- It was arsenic poisoning.
- This is a coincidence.
- I have no choice but to report this.
Your licence will be revoked, pending an investigation.
- Who is that in the picture with you and Auntie Hester?
- Um... nobody.
- Yeah, I will tell her, but in my own time.
- Heard you guys got, like, a chief or something.
- This guy comes close enough.
- Man, I feel like I should bow or something.
- You must be having so much fun
playing two boys off against each other.
- Well, you're definitely flirting with Gabe, though.
- Natasha!
- So, you and Dan just aren't a thing any more?
- Any more?! Were you ever a thing?
- It might have been a thing. I don't know.
['MYSTIC' THEME MUSIC]
Captions by Able. www.able.co.nz
[HAUNTING MUSIC]
[LIQUID SLOSHES]
Ugh!
Just don't get it.
[CELL PHONE RINGS, BUZZES]
- NATASHA ON THE PHONE: Hey. I didn't wake you up, did I?
- No, I was already up.
Got to get to the stables for the inspection.
- Ugh. I had mine yesterday. It was thorough.
She'd make a good customs officer.
- [LAUGHS]
- Would you be able to come and have lunch with
me and my mum today? - What?
- I've been in a total panic about it all week.
She can be so...
Look, it'll just be a lot easier if you're there.
- Yep. Sure. - Awesome.
Thank you so much. She'll love you.
- OK. See you later. - Bye.
[LINE BEEPS, FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
- Hi, love.
Is your mum up yet? - Uh,
I think she was getting ready. - Right.
- Are you OK, Gran? - Oh, good. Good.
Can we sit down?
There's something I want to tell you both.
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC]
This is your father.
- So, I spoke to your mum, and I said I would sort your ticket
to Queenstown for Soraya's birthday.
- Oh. - Yeah,
she sounded really excited about having lunch with you today.
- Yay [!] - No,
no, no. She- She misses you.
You know, she's thinking of moving to Auckland.
- What? - Yeah, there's a job.
So she can be closer to you.
[BROODING MUSIC]
- So, this is Gordon.
You saw my dad three years ago.
- Yes.
- And you've known where he was that whole time?
- No, no, no. I had no idea -
not until he turned up at Hester's.
No, the last time I saw him before that was
when I was pregnant
with you, and... - And he left. Yeah, we know.
But for the last three years... you could have said something.
- Didn't he want to meet us?
- You and your mum were going through hell;
you just lost your dad.
Didn't want to throw your lives into more turmoil.
- But that wasn't your choice to make.
- I was just trying to protect you.
- You should have said something...
then or any time in the last three years.
[SCOFFS]
- Mum.
- I may have messed up, love.
[CURIOUS MUSIC]
- It doesn't make sense.
I mean, I've never seen that rat poison before.
You know, it must have been in the cupboard for years.
- Yeah. No way did Tom leave that lying around
near the horse feed.
- Are you waiting for a formal invitation?
- Sorry? - Well, I'm assuming that
you're sitting here instead of tidying Blaze's stall.
- I've done it already. - Hard to tell.
- [CLEARS THROAT] Fine.
- I like your top.
Jazzy.
- So, where could the arsenic have come from?
- It's in rice. - It's in gold mines.
- In Kauri Point? Don't think there are any.
- Ah, here are the outlaws.
Drummed out of town, huh?
- No thanks to you. - [CHUCKLES]
So, how do I take out a horse?
- On a hack? - No.
On a date.
Uh, there was a stables at my last school.
- 'Course there was.
- I think everyone's up at the top field.
- Sweet.
[THOUGHTFUL MUSIC]
- Whoa. - Stop, this is illegal.
You've had your licence suspended.
- Yeah, but I can still- - As long as I'm running
these premises, you are prohibited from practising.
- Oh, come on. - Put the lunge rein down.
I've been thinking about you... constantly.
- What?
- Not keeping up with your insurance premiums
has left you in somewhat of a pickle.
You're not allowed to take in liveries, and you can't teach.
I think it makes most sense for you to sell.
Dulmoth Park are looking to expand.
- What?!
No.
I have built this place from nothing,
and I have done nothing wrong,
and I am going to clear my name. - Optimistic.
- Hey, so Ginty's on your case, eh?
- Yeah, we thought Tom was a sadist.
- Ugh.
- So, did you guys get anywhere with
where the arsenic came from?
- Caroline thought there may have been
some kind of Russian kingpin who poisoned the racehorse,
but then she remembered that was just
a plot of a film she saw on the weekend.
So basically, no.
- This is bad. - Yeah. I mean,
Tom couldn't even get the horse float fixed before all this.
- Wait, isn't Caleb meeting Alex later about
the pony trekking tours?
That might bring enough money in for Tom.
[METAL CREAKS]
[HAUNTING MUSIC]
- Issie. Issie, are you OK?
- Uh, yeah.
Do you know anyone that has a bracelet with a feather on it?
- Um... no.
Why?
- Had this really weird- - Oh, hi.
Did you guys want to come back into the tack room now?
Oh no. Wait, you can't.
Tack room's just for winners. - Winners? Really?
I don't see you winning any trophies recently.
- Yeah, well, that's cos my thumb's only just healed.
- Yeah. Yeah, sure.
- [HUFFS] You know, Harlequin was a little bit sluggish
this morning.
Maybe I need a faster horse -
maybe Blaze.
- What? No, she doesn't belong to you.
- You know, I might just go and take her out right now.
- Well, you can't. - Why not?
Tom told us she's a stables horse.
- Well, yeah, but- - And Ginty said that
stables horses were up for grabs,
so I guess there's nothing you can do about it.
I'll go get her ready. - No!
[INTENSE MUSIC]
- Oh, hey.
So, Ginty said that I should grab a hat
and take one of the stable's horses. You got any idea which?
She wasn't exactly chatty.
- You can't take this one. I'm riding her.
- Wait, isn't that Blaze?
- No way. - Seriously?
- You're not taking her. - I am.
And if it goes well, I might just keep on taking her.
- Don't you dare. - [SCOFFS]
- How about some backup? - Um...
- Dan. - Look, Issie, Tom's right.
You don't own her, so anyone can ride her.
- Yeah, but she's not a stables horse.
She- She came back for me.
- I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do.
- She's gonna hate it. You know she will.
- We can't stop her, Issie. - But, Dan, it's Blaze.
- [SIGHS]
- So you're really not gonna do anything?
Wow.
Thought you actually cared.
[HORSE NEIGHS]
- Ooh.
Ouch.
- That's Tom's hat.
[BLAZE NICKERS]
- What's wrong with her?
- Just kick her on; show her who's boss.
- Blaze. Come on, Blaze. - ISSIE: Stop it.
[SIGHS]
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
- Hi, I need to ask you a question.
This one?
Or this one? - What?
- Well, my mum always goes on about what I wear,
so which one?
- Listen, Natasha. Bianca took Blaze.
Ginty said she could. - Oh no. That sucks!
- Yeah, exactly. - This one's got a stain,
so I guess it's this one.
Or should I figure out something else?
- Look, I've got to go. - OK, see you soon.
- So, she took your horse, huh?
What are you gonna do about it? - Well, what can I do?
[PLAYFUL MUSIC]
Meet Bianca's horse, Harlequin.
- Are you ready? - Yeah.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
[MUSIC CONTINUES]
What's happening here? - My brother's little project.
- Wait, his- his glamping's going here?
- Mm-hm.
- Well, we're trying to protect the forest.
- My brother is selling paradise.
Believe me, he's gonna make sure it stays paradise.
Feels good to escape, right?
[UPBEAT MUSIC RESUMES]
[MUSIC CONTINUES]
- Cool, yeah?
- Reminds me of this great beach that
Alex and I used to go to when we were growing up.
There were these big rocks -
climb up them, jump into the ocean.
- I didn't think that you and Alex were that close.
- Um, used to be.
- What happened?
- I don't know.
Alex went to college and Mum...
kind of went south.
And then Alex couldn't deal with her mood swings,
so he just stopped coming back at all.
- What about your dad?
- Stone-cold loser - don't see him.
Now I'm being exiled to yet another boarding school.
It was so much easier being a kid.
- [LAUGHS] What are you now - 45?
- [CHUCKLES] No, I just mean...
Those happy memories -
they're like a long way away now.
- Yeah, I hear you.
- Yeah?
- Mm-hm.
Things are a bit rubbish right now.
- You mean at the stables?
- Yeah, it's a total mess.
And my mum just sold our house back in London.
It's, like, the last place I saw my dad, so...
- Ouch.
- I mean, I thought I'd feel OK, but, um...
I don't know. I guess I just feel a bit lost.
This morning, my gran dropped this huge bombshell,
and my mum is freaking.
She's been lying about my grandad.
It's complicated.
- You win. Your life sucks more than mine.
Um...
You got friends here, though, right?
- Yeah. Well, do I?
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
- Wanna get that?
- Nah.
- OK, then. [CHUCKLES]
- Yeah, I think I just got myself a bit wound up.
Um... Oh, and also, I'm really sorry about Blaze.
We're not letting Bianca get away with it. No way.
Anyway, I'll see you in a sec.
Thanks, Izz. This really means a lot.
[LOW CHATTER]
- What's this? - It's coffee.
- I wanted a juice.
- Mate, no one drinks juice at a business meeting.
- Oh. OK.
Hey, um, I thought I'd mention that
you're, like, a big deal on the marae.
- What?
- Maybe you could talk about that.
Give, like, a Maori spin on stuff.
- What am I supposed to say? - I don't know. Just...
- Well, I don't know, either.
- OK. Well, I'm just looking for an angle.
- Well, he's here anyway. Good luck.
- Hey, Mary. Just my usual, please.
Hey, amigo!
So, pony trekking tours.
Talk to me. - Yes.
Well, we ride out every day, so we know the forest inside out.
- This horse that can find the wild herd, this tracker.
- Blaze? - Blaze. Yes.
We're gonna need him for every tour.
- Will we?
- So we can guarantee a sighting of the herd.
- Yeah, OK.
Well, uh- well, you're gonna have to clear that with Tom.
Actually, uh, Ginty, maybe. - Right. Got it.
So, how about
you come and work for me?
- Really? - Mm.
Yeah. I'm gonna lay it down for you, all right?
I know how much this forest means to you guys.
I wanna work with the community, not against it.
I heard about what happened with Hexronn.
That is not my deal.
- OK. - I get the feeling from you
that you know how things shake down around here.
- Oh, yes. - Mm. Yeah.
Actually, you know, kind of remind me of a young me,
before all of this -
bad clothes, for sure, but, you know, big ambition.
- Thank you.
- 'FartyMcFishFace' - is this you?
- Yeah.
Well, my sister, she got a hold of my phone and I-
- Right. I just dropped you some docs.
Let me know your thoughts.
We'll talk soon.
OK. - You bet.
- Good boy.
- Hey, come get in this.
[CHUCKLES] Say, 'Gabe's my hero.'
- [LAUGHS]
[SHUTTER CLICKS, BOTH LAUGH]
- One more. - Wait, whoa!
- Whoa.
[SCOFFS] Anyone would think you cared.
- [CHUCKLES] Shut up.
[ROMANTIC MUSIC]
[CELL PHONE CHIMES]
Oh, I've got a voicemail. I should probably...
- For sure.
- Hey, Izz, it's Nats. I really want things to go right today.
- Oh no. - What?
- Mum might be moving to Auckland,
so it could be like a new start.
I guess I just got myself a bit wound up.
Oh, and I'm also- I'm really sorry about Blaze.
We're not letting Bianca get away with it. No way.
Anyway, I'll see you in a sec.
- You OK? - Can we go back?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- Oh, come on, Issie.
- [CHUCKLES]
[EXHALES] - Hi.
- You're...
vvvery pink today, Pumpkin. Ohh.
Mm.
So, where's your dad?
- Oh, he had to... - ...make a tactical exit.
- ...go to work. - [CHUCKLES]
And your friend? Where's she? - On her way.
- Oh. OK.
Well, I'm looking forward to meeting her.
I haven't met any of your friends since, um...
Oh, what were their names?
Um, the tiny one that smelt of guinea pigs.
Hannah. And the incredibly quiet one with the bassoon.
- Emily.
- Emily. [CHUCKLES] Emily, that's right.
Thick as thieves, you were. - That was 10 years ago, Mum.
- Really?
10 years? [SCOFFS]
- So, Issie's from London. She's actually really cool.
- Oh, I'm sure she is.
How's the riding going? - Good.
Um, I think I'm ready for my B test soon, and Aramis is
jumping really well- - So your cool friend, then,
where is she? It's a bit late. - She'll be here any-
- I just don't wanna miss our reservation.
- So Dad said you might be taking a new job in Auckland.
- Hmm?
- Does that mean you might be around a bit more?
- Oh, that. No. No, I turned that down.
That would have been a sideways step for me,
and it would have been such an upheaval for Soraya.
[GASPS]
That reminds me; I have to show you. [CLEARS THROAT]
It was dress-up at kindergarten the other day.
She chose her own outfit.
LAUGHS: Cute, huh?
Oh, she is such a little hellraiser.
Not like you - never broke a rule in your life.
Hey, I'm sorry, sweetie, but we're gonna have to get going.
- Um, OK.
- OK? - Yeah.
- And- Oh, when you come down for Soraya's birthday,
maybe just...
I dunno. Maybe just wear something a little more casual,
you know - a little less 'country club'.
[FOOTSTEPS RETREAT]
- Thanks a lot, Issie [!]
- Did you want another one of those, love?
- Uh, no.
- Daniel, now you've finished that,
can you give the coffee machine a clean?
No, not with that. You have to use a soft cloth.
- How am I supposed to know?
It's not like you've ever shown me how to do it.
- It's really not that difficult.
- Yeah, I wasn't born knowing how to clean a coffee machine,
you know? - All right,
leave it. I'll do it.
- It's like you expect me to magically know stuff.
It's not fair.
- If we're talking about the coffee machine,
then it's completely fair because I pay your wage.
But this isn't about the coffee machine, is it?
- How am I supposed to be this respected kaumatua
when I'm totally unprepared? My te reo isn't good enough.
I don't even know the name of Maori plants or anything.
And what was that internship about
if I'm never gonna leave Kauri Point, anyway?
- OK, all right. Take a breath.
Look, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.
- But why haven't you prepared me for this?
- Daniel!
I am your mum, and it's my job to love and protect you,
not groom you for leadership.
You'll find your feet when the time comes.
- And what if I don't? - You will.
You are extraordinary.
You just don't know it yet.
- You're just saying that cos you're my mum.
- You gonna do something with this?
I've taken all my stuff out. The rest is yours.
More secrets, no doubt.
[SOLEMN MUSIC]
- Hey, so Alex sent me his business plan,
and it's amazing.
He's doing this whole forest tour/glamping thing
with, like, fancy tents, hammocks, and hot tubs.
Tourists will love it.
- Tourists? That's a bit of a 180.
I thought we were trying to get rid of them.
- With what Alex has planned, the forest will be protected.
It'll be awesome for Kauri Point.
- Mm-hm.
- He's asked me to work for him.
I could be the next Alex Zarkoff.
- Cool [!]
- Something up? - Everything.
It's family stuff.
- Family -
can't live with them,
but we have to
because we're kids.
Also...
what's the deal with you and Issie?
- [SIGHS]
She hates me.
- Oh, you too.
- What? - She doesn't hate you.
Talk to her.
- Yeah.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
- Oh, yay [!] The firing squad already.
- If you've hurt Harlequin... - Get off that horse now.
- He's fine, but if you've hurt Blaze-
- Ugh, Blaze - she's useless.
And anyway, she's just a stable horse.
Harlequin belongs to me.
- That's true.
And if you ever steal a horse from this stables again,
you will be banned from the premises.
- OK, I get the message.
And I didn't want to ride your stupid horse anyway.
[SIGHS]
- Well, I don't know what she was talking about.
I liked your stupid horse.
- Mm. - Thanks.
[KNOCKING ON DOOR]
[KNOCKING CONTINUES]
- Natasha?
- Is Issie home? - No.
Aww. - [SOBS]
[SOFT PIANO MUSIC]
- [SIGHS] Natasha, it's me again.
So sorry. I- I don't know why.
I'm an idiot. OK? Just...
please, call me back.
[DOOR SHUTS]
Mum?
- [SNIFFLES]
- It's all right. Listen, you can talk to me any time, OK?
- Hey. I went to your house, but you're here.
- Where were you?
- I went on...
I went for a ride.
- You went for a ride?! - Gabe suggested it.
He said that- - Gabe?! Wow.
- Well, who's Gabe? - It...
It doesn't matter, OK?
Bianca took Blaze, and no one cared. It was so unfair.
- You are so selfish, Issie. - But I-
- I don't want to hear it. OK?
- Natasha, please. I'm sorry.
- Hey, what's going on? - Nothing.
- Issie.
Talk to me.
- Just leave it, Mum. - Come on.
[THUD!] - Ow!
Stupid thing. [CONTENTS RATTLE]
[CASE BANGS]
What?
[LOCKS CLICK]
SOFTLY: No.
- DISTANTLY: ♪ Cock-horse to Banbury Cross... ♪
- [PANTS]
[MYSTERIOUS MUSIC]
READS: To my dearest mother, how can you forgive me?
- VOICES OVERLAP: 'I so deeply regret ever having gone against
'your wishes, but I had to take him with me.'
- MEREDITH: I needed to change our fortunes. I was desperate,
but I know his death is on my hands,
and there is nothing I can do to change that.
My heart will remain forever broken.
Your loving daughter, Meredith.
- What are you trying to tell me, Mystic?
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
- [SIGHS]
[SOFT PIANO]
[CELL PHONE CHIMES]
[CELL PHONE RINGS]
- Hi.
- Issie, I'm sorry.
I should have stood up for you with Blaze.
I know what she means to you.
I came looking for you, but you must have gone home.
- Oh, um, right.
- Are we OK?
- Yeah.
- Good, cos that's- that's important.
- Thanks.
- Hey, well, I'll see you tomorrow, London.
[PENSIVE MUSIC]
['MYSTIC' THEME MUSIC]
Captions by Able. www.able.co.nz