik knows James is all about deals so he offers him one. He agrees to get him what he needs as long as James helps Tessa Knight (Bessie Holland) with her puzzle. James agrees, they shake on it, and he immediately introduces himself to Tessa.

They chat briefly before James gets another meeting with his partners. They want him to be there Friday since they’ve worked too hard not to lock it down in person. James agrees and says the clubs of Soho await. Next, we see Ivy (Megan Smart) push a stroller around outside while James watches her through the window. She goes inside the hospital and gives flowers to the workers. They’re glad she is doing so much better. Later, Nik finds her taking care of the baby and suggests giving her a bath. Kareena drops her papers in the hallway. Nik looks at her but doesn’t help and says nothing when she walks by. He urges Ivy to give her baby a bath again. Nik walks in on her giving the baby a bath and Ivy seems frightened. She gets water in the baby’s eyes and freaks out before pleading with Nik to take the baby. He cares for the baby while Ivy rushes back to her room.

Cath (Victoria Haralabidou) approaches her and admits it might not be a good idea for Ivy to leave yet. Nik joins them and learns that Ivy is having anxiety issues. Cath says she is cataloging her problems in alphabetical order. When Cath leaves, Nik tries to convince Ivy that everything is okay and she only panicked. He looks at the picture of Grace and notices she is wearing tap shoes. He tells Ivy that he learned to tap dance as a kid although his dad didn’t like it. Nik returns to the others and he gets a song stuck in his head. Ivy gets up in the middle of the night and seems distraught. The worker offers her meds but says he doesn’t have time for a conversation. The baby begins crying so she rushes back to her room. Ivy covers her head in hopes of ignoring the baby. She breaks free and runs away from the ward before Nik finds her.

She claims she hates the baby and is allergic to her, but Nik thinks she can’t handle the baby’s crying. Nik tries to find out what is really going on. She admits it happened when she went to get flowers. She imagined a woman approaching her and asking for a smoke or change before slashing her arm with a knife. In a flashback, we see that the woman didn’t slash her at all so Nik wonders if Ivy wishes she had. Nik says everyone has scary thoughts but you can’t let them control you and she didn’t. Despite the encounter, she still got the flowers and brought them back to everyone. He believes that is a sign that Ivy is getting better. Next, Ivy watches as Nik lets James use the closet for an office. Then, she tells Nik that Cath is right and she isn’t ready to leave, but Nik refutes that. He reminds her that she couldn’t even touch Saskia when she first arrived. Now, she has been caring for the baby on her own.

Ivy isn’t sure she can be normal but Nik isn’t sure what normal is. She isn’t sure she can work a job, take care of her house, and watch the baby. Nik says she was really sick but she is getting better. Nik approaches Dr. Kareena Wells (Geraldine Hakewill) and says Ivy is ready to leave. He thinks her recovery should continue at home, but Kareena is reluctant to take that risk. He asks if she is going to do this every time she loses a patient but Kareena reminds him she is the doctor and it is her call. He encourages her not to make the wrong call before telling her happy birthday. Nik approaches Ivy and gives her a moon boot because it is a wound people can see. He wants her to wear it to take Saskia to the shops and imagine the boot is the part of her that still feels broken. Although she thinks he is mad, she goes out wearing the boot and gets help from a stranger.

When she returns, Nik realizes things went better. She goes to her room and holds her baby while Nik calls Jake to tell him that Ivy is going to be discharged as planned. Ivy tells herself she can do this and Nik agrees before she leaves the hospital. Later, Nik goes to the train station and watches Ivy push her stroller in front of the train. Next, we begin to see things from Linda’s perspective. Nik approaches her and asks why he is working Wednesday since he has concert tickets. She claims she spent hours trying to accommodate his concert. She tries to calm him down before admitting that Jacinta resigned this morning without notice so she can’t cover the shift. James tries to get the room from her but she tells him one activity won’t do it. Linda cares for her favorite patient but another worker talks to her about not hugging Ivy.

Collette (Felicity Ward) says people who care for a loved one with a disability often have this problem. Linda says she doesn’t have a problem and she doesn’t like flowers because they die. Collette tells her that carers need care too before inviting her to the nude workshop again. Linda isn’t interested though. Linda gets an email informing her there is a job opening for a nursing unit manager. She doesn’t understand since she has only been on the job for six months. She is told she was only temp but she says she has hit all of her performance levels. Linda isn’t sure they needed to advertise the position although it is protocol. She admits it is stressful with everything going on at home. Linda says she needs the extra money for her loved one’s care. She is told there is a good chance that she’ll get the position permanently. Meanwhile, Collette and another staffer encourage Nik to apply for Linda’s job. Nik isn’t interested.

Later that night, Nik sells his U2 tickets online. His colleague tries to get him to oust Linda or not complain when she changes the roster and he can’t go to the concert. Tessa interrupts and asks for Valium. She is sent away with nothing. Meanwhile, Linda looks through the staff records at home and learns it is Kareena’s birthday soon. When she goes out, she tries to get a parking spot but a man steals it from her. She parks directly behind his car and gets what she needs. When she returns, she finds a ticket on her windshield. She gets angry and grabs the crowbar from her trunk before taking it to the man’s vehicle. When she makes it to work, she says she brought something to celebrate Kareena’s birthday. She also tells Nik she juggled things at home so she can do his shift, but he has already sold his concert tickets. She interrupts Kareena and tells her there is cake, but Kareena says she won’t have time. Trevor asks why he doesn’t have a hot doctor like Dr. Wells.

Collette goes against Linda’s wishes and gives her a big hug. She begins serving the cake while Trevor argues with Mr. Invisible (Guy Simon) because he isn’t really invisible. Ivy returns, Nik realizes it went well, and they high five. Linda notices and seems upset that she isn’t a part of it. Then, they learn that Zelco has called the cops again. When the police step inside, they say they’re there to talk to Linda Crowley. She sends Pete (Sam Simmons) away by telling him that Omar (Richie Miller) spit out his medicine. They confirm she owns the Lancer before they take her to the station and show her the security footage. Finally, we begin to see things from Nik’s perspective. He gives the baby a bath before admitting he is going to have that tune stuck in his head forever. Later that night, he finds the baby alone and goes outside to hunt for Ivy.

We see flashbacks of Nik tap dancing while he searches for Ivy. Nik finds her before we see him with a partner in nature. He says they’re nothing in the scheme of everything. Then, he steps back inside the hospital and Collette gives him advice for getting over the song he can’t shake. Linda joins them and says she brought something for Kareena’s birthday. When Nik goes home, he takes Collette’s advice and sings a song at the top of his lungs before a friend comes over and complains about him not answering her text messages. She knows about Kareena working at the hospital and thinks that is weird since he was engaged to her. Nik doesn’t think so and offers her some food. Nadia (Amali Golden) tells him that none of Kiran’s mates have heard from him. She asks if he has forgotten that he is the best man. Nik says he’ll do it but he doesn’t need her to micromanage him. She suggests otherwise and gives him a list of duties. Then, she gives him the moon boot.

Nik takes the boot to Ivy. Later that night, he talks to Pete about Tessa wasting her time on puzzles since she doesn’t have sleeping medications. Next, Nik surprises Omar with breakfast. Omar seems lifeless so Nik moves his arm around while we see flashbacks of tap dancing sessions. Nik approaches Rohan (Pacharo Mzembe) and gives him Trevor’s leave form to sign, but Rohan wants to talk to Dr. Wells about it first. Nik warns him that Trevor will be extremely upset if his leave gets canceled. Before long, Trevor finds out and begins trashing the place. Nik enters with a ball and tosses it to Trevor while trying to calm him down. Trevor complains that they took his leave away and he promised Seanie he’d him with his training. He knows kids don’t forget and Seanie will be ticked off at him for breaking his promise. When Trevor breaks down, Nik comforts him and Linda tells the others to clean up. Once things are calm, Linda tells Nik he did well. He says he wouldn’t need to do it if Rohan didn’t drop a bomb on them and leave before it exploded.

Linda agrees and says she’ll talk to him about it. She also says well done for getting Ivy out before leaving. Collette gives Nik the application and encourages him to fill it out. Nik does and submits it a few moments later. Next, he sees Ivy at the train station with the stroller. As the train approaches, she pushes the stroller in front of it, and time stops. Both begin singing and tap dancing. When he comes back to reality, he realizes it wasn’t Ivy after all. He gets on the train and remembers saying everyone has scary thoughts but you can’t let them control you. We see him on the cliff’s edge before the episode ends.

 

Wakefield Review

Although this is the first episode, Wakefield feels like wasted potential. The cast is brilliant and the story seems like it could be captivating. However, I feel like poor Tessa trying to assemble the puzzle while dealing with a bout of insomnia. All of the characters have interesting, relatable, authentic stories, but the show is trying entirely too hard to be artsy and unique.

Personally, I’d watch anything with Dan Wyllie but I nearly forgot he was in this episode since his storyline was completely lost in the rubble before all was said and done. Plus, I can’t help but wonder why they felt the musical scene was a necessity. What did that achieve that couldn’t have been achieved in simpler, less cringey ways?

The opening episode was decent. In fact, it was better than many of the other television shows I’ve been watching right now, but I’d lie if I said I wasn’t disappointed and frustrated at points. The constant time warps were unnecessary and turned the story into a kaleidoscope. I am thoroughly disappointed that they felt the need to do this, but I am more disappointed that someone confidently thought this would be a good idea.

The episode was 50 minutes and 10 or 20 minutes were scenes being redone from different perspectives which really wasn’t necessary. I’ll stick with it because I am already interested in seeing what happens to the characters. I just hope these irregularities don’t ruin it for me. The opening episode scores a 7 out of 10. Future recaps of Wakefield will be available on Reel Mockery here.