Series 2 Episode 1 is the first episode of the second series of Westside, and the seventh episode of the series overall. It premiered on TV3 on June 12, 2016.
Official summary[]
Rita West is reunited with love of her life Ted, but has lost a son. The gloves are off in the war with the Horsemen and there's a storm in a teacup... actually a whole tea-set.
Plot synopsis[]
It is 1981 and Rita West returns home from prison, having been released early because she was a model prisoner. She enters her living room where Sparky is watching a film of Wolf surrounded by flames, and learns that he doesn't live there any more.
Ted is in the pub, placing bets with Lefty and Phineas. Rita enters and she and Ted immediately retreat to the toilets to have sex. Phineas and Lefty question Rita about life in a Christchurch women's prison. Ted brings drinks to the table, and Rita thoroughly enjoys her first drink in a while. Rita inquires Ted about Wolf, and he tells her about a series of incidents involving The Horsemen, shown through flashbacks:
Phineas beat up a Horseman as Ted kept guard, The Horsemen performed a drive-by shooting at the West house, and Wolf took matters in his own hands to get revenge, going to the Horsemen HQ with Sparky and setting fire to their motorcycles. The pair were caught and beaten, until Wolf confessed it was his idea and cut a deal with them. Rita asks Ted why he didn't tell her about this, but they had agreed to have the same rules as when he went away: "You can't do anything about what's going on outside so you don't need to know."
Rita takes Ted to the Horsemen HQ to get Wolf, who is now a prospect for the gang, but he refuses to come with. The Horsemen president, Buck, informs Rita that Wolf is free to leave, but their truce will be over and there will be repercussions. Rita pleads for him to come, but Wolf states that "It's what I want. It's what I owe you." As she and Ted leave, a furious Rita screams a final warning to the Horsemen: "If you hurt him, if you harm him in any way, I'll fucking kill ya! I will, I will fucking kill ya!"
Returning home, Rita screams at the German Shepherd dog in her yard to "fuck off" until it runs away. They prepare for a get-together of the gang and wives to celebrate Rita's return. Ted says they can wait a few days, but Rita thinks it will be good to see them all to save her telling the same stories over and over. Lefty asks the big question: "So how was women's prison?" to which Rita promptly answers "You boys have been inside so you know the deal. You do what you have to, and what happens there stays there." The men awkwardly leave the room to light the barbecue.
Lefty shares the take from their last job with the lads, while the women discuss children inside, of which Carol still has none. Falani, Eric and Sparky are smoking a spliff in Wolf's bedroom while missing their friend. Bert and Phineas discuss Bert and Falani's collaboration, where the latter steals cars in the south and Bert sells them in the West. Bilkey has to leave early for a date before he's off to Sydney for a week, being in the "glamorous life of menswear." He asks Ted if Rita is okay with the way things played out, and Ted reckons "it will nag away at her until something fucking gives." In the evening, a drunken Rita cuts loose dancing in the living room until she and Ted make their way to the bedroom. Meanwhile, Wolf is in a boxing ring fighting one of the Horsemen, blood running down his face.
Rita goes to The Galleria, where she discovers that Eric has moved in "to defend it." He kept The Horsemen happy by giving them all the money from the Carless Days Exemption Stickers scam. He hands Rita a box with profits from when she was inside, which is not much as business has been shit. Rita embraces him, and he takes the chance to feel her butt, which she allows him to for "five seconds and then we're even."
In the pub, Mike McCarthy buys Ted and Phineas drinks, and reckons that Rita wasted a year of her life because Wolf will be going away anyways, along with the rest of The Horsemen. Ted goes to the Horsemen HQ and tails Wolf's car, and they stop to talk. He informs Wolf that there's a snitch in the gang, and Wolf will be the first to go down, so Ted wants him to come home with him. Wolf refuses, because staying is his only choice as he's the only thing stopping them from attacking his family. At dinner that evening, Ted tells Rita about the encounter, and assures her that they're getting him out of there whether he wants it or not.
Coming in to open The Galleria, Rita finds that Eric is already there with a box of nick-nacks which turn out to be rare and valuable ceramics by Clarice Cliff and Susie Cooper, which Eric has been stealing to order from The Horsemen. Cannonball arrives to retrieve the box, but Rita threatens to drop it unless he gets out of the store.
Afterwards, Ted and Phineas spot Cannonball in a phone booth, and Phineas attacks him until Wolf stops him. Buck visits the West house that evening to sort out matters, and says that he is not involved in getting Eric to steal the pottery, though it would be helpful if Rita could hand it over. Ted suggest they should let Phineas have a go at Cannonball as a way of making things right between them, and asks Rita not to make matters worse and let the men sort it out. Phineas is sceptical of going to a boxing match at The Horsemen's gym, thinking it could be a trap. Rita doesn't see how this plan will help them get Wolf back, but Ted says it puts them on a better footing with The Horsemen and says it's a long game, but assures her it will work out.
A woman enters The Galleria and claims that Rita has something of hers. Rita correctly assumes that she is the Clarice Cliff-collector. She introduces herself as Beryl Buckman, the mother of Horsemen President Arnie "Buck" Buckman, and asks what it would take for Rita to hand over the ceramics. At the night of the boxing match Ted's gang and the wives gather at the West house. Phineas wants a drink but Ted stops him. Carol, who is usually excited by Phineas' fighting, feels scared. Falani assures Rita they will have her back, except for Sparky who doesn't want to go. Rita wants a word with Ted, and asks him to tell Phineas he has to lose, explaining the deal she made with Mrs. Buckman, who wants Cannonball to win to restore his damaged confidence. Ted says the old bat better come through, and Rita is certain: "She will. She's a mother."
They arrive at the Horsemen's Gym, where they are met with hostile looks from the gang. In the changing rooms, Ted presents the plan to Phineas, and even though he is hellbent on avenging Carol, he agrees to it. During the match, Phineas struggles to make it looks convincing and knocks Cannonball down several times until the third round. In the break, Ted whispers a new strategy to Phineas and in the final round, he bites a piece off Canonball's ear and kicks him in the groin before delivering a final punch. This triggers a huge fight between everyone until Buck fires a gun into the air and announces Cannonball as the winner.
Rita goes to Mrs. Buck to complete the deal, and although it's not exactly what she had in mind, she gives the order to Buck. He tells Wolf he's not a Horseman anymore and to fuck off, that they're all good and there's no bad blood. The Wests get on their way, and Buck gives Wolf the final words: "Hey, just don't cross me in the future, all right?"
Cast[]
- Antonia Prebble as Rita West
- David De Latour as Ted West
- Reef Ireland as Wolf West
- Dan Musgrove as Lefty Munroe
- Esther Stephens as Ngaire Munroe
- Todd Emerson as Bilkey
- Pana Hema-Taylor as Bert Thompson
- Xavier Horan as Phineas O'Driscoll
- Sophie Hambleton as Carol O'Driscoll
- Will Hall as Mike McCarthy
- Jordan Mooney as Eric
- Patrick Tafa as Falani
- Caleb Wells as Sparky
- Joel Tobeck as Des (credit only)
- Glen Levy as Darijo (credit only)
- Aaron Jackson as Cannonball
- Scott Wills as Buck
- Lynn Waldergrave as Mrs. Buck
Soundtrack[]
- Walking in Light by Th' Dudes
- Tears by The Crocodiles
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Rita West
- Poochie (dog) (first appearance)
- Sparky
- Ted West
- Lefty Munroe
- Phineas O'Driscoll
- Wolf West
- Falani
- Arnie "Buck" Buckman (first appearance)
- Cannonball (first appearance)
- Bilkey van Heeder
- Bert Thompson
- Carol O'Driscoll
- Ngaire Munroe
- Desiree Munroe (mentioned)
- Mike McCarthy
- Eric
- Beryl Buckman (first appearance)
- Mr. Buckman, Sr. (mentioned)
Locations[]
- West house
- Living room
- Master bedroom
- Back yard
- Wolf's room
- The pub
- Horsemen HQ
- The Galleria
- Horsemen Gym
Vehicles[]
- Ted's van, red 1966 Singer Vogue — EN2757
- Lefty Munroe's car, black
- Bert Thompson's car, red with white top
- Phineas O'Driscoll's car, purple and red 1971 Ford Falcon UTE — DQ 7795
- Wolf's car, black and white 1963 Holden EH — AE 729
Reception[]
The episode had 693,000 viewers, which was 99,900 more than last year's premiere. 450,000 of the vieweres were in the 25-54 age range. Westside won in it's time slot in the age range 25-54 and delivered a 9.8 rating, attracting an average audience of 109,900 people – 21,600 more viewers than last series.[1]
Notes[]
Storyline[]
This episode ties up the storylines and shows the aftermath of the cliffhangers from the previous series' finale: Rita being sent to prison and Wolf shooting Cannonball.
Cultural references[]
- Ted and Rita were at home last night watching Mortimer's Patch, which was a popular TVNZ police drama from the early 1980's.
- Eric gave The Horsemen all the money from the fake Carless Days Exemption Stickers they were selling, a campaign which Muldoon eventually canned.
- The Horsemen got Eric to steal ceramics by Clarice Cliff and Susie Cooper, which had a revived popularity in the 1980's, 50 years after their making.
Outrageous Fortune connections[]
- Ted has grown a new beard, a style he would continue to sport throughout his entire life. Upon seeing it, Rita commented that she was "not too sure about the beard." Ted responded that she would get used to it.
- The Horsemen shoot at the West house, breaking one of the screens in the fence on the balcony, showing the origin of the missing screen throughout the entirety of Outrageous Fortune. The screen was replaced for filming of the first series of Westside.
- Buck, The President of the Horsemen, tells Wolf not to cross him in the future, which is exactly what Wolf does in Season 2 of Outrageous Fortune, when he organises a job to steal money from the Horsemen.
Timeline[]
The episode takes place over six days, though it is not certain these are consecutive days. It is only established that the episode takes place in 1981.
- Day 1: Rita returns home, they go to see the Horsemen, have a welcome home party.
- Day 2: Rita goes to her store. Ted meets McCarthy and goes to see Wolf.
- Day 3: Rita finds Eric's ceramics in her store. Phineas beats up Cannonball. Buck visits the Wests.
- Day 4: Ted presents the plan to Phineas and Rita.
- Day 5?: Mrs. Buck enters Rita's store.
- Day 6?: The fight at the Horsemen HQ
Bloopers[]
- Flashes of light are seen when Rita and Mrs. Buck talk in the Galleria. These are from the still photographer taking photos, and were not meant to be in the final cut.
Quotes[]
- "If you hurt him, if you harm him in any way, I'll fucking kill ya! I will, I will fucking kill ya!"
- ―Rita West to The Horsemen[src]
"Not really."
"Wolf's not like that."
"It was an expression, Phineas."
"Not a very nice one."
"It's okay, Phineas. We all know if Wolf wanted to suck cock he would have joined the police force."
"Well you should get yourself an atlas."
"What's a stove got to do with this?""
"I know, Ted, because we were."
"Right.""
"Oh I had noticed."
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ "TV3 Win Sunday Night With The Block NZ Premiere Of Westside" Scoop.co.nz. June 13, 2016.