Original subtitles

Three years is a long time without any action.

Her husband died. Give her a break.

You drive me crazy.

Likewise.

He´s much more handsome in real life, don´t you think?

It is not your farm, Matt. It´s Mummy and Daddy´s.

It´s not funny.

Well, it´s -- it´s a little bit funny.

Ajax.

I know. It happened again.

-Will you marry me? -Yes!

ROD: Seventy-eight boxes were counted, but they issued eighty.

So I´ve asked the electoral commission to look into it.

Hayley, go and burn the boxes.

Meryl?

He knows.

WOMAN: Whyhope Police Station. How may I help you?

I have some information on the Whyhope local election.

I never destroyed the ballot boxes.

MERYL: What can we do for you tonight, Chantelle,

in this miserable night?

Random breath testing. It won´t take a moment.

Why do you have ballot boxes in your car?

I have to show you something. It´s gonna be a problem.

I didn´t find it.

The new cop from the city who´s coming to replace me did.

Meryl, you and Hayley, you have to get a lawyer.

This guy is serious.

Shit.

TIM: Imagine them, Meryl.

Half-acre blocks, happy families playing.

It´s a strong vision.

-We need housing. -Exactly.

I knew you´d see it. Always the visionary.

It´s zoned agricultural, though,

and we must protect our agriculture.

Don´t want housing estates with people living in boxes.

Three-quarter-acre blocks?

I think I see it now.

I look forward to your proposal hitting council.

Good luck.

You don´t need luck when you´ve got a great idea, Meryl.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

Wrong car.

[ Laughing ] How funny!

Hey, this vote-box thing -- storm in a teacup?

Be blown over in a day or two.

[ Birds chirping, dog barking in distance ]

Morning, Mum.

Morning, darling.

You´re up early.

Early bird catches the cash payment, as they say.

Don´t be cheeky. And nosy.

Don´t you think you need to be careful right now?

I hear there are cops in town.

Can´t stop progress just because there´s an odd bump in the road.

One must continue. I owe it to the people.

Of course. Yes. They´re lucky to have you.

I suppose that´s true.

Besides, Penny´s sister is one of the best lawyers in Australia

for this sort of thing.

-She expensive? -Very.

Takes cash, I´m guessing.

-I believe so. -Ah.

-Morning. -Good morning.

-Matt baked bread. -I´m gifted.

I thought we´d come for breakfast.

-You okay? -I´m fine.

It´ll all blow over.

I was just saying that to someone.

Thank you, my darlings.

Yes. Let´s all rally together against this injustice.

[ Mid-tempo instrumental music plays ]

[ Horn honks ]

[ Cash register clicking, bell chimes ]

You know, I´m excited you´re seeing someone, sis.

You were stuck in a rut.

My husband died.

That´s not a rut. That´s a gaping hole.

I know. And for a little while, you died with him.

But now, I spied through your phone,

and that Toke guy looks hot.

He good in bed?

I´m not... Don´t spy in my phone.

You´re so annoying.

But right, right?

Did this town get smaller since I was last here?

I don´t think so.

It´s such a bummer about your city job.

You were so happy.

Then your maternal guilt kicked in,

and goodbye, feminism

and what could have been an astonishing career

and hello, being dragged back to mediocrity.

It´s very early in the morning for judgment and abuse.

Oh, sweetheart, that was empathy.

My mistake.

Wait. Did you pay for that hat?

Like when we were kids. Mint?

I live here. You can´t steal stuff.

Spoilsport. It´s no fun if you pay.

Later. I´ve got to go meet my client.

HUGH: There´s a hay baler. This must be it.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

[ Speaking native language ]

-What is she saying? -I don´t know.

-[ Speaking native language ] -No. Is she mental?

It´s another language, Mia.

What´s going on? Are you all right?

Is there... [ Sighs ]

Uh...doesn´t look like she´s alone.

[ Speaking native language ]

In here? In -- Did the -- Is there somebody in here?

-Yeah. -How did they get in?

Must have been working in the back without the safety on

and it´s closed on them.

-Can you hear us? -Allie!

HUGH: All right. Stand back.

[ Engine starts ]

[ Whirring ]

Wait for the safety!

-[ Gasps ] -No, no, no, no, no, no. No, no.

[ Engine shuts off ]

Right. Safety´s on.

All right. Pulse is weak.

She´ll have crush injuries, probably internal bleeding.

Get ready to intubate and bag her.

It´s okay. Okay.

Everyone just relax.

I am relaxed.

S-Start talking about something else.

Take a deep breath, Hayley.

AJAX: You´ll be fine.

Just tell them the truth. You´ve got nothing to hide.

Just go through life naked.

That´s what my old man used to say.

Metaphorically speaking.

Just be true.

She´s coming. You two go.

So good of you to come.

I see injustice, and I am moved to stop it.

I´m kidding. Got my cash?

I thought we could have some beef casserole

and maybe a glass of red.

I know I explained everything to you on the phone, but --

I´m Hayley.

-This is all -- -Shh.

This is how it works -- I talk. You both listen.

Sit.

At 4:00 p.m., we have your interviews

with your new sergeant, Darren Ngata.

I know him well. He´s ex-fraud squad.

Got busted down for some unexplained reason.

I am going to tell you what you say when we go in there.

-Wouldn´t you like us to ex-- -Oh.

What did I say, Meryl?

You talk. We listen.

Excellent.

Memorize it.

Do not deviate.

Do not add. Do not embellish.

Now, where´s that casserole and red wine?

I´ll get it.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

I found the boxes in the hall.

My mobile wasn´t working.

So I went to the phone box,

but I couldn´t hear anyone on the other end.

It´s always playing up. So I hung up.

She told me, "Meryl, I found some boxes."

And I said immediately,

"Let´s turn them in and find out how much more I won by."

´Cause I do not fear the people.

So we met, and we were driving them in when we ran into Tugger.

And I told her they were in the back.

You told her they were in the back?

Well, we were about to, but she wanted to do a breath test.

And I was always told to obey the police.

So I did.

We didn´t know it was a matter of urgency

as to stop her exercising her duty to the community first.

Very wise.

Are we done, Darren?

Nothing to see here, as they say.

-We´re not done. -Oh, come on.

They found the boxes. They tried to turn them in.

The phones failed. It´s the bush.

So really, where´s the crime?

Well, vote tampering is an offense

punishable by a year´s jail, so it seems worth looking into.

Well, I and Whyhope thank you and welcome you.

You will find it´s a very warm community ready to embrace you.

Now, it´s very cold in the mornings.

Mm. So cold.

Have you seen the knitwear shop in town?

They´ve got a lovely array of men´s knits.

If you stop by before you leave,

I´m sure Janey could find you something great.

Yeah. I might just do that. Thanks, Meryl.

So, big change from the fraud squad.

I just wanted to get back to normal, regular people policing.

This came up, and I jumped at it.

How refreshing.

Bullshit.

Such a cynic.

Thanks for your time. I´ll be in touch.

[ Door opens ]

HUGH: Suspected broken ribs.

Possible internal bleeding. Pulse is weak.

Abdomen is firm and distended, with extensive bruising.

-Let´s do an ultrasound. -That´s her friend, Penny.

-Hi. You you can wait -- -HUGH: Doesn´t speak English.

I don´t know what language she speaks.

There´s intra-abdominal free fluid.

My guess is it´s her spleen.

Mm. Well, we need to send her to Grafton.

Look at her BP. She´s not stable, Hugh.

She´ll never last the three-hour ride.

We´re not well set up for that operation.

They are. Lyle´s good at it.

You can do it, though.

Yeah. Course. Probably can.

I scrubbed in on one in training.

I remember a lot of it.

It was frighteningly gross.

She won´t survive if we move her.

What?

Are you actually having a moment of self-doubt?

I didn´t think you did that.

Or is it that you just can´t bear to agree with me?

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

All right. All right. We´ll do it.

Mia, prep her for surgery.

I´ll be in my office on the iPad looking up how to do it.

[ Speaking native language ]

BETTY: [ Speaking Norwegian ]

Betty?

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

-Yes, Hugh? -You speak whatever she speaks.

Danish? No, I don´t.

WOMAN: Allie okay?

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

Betty.

Oh. I-I speak Norwegian, which is similar.

We can understand each other.

So what happened?

Oh, they´re backpackers. This is Hilda.

Um, I told her her friend Allie is gonna be fine.

-Am I lying about that? -No.

Oh.

Okay.

So Hilda doesn´t speak English. Allie does.

So the guy who owns the property

hired them as jillaroos about a month ago,

and then he went to the Gold Coast for a week.

So they´re hay-baling,

and something goes wrong with the gears,

and Allie reaches in to try and find out what it was,

and it just closes on her.

Um, right. Okay.

-Thanks. -[ Speaking Norwegian ]

You´re welcome.

Thank you.

Let´s find this bleeder and shut it down as fast as we can.

Clamps ready.

BP?

Stable.

Okay. That´s it. Mia.

[ Monitor beeping, suction hissing ]

Okay. That´s clamped. Suction.

No. Blood´s still pooling.

PENNY: I don´t think we´re dealing with a laceration, Hugh.

I think the spleen´s ruptured.

BP´s dropping quite fast, Dr. Knight.

Let´s just call it too fast, shall we?

All right. Change of plan. Spleen´s coming out entirely.

We´ll stop it that way.

-Did you watch that on YouTube? -No.

But I either guess how to do it

or we let her die while I go and watch YouTube.

Okay. Let´s do it.

All right. Scalpel.

Come on. Fast hands saves lives.

Suction.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

Yep.

Mia.

Vitals stabilizing.

Yeah. That seemed to be the problem.

Any visible lacerations, Penny?

Looks clear.

All right.

Let´s close her up.

Good work.

It was, wasn´t it?

PENNY: So I was right.

What, about keeping her here?

And so many other things, but let´s start with that.

I was right,

but I made you right with my genius surgical skills.

Did you just turn that into a compliment to yourself?

Yeah. It´s a gift.

Does it smell of old people in here or what?

Ugh.

Celia, Hugh.

Hugh, Celia.

Hi, handsome.

Dinner at Penny´s tonight.

Bring condoms -- I mean wine.

Oops.

Dinner?

Yeah. I invited everyone else too.

I have always been the one to bring the fun,

and this woman needs fun.

Right. How did it go with my mother?

Mm. The adventure continues.

Can you get French wine in this town?

You can if you ask me nicely

for the two bottles I have under my bed.

Why don´t we just go look under your bed together?

Are you kidding?

Shh. I´m flirting.

You got that, right?

Yeah. It was pretty clear.

CELIA: Mm. Excellent.

[ Door closes ]

Cut me a slice of that action. Don´t you think?

Hey.

How´d it go with the cop?

Really well. Great.

The lawyer´s very happy.

They´ve got nothing.

[ Exhales deeply ] Great.

So I´ve narrowed down choices of wedding cakes,

but we still need to talk about deejay and ushers,

and, I mean, we can talk about it over dinner.

-[ Grunts ] -Whoa. Hayles. Haymaker.

-[ Breathing heavily ] -You...

Hey.

Hey. Hey. Come on.

[ Whimpers ]

Hayles. You okay?

I might be stressed.

Mum says it´s okay.

It´s okay, right?

[ Sniffs, sighs ]

If I go to prison, will you wait for me?

I´d get a job in the prison.

You would?

And I´d bring you extra dessert.

That´s so sweet.

And then at night, I could come into your cell,

and we could...

Ajax.

I´m not having sex in prison.

Yeah. Well, it´s not gonna happen.

Everything´s fine.

You cannot sleep with her.

-What? -My sister. She´s...

A very attractive woman.

I´m asking you nicely.

Mm? On what grounds?

She´s my sister.

She´s single. I´m single.

I see no impediment to our fornication.

-Funny. -More logic than funny.

I´m just... You cannot.

You cannot sleep with Toke.

Right.

You´re right.

I can´t make it to dinner. I have other plans.

Oh. Okay.

Good.

I mean, you can, of course.

You´re a free agent.

And welcome, of course, as my friend.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

HILDA: [ Speaking Danish ]

Betty.

I need your help.

So it went -- it went well. It went well.

And she´s gonna be fine.

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

[ Speaking Danish ]

BETTY: She says thank you.

Yes. Got that.

Uh, you´re welcome.

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

Does she want to get something to eat?

Uh, good idea.

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

[ Speaking Danish ]

No. She wants to stay.

Tell her I have a sauna.

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

Are you hitting on her?

Scandinavians love saunas. She´s had a stressful time.

I´m just trying to be hospitable on behalf of my country.

Didn´t ask you to judge, just to translate.

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

[ Laughter ]

[ Laughing ] Yes. Uh...

Why -- Why are we laughing?

[ Speaking Danish ]

She says you´re pretty.

Pretty?

Handsome, maybe, but...

[ Speaking Danish ]

Oh. The pretty thing -- She means me.

Oh. Is she hitting on you?

[ Speaking Norwegian ]

[ Speaking Danish ]

Oh, dear. She is.

What are you gonna do?

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

Maybe I...

Hello.

[ Both laugh ]

I´m screwing with you. Isn´t she great?

Oh, just... [ Exhales deeply ]

Just come to Penny´s.

She´s with Toke.

Is he in town?

No.

Well, I call that a window of opportunity.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

[ Mid-tempo music playing ]

This is a good brew, my friend.

Oh, thanks, mate. Make it myself.

He´s a brewing genius.

What do you make of the mayor and this, uh, vote thing?

What´s the gossip?

It´s outrageous is what it is.

Probably.

TIM: I´ll tell you the word, mate.

She´s, uh, she´s a visionary is what she is.

You need to back off.

There´s things that this town needs

that only she can make happen.

Only she? Why only her?

No one cares about this town, mate, okay?

You´re not gonna make a name for yourself here.

Why don´t we just get you a thousand dollars´ worth of beer

and no one´s the wiser?

-"We"? -[ Sighs ]

-There´s no "we." -Tim, you´ve had enough.

Chips and water only, then I´m driving you home.

[ Burps ] Charlie, Matt, okay.

I-I´ve got this, all right?

Um, a little naive to the ways of the world,

don´t you think, Officer?

We both know what´s going on here.

-Can you stop winking? -He´s drunk.

Mate, he doesn´t know what he´s talking about.

I don´t know, mate.

When I see people circle the wagons,

I wonder what´s in them.

Thanks for the drink.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

But that was when I owned a burlesque house in Shanghai.

I need to get out of Whyhope, experience life.

Well, that could be arranged, Ken.

Shall I carve some more beef?

Thinner this time.

Oh, I can wafer it so it´s see-through if you like.

Me too.

Oh.

Well, I´ll take that bet.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

-BETTY: Mmm! -KEN: Oh.

Not bad.

[ Chuckles ]

Is that your, um, husband, the one that died tragically?

Maybe you´ve had enough to drink, Mia.

Maybe you haven´t had enough to drink, Betty.

I haven´t had anything to drink.

Exactly.

Oh, she just asked a question.

Yes, it was. Mark.

Oh, my God. I had a cat called Mark.

He died too.

That sounds like a great story. Tell us more about that.

It´s a bit shrine-y in here, isn´t it?

Mark there, Mark there.

-Celia. -Ooh. The warning voice.

There it is. Don´t talk about it.

And yet there it hangs, everywhere.

She has the right to remember her husband.

She´s stuck, Betty.

She´s seeing someone. The process is a gradual one.

I´m right here. Can we move on?

What was he like?

Was he lovely? I bet he was, right?

Yes, he was.

He was funny and...

He was amazing.

He helped buy me a suit for the first funeral I went to.

-He paid for it and everything. -Oh, my God.

Someone? The truth.

He was an animal.

Total party guy. Drinker. Gambled.

Disappeared for days. He drove her crazy.

They would have these fights that lasted days.

That´s enough.

Well, it´s not, actually.

Remember him as he was and you might get over it.

I mean, you talked to me about leaving him ten times.

Shut up! I loved him.

I know you did, honey! That´s not the point!

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

I need to check on the pie.

[ Insects chirping ]

That cop was at the brewery.

On his way home?

Tim was drunk and started talking crap to him about you,

and then he tried to bribe him.

You okay?

Yeah. My heart just stopped for a second.

Go on. I´m fine.

Did he take it?

No, no. Of course he didn´t take it.

But it sort of gave him the idea

that something fishy was going on.

That´s a very old-fashioned expression, Matt.

"Something fishy."

Are you listening to me?

I´m just having a sort of out-of-body experience.

Just give me a moment.

[ Exhales deeply ]

Mum.

Did he arrest Tim?

No.

But you thought he took it seriously?

Or did it seem like the ramblings of a drunk?

I don´t know. Both, maybe. It just --

I know it doesn´t matter because you´ve got nothing to hide.

I just -- I thought you should know.

Mm. Of course.

Yes. Thank you, darling.

Thank you.

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

I think Ken´s in danger.

Oh, my God.

Celia´s teaching them how to pole dance

and she´s nominated Ken as the pole.

[ Laughing ] Oh.

You okay?

My sister.

Yes.

Siblings can be tricky.

I´ve noticed that too.

It´s true what she said about Mark.

Right.

I loved him, but he drove me crazy.

Isn´t that how you know?

I guess so.

So you were gonna leave him?

I don´t know.

I would threaten it, but...he´d always win me back.

It´s like we were entangled in a way

and I couldn´t get free from him.

Then he died.

And...

...I just wanted to be entangled again.

I desperately missed it.

I´m no good at relationships.

Never have been.

Truth is out.

We have so much in common.

[ Cellphone chimes, buzzes ]

What is it?

[ Mid-tempo music plays ]

[ Insects chirping ]

[ Thermometer beeps ]

It´s high -- 38.7.

Infection?

Maybe, and we are taking out

one of the things that helps fight bacteria.

It´s strange.

Maybe I missed something.

Maybe she´s still bleeding internally.

We checked.

Maybe I fucked up.

She doesn´t look well.

Let´s give her antibiotics and wait.

[ Monitor beeping, respirator hissing ]

What?

I never should have done it. I knew it.

She´s got complications. We´ll deal with it.

Surgery is always a risk.

All a doctor has is his brain and his gut instincts,

and my instincts said --

And I listened to you because of our friendship

when I should´ve listened to myself.

You listened to me because I´m your boss.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

[ Insects chirping ]

[ Snoring ]

Penny, I need yogurt...

[ Bottles rattle ]

...bananas...and a whisk.

Are you making a smoothie?

I don´t think so.

[ Music continues ]

Oh, my God.

[ Birds chirping ]

Good morning, Detective.

Good morning. Were you waiting for me?

No. I like to take the town in in the morning light.

I mean, it´s beautiful, isn´t it?

Sure.

I heard you came across Tim, our beloved town drunk.

Don´t like to use the word "bipolar," but --

You heard?

-It´s a small town. -My son´s brewery.

Matt, the affable, big-eared barman.

Brewery, farm, mayor, shares in the jumper shop, no doubt.

Oh, a minor stake.

I´m an incredible woman.

That´s no crime, now, is it?

Tim tried to bribe you,

but he also believes crop circles are by aliens.

He speaks well of you.

I helped him when he was young --

uh, remedial reading and that sort of thing.

Noble.

One does what one can.

Anyway, I´d hope that you didn´t misconstrue it.

Do you know the broken-windows theory of criminology?

It means that if someone will break a window,

they don´t mind breaking the law,

which means larger crimes are usually attached

to smaller ones.

What a fabulous imagination.

-[ Chuckles ] -Maybe. Maybe not.

-Uh, Darren? We on? -We are.

Oh, where are you off to? Somewhere nice? The vineyards?

Uh, just for a drive. Thanks for the chat, Meryl.

But where are you off to? Hot-air ballooning, maybe?

Uh, just for a drive.

CELIA: [ Breathing heavily ]

I think you cricked my neck.

You bet I did.

[ Cellphone ringing ]

Oh.

Meryl?

I´m not sure, but I think Darren´s on his way to raid me.

I´ll be right there.

He´s not gonna find anything, is he?

I don´t need to know. Just saying.

I-I can´t really move it, my neck.

WOMAN: The annual vintage tractor show

was back in town earlier this week...

-[ Telephone ringing ] -...displaying over 200 antique

and classic tractors.

Exhibitors came from all over the country.

[ Cellphone beeping ]

[ Cellphone ringing ]

Mm.

Mum. What´s up?

You need to do exactly as I tell you.

No questions asked.

-Just do it. -What´s going on?

That sounds like a question.

I want you to go to the fountain.

Under the maidenhair fern,

in a pot, is a black plastic package.

Get it and go and stand in the empty water tank

until I call you and tell you what to do next.

The water tank?

Yes. The one you hid in when you were a kid.

-You banned us from there. -I´m unbanning you.

What´s happening?

Blind obedience to the mother who bore you.

Now, hurry.

[ Up-tempo music plays ]

[ Birds chirping ]

[ Exhales deeply ]

What´s going on?

I don´t know.

[ Birds chirping ]

Hayley.

Here goes. I´ll do it.

I´ll lie and I´ll say what you said to say

if they re-interview us.

Stop there.

But I just need you to know -- I found the boxes.

I hid them. I was trying to destroy them.

-I couldn´t and then -- -Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no.

Stop talking.

Sorry.

Oh, I had to unburden myself.

I just needed you to know the truth.

I thought with client confidentiality,

you were the one person I could tell.

No.

That´s doctors and American lawyers.

In Australia, I cannot represent you

if you tell me you´re guilty.

I just did tell you I was guilty.

No shit.

[ Door opens, closes ]

[ Dog barking in distance ]

What are we looking for?

Smoking gun would be nice.

Hi.

Well, hi again, Charlie. Seems like it´s a small town.

You have no idea. Do you want tea?

-We´re gonna search the place. -Okay. Sure.

I lost a blue scarf last winter,

so if you find that, that´d be awesome!

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

You´d better have a warrant.

Pinned to the door.

Find anything?

-We´re still looking. -Oh, come on, Darren.

Really?

I can smell something, Celia.

I think there´s more here.

It´d be nice to arrive and make a splash.

New sheriff in town. That kind of thing.

I´d like to re-interview your clients this afternoon.

We´d love that.

[ Music continues ]

[ Engine starts ]

[ Monitor beeping, respirator hissing ]

She´s febrile, and her heart rate´s still up.

What do you want me to do?

How´s the hangover?

Honestly, she probably feels better than me.

No change.

Let´s re-ultrasound her abdomen.

Mm. I agree.

I don´t need you to agree.

Too late. Already did.

Boss.

-[ Speaking Danish ] -[ Speaking Norwegian ]

Well, someone´s had quite the adventure.

It was very intense -- and surprising in a lot of ways.

She´s a very creative person.

I really do not need any further details.

What´s that thing you do for a hangover?

Medical thing.

[ Groans ] I am so sick.

Come with me, both of you.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

I don´t know why I never knew about this.

Betty is a font of strange knowledge.

So, are you, like, a ladies´ man?

Just that one lady. Really.

Well, don´t be coy.

You´re handsome as hell.

Thanks. You are too.

I´m handsome?

Ken, you...you call old ladies that look like horses handsome.

I meant you´re beautiful.

Whoa.

Are you coming on to me?

N-No.

I-I´m just sort of trapped in this conversation,

flailing about.

I just passed them on the road.

JIM: What a ridiculous fishing trip.

What did they think they were gonna find?

We´d love to chat with you, Meryl.

Really like that.

I might just talk to my lawyer for a moment.

CHARLIE: Oh, it´s a great idea.

You should really do that, Meryl.

-I´ll drop by the house. -We´ll put the kettle on.

[ Clears throat ] See you there.

Can I have a moment, Meryl?

I´ll make tea.

So here´s your problem.

He´s not gonna stop. He thinks he´s onto something.

And here´s the solution. Hayley.

What?

She told me she did it.

Found them. Hid them. I now can´t represent her.

Darren will get her alone and shake her,

and the truth will spill out.

Which isn´t a problem if you weren´t involved.

And hypothetically, if I was involved?

Then you´ll go down with her.

You need to get in first.

Meryl, we can throw her under the bus and watch it miss you.

He´ll have his scalp, which is all he wants.

I won´t.

Then she´ll take you down with her.

And she´ll get a good behavior bond.

As an elected official, you can get a year,

and all focus will be on you.

And if they find more --

which, if there is something to find, he will find it, trust me.

So you need to decide, Meryl.

You´re a big dog.

And big dogs know when they have to eat the small, loyal dogs.

[ Monitor beeping, respirator hissing ]

She´s deteriorating fast.

What is it?

Come on. We need to think.

We´ve stopped the bleed,

and yet the oxygen demands are increasing.

We need to intubate her, buy some time.

Her bloods show an elevated white-cell count.

There´s definitely infection.

Let´s run some more cultures and organize an airvac to Sydney.

I´ll tell her friend.

What´s this?

For a rainy day.

If I put this together with what Tim was saying about you,

I get a very bad feeling about my mother.

Matt, you´re an honest man.

You wouldn´t understand.

You can´t always be squeaky clean to get things done.

It´s a bribe. Meryl?

I view it as a vote of confidence

in my ability to change Whyhope for the better.

This is unbelievable. That cop was right about you.

Well, you´d better hope he wasn´t,

because I´m the licensee of the brewery.

That means you lose your license.

We can´t afford that.

I can´t believe it, and yet it´s utterly believable.

This is very difficult for me right now.

You just made us accessories to a crime, Meryl.

After the fact.

That´s the defense. You´ll be fine.

Oh. Well, let´s relax, then.

Look, no one is in trouble here.

Hayley will probably... be charged.

Hayley?

Yes. Or I will.

Which means the town will turn on us,

I´ll go to prison, you´ll lose your license,

and our income will plummet.

Hayley -- It´s a mistake.

She gets probation.

You´re actually gonna burn Hayley?

Mum, really?

We´re in a tricky spot.

We get out with as little damage as possible.

That´s the smart thing.

Or do we do the dumb thing that damages us heavily?

Thoughts welcome.

[ Cellphone rings, beeps]

Oh. I´ve got to go. Late for the fitting.

Thank you.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

[ Birds chirping ]

-[ Knock on door ] -HUGH: Betty.

Oh! Come in.

I´m at the vital stage.

Uh, what are you...

HILDA: [ Speaking Danish ]

[ Chuckles ] She wants to know if it´s a sex thing.

-[ Speaking Norwegian ] -Uh, we need to, um...

Stegt flaesk?

BETTY: Stegt flaesk!

[ Both laugh ]

Danish national dish.

[ Speaking Danish ]

Betty, I need to talk to you.

Oh, okay.

Look. It´s about her --

Oh, look at her.

Mmm.

You know that cheap farmer gave them nothing

but canned sardines to eat?

I wanted to do something nice for her.

Sardines?

Yeah.

Oh. What did you want to ask me about?

-Fish bone. -Fish bone?

[ Chuckles ] Fish bone!

Look.

Tiny perforation in the upper thoracic esophagus

on the right and...

Embedded in the right upper lobe.

It´s gone to her lung, and there´s an abscess.

Shit. That´s consistent!

Her bloods came back and made no sense.

-She got staphylococcus. -Third time lucky.

We go in, we get the abscess, we culture it,

slam her with the targeted antibiotics.

-She lives to fight another day. -As do we.

MERYL: [ Gasps ]

What do you think?

It´s lovely.

It´s beautiful work, Mrs. Thompson.

Meryl, you keep just saying it´s lovely.

I need more information.

Peaches are for pies, not for wedding dresses.

-Charlie! -Oh.

Oh, thanks for coming. How great.

I wouldn´t miss it. It´s so exciting.

-That´s terrible, though. -Agreed.

I´ll try another.

Wow.

My new sister-in-law. My family.

There´s nothing more important, is there, Meryl?

There is not.

One thing I know is family will do anything for one another.

HAYLEY: You bet.

MERYL: Even if it seems hard.

And if someone has to take a hit,

then the stronger one who deserves it more will do that.

And if someone can take a little pain,

perhaps to save others from a lot, they do that.

HAYLEY: Yep. Okay.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

This one?

It´s beautiful.

-[ Voice breaking ] Hayley. -Meryl?

Aw! Meryl!

You look beautiful.

[ Music continues ]

[ Birds chirping ]

Here´s what you say and you skate clear of this mess.

I can´t do it.

-You´re kidding. -No.

If he gets to her next, she´ll crumble and everyone goes down.

They´ll send ICAC up here.

Well, don´t let him get to her next.

I thought you were good at this.

I can try to cut a deal, but it might hurt.

I´m a big girl.

[ Door opens ]

Ladies.

-What do you think? -Oh.

That´s very nice.

Facts are, your evidence brief amounts to a phone call

that we´ve explained.

The DPP won´t touch it.

I´ve got time.

I can continue my investigation,

re-interview Hayley, see what else I can dig up.

We just want this to go away.

A deal?

Okay.

I need to look like the winner here.

What if Meryl stepped down as mayor

with no admission of guilt, no charges?

-If Meryl what? -I said it´d hurt.

DARREN: Well, if Meryl steps down,

that´d look tantamount to an admission of guilt.

So I´ll take it.

Meryl, do we have a deal?

And Hayley´s kept out of it?

Can I say ill health?

Well, everyone knows what that means,

so...I´d love it if you did.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

[ Footsteps approaching ]

Hey.

Hey.

Well, I´m done.

Did you win?

Let´s call it a draw.

So that Hugh guy.

I get why you´re with Toke and not him.

You do?

Toke´s nice.

He´s easy on the eye, and he won´t get deep under your skin.

What´s wrong with that? What´s wrong with easy?

Nothing.

That´s my point. You deserve easy.

I love you.

Kiss Floyd for me.

Bye.

Okay, Mum. I´ll be there.

Bye.

Oh, hey.

Your mum´s sort of off the hook.

Yes. I heard.

She, uh, needs my help with the announcement.

Don´t give up on Penny.

-I don´t know what you´re -- -What I´m talking about.

Of course.

But you heard me.

She´s worth it.

[ Down-tempo music plays ]

[ Cellphone ringing ]

Hello, handsome.

Hey, beautiful.

The best football player -- David Markson.

[ Laughing ] Oh.

Congratulations. A very spirited competitor.

And the best netball player...

-Jessie Irving. -So, our mother´s corrupt.

[ Applause ]

You´re very judgmental.

CHARLIE: Of course you don´t care.

She does her best for the town in her own way.

MERYL: The best basketball player...

-She takes bribes. -...Claudia Collins.

That´s a sick woman you´re talking about up there.

The whole sick thing -- No one´s gonna buy that.

It´s ridiculous.

MERYL: Very good.

Mm. Maybe.

[ Gasps, exhales deeply ]

And the coach...of...

[ Exhales sharply ]

[ Audience murmuring ]

Clear a path! Clear a path.

You´ve got to be kidding me.

CHARLIE: Unbelievable.

Stand back.

Clear!