| What A Rash And Bloody Deed Is This | |
|---|---|
| Season Six, Episode One | |
 Police tape over the West's driveway | |
| Air date | July 13, 2010 |
| Written by | James Griffin Rachel Lang |
| Directed by | Britta Johnstone |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous I Have A Daughter (Season Five) |
Next Do Your Mother's Commandment |
What A Rash and Bloody Deed Is This is the first episode of Season Six. It was the highest viewed episode of the whole series and the most watched single episode of any television show on TV3 until the final episode , Tis So Concluded. It takes place three days after the events of I Have A Daughter.
Synopsis[]
The Wests defend their mother’s honour; Van goes on the attack and all in all there are one or two bombshells.
Plot[]
Loretta watches as Pascalle is rushed to hospital.
The Wests raid their own house, which since the tragic events following Loretta’s wedding, is a crime scene. Cheryl has been arrested for the assault on Gerard, but Des Stewart QC is only too happy to represent her. Cheryl is worried about the cost, but wants bail so she can see her daughter . . . Pascalle is in hospital, attended by her admirer Aaron Spiller, but discharges herself to attend Cheryl’s hearing. She arrives too late, but is thrilled that her mother has got bail. She is less thrilled when Van angrily tells reporters his sister has been shot through the tit and this features on the news.
Cheryl regroups as Van’s lawyer arrives to get background on the charges he is facing. Jethro recognises her as a less-than-stellar law school student, but Van and Munter are most impressed when she smokes dope with them. Van still wants vengeance on the cops for the family’s woes, but Cheryl calls a halt to this. She doesn’t want anyone in any more trouble, and especially not over her. Van’s problems are compounded when his flatmate Angel bails, fearing the cops will recognise her. Cheryl and Judd still have outstanding issues, but she is grateful for his support.
Loretta is keen to get out of West house and back to normal, but in the morning Des has bad news. Gerard has died of complications from blood loss, and the cops arrive to charge Cheryl with murder. Loretta is mostly worried about Des’s fees, and though accused of being heartless, she directs Van and Munter back to work. But on their way to the job, Van spies an unattended cop car and steals it. He vents his anger on the car and its contents and pisses in it for good measure. Van plans to flick the car, but as soon as Falani hears that Gerard is dead, he wants nothing to do with the Wests or stolen cop cars, and Aaron isn’t interested either.
Cheryl is in shock that she killed a man, but Des prevents her from any admissions. With Judd she reveals her turmoil; that her disturbed frame of mind and ill-considered actions led to this. He urges her not to over think this.
Loretta, upset, rails at the costs which she and Hayden will need to bear. At this, Hayden reveals he has financial difficulties, and the bank is foreclosing on his house. Loretta is appalled that he did not tell her this before they married, and demands an annulment from Jethro, who is entirely unsympathetic. Hayden tries to reason with Loretta, but she feels betrayed. Hayden guesses the only good thing is that they already have a custody agreement: Cheryl’s days can now be Loretta’s.
Van now tries to dump the car, disguised as a cop, but as he does so, a hoon flips him the finger. Van, incensed, chases the prick – then finds that the hoon’s car is stolen. Van is pleased, seeing resale value. Falani takes the boy racer car – but not the cop car. Cheryl appears in court for her bail hearing, where – to everyone’s shock – she pleads guilty to murder, and the judge accepts her plea. Everyone reels from this, especially Judd, who cannot understand why Cheryl has done this. Cheryl reveals that when she bottled Gerard, she did want to kill him. She feels she is guilty and should bear the consequences.
The siblings regroup to consider their mother’s insane decision, but when Van has a brilliant plan to break her out of jail by pretending to be a cop, they realise he has stolen a cop car. Loretta deals with the problem by torching it, and the West siblings face a whole new world without their mother, and her rules . . .
Characters[]
Critical Reception[]
TV3 news anchorman, John Campbell, appears as himself. The episode received highly positive reviews with Jane Clifton of The Dominion Post being quoted as saying 'Outrageous Fortune was as good as ever'. [1] Clifton then went on to say Loretta was a highlight of the episode. She mentions that the bonfire scene and the scene where Cheryl is arrested are highlights. Clifton then states that she looks forward to the rest of the season after such a exciting premiere.
Russel Baillie of the New Zealand Herald said that though the episode was a letdown from the exciting Season Five cliffhanger, it was still a good episode and that it looked liked Outrageous Fortune was ending with a 'bang'. [2] He is also quoted to say that Robyn Malcolm is the stand out of the show with an extremely accurate portrayal of a west Auckland woman.
Ratings[]
The episode is currently the most watched New Zealand made Television show ever with an initial rating of 711,570. It beat the previous highest rated episode of Outrageous Fortune, Season Fours Who Comes Here? by more than 300,000.
Production[]
A promotional poster for the episode.