Loveday Writing

This episode had skydiving drama, an exploration of Indigenous medicine, and callbacks to the previous season. I’m going to review this episode, which I’m assuming is the halfway point of the season, character by character.

Wayne and Mira – Mira is experiencing morning sickness and Wayne, ironically, infantilises her throughout the episode. When Timmy figures out on his own that Mira is pregnant and after she leaves for work, he asks Wayne if he wants to be a parent again, pointing out the fact that his career is more established and settled then it was when Darren came along. They are also waiting on the results of a genetics test before they make a decision on whether they are keeping the baby.

Later, Wayne, Mira and Matty tend to a skydiving accident, where the instructor managed to escape without injury, but the older student did not. Mira chastises the instructor for taking the student skydiving in the first place, due to the forecasted winds, which threw them off-course and led to the accident. When he tries to flee and avoid making a police statement, Mira tackles him and experiences stomach pain. Despite the turbulence, which causes Wayne to hit his head mid-flight, they manage to get the student to the hospital.

Later, Matty offers to give Mira an ultrasound, as he figured out she was pregnant due to her vomiting, which she doesn’t normally do during turbulence. Wayne comes along and they find out that the baby is safe and she is about 12 weeks along. They decide to keep the baby. Later, Matty announces the news to everyone at the base.

When Darren arrives for Leonie’s birthday party, Taylor lets the news slip and he tells Wayne and Mira that he’s happy for them.

Pete and Chaya – Pete and Chaya spend their time at the Wellbeing Centre, with Taylor tagging along with the coffee stand. Cameron arrives, having made an appointment with Chaya. Cameron manages to open up a little to Chaya as they play darts together, revealing he has bipolar disorder and has been locked up twice (although whether this means he went to prison or a mental health facility wasn’t made clear). After Pete finishes up at the Wellbeing Centre, Chaya informs him that their old friend, Robyn (who appeared in Season 1, Episode 4) didn’t show up or answer her phone when called. They decide to go to her home and check up on her.

When Pete and Chaya arrive at Robyn’s home, they find she has fallen off a roof, with a ladder pinning her foot. When Pete examines Robyn and suspects she is bleeding internally, he tells her that she has to go to the hospital. She refuses, revealing she hasn’t left her home much since her husband, Ged, died. He manages to convince her to go after telling her he doesn’t want to have to tell her kids about her death, just like he had to when Ged died. As Pete is treating her, Robyn asks about Eliza and whether he and her have gotten together yet, which leads to tension between him and Chaya. Whilst Chaya is driving Robyn and Pete to the plane, she asks him if he kept his past with Eliza a secret because he still has feelings for her, but he tells her no.

Towards the end of the episode at Leonie’s birthday party, Pete tells Chaya he wants to be with her, although he is seen staring at Eliza.

Eliza – Eliza spends the episode with Ursula, who appeared in the Season 1 Finale at the RFDS Fundraising Ball, although Ursula has no memory of meeting her. Eliza tends to one male patient, but later finds out that Ursula’s Aunt, Doreen, has a serious head injury.

Ursula drives Eliza out to a campsite at 12 Mile to meet with Doreen. Doreen refuses to go to hospital with Eliza due to the mistreatment of Indigenous people at hospitals in the past, instead being treated with traditional Indigenous medicine by the other women and teenage girls at the campsite. Eliza then chooses to stay overnight to monitor her. Over the course of the afternoon and evening, Eliza learns more about Indigenous medicine, food, and culture. The next morning, Doreen agrees to go to the hospital with her.

Leonie – Leonie is back at work two weeks after surgery (despite Graham saying in the previous episode she would be taking a month off – minor continuity error) and in a not-so-great mood. Eliza tries to help her with her dry eyes, only for Leonie to fob her off. Graham later brings her back some eye drops, knowing the best brand due to his years of piloting in a dry environment.

Matty sets up a surprise birthday party for Leonie’s 50^th, only for Graham to accidentally ruin the surprise for her on the way there. Leonie admits to him that she’s not sure who she is anymore, but Graham says the party will celebrate every version of her.

Overall, I felt that this was a solid episode with a lot of great callbacks to previous episodes from both seasons, and character development with Eliza and Leonie in particular. It was nice to see Chaya’s skills highlighted, using a darts game to help Cameron open up, and Wayne and Mira make a decision about the pregnancy. The medical drama was well balanced out.

If it is the halfway point of the season, it will be interesting to see where we go from here.

Stray Observations:

-Chaya has a Master’s Degree.

-Eliza has a cousin that she hasn’t spoken to since 1997, at his 18^th birthday party.

-Pete describes Cameron as “The Sundance Kid”.