Loveday Writing

During the renovations, Ben falls off a ladder trying to catch a wrench that Simmo throws at him. In the process, he injures his shoulder, with his doctor telling him that with this and his previous injuries, he needs a shoulder reconstruction. When the doctor asks him if he has private health insurance, he says he does, however it’s clear he is unsure.

When Ben gets home, he and Simmo go through his personal papers and discover that his health insurance expired in 2013. Simmo, feeling guilty for inadvertently causing the injury, suggests that they use his business insurance, claiming that the injury happened on a job site – essentially committing insurance fraud.

Later, Simmo rushes over to the house to inform Ben that an auditor from the insurance company came by to see him. She informed Simmo that the dates on the claim don’t match, so she will be coming to see Ben to discuss the claim further. When the auditor, Sharon, comes to the house to see Ben, Heather ends up greeting her and informs her that she witnessed the incident and that it happened at the house. Ben then arrives, and Sharon asks Ben if it’s true. Ben tries to lie, only to confess. Sharon tells him that the claim will be sent to the company’s legal department for further action.

After Sharon leaves, Heather and Ben consult with Liz. Liz tells them that the worse case scenario would be that Ben goes to jail for up to two years, however she tells them that the best course of action would be to withdraw the claim as soon as possible and make a full confession. Ben then decides to call his brother, Joe, who is also a solicitor, for advice. Joe, of course, disagrees with Liz’s approach and also belittles her in the process.

Before Ben’s appointment with the company’s legal department the next day, Liz has the housemates write character references to help with his defence. Joe arrives, complete in a limo and with an attitude, however he does admit he’s afraid that Ben will end up in jail again. Liz, Joe and Ben then go to his meeting, strategising on the way. Although Liz and Joe disagreed on Liz’s strategy, they both disagree with Ben’s alternative suggestion to admit he was on drugs. While Ben is in the meeting, Joe and Liz talk, with Liz admitting she was expecting him to be an older version of Ben and Joe admitting that they were a lot alike when they were children and were best mates.

Ben ends up making a full confession in the meeting, admitting he was on drugs, but that he is ashamed and trying to better himself, and apologises. Joe leaves before Ben comes out (and after getting Liz’s phone number), however Ben gets a phone call from Joe’s assistant, who informs him that Joe has paid for his impending shoulder reconstruction. Liz later finds out that Ben won’t go to jail for fraud, instead he is getting a $2,000 fine and will have to attend probity training.

Overall I enjoyed this subplot and the focus on Ben and Liz. We get to see Liz in full ‘lawyer mode’, and she also meets a potential love interest. The dynamic between Liz and Joe was hilarious, and the chemistry felt natural. I hope we see Joe again in future episodes.

Harry, Xavier and Liz – As well as having to deal with Ben’s legal troubles, Liz is also feel abandoned by Harry due to him spending all of his free time with Xavier. When Xavier confuses Ainsley for Liz when he meets everyone, it doesn’t help matters. When Harry tries to address it with Liz, she dismisses him due to being in ‘lawyer mode’.

Later, after Ben’s legal issues are resolved. Liz comes home to find Harry and Xavier waiting for her, with Xavier telling her that he has looked up Joe online and has ‘goss’ to tell her. Liz enthusiastically requests that he tells her everything and they hang out.

While this was a small subplot, I did enjoy Xavier’s efforts to befriend Liz and in return Liz enthusiastically embracing him as a part of Harry’s life, despite her feelings at the beginning of the episode.

Heather, Ainsley and Lachlan – Their minor subplot focused on Lachlan finding out about the renovations, and his concerns about the unfinished nursery and Simmo’s intentions towards Ainsley. The three of them fight over Simmo’s crush on Ainsley during their birthing classes, with Heather pointing out that Lachlan has no right to have a go at Ainsley or Simmo as he is still married, and he and Ainsley are not together.

When Ainsley sees Simmo set up a tent in the backyard so he can finish the renovations on schedule, he admits that he does have a crush on her, however he is doing the renovations for both her and also to help Ben.

Overall, I enjoyed this minor subplot, it will be interesting to see if Simmo progresses as Ainsley’s love interest in the future.

Overall this was a solid episode. Whilst all five housemates are present in all the episodes and generally have their own subplots, this is the first episode I’ve seen with a heavy focus on only two of the main characters. It will be interesting to see if the writers continue to do this with the other three main characters in one way or another in future episodes.

Stray Observations:

Running gag: Simmo constantly saying he threw the wrench at Ben with a spin.

-Ben joined Instagram to follow Xavier. However he also follows Michelle Obama and Nicky Winmar.

-Ben’s last name is Chigwell.

-Liz’s last name is Wendell.

-Apparently Simmo panics over a having to take a breathlyser and a licence check, even if he knows he’s not drunk and his licence is valid.

-Heather’s character reference for Ben was a cut-and-paste job from the character reference she wrote for her son, Timmy, when he had to go to court for driving under the influence.