A Review of 'Secret City' Season 2 Episode 5 - "For Whom the Bell Tolls"

We are nearly there now! And things are cranking up nicely. Episode five begins with Caroline (Laura Gordon) surprising Harriet (Anna Torv) and demanding that she gets her another audience with the PM. Caroline now seems a bit unhinged and she doesn't confirm or deny she killed her friend. It's just a shame she didn't spill the beans when she was talking to the PM before. The irony is of course that he also wants to talk to her!

Everyone is investigating everyone else.

Karen (Danielle Cormack) stirs things up at the Intelligence and Security Committee meeting, stating the obvious point (which I made as well thank you very much) that the IP address could well have been spoofed. However, her lobbyist boytoy (Tom Wren) must have betrayed her; she has been texted compromising photos and they have also been posted to her son. She then gets Declan (Benedict Hardie—still sporting a ridiculous moustache) to research the lobbyist and it turns out he actually works for Trebuchet, the dastardly drone manufacturers.

Vaughn is digging into Bailey's toxic history and discovers a pattern which suggests that the USA knew she was a spy and was bugging her communications. This would of course mean (keep up!) that the USA knew in advance about the ambush in Pakistan but failed to say anything to their ally. So much for US/Australian solidarity, the PM will most likely combust when he hears this! Vaughn hatches a plan to bug the ambassador's office, which hits paydirt. They have a Pakistani agent. As his boss says, “take this to the PM and stand the hell back.” I'm starting to feel a bit sorry for the PM, he's always a few steps behind the story.

More Twists

Harriet discovers that Caroline's dead buddy was living under the assumed name of John Smith. She then works out he was also in the same team as Caroline and Sullivan (Rob Collins). Maybe it was him who hacked the drone.

Caroline returns again to General Lockwood's place and in an echo of a twist in season one, a bird call which he can hear on the line as well as outside, makes him realise she is close by. For some reason she decides not to shoot him. Her next visit is to Sullivan.

Caroline then surprises Harriet again by visiting her mum (Fiona Press). That's two visits in one episode. She must really want this meeting with the PM.

Well she gets the meeting and as you can imagine, it doesn't go to plan and she gets shot. She was always going to get shot. Why didn't she simply ask to talk to him on the phone? She dies in her husband's arms. We wipe away a tear and fervently hope she gave a backup of her USB to Harriet. Let's remember also that Lockwood ordered the shot on her even though he was in debt to her for saving his life. What a meanie.

Yet More Twists

But that's not quite it! Thomas (Aleks Mikic) (who has been tasked with analysing where the drone hack came from) comes back to Vaughn with the news that it was indeed Pakistan. Vaughn doesn't understand why he would accept the Trebuchet lie until he checks the attached file—Thomas is blackmailing him. Vaughn is undone!!

And last of all, the lobbyist and the mystery man, now both confirmed Trebuchet employees, are discussing tidying up the remaining loose end. What could it be?

My quote of the episode: “In my experience no one really knows anyone.”

Thoughts and Predictions

So who ultimately was it who ordered the murder of Caroline? It's looking like Trebuchet to me.

Are Harriet and her mum actually related? They really do look like each other.

When will Sullivan finally start the rampage he has been building up to?

Is Bailey really dead? (sorry I can't help it)

Finally, and most importantly, how does the PM relax?