At the beginning of the episode, Nik Katira (Rudi Dharmalingam) rushes to the top of the mountain while we see flashbacks of him tap dancing as a young boy. As Nik gets closer to the peak of the mountain, he sees himself as a young boy. The little boy walks behind the cliff and a butterfly flies out instead. After the intro, we step into the perspective of Trevor (Harry Greenwood) as he plays football with Sean. Muzz (Adam Bowes) walks by Kelli (Sara West) and Trevor notices him. Kelli says they’re getting ready to eat but Trevor decides to leave with Muzz. Trevor and Muzz hang out all night and Trevor is frightened by the things he sees. We jump forward just in time to watch Nik and Pete (Sam Simmons) enter Trevor’s room and asks if he brought a lighter in. They think it was Trevor because it usually is, but he denies it.
When Pete leaves, Nik sits with Trevor who complains that his brain is messed up and chemically unbalanced. Nik asks if Trevor brought in a lighter because Tessa burned herself with it. Again, Trevor insists he didn’t. Nik doesn’t believe him so he threatens to search everybody’s rooms unless Trevor shows him where it is. Trevor quickly relents and gives him the lighter. He immediately goes to Tessa (Bessie Holland) and curses her for getting him into trouble before Collette (Felicity Ward) tries to calm him down. Nik takes Trevor back to his room and reveals they’re contemplating a ward change for him but Trevor doesn’t want that. He is worried security is going to come in and tackle him. Nik reminds him that his psychosis was triggered by meth use before encouraging him to start making better choices. Trevor knows he can’t be doing drugs because they mess with his head. He pleads with Nik not to move him to a different ward.
Nik agrees to talk to Dr. Kareena Wells (Geraldine Hakewill) about keeping him there before insisting he has a sister and nephew who care about him. Later, Trevor notices the burn on Tessa’s arm while looking at the aquarium. He approaches her and admits he thought she wanted a smoke but she says nothing. Then, he decides to hang out with Mr. Invisible (Guy Simon). When he walks by Nik, he asks where the sign-out book is because he needs to go to the gym. However, he finds out that his category has changed so he won’t get to go. Nik recommends using the hospital’s gym but Trevor doesn’t want to do that. He tells Colin or Mr. Invisible to go to music therapy before informing Trevor he can’t go out without supervision and nobody has time to take him. Nik admits he has to go out to buy a shirt on his lunch break so Trevor tries to tag along.
They go to the store and Trevor tries to help Nik find a shirt. While Nik tries on a shirt, Trevor talks to the clerk and confirms they’re from Wakefield. He insists Nik is harmless though. They talk about tattoos and share Trevor’s chips. When they leave, Trevor celebrates his new relationship and tells Nik she is hot. He also makes sure Nik knows the extra gift, aftershave, in the bag belongs to him since the clerk gave it to him. Trevor admits he asked her out and she said yes but Nik isn’t sure how that is going to work since Trevor can’t leave Wakefield on his own. Trevor doesn’t like hearing that he can’t go. When they return to the hospital, he hounds Nik in hopes of getting him to change his mind. Cath (Victoria Haralabidou) tries to change the television channel while Trevor harasses Nik. Trevor reminds him he told him to reach for good things and he thinks this is a good thing. Still, Nik says he can’t go out unsupervised.
Nik visits Kareena and tells her about Trevor’s dilemma. He admits he wishes Trevor could go. They agree it could be good for him as long as he explains his situation upfront. Moments later, Nik goes to Trevor and tells him he can go but he’ll have to explain what happened. Trevor promises he’ll tell her the truth before getting dressed for the date. Nik finds him shaving and insists he isn’t upset because Trevor got to her first. They meet with her moments later and Trevor promises Nik won’t bother them. While Nik waits inside, Trevor tells her about coaching Sean and playing music. Nik subtly urges Trevor to tell her the truth but he doesn’t. When she goes for water, Nik tells Trevor to tell her. Trevor wants more time so Nik says he’ll do it.
She steps outside in time to see them in a struggle and Nik quickly tries to explain what is going on. Nik subdues him and Trevor breaks down. Trevor isn’t happy by the time they return to the hospital. Later, Trevor gets upset and places shaving cream all over his face. Then, Kareena attends a counseling session and says she is angry but not afraid. She is angry at herself. Dr. Wells admits it doesn’t make any sense because she had done her exams and had dressed for it. In a flashback, we see Kareena arrive immediately after her patient had jumped to her death. She tells the counselor she doesn’t think this is the right approach, but she doesn’t think Kareena is ready to go there because it could mean giving up control. Next, she goes for a run before talking to David (Henry Nixon) about their current estate deal. They discuss scaling it back and only having two bedrooms. David says he wants to pull the trigger before he gets on the plane.
Once they arrive, David spots Nik and says he is looking rough. He asks what he should tell Andrew before she gives him advice and gets out. Once inside, Kareena watches as Omar’s father tries to feed him on his birthday. She talks to his family in private and admits Omar hasn’t responded to the ECT as they had hoped. Kareena explains she wants to start him on bifrontal ECT but Tamara thinks they should get a second opinion. She tells Kareena she isn’t going to wait around and watch her try to figure it out. Tamara steps out and Kareena learns they had to let the wedding venue go along with all of their prior plans. Fahid is worried Tamara is going to leave his son and he won’t have any reason to get better. After that, Kareena tries to get Tessa to open up about hurting herself. She suspects Tessa likes hurting herself because she wants to feel something, but Tessa says she doesn’t have a clue. When she goes for a run, Nik finds her and reveals Muzz was the source of the contraband lighter.
Kareena says it was a rough morning and she wonders whether she is in the wrong profession. He tells her that she hears the music and some shrinks do not. The conversation ends and Kareena finishes her run. She returns for a shower and remembers her time with Nik. Then, she runs into him moments later. She admits she found the ring. She notices that her shrink Vivienne Noor is there and she wants to know why. She believes Vivienne is there to give Omar’s family a second opinion. Linda (Mandy McElhinney) agrees to look into it. Moments later, she tells Kareena that she specializes in EMDR and dynamic psychotherapy. Linda offers to ask her to leave but Kareena says that won’t be necessary. Kareena approaches Fahid and Tamara to tell them that EMDR will not work for Omar in his current state. Tamara admits she can’t keep going on like this forever.
After that, Kareena approaches Vivienne and complains about her coming in unannounced but Vivienne reminds her not everything is about control. Kareena says she has no treating rights and she’ll have her removed the next time she comes to her patients. As Kareena tries to go home that night, she has a terrifying flashback of the day her patient killed herself. Kareena sits with Tamara later and tells her it is devastating to have to cancel everything. Tamara says she just wants Omar to get better before Kareena says she wants to see the photos of their wedding. She says she isn’t giving up on Tamara or Omar before comforting her. That night, David confirms he won the tender. He says they’re going to have a lot more money coming in so they can start renovations but Kareena doesn’t seem excited about that. David is going to be overseeing production so he’ll be in Perth a lot more often.
Kareena says she has good news too because the Australasian Psychiatric Society emailed her about the conference. She gets a call from Nik and David asks her not to answer it. She steps out and answers it anyway. Nik admits she is right about him not wanting to face his dread and she says he should see someone. He says he is seeing someone since he is seeing her. Next, we see things from Nik’s perspective and his father tells him about the importance of having a good shirt. While they work on the birdcage, they discuss Nik being in control. Nik has a few flashbacks to his childhood while hanging out with his father. Later that night, his father tells him it is important to be mentally prepared.
Nik doesn’t want to practice the interview with his father. Neither is worried about being at the wedding alone and his father says they have so much to be happy about. His father gives him advice about getting a shirt before he goes to the store with Trevor. Nik tries on the shirt while listening to Trevor’s conversation. When he returns to the hospital, Collette helps him button the shirt. They discuss Nik not sleeping and him needing to smash the interview. Collette admits she feels bad for Linda right now since she relies on the extra salary for Beth’s care. When Linda tells Nik the clock is late, he has to rush to the interview. Nik goes to the interview and tells the interviewer what he wants for the position. She tells him he is a top candidate. Nik rushes to Dr. Wells and admits he needs her help. He is shaken.
Nik sits down and admits it all started yesterday when he saw his reflection. He says it is like he is outside of his body watching himself, but the feeling is not there. Kareena believes it is some type of depersonalization. She tells him his family is coming together but one person is missing so there might be trauma around that. Nik admits he just needs it to stop. She recommends he go home, get some rest, and call to let her know how he is doing. He goes home and begins cleaning his house like crazy. While he cleans, he has flashbacks that make it look like his mother overdosed on pills. His father cleans up the mess as well. Later, Pete finds Nik standing near the medication shelves and asks about his date with Trevor. Then, we watch as Nik has to subdue Trevor. He notices the tattoo on the girl’s neck and that leads to another flashback. Linda talks to Nik about his mess-ups within the past few days and suggests he withdraw his application for the job before it gets worse.
Nik goes home and it triggers a musical scene. When that ends, his mother arrives at the door and he hugs her. Kareena gets his call and ignores David’s request for her not to answer it. He says she was right about not facing his dread and he thinks he got rid of his problem. He insists he is seeing her but she isn’t sure that is a good idea. He says that depends on your point of view before the call ends. Nik looks inside and sees his mother inside.
Wakefield Review
Wakefield has proven to be an interesting, unique show that deserves credit for everything it has done well. I am convinced that the character relationships are the driving force behind the series since no one character stands out from the crowd. The character interactions bring out the best in the characters so Nik, Kareena, Trevor, and Pete would not be able to carry the show on their own.
I question the necessity of the musical scenes and their purpose. I think viewers can get the gist of it without the dancing and singing. Still, they aren’t too long so anyone who sincerely likes Wakefield will be able to overlook them. Wakefield is decent but the main story of Nik’s battle with mental illness is mostly overshadowed.
It doesn’t feel urgent or of paramount importance because the execution is too sloppy. The fourth episode was entertaining but Nik’s mental illness needs more attention. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Future and previous recaps of Wakefield can be found on Reel Mockery here.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
