Loveday Writing

This episode is all about narratives – Taylor’s, Mary’s, Brooke’s, and Lillian’s.

The episode kicks off showing Taylor being tested as a baby with the reveal that she has been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Her parents are told that she won’t live beyond her early 20s, however a montage shows Taylor trying to live her best life as she copes with her illness, which includes getting married, having a child, and surpassing her life expectancy when she is revealed to be 31 years old in the present day.

In the present day, Taylor is brought to the hospital with Lillian following behind her. She tells the ED Doctor about Ash’s lungs and how they are good due to his athleticism. She says she is Taylor’s sister before she flees the hospital. Annie later tells Brendan about her interaction with Lillian.

Meanwhile, Andrew returns to Adelaide and informs Kelly that he’ll be going back to Ballarat for a couple of days to meet up with the PR firm he worked with, to help Mary get her job back. Meanwhile, Hamish finds Mary changing into a suit, and she informs him about the meeting she’ll be having with Andrew and the PR firm. When Mary asks him about his opinion and makes a remark about him not having a backbone when he doesn’t respond immediately, he tells her that she doesn’t give a fuck what he thinks, and walks away.

After Lillian flees, she gets an Uber ride back to her car and receives a call from Susan, who calls her out for seeing Taylor. Susan tells her that Taylor has collapsed and has been hospitalised twice-before, as lung transplants usually result in complications, which were exacerbated by the Cystic Fibrosis, which isn’t cured by the transplant. Meanwhile, Michelle leaves Lillian a voicemail to come back as they are serious about opening a new clinic, with her running it.

Lillian spirals and goes back to her apartment in Ballarat. She spends the night drinking and playing with Ash’s sports stuff, culminating in her riding his bike around the apartment, falling down and hurting her arm. We then see her eating uncooked two-minute noodles and dipping them in the wine she is drinking, she also throws her phone in the bin when Michelle keeps calling her.

Meanwhile, Mary and Andrew meet with the PR firm, who tell her that their media campaign strategy will ultimately lead to her getting her job back and stopping Jordan’s plea change from being granted. Hayley, the PR team leader, tells Mary that they also need to make Lillian and her grief the story, but Mary tells her that she won’t do it. She then asks if Brooke will talk to the media. Mary then approaches Brooke about speaking on local radio. Brooke tells her that Jordan’s solicitor is coming after her and that Jordan threatened her. Mary points out that Jordan can’t do that, and Brooke agrees to speak on the local radio.

The next morning, Andrew picks up Mary to go to the local radio station, and Hamish receives a call from Michelle. She asks him where Lillian is and he tells her that he doesn’t know. Michelle doesn’t believe him and he calls her out on her selfish behaviour and lack of concern towards Lillian. Hamish then goes to see her lying on the kitchen floor, ostensibly unconscious, but is relieved when she does wake up. He then stays with her, cleaning up the apartment, as she vomits and showers. He then holds her as she cries, and buys groceries for her. Jack then texts Lillian, thinking she is still in Melbourne, asking if she can access the Ballarat radio broadcast in Melbourne. Lillian and Hamish listen to the radio as Brooke tells her side of the story, defends herself and Mary, and calls out Jordan and his behaviour out, much to Jordan’s solicitor’s chagrin.

Later, Andrew calls Kelly, playing the news broadcast in the background, which reveals that Mary has been given her job back. He also tells her that he’ll be staying in Ballarat for a while longer, until a decision on Jordan’s plea change has been made, angering Kelly.

Meanwhile, Michelle comes home to find Phillip, Daniel and Tom waiting for her. They tell her that Tom secured an overseas loan for the new clinic, however Michelle is not happy about it, as she tells them there will be no new clinic without Lillian.

Back at Lillian’s apartment, she and Hamish have a heart-to-heart, where Lillian reveals that she put her phone in the bin as she was avoiding Michelle’s calls. Hamish tells her that she can’t avoid them forever, but also points out that they don’t need her to repay the loan as they are wealthy. Lillian tells him that she believes they are using the loan as a way of having something over her, and that they never liked Ash or visited them at the apartment. Lillian then takes a bathroom break and Susan comes over to inform her that Taylor is doing well. When Hamish calls her out for not telling him about Taylor and her behaviour towards her, Lillian tries to drive off but struggles to open her car due to the replacement door. Susan asks Hamish to talk to her alone, he agrees and leaves in anger.

When Susan talks to Lillian, Lillian tells her that the court case has made everyone crazy and that she has been stressed dealing with Janet. Susan reveals she knows about Janet, as Janet has been calling her, and it appears that Janet and Ash had a complicated relationship. Lillian tells her that Ash felt smothered by Janet and he came to Ballarat before her, but Janet blames Lillian for Ash’s move regardless. Lillian also admits that she only wanted to see Taylor happy and living her life after the transplant. Susan tells her that organ donation is anonymous to prevent the donor family from being disappointed and Taylor wrote to her before she was ready, and calls her out on her stalker-like behaviour. The episode ends with Susan telling Lillian that Taylor wants to meet her regardless and asks if next week would work for her.

Overall, this was another solid episode with the focus diverting more to Taylor, Brooke and Mary. I appreciated that the episode kicked off with another perspective, specifically Taylor’s life story, and why she needed Ash’s lungs, and how strong and determined she is. I also appreciated the escalation of the Mary-Brooke subplot, specifically Brooke (Coco Jack Gillies) telling her side of the story. Gillies’ performance during the radio interview scene was outstanding. Although there was plenty of focus on Lillian, I felt she was more in the background in this episode, with her spiralling being highlighted. Despite her understandable spiral and even going backwards in her progress, I appreciate that both Hamish and Susan called her on her behaviour towards Taylor.

It will be interesting to see what happens next, now that Lillian has the chance to meet another recipient, albeit properly, this time around.

Stray Observations:

• In Ash’s graduation photo, it looks like Janet was portrayed in the photo by a different actress.
• Hamish and Lillian are close enough that Hamish has a spare key to her apartment.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Lillian, do you realise that is the definition of stalking?” (Susan to Lillian on her watching Taylor outside of her house)