Loveday Writing

This episode had two themes – pregnancy and surprises, and it definitely delivered (yes, I went with a slight pregnancy pun).

I’m going to review this episode character by character.

Wayne, Pete, Chaya, and Matty – The episode kicks off with a staff meeting where Pete is given the “inaugural Sweeney Todd award” (a trophy with a knife taped to the top) from Matty, for his heroic efforts in saving Johnny’s life in the previous episode. However, the celebrations end quickly for Pete when Wayne questions events and reveals to Pete that there has been some nerve damage to Johnny’s larynx from the emergency tracheotomy. Pete later asks Wayne what he would have done, but Wayne reassures him that he did his best and saved Johnny’s life.

Chaya and Matty go to the Louth Clinic, where Chaya provides a yoga class and Matty provides basic check ups on the locals. Wayne and Pete arrive later, after a woman in the yoga class, Sherry, collapses in pain. Chaya and Matty tell them that something is not right with the ‘vibe’ with Sherry, but don’t elaborate on what they mean by this comment.

After Wayne and Pete examine Sherry and her concerned husband, Craig, arrives, Matty pulls Wayne and Pete aside after Sherry’s urine test results are revealed. Despite Sherry denying it, it’s revealed that she is in fact pregnant, however this also reveals that she is having an affair, as Craig had a vasectomy years ago. It’s later revealed that Sherry in fact did know she was pregnant and bought what she thought were abortion pills online, but instead they have made her condition worse. When Wayne does an ultrasound, it’s revealed that she is still pregnant but the pregnancy is not viable and she’ll have to go to Dubbo to get a D&C. She begs them not to tell Craig, however she wants him to go with her to the hospital. The team try their best to keep her secret.

When the team, Sherry and Craig are on their way to Dubbo, they get a call out to a man who has a severe leg injury from trying to un-bog his car. Sherry insists that the team pick the man up as she doesn’t want to be the reason he doesn’t get help from them.

Wayne and Chaya go to help the man, Andrew, and his wife, Tess. They are driven to Perry’s Creek by Tugger; however, Tugger informs them that there are two crossings at Perry’s Creek and they’ve arrived at the wrong one. The right one is further away from the plane, where Pete is trying to keep Sherry’s bleeding and secret under control. Whilst Wayne and Tugger take Andrew back on the plane, Tess has to wait for Matty to give her a ride back.

Wayne and Andrew board the plane as Sherry’s condition worsens, which leads to Pete giving her more morphine. The morphine leads to Sherry starting to reveal her affair, however Pete and Chaya manage to distract Craig for long enough to keep him from finding out. Later, after Chaya asks Craig to find the phone number for his daughters’ school, he goes through Sherry’s phone to find it, only to discover calls and texts from Sherry’s lover, Mikey. The truth then comes out, with Craig’s temper increasing, forcing Mira to make a distress call and Wayne to dose him with ketamine.

Despite the drama, they manage to get Andrew and Sherry to Dubbo. The team unwind at a local bar (minus Leonie and Matty, as Matty has quickly befriended Tess and is hanging out with her). When Wayne makes a remark about Leonie spending all of her time in Dubbo, Graham tells him to take it easy on her. Pete and Chaya hang out and flirt some more, with Chaya revealing she has had an abortion herself. Pete and Chaya kiss and hook up.

Leonie and Graham – They spend most of the episode away from the main medical action, as Leonie is going to Dubbo to find out more about her diagnosis and treatment options, and Graham has flown her there.

It’s revealed that she has an ovarian tumour, but her doctor doesn’t know if it’s cancerous or on both ovaries. Her doctor recommends a hysterectomy and having both ovaries removed. Later, Leonie is sitting in a park when Eliza FaceTimes her. During the call, Leonie breaks down in front of her.

When Leonie and Graham are flying back to the base, Leonie tells him about her diagnosis and asks him not to tell the others until she goes in for surgery, Graham offers to take her but she turns him down.

Mira – Mira is seen leaving the staff meeting at the beginning of the episode to vomit in the bathroom, as the episode progresses, she takes a pregnancy test and discovers she is pregnant. She leaves the positive pregnancy test in a pencil case on Wayne’s desk to surprise him, however she changes her mind and hides it after Graham tells her about the restrictions on pregnant pilots.

The episode ends with Mira’s change of mind about surprising Wayne with the news and not having told anyone about her pregnancy.

Taylor and Cameron – Taylor is out with the team at the Louth Clinic when Cameron arrives for a follow-up. Cameron and Taylor then go to a local café at Cameron’s recommendation. Taylor asks Cameron if he has been drinking as he’s “looser than usual.” He tells her it’s the drugs he is taking for his injuries. He asks her about Darren and she makes it clear that he is her boyfriend. She then gives him Chaya’s card, so he can speak to her about his clear alcoholism.

Eliza – This episode marks Eliza’s first appearance, with the reveal that Henry is planning on using the around-the-world plane ticket given to him by his father, Ed, and that Ed has left them. Eliza also calls Pete as he is attending to Sherry, but he doesn’t answer (understandably).

The episode ends with Eliza’s arrival at the base to the shock and happiness of everyone, minus Pete. It’s also revealed that Leonie did in fact tell Eliza about her diagnosis during their FaceTime call.

Overall, this was another solid episode. I appreciated that this episode revolved around the themes of pregnancy and surprises. With the pregnancy theme, this was explored in many different ways from Leonie’s ability to fall pregnant taken away from her with her diagnosis and the surgical treatment she’ll need, to Mira discovering she is pregnant and worrying about how it will affect her career, to Sherry’s pregnancy as the result of an affair and attempts to abort, to Chaya telling Pete in a nonchalant manner that she herself had an abortion. I also appreciated the minor theme of surprises from the reveal of Sherry’s affair and pregnancy, to Eliza pointing out how Leonie hates surprises as she surprises her with returning to Australia.

It will be interesting to see where we go from here now that Eliza has returned, Leonie is slowly revealing her diagnosis to the others, and that Mira is pregnant.

Stray Observations:

-It’s revealed at the end of the episode that 18 months have passed since the events of the season one finale, and it’s been two years since Rhiannon died in the pilot.

-Matty calls Leonie “Lele.”

-Darren is mentioned but doesn’t appear in this episode.

-Graham described Dubbo as the “Tuscany of NSW.”

Best one liners and interactions:

• “What do you reckon about that kid?” “Nuh” (Matty-Graham on Cameron)
• “How are your DJ skills?” “Ah, a Venn diagram between disco, Dr. Hook, and Judith Durham.” (Matty-Tess)
• “What was this bloke like?” “The opposite of you.” “Good looking, intelligent, brave?” (Pete-Chaya-Pete on Chaya’s ex-boyfriend)