As the 6th episode of Wakefield begins, Nik Katira (Rudi Dharmalingam) stumbles through the house before opening the closet door and finding Dilshan inside. The little boy laughs and gets a hug from Nik. Then, we learn we’re going to see things from the perspectives of Genevieve (Harriet Dyer) and Raff (Ryan Corr). They sit outside and Raff asks Genevieve if she wants to give it a go since she was good in Byron. She asks if it was yoga before Raff corrects her and says it was Tai Chi. They watch the others until Gene admits she wants to go back inside. Raff sits with Collette (Felicity Ward) and says Gene’s memory is totally scrambled, but Collette insists it will improve. He reveals he doesn’t like what the ECT is doing to her. Collette insists she is only dealing with the side effects since she is in the middle of therapy.

Then, she compliments Raff for being amazing about everything. The man who thinks he is Harold Holt (Matt Nable) picks up chairs nearby, so Collette tells Raff not to worry about him. She says he is the prime minister who went missing in the sixties. She offers Raff her sandwich and tells him about an upcoming workshop that might be good for him. Next, Gene complains to Nik that she can’t remember certain things. Nik learns that Raff bought Gene all the charms on her bracelet each time they went somewhere else. Nik suggests building a timeline of her life and laying everything out in chronological order. Raff begins helping her and they start with the places Gene has lived. He wants to make another column for ex-boyfriends before she got lucky and found him.

She looks through pictures and stops on one from their wedding. Raff says she flashed him right before the picture was taken, but she doesn’t remember flashing or marrying Raff. He complains to Nik about her condition while Nik argues they helped her. Nik insists the confusion will settle down and many of the memories will return. Raff isn’t sure what the point is in being together if Gene can’t remember the most important days of their lives. Collette follows Raff who admits Nik didn’t deserve that. She insists he needs to get it off his chest and he can’t be a rock all the time. He admits he might need one of her workshops so Collette says whatever he needs she will be there. She returns to Nik and Pete (Sam Simmons) moments later and tells them how Raff is doing. Pete doesn’t think Raff signed up for this, but Collette says they might be soulmates.

Dr. Kareena Wells (Geraldine Hakewill) strolls by and is engrossed in her work. Collette believes there is someone out there and when you meet them everything clicks, and the universe aligns. She asks Nik if he has ever felt that way and insists the person that he felt it with would’ve been his soulmate. Gene spends the night looking at the remnants of her life plaster on her wall. In the morning, Raff and Collette bring in the television so Collette can watch the home video of her wedding day. Raff admits Collette did a lot of research and planned everything. Linda Crowley (Mandy McElhinney) interrupts and forces Collette to return to work. Raff tells his wife about the details of their wedding and asks whether she remembers, but she does not. He says it is okay and they’ll keep watching. Later, he apologizes and insists he didn’t mean to push. Gene doesn’t believe that.

She admits she doesn’t want this or them. Then, she encourages him to go and leave her, but he says that isn’t going to happen. Gene argues she wouldn’t stick around for him. He goes outside and screams before returning and helping Collette clean up the items she dropped on the floor. She says she is clumsy, but Raff suggests otherwise. He pushes the hair away from her eye before they find a private place to have sex. Meanwhile, Nik tells Genevieve she needs a change of environment and something to do. Dr. Wells has to calm Harold Holt who is convinced someone is trying to take him out. Gene wants to return to her room while Nik tries to convince her to help Tessa and James (Dan Wyllie) with the puzzle. He convinces her to go outside and get some fresh air.

They find Trevor (Harry Greenwood) outside playing an acoustic guitar and Genevieve quickly complains she doesn’t like his music. Nik tries to get him to lower the volume a bit, but Trevor is learning a new song and refuses to do so. Nik tries to talk to her about music which Gene says she used to like. She doesn’t cooperate and eventually walks back inside. Genevieve returns to her room and looks through the photographs of her life. When Raff goes back inside, he finds out that Gene has remembered their wedding and the fact they got married by the light of the moon. We change to Collette’s perspective and join her during one of her workshops. Once that ends, she sits down with Linda and tells her about punani or her private part. She tells her it is about drawing strength from your sexuality. Collette invites Linda to an upcoming workshop, but she believes it’d be cheaper to use a dating website.

Collette says she isn’t doing it to find a relationship and argues she wants to improve herself. Linda asks about her date with Nik after the Melbourne Cup. Collette insists it wasn’t a date and they’re only friends. When Linda scoffs, Collette admits she thought it might go a different way, but Nik’s heart is spoken for already. Linda says it must be Kareena since they were engaged once. Before the night ends, Collette tells Linda she’d like to do this again because she wants them to be friends. Collette asks her not to smoke in the car so Linda jumps in the backseat. At work, Nik asks Collette why she’d invite Linda out for a drink if she doesn’t like her. Col says she doesn’t dislike her. Harold walks by and says he saw the man walk into the party room, so he knows where he is. Nik doesn’t know who he is talking about, and Harold won’t say. Col insists Linda isn’t a bad person and just happens to be broken.

She confuses her since she is fine sometimes, but she makes her feel like crap most of the time. She goes on break and meditates before watching the wedding video with Raff and Gene. She laughs and says she got married in a registry both times. Linda interrupts and pulls Collette into the hallway. Col tells her how romantic the video is, but Linda reminds her there is a lot of work to be done. Linda warns her there are very real consequences when she doesn’t do these things. Linda promises to deal with everything as long as Collette gets the drug dispensary sorted out. Later, Nik approaches and asks if she has seen the keys to the utilities room. He learns about Linda wanting the drugs sorted before revealing Michael has locked himself in the utilities room. She walks by Linda who complains that she isn’t done yet and says this kind of chaos kills people.

She reminds Collette she is in charge and not Nik before asking her to be more autonomous. When she gets back to work, she falls to the ground and the medications go everywhere. Raff arrives and helps her clean up the mess. Before long, they’re having sex and Linda is watching them from outside. When Collette returns to Linda, she tried to explain herself. However, Linda quickly argues that she has a serious time management problem. She tells her she needs to focus and clean herself up because she looks like she was pulled through a hedge backward. Collette meets Raff outside and they agree they normally don’t do that type of thing. She gives him the pamphlet for the workshop and says there is one spot left. He thanks her and heads on his way with neither of them saying anything about having sex. Next, Nik finds her having a panic attack in the bathroom and tries to guide her through it. He tells her she is a great nurse and doesn’t need Linda to tell her that.

He takes her to Gene’s room, and they find Raff and Genevieve hugging so he says there might be something to that whole soulmate’s thing. He comforts her and says she deserves a soulmate more than anyone. She attends one of her workshops and breaks down in the middle of it. She complains about Linda and angrily says she wants to break her neck. When she goes back to work, Linda asks about the note she left. Collette says the roster needs to be changed because she is enrolled in a workshop on Tuesday. Linda gives her crap about it, so Collette tells her she needs to stop treating her like this. Nik walks in just in time to hear Collette telling Linda she doesn’t have a heart among other things. Linda says she has a heart and Collette has just driven a skewer straight through it. When Linda leaves, Collette tries to go after her to apologize, but Nik stops her and says don’t. Later that night, Collette goes to Linda’s house. When Linda doesn’t answer the door, Collette finds a way inside and hears the shower running. When Linda finds her, she starts to scold her, so Collette quickly gives her gifts for herself and Beth. Linda screams for her to get out until Collette asks where Beth is.

Soon, she realizes there is no Beth. When they return to work, Linda tells her it is a bad idea for staff to fraternize with the partners of their patients. She warns her it is a sackable offense and Collette knows she made a mistake and feels bad about it. Collette reminds her that what she has done in deceiving everyone is fraud. She threatens to tell everyone in administration before Linda says she needs her to keep this to herself. Collette agrees to do so but says there will be conditions. First, she wants Linda to get help. She ends up taking Linda to one of her nude workshops. Collette tells her she is going to be by her side every step of the way. Then, we begin seeing things from Nik’s perspective as he takes his father out for a walk. His father stops and tells him about the bird in the distance that he is calling Gary. He tells Nik about the bird’s mating call and insists his son could learn something from it. He says his son would be a great doctor, but Nik is satisfied with being a nurse.

Nik is told he needs to start acting like a leader because his father wants him to be the best he can for his sake and Dilshan. Nik gets a call and learns the hotel has double-booked the room for Kiran’s bucks’ night. Nik wants to go to the hotel immediately, but his father says he has bigger fish to fry now and should go to work. His father agrees to talk to the hotel for him, so Nik goes to work. Dr. Wells approaches and tells Nik that Harold Holt is Michael Fitzpatrick. There is no trace of family so Nik agrees to call the other hospitals to see if he has been committed before. Wells says she’ll do it since Nik has the interview coming up. Nik attends the interview and promises he has professional relationships with the staff. He is asked about his relationship with Dr. Wells. He says they work well together, but the interviewer wants to know about their prior engagement. Nik says that was five years ago and Kareena is happily married now.

He says he would be a good NUM and anyone trying to shift focus from that likely has a good reason to do s. Nik says he didn’t ask for Kareena’s reference so they can bin it and compare his application with the others without fear of compromise. That night, Nik hangs out with Renuka, Kiran, and the others when someone knocks on the door. He rehearses the dance as his sister enters. When the dancing doesn’t go well, Nik suggests doing a tap dance routine instead. His sister says no because she is the star of the wedding and not him. After that ends, he finds his mother in bed and she says she misses him. Back at work, Nik tries to find out where Harold or Michael has gone. He gets a call from his father who says he sorted out the reservation. Nik learns that Michael has locked himself in the utilities room and tries to convince him to come out. He goes to Collette to get the keys and learns she is sorting the medications.

He tells Collette not to rearrange the medications before opening the door and confronting Michael who says the guy saw him. He tries to convince him to come out. Then, Nik talks to Kareena and learns there is no history of psychosis, so it was likely triggered by grief. His wife recently died from a long illness and Michael nursed her through it all. His daughter is coming to the hospital. Nik watches Kareena and David through the window until Pete tells him Harold is on the loose again. He chases down Michael who argues McMahon is out to knife him. Nik insists that didn’t happen since McMahon died a while back. Michael doesn’t believe, thinks Linda is McMahon, and argues he was kidnapped by the Chinese. Nik convinces him to stay because his daughter is worried about him.

Nik explains his daughter is coming and she’ll be there tomorrow. He comes up with the solution of giving Michael a new identity. Moments later, Nik approaches Michael outside, hands his ID, and says he is now Michael Fitzpatrick. As for his cover story, Nik says he is just a bloke who needs a bit of a break. Michael accepts the idea. Nik returns home and practices dancing with his sister. They talk about losing Dilshan and not getting to listen to music after that because their mother couldn’t handle it. We jump back over to Wakefield and the staff waits for Linda to arrive. She enters and reveals the board has made its decision on the NUMs position. Nik gets the position, but he doesn’t seem thrilled about it. Linda says it is a thankless job and she hopes the staff gives him the support he needs. When everyone leaves, she admits she withdrew and knew Nik would get the job after that.

She argues sometimes getting what you want is a blessing and a curse. Linda steps out before Nik gets a call from his father who learns about the job. His father tells him to get down there because the party is starting. He finds that his father has completely changed the booking to karaoke. Kiran isn’t worried about it though. Nik takes to the stage and sings for everyone. He sees Kareena Wells walking toward him as he sings and tap dances on stage. When he finishes, he realizes Kareena isn’t actually there. He calls her and learns she is driving in her fancy new car David bought her. He believes she is lost so he gives her directions. She wonders where he is taking her. He leads her to his location and asks if she is getting out before the episode ends.

 

Wakefield Review

Wakefield has been moderately interesting and unique. The episode focused mainly on Genevie, Raff, and Collette. While Genevieve and Raff have apparently managed to sort out their problems, Raff’s slipup with Collette could bring that crashing down. She managed to break out of her shell and stand up to herself when it mattered the most.

Once Linda withdrew her application for the NUM position, it was given to Nik. It seems everyone wanted Nik to get the position more than he wanted it himself. We were also introduced to Michael Fitzpatrick who thought he was Harold Holt. It is always a pleasure to watch Matt Nable work his magic so that was a good addition to the show.

Although I am enjoying the story of Wakefield’s staff and patients, I can’t help but feel it could be much better. It might be too slow of a slow burner. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is some obstacle preventing me from developing a deep relationship with the main characters. As a result, I’ve enjoyed it but the emotionally hard-hitting scenes don’t pack the same punch.

The good news is that Wakefield’s story is interesting, the cast is amazing, and it is good enough to keep me hanging around. For that reason, I’ll give the episode a 7 out of 10. All Wakefield recaps can be found on Reel Mockery here.