The Panthers Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
Episode 1 - TahiWhen Will's good friend, Shug, finds himself in a bind with city gang The Goldchains, Will steps in with a wild plan to raise some cash and get him out of trouble, quick. Although well-intentioned, Will's plan brings more danger and eventually repercussions for Shug and the rest of the group when they are caught. Thankfully for Will, his father has friends in high places (Will's father is Butler to the Governor General of New Zealand) and leans on these relationships to ensure that Will is released. Will's friends aren't so lucky. Will needs to make it up to his crew, so upon release, instead of going to church like his father asked him to, he rolls with his crew to a party called by the most feared gangster in town, Ice (Leader of The Huns). Ice is fresh out of jail and has a plan to unite the inner city gangs and burn down the system that has been built against them. Will is at a crossroads; follow Ice and fight fire with fire, or fight with the smarts that earned him the name 'The Chosen One' and become the leader that his community needs.
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Episode 2 - LuaThe aftermath of the Ice-led riot isn't pretty; Shug has been locked up and the Police are narrowing in on Polynesians in the central neighbourhoods. With the riot to point to; opposition leader Robert 'Piggy' Muldoon now has the perfect, racially-divisive ammunition to fear-monger the minds of his mostly white, middle-class constituency ahead of the election. With Muldoon's star rising, Will feels the need to counter-punch the racist narrative that he is pushing. Inspired by the Black Panther movement in the USA, Will rallies his peers and establishes The Polynesian Panthers. Ice, however, isn't too happy about this new circus that Will has brought to town; his Panthers movement is encroaching on Ice's territory. Young Will tries to explain that he now needs to prioritise the fight for justice over the fight for the streets, but Ice doesn't let him off that easily. If that's what Will wants to do, he'll have to 'pay his taxes' to Ice. A ticking time bomb is activated. Making things even more dangerous for himself, Will has fallen in love with Tessa, the mother of Ice's child, and is pursuing her. Eek. Meanwhile, Muldoon ups the gusto of his racially-targeted campaign push with a rally at the Town Hall. Thousands of Muldoon's staunchest supporters show, as do The Panthers - to wreak havoc and hopefully spoil the party.
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Episode 3 - ToluAt a family function, Will has a scrap with his SAS soldier brother, Ken, who has returned from Vietnam. Will challenges his brother, 'You're fighting for the man, while I'm fighting against him'. Ken overpowers Will, stomping on his black beret, while wearing his green one, proudly. Lusitania visits Will at Panthers HQ, unimpressed by his activism work. She can see that something is up with him, but he isn't forthcoming with details. Lusitania enlists the help of Officer Mike Havili to investigate Will. Havili begrudgingly agrees, but warns that he may uncover some things that Lusitania isn't ready for. Will's love for Tessa becomes all-consuming; he misses a Panther project and, instead of preparing for his TV interview, goes to the docks to talk Tessa out of seeing any more of her clients. Tessa's not impressed by Will's jealousy; 'If you didn't like what I do, you should've never got involved with me'. Will is earnestly apologetic and eventually, the pair kiss before... 'Snap'. It's Havili, with a long-lens camera. The pair try to back-pedal, but it's too late. 'What will Ice make of this, Tess?', Havili bitches. Will tells Tessa to pack her stuff. They'll leave town before Ice gets to them. He's just got to do his TV interview and he'll join her. Will pours his heart out on TV, rawly and beautifully, as Tessa gathers her baby and their belongings. Just as they are leaving, we hear the sound of sirens and dogs barking. Doom.
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Episode 4 - AWe learn that Melani's Mum has passed away. She is now the sole woman of her home. Meanwhile, after Prime Minister Kirk's passing; an election has been announced and campaigns are underway on both sides of the political spectrum. Trump-esque, Robert 'Piggy' Muldoon, campaigns powerfully on the back of anti-abortion and anti-immigration policies; making mince-meat of his comparatively timid opponent, Bill Rowling. He promises to 'take back the jobs that have been given to illegal overstayers' and 'clean the scum off the streets' - and assures the average bloke that he will 'Make New Zealand Great Again.' Melani can see what will happen to the Polynesian community if Muldoon gets in, and instead of grieving with her family, determinedly campaigns door to door to try and impact the result. Meanwhile, Will is in the dogbox with The Panthers. It seems word has got back to Ice about Tessa and Jerome's deportation and he is on a rampage. The Panthers send Will to work with the Aussie Panther chapter, to stay out of harm's way. When Ice can't get his hands on Will, he decides to take a different damaging path.
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Episode 5 - NimaWe open in the midst of a debaucherous right-wing party at a National Party supporter's extravagant home. The party is filled with predominantly 50+ year old caucasian folk, who are celebrating their mate, Robert Muldoon, who has just been elected as leader of the country. Muldoon chases a disinterested woman around the party before ending up in the pool with a bunch of other half naked men and women, who are pashing and sculling champagne from the bottle. We then head to Carolyn's new flat. She has moved in with Geraldine. Jimmy is looking after the kids at their house. Jimmy interrogates their daughter, Wendy, about other men who have visited the house when he's not there. Wendy confirms that Havili often visits their house when Jimmy isn't home. Jimmy's paranoia spikes to new heights. Meanwhile, The Panthers are mourning the attack on one of their troops, who is in Intensive Care after being assaulted by The Huns. Placing responsibility firmly on Will's shoulders, Melani takes over the leadership of The Panthers and demotes Will to menial tasks. Ostracised by his friends, Will does all that he can to win them back, but only makes things worse, until the point he gets so frustrated that he lashes out in a way that he later comes to regret. Also wound up and frustrated, Jimmy visits Geraldine's flat with the plan of forcing Carolyn and the kids to come home with him. When she rejects him, backed up by her flatmates and neighbour, Jimmy takes this as confirmation that she and Havili are having an affair and sets himself to take back control of the situation, at any cost.
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Episode 6 - OnoThe Police commence racially-targeted, inhumane Dawn Raids on suspected overstayers in the community. The Panthers have been fighting for equality within their community, yet here they are facing their worst ever treatment. It feels as though their movement is failing badly. Eyes start turning to their old leader, Will. The Police arrive at the Panther's HQ to arrest Will for assault, but Foof steps forward making a false confession, ultimately self-sacrificing for his friend, so that Will can continue the important work The Panthers have ahead of them. In the wake of his friend's huge move, Will steps up to the plate with a wildly inventive and risky plan for The Panthers to counter the Raids. Carolyn visits Havili in the hospital. Miraculously, Havili isn't too badly injured by the gunshot. Havili warns Carolyn that she should keep the kids away from Jimmy but doesn't elaborate. Havili's just happy to be alive and seems as though he will turn over a new leaf and become the man he has always wanted to be. Now willing to die for the cause to redeem himself with his friends and community, Will, with the help of a number of his loyal crew, put it all on the line to action their dangerous plan to stop The Raids.
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