Loveday Writing

Alexa goes to Auckland Museum, which she loves, to interview Stella. Stella reveals that she and Daniel were together for five years and met in art school. Stella also gives Alexa her alibi – watching North by Northwest at home. Alexa then meets with Lillian Reid, one of the Museum’s curators, who was the last to speak with Daniel before he was killed. Lillian tells Alexa the Museum wanted to extend the show, that she had a scheduled meeting with Daniel, and that she is starting a new job in New York in a week.

Later, Alexa and Madison watch footage of Daniel giving a tour of the exhibition. Madison comments that Daniel doesn’t appear to be depressed and heartbroken, and therefore it would be unlikely for him to commit suicide. Alexa and Madison go to Achilles Point, where Alexa sees someone paddling, which leads her to ask Madison to pull up the tide reports for the day Daniel’s body found. When Madison pulls up the tide reports, it confirms that Daniel went into the Harbour far away from where his body and phone were found, whoever killed him placed the phone at Achilles Point to make it look like he committed suicide.

Later, Alexa goes back to the Museum to confront Stella about her alibi, Stella reveals that she was in fact at home but on a date with a married man, Sonny, the Museum’s security guard. Alexa also discovers that Sonny had hidden CCTV hard drives in his locker to prevent his fling with Stella being exposed. Alexa also asks Lillian about a pattern found on Daniel’s hand, and Lillian believes it’s in reference to a collar on an exhibit piece, as Daniel had an incredible eye for detail. When Alexa and Madison watch the CCTV footage on the hard drives, they discover that Daniel found Sonny and Stella flirting.

Later when Alexa and Madison meet Harry at Reuben’s, Madison and Harry make it clear that they are satisfied with the idea of Stella and Sonny having killed Daniel, but Alexa points out that there are loose ends, which include the fact that Daniel’s body went into the water in the middle of the Harbour and the question of why Sonny and Stella wouldn’t just throw Daniel’s body off Achilles Point.

When Alexa and Madison view more CCTV footage from the hard drives, they discover Daniel drawing the marks on his hand in the west corridor of the Museum, and showing the marks to Lillian. When Madison finds a puff piece online about Lillian’s job offer, they discover that the accompanying photo of her was taken on her family yacht. Alexa and Madison go to the marina and inspect the yacht, with Alexa discovering blue paint across the hull, the cork from the prosecco bottle Daniel bought shortly before he was killed, and a fire extinguisher missing.

Alexa and Madison go back to the Museum to figure out why Daniel wrote the marks on his hand in the west corridor and find the exhibition poster, as well as a few other exhibit pieces, but are unsure what to make of it. Later that evening, Alexa sees Sonny and he tells her that Lillian wanted all the exhibition posters changed. The old exhibition poster had one of the Italian masks on it, and when Lillian sees Alexa looking at the poster, this makes her nervous. This leads to Alexa and Madison discovering that Lillian had replaced the mask with a replica and Daniel making the same discovery. They also discover that Lillian was trying to sell the real mask on the dark web. Later when Alexa goes to Okahu Bay Wharf, where Daniel’s phone tracked him, she discovers a pier pole with blue paint and scrapes it to compare it to the paint on Lillian’s yacht hull.

Later Alexa and Harry are hiding in a cupboard in the Museum’s basement, waiting for Lillian. When Lillian arrives and she is trying to swap the masks back, Alexa confronts her. Alexa tells her (and the audience) that Daniel told Lillian about the fake mask, not knowing that Lillian herself was responsible. Lillian convinced Daniel to talk it over on her yacht, giving him prosecco to make him tipsy. She hit him over the head with the fire extinguisher, stole his phone and car keys, and threw his body into the water. She took her yacht back to the marina and drove her car to find Daniel’s at Okahu Bay Wharf. She dropped Daniel’s car off at Achilles Point, and sent a farewell text to Stella, before wiping her fingerprints off his phone. Harry then comes out of the cupboard and arrests Lillian.

At the end of the episode, Stella thanks Alexa for keeping her secret, and tells her that she and Daniel initially planned to tour the exhibition but is unsure now as Auckland feels like home. Alexa encourages her to keep travelling as home will always be there.

Overall I felt that this was an episode with an interesting focus on antiquities, with subtle but great running gags on Alexa’s nationality and Madison’s love for scented candles.

Stray Observations:

Running gags – people thinking Alexa is Australian, and Madison’s scented candles.

-Alexa reveals to Madison that her father used to take her and Will to the Auckland Museum all the time. One day their mother took them as a treat, only to tell them that she was moving to Australia without their father and they had to choose who to live with – Alexa moved to Australia with their mother, Will stayed with their father.