AUS Television: Offspring, Episode 1.8

Offspring
Series One, Episode Eight
Original Air Date:  October 17, 2010

Nina's guilt is working overtime over her night with Mick while Chris was in Brisbane.  Mick is coping with the aftermath of his night with Nina and is getting plenty of concern and advice from the Proudman family.  Nina must perform a cesarean on a brain dead woman to try and save the baby.  An old friend of Billie's returns.  Nina reveals the truth to Chris.

Nina is feeling guilty about her night with Mick and wakes up seeing the word "guilty" written everywhere.  She fantasizes Chris sitting in her bedroom talking about how he went away for a few days and she couldn't resist another man.  When she denies it was anything like that, Mick shows up.  Chris and Mick end up having a conversation about how Chris sees Mick as Billie's man because he thinks they're meant for one another (as does Mick). 

At Geraldine's Billie questions Nina as to why she's barely spoken to her or looked at her all morning.  When Geraldine starts pressing Billie about what she is studying and any problems she might have then suggests Billie should have Nina help her, Billie says Nina is too busy having sex to help her.  This draws the curiosity of Geraldine and Jimmy and makes Nina even more uncomfortable than she already is.  Everyone assumes it was Chris Havel Nina was with the night before and when asked, she agrees.  Jimmy mentions that he's taking some food to Mick.  Nina and Billie ask him about in (in stereo!) and he tells them that Mick had an accident last night.  Jimmy took him to the doctor after Mick said he put his hands out to break his fall from a staircase and broke his wrists. 

After leaving Geraldine's Nina calls Mick to check on him and he admits he fell last night while trying to get away from her apartment.  She asks him to never, never, never, never tell anyone they wound up in bed together and he agrees.  When he gets off the phone with Nina and goes back to trying to make a peanut butter sandwich (which is hilarious!) the phone rings again.  This time, it's Billie.  She wants him to see a specialist.  She asks how the accident happened and he starts to answer then says he has to go.  A third call comes in and it's Geraldine calling him wanting him to go to a specialist.  Darcy later calls him with a horror story about a mate of his that had to have his wrists broken a second time because of bad medical care.  Nina calls him a second time to advise him to see a specialist for his wrists.  Jimmy arrives at Mick's and poor Mick gets the "see a specialist" advice yet again.

Nina arrives at work worrying over her guilt and how she is going to face Chris.  Dr. Clegg wants to see her in his office to inform her she will be performing a cesarean on a patient being transferred to the hospital that day.  Before he can give her any more details, Chris knocks on the door and comes into the room.  He sits down and Clegg continues to tell them that the woman has had some serious medical conditions and is still in danger of liver failure.  Chris is called away for an emergency leaving Nina with Clegg.  She questions why Clegg isn't doing the procedure himself and it is because the husband has requested a woman to do it.  Clegg reveals to Nina that the woman is brain dead.

A pregnant woman comes into the hospital and when Nina goes to do her checkup, she asks Nina if she remembers her.  The woman is Stacy Jordan (Sacha Horler), Billie's best friend as a teenager.  The two girls got in mountains of trouble when they were younger leaving Nina with horrible memories. 

Chris walks up to Nina while she is at the snack machine and as a good cover story as to why she couldn't let him in her apartment last night is racing through her head she blurts out "I slept with Mick".  Chris is stunned.  He's called away on a case and simply says "Okay".   

Billie is having troubles with her realtor class and Darcy does a bit of tutoring to her at the office.  She is worried about her ability to be a good realtor and thinks she might be good at nothing more than getting houses ready for inspection. 

Cherie spends the day with her father so he can bond with Ray.  She makes it clear to him that she doesn't want to marry Darcy.  Her asks her to, at least, get Ray baptized because the Bible has laid it out pure and simple.  She tells him she's read it and doesn't believe it.  They end up in an argument where Cherie tells him she isn't ashamed of the way she lives.  She accepts his faith and wants him to have faith in her. 

Jimmy has moved on to a new sort of medical testing thanks to his ability to lie.  He goes to medical centers, pretends to be sick, gets examined then gives the doctors a score.  He prepares for his first visit and receives some coaching as to how he should and shouldn't present his "condition" to the doctor.  He asks if he will have to pee in a cup and is quite proud that he can "pee on cue".  When the nurse he's speaking with asks if he wants to show her that skill right now, he shakes his head and says he doesn't want to run out.  She mentions him being "a person like you" and his "status" from the answers on his psych evaluation but can't tell him what she means by that.

Jimmy brings Nina lunch and tells her about his first medical exam.  Their conversation leads Nina to ask him if she is a good person.  Nina calls Mick and tells him she told Chris about them having sex.  She couldn't lie to Chris.

Stacy pays a visit to Billie at Proudman Realty.  The two decide to have lunch to catch up on old times.  Billie asks about Stacy's daughter.  Her daughter was taken from her by the authorities.  Stacy wants to stay at Billie's for a couple of nights.  Billie tells her she's living with Nina and she can't stay there but she takes Stacy to Mick's so Stacy can help

Nina speaks with Grant Reece (Teague Rook), the husband of the brain dead woman she will be performing the cesarean on.  Grant tells Nina that her delivering the baby is the last thing that anyone is ever going to do for his wife since once the baby is delivered, the machines keeping her alive will be turned off.  Nina promises him she will be careful.

Cherie suggests that Billie get Nina to help but she refuses.  She doesn't want Nina's help at all.  She and Nina argue because Billie believes Nina thinks she's is stupid.  Nina calls Billie selfish.  Billie goes to Mick's and cries to him about how she is the reason everything has gone wrong for her and her family.  Mick tells her to ace up and open her book.  He'll help her study. 

Nina does the cesarean on Caroline Reece (Michelle Celebicanin).  She delivers the Reece's son and hands him to Chris.  Later, the machines keeping Caroline alive are turned off.  Nina and Chris talk out on the balcony of the hospital.  Everything of the past couple days is too much, she feels.  Chris was proud of what she did with Caroline Reece.  She apologizes again about Mick and tells him he has no reason to forgive her and every reason to be angry. 

Jimmy quits doing the medical testing because it just isn't who he is.  He thought the job would be a fun way to make money but it hasn't been everything he wanted it to be.  That night, while at the pub with Darcy, Geraldine, Mick, Cherie and Cherie's father, Jimmy and Mick pretend to be lovers and relate how their relationship came to be so much more than just mere friendship.  Jimmy and Mick snuggle and cuddle with one another while Cherie's father questions Darcy if he worries about young Ray being exposed to Jimmy and Mick.  Eventually, it's finally revealed that the whole Jimmy and Mick thing is a joke giving everyone a good laugh (except perhaps Cherie's father!).  Billie arrives at the pub and apologizes to her parents for all the trouble she's been to them. 

The next morning, Nina goes into work and is met by Kim who says a lady has come into the hospital and claims to be Chris Havel's wife.  Chris walks out and greets Nina then sees his wife.

This episode was a mixture of great laughter and great sadness.  Nina having to deliver the son of Caroline and Grant Reece was very emotional.  The moment was bittersweet for Grant Reece.  He was welcoming his son into the world but, at the same time, he was losing the woman he loved more than anything else.  As a complete opposite, seeing Jimmy and Mick pretending to be gay was awesome.  Jimmy played up the boyfriend thing excellently and I couldn't help but laugh out loud throughout the entire scene.

Don't miss Offspring next week when we find out how Doc Hottie is going to deal with the return of his wife and what that means to the fractured (but hopefully mending) relationship he has with Nina.  Does his wife want Chris back or is she there to completely sever the relationship with a divorce?  I can't wait till next Sunday!

Offspring airs on Sundays at 8:30 p.m. on Ten Network.
Official Site:  http://ten.com.au/offspring.htm
The Internet Movie Database:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1530541/
TV Rage:  http://www.tvrage.com/shows/id-25992