| What Company At What Expense? | |
|---|---|
| Season 5, Episode 5 | |
 Celebrity, Suzanne Paul cameos in Pascalle's Best Bag Ever! infomercial. | |
| Air date | 30 Hune, 2009 |
| Directed by | Britta Johnstone |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous Drive His Purpose |
Next We Will Our Kingdom Give |
What Company At What Expense? is the Fifth episode of Season Five. It originally aired on 30 June 2009.
Synopsis[]
The slings, arrows and infomercials of outrageous fortune cause Cheryl to doubt her offspring, with potentially tragic results.
Plot[]
Everyone gathers for a momentous event, the launch of Pascalle’s infomercial for Best Bag Ever! Loretta goads Nicky and Sheree about the death of Garth, but Judd confirms Nicky’s story – the death was ruled an accident. There’s nothing more they can do.
More importantly, Pascalle’s joy is unbounded when punters start to call, but she now worries about how the workroom will cope. Kasey offers to help, and is disturbed by the Dickensian conditions for the elderly workers and Falani and Grandpa on the take. As Pascalle is on the up, Cheryl is forced to make a worker redundant to cut costs. Rochelle panics at this sign of downturn, and Cheryl is further goaded as Grandpa and Ngaire laud Pascalle’s success. Judd suggests easing the financial load by sub-letting the next door unit to Hoochie to Pascalle. Cheryl tries this, but her approach is to make out that she’s doing Pascalle a favour. Pascalle is affronted and refuses to hear any of Kasey’s concerns about BBE. Cheryl consults Jethro to see if she can get out of the lease, then finds that Jethro is prepared to take the lease for his new business. Cheryl is thrilled to be relieved of her burden and have one child who cares. But Loretta fears that Cheryl will be the landlord from hell, especially if she knows what kind of product they’re peddling. Kasey is disturbed to get confirmation from Rochelle that Hoochie is in trouble. And when she tries to front her concerns about pay and conditions at Best Bag, she gets short shrift from Ngaire and Pascalle. Desperate, and scared of reprisals, she turns to Cheryl, who she hopes might help . . .
Meanwhile, Sheree is determined to buy a house, and when Nicky can’t help she decides to put plans in place. When Loretta learns that Van is about to take out life insurance, she is sure she knows Nicky and Sheree’s angle.
Cheryl pays a visit to Best Bag, and quickly gathers that Falani is on the take. She counsels Pascalle that below minimum wages and third world working conditions are illegal. And if people found out about that . . . Pascalle is defensive, but insists she will deal with this. Pascalle confronts Ngaire, who is full of plausible excuses, but Pascalle is determined to play wise queen. Then her gift of heaters makes her realise that something has to give at BBE. So she magnanimously goes to accept Cheryl’s offer of the unit, only to find that Loretta and Jethro have snaffled it. Pascalle is upset at the implication she’s a bad child, and if Cheryl is worried about illegal goings on – what about the fact that Loretta and Jethro are drug dealers? A visit next door seems to confirm this. Loretta rarks up Cheryl further by being unrepentant, and also reminds her of Hayden’s involvement. Cheryl uplifts Jane from his care. As Pascalle finds that someone has dobbed in Best Bag to OSH.
Judd is concerned to find Van taking out life insurance – because he’s discovered that Sheree collected on her dead husband Garth. Cheryl refuses to buy into these conspiracy theories, because at least Van and Sheree are doing nothing illegal. The West children converge on Cheryl, Jethro to calm her down, Pascalle to take her on. At which Cheryl lays down the law about her rules. At this, Jethro points out that they don’t have to live by her rules if they are irrational and wrong. Cheryl is upset at her ungrateful children, but now there is worse to come as she starts to bleed. Is Cheryl going to lose the baby?