As we near the end of season three of Rake, let’s take a look back and admire the personal accomplishments that Cleaver Greene has made in the past seven weeks. After prison, Cleaver re-entered the world to find that every facet of his life was in disarray: His career was at a standstill, his family was moving on without him, his best mate had cancer and his house had been overtaken by a nutty polish grandmother. There didn’t seem to be any room left in the world for Cleaver Greene.
Now six weeks have passed and look at him go! Scarlet and Cleaver are sharing an office (and cases) and Fuzz trusts him enough to have Cleaver defend him against serious drug charges, (which is good for both home and business life). Speaking of home life, Roger’s lost the plot under such extreme circumstances that Wendy’s actually moved in with Cleaver. Plus Barney’s on the mend and is back at his side. Even a new lass, Felicity, is finally getting starry-eyed. So many loose ends tied! We’re almost ready to ride off into the sunset with a scotch and a pair of Ray-Bans.
There are of course a few minor glitches to iron out: Wendy has slipped into a psychosis and only speaks Indonesian now, for example. And Cleaver still hasn’t ‘sealed the deal’ with Felicity. But that aside, it looks like relatively smooth sailing from here on out.
To be honest, it’s hard to worry too much about anyone at this point in the show. Everyone seems to change their mind and forget so much from one episode to the next, that worrying about their fate seems a little redundant. Whatever happened to the blob at the end of the bed? And why are Kirsty and Col suddenly being nice to Cleaver after two season’s worth of tug of war? Surely something more insidious is afoot than what appears, right?
It just feels a bit like the filmmakers have entered into the final straight and are trying to tick every plot box in time for the finish line, irrespective of whether it means making the characters do some totally out-of-character things. (The moment where Fuzz introduces himself as Greene’s diamond-mule son and everyone laughs hysterically, including Wendy.)
Having said that, the exciting Tikki Wendon/Bligh Phillips scandal looks set to reach a head next week, so that’s something to look forward to. Tikki’s idiot stepson is being called to account and she no longer has Cal McGregor to massage the public for her. Hopefully there will be some nice twists and turns in store for them. She is a great villain to have around; it’d almost be a shame to lose her.
This season has been characterised equally by moments of brilliance and of buffoonery. It’s been a fun, but at times, puzzling ride. Let’s hope that the season ends with a nice big twist and a bang. Rake has been very good at that, in the past.
Review Score: THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Rake screens Sunday nights at 8.30pm on ABC1 and you can watch the whole season on iView.
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