As the third episode begins, Nik Katira (Rudi Dharmalingam) has a dream that he is up to his neck in water before having another that he is in bed with Dr. Kareena Wells (Geraldine Hakewill). After the intro, Nik hangs out with Colin or Mr. Invisible (Guy Simon) and tries to get him to skip stones on water. It doesn’t go well and Mr. Invisible isn’t happy that his brother isn’t coming to visit him. Mr. Invisible eventually picks up a pretty rock which they take back and show to Collette (Felicity Ward). He completely ignores Trevor (Harry Greenwood) when he walks past him. Collette wonders what changed Invisible so Nik explains he got him to stop thinking about his brother Tony. She thanks Nik and admits she wishes Tony wouldn’t make promises he can’t keep. Nik tries to show Kareena the video of him getting five skips in a row but Mr. Invisible didn’t record it.

She jokes about having more skips before the awkward conversation ends. Nik finds out that Genevieve (Harriet Dyer) has crashed before Collette reminds him his critical incident review should begin any minute. Nik isn’t interested in going because it’ll be a waste of time. She gives him a good luck charm before he attends the review. He is told that the incident led to a hospital visit and treatment for a displaced humerus and a dislocated shoulder. Then, we see Pete (Sam Simmons) and Trevor give testimony before Nik is asked to break it down into stages. He insists there weren’t stages since everything happened within 30 seconds and Trevor agrees. Collette and Cath (Victoria Haralabidou) testify during the review as well. Linda (Mandy McElhinney) tells them Nik is the best nurse they have but protocol is not his strong suit. Nik insists he is good at protocol when it helps the patient.

Linda tries to place the blame on Nik since he wasn’t there when he was needed the most. Nik says he didn’t use force and instead put himself between a heavy patient and his boss and Linda agrees. She suggests she is the one to blame if there is anyone to blame. She explains Nik has a hero complex and as the nursing unit manager she should’ve seen this coming. Nik says he isn’t irresponsible and only did his job before he is told that they have enough to go on. He learns that Linda has suggested all Ward C staff should do a retraining course in control and restraint. When Nik returns, he is confronted by another patient who wants to know why he hasn’t been released yet. Zelco (Kim Gyngell) argues all they do is push paper around. Trevor finds out Pete’s last name and jokes about it for a bit. Nik returns and tells Collette and Pete that Linda is coming for him but Collette questions that.

Nik says the system is set up to work against them and Collette believes he can change that when he gets the job. Mr. Invisible goes nuts when he loses his rock. Trevor gets upset and tells him to get away from the television. Nik gets Collette and Pete to cover for him while he tries to fix Invisible man’s problem. Nik promises to get another rock before leaving. Next, Cath tells Linda that Tessa (Bessie Holland) hasn’t left her room all day. When Nik passes them, he says he is on a break. As Nik goes outside, he walks to the cliff’s edge and has a flashback of his childhood. Nik dips his hand into the water and looks for a similar rock before pulling one out. As he rushes back to the hospital, he remembers his father carrying out a ceremonial ritual of sorts before crashing to the ground. When he walks inside, Linda tells him it looks like he had quite a break.

Then, he finds Mr. Invisible turning his light on and off. He looks over the rock thoroughly and seems satisfied with it. After that, Nik and Pete join the training session and learn that Collette and Linda are missing. The trainer Jai (Christiaan Van Vuuren) singles out Nik and asks if he thinks it is all a waste of time. He realizes Nik isn’t a fan of the system and tells him to change it before showing him where the door is. Collette walks in on Nik and Jai training. Nik gets upset and slams Jai to the ground forcing him to tap. Nik jumps up, walks outside, and sees Linda smoking a cigarette. In the morning, he confronts her about not showing up yesterday. She tells him he’ll get a call later confirming the CIR has been resolved in his favor. Next, we begin seeing things from Linda’s perspective. She has a date with a man who was a patient in a nuthouse and he argues there isn’t much difference between the staff and patients.

They realize they have a lot in common before Stephan admits he was engaged once. His mom was diagnosed with motor neuron disease so he moved back home. His girlfriend wasn’t cut out for it so she left and his mom held on for 15 years. Linda begins losing interest before claiming she forgot what she was going to say. Collette and Linda talk to a man who tells them about his wife who will only eat ice cream. He explains someone smashed his window and police told him someone thought he was trying to steal their parking spot. Linda tries to explain why she did it. She is told that Petrov is trying to express his feelings. She is asked to repeat what she has heard from Petrov so far. Linda is told to be mindful of what brought them here before we see a flashback of her bashing Petrov’s windshield. Then, we see her with Zara (Tanseem Roc) telling her this can’t go to court but Zara believes it will.

Zara says they can apply for a section 10 which would allow her to plead guilty without a conviction recorded. However, they would need to prove the financial hardship that would result from the conviction. They have to be satisfied that Linda knows the impact of what she has done. They’ll also have to be convinced of her remorse. Linda agrees to give them character references and to find a support person to come with her. Linda goes to work and listens to Collette talk about her antioxidants before asking her to come with her. She tells her about her moment of madness before we return to the meditation session. Petrov does on about doctors not trying to help his wife while Collette sympathizes with him. He claims some kind of animal must’ve done that to his vehicle. Linda insists getting personal isn’t going to help anyone. Petrov goes on with his story and breaks down so the mediator believes it is a good time for a break.

Collette and Linda step outside. They discuss Petrov and him being Maria’s favorite. Linda admits she might be wrong and she just has a hard time trusting people. She wishes more people were like Collette. Linda hopes Maria signs off on this so she doesn’t have to go to court. Otherwise, she doesn’t know what she’ll do. Collette thinks she should mention Beth but Linda argues it isn’t relevant. Linda goes back inside and explains what she does and how she was under a lot of pressure on the day of the incident. She admits she saw red when Petrov accidentally took her disabled spot but she should’ve never acted like that. Collette speaks up and tells them about Linda’s disabled daughter who has spina bifida. Linda insists Beth isn’t a part of this but Collette isn’t sure. Petrov follows her out and gives her a handkerchief before asking her if the girl liked the cake.

Linda admits she didn’t mean to make things worse for him before Maria says they’ve come a long way today. Before they leave, Maria reminds Linda that she’ll have a payment plan to fix Petrov’s vehicle. Collette promises to never tell anyone about this. She says they can still make the retraining session but Linda would rather get a coffee. Once they return, Linda smokes outside and sees Nik on the balcony. Later, Linda goes to a casino and plays the slot machines. Then, we see a young Nik watching his mother get a ring from his father. Back in the present, Nik looks through old photos and finds one of himself with Kareena. Renuka (Monica Kumar) pays him a visit and they talk about the critical incident thing and Nik’s father thinking he is a loser. He admits he hasn’t found the ring he has been looking for yet.

She thinks it’ll be good luck and it is the only thing they have left from India. We see a flashback of a flood before Nik returns to reality and says it isn’t the only thing. He looks at a picture of his family when he was younger. He wonders if his family will ever feel right or whole again. He gets a call from Pete and rushes to the hospital where he finds Raff (Ryan Corr) trying to stop Genevieve from smashing her head against the wall. Tessa is going nuts as well. Nik finds out that Gene is starting to remember everything she did. She gets upset and blames Raff for not stopping her but Nik thinks she should cut herself some slack since she wasn’t well. Raff admits he is staying with her because he loves her. She goes off on him and calls him pathetic.

Nik has to stop her from slapping Raff before she says she can’t stand this anymore. He promises that they’re going to help her. Raff and Nik step into another room Raff says she does and says things she doesn’t mean. Nik has a flashback because Raff’s leg shakes uncontrollably. He remembers his mother trying to get him to stop tap dancing. She beats him until his father gets involved and stops her. Next, Kareena and Nik sit with Gene and Raff while Dr. Wells suggests shock therapy. She wants to give her the best medication and Nik says ECT is the best treatment they have. Raff says no but Genevieve admits she didn’t say no. She knows nothing about it but Dr. Wells believes it is the fastest way to make her feel better. Later, Nik finds Dr. Wells trying to have dinner and he admits there is something he wants to ask her. He asks if she has his mom’s ring but she doesn’t.

She agrees to look for it since Ren wants to use her as her wedding ring. When Nik asks, she admits their relationship wasn’t all bad. Next, there is a musical with Nik and Dr. Wells. After that ends, Genevieve goes for her treatment. When it is over, Nik tells Raff that the treatment went well. Next, Zelco tries to find his way out of the hospital. He tells Nik they need more signs before he gets directions and goes the wrong way. When Nik goes home, he frames the photo of his family and puts it on a stand. Dr. Wells looks through her belongings. Nik does the same while we see the couple spending time together in the past. In another flashback, we watch as Nik puts the ring on Kareena’s finger. Kareena opens the ring case and the episode immediately ends.

 

Wakefield Review

Overall, Wakefield has been moderately entertaining but a bit frustrating at times. The hospital scenes where Nik is working with his patients are the best. They are the heart and soul of this show so I wish they would focus on this more frequently. I am not sure we need to view things from multiple perspectives since I don’t think Linda’s story is paramount to the bigger story.

I could be wrong and some may like her side of the story more but I feel Nik’s work and his mental health drive the show. It feels like the story is slightly disjointed at times since encounters with the patients come and go. As an example, Mr. Invisible started as an important character in this episode but that was all forgotten midway through.

I would like to see more follow through with all of these characters, including Tessa, Trevor, and the others. Still, Wakefield is different and I’ve been able to overlook these minor hiccups so far. The 3rd episode was mostly entertaining so I’d give it a 7 out of 10. Previous and future recaps of Wakefield can be found on Reel Mockery here.