Everyone Loves Australians – The episode opens with footage of four detained Australian Defense Force members. Dylan “Cap” Fox (Kick Gurry) explains how his team was captured by rebels which earns him a rifle butt to the face. He sobs while saying freedom fighters, instead of rebels. Albhanis Mouawad (Lincoln Younes) tells his father that he only wanted to make him proud. Private Philip Wallace Choi (Alexander England) is cut off by Rowdy Gaines (Ben O’Toole) who urges viewers to send the tape to as many people as possible. He warns that they are going to be killed when his captors beat him mercilessly.
Newsreels and social media posts about the emergence of a hostage video in the island nation of Behati-Prinsloo are shown. A reporter claims Australian Prime Minister Warren Whistle (Bryan Brown) and American Secretary of State Alaska Adams (Susan Sarandon) have denied any knowledge of troops in the area. It is later revealed the hostage video was staged.
Today Show – Sean Penn (himself), Karl Stefanovic, and Rebecca Breeds (Josie Justice) make tacos to raise money for Penn’s charity. While explaining his taco recipe, Penn says the magic word, salsa, when the stage becomes a dance floor.
36 hours before being captured, Rowdy watches Penn’s performance from what appears to be a cell at the Jabbaroo Military Base. Colonel Bishop (Erik Thomson) tells him that fighting a war isn’t what it used to be. After mentioning his discharge request, Bishop asks if he would like to be sent home as a hero. Rowdy describes her daughter as a fighter before welcoming any opportunity to get home. He informs him of a Black Ops operation in Behati-Prinsloo where he and his team will breach Prince Depinder’s (Silvia Colloca) compound to erase damaging files from her mobile device. Rowdy points out that the Australian government vowed to stay out of that area. They briefly discuss the team before Rowdy questions if there will be medals. Bishop promises to clean up his mess and get him home. With both men in agreement, Bishop orders him to get his team ready.
6 hours before the capture, Philip monitors surveillance footage and gives Rowdy and Dylan the all-clear to move. They get another all-clear and a three-minute window when the Princess sits down on the toilet and grabs a nearby shampoo bottle. Once inside her room, they locate the phone without a problem but are rushed into hiding by a flushing toilet. Albhanis comes to their rescue by banging a gong outside and using his romantic wiles on the Princess. Accessing the phone, Rowdy finds is a provocative image of Colonel Bishop which he deletes without sharing with his team before they move out.
On their way out of the area, the Australians are approached by a van of American soldiers. Rowdy says there aren’t any Australians in the area. Albhanis boasts of their secret mission. Lieutenant Pete (Matthew Fox) jokingly asks if the mission entails the distribution of water and paper towels. Pete claims the Americans are doing what they do best. Rowdy sarcastically asks if it is losing wars before the Americans speed off with their middle fingers in the air.
Before a press conference, Jemima Justice (Bella Heathcote) confronts Bishop about flying around in a helicopter when they are supposed to watch their budget. He suggests they should be more concerned with protecting Australians. As he walks toward a group of reporters, she asks if he’s going to authorize the extraction of soldiers in Behati-Prinsloo. He says they don’t have any soldiers in Behati-Prinsloo.
The Australian team is in the Rebel Controlled Rainforest debating whether their extraction helicopter will see them before they are captured. Dylan says the chopper is 15 minutes behind schedule. Rowdy realizes they are exactly where the Colonel wanted them to be. He claims to have deleted coordinates to a nuclear bomb from the Princesses’ phone. Albhanis suggests they saved millions of lives before questioning if they’ll get medals. Reminding him of the mission being secret, Rowdy says they at least get to go home. Paul announces that they are at the right location. A hit in the face with the butt of a gun sends Rowdy into a whirlwind of memories. He remembers Bishop saying wars aren’t fought like they used to be.
Regaining consciousness, Rowdy finds himself naked and restrained in the rainforest next to his men. Shammi Amaral (Mel Jarnson) yells at them in a different language but they only recognize “American”. Upset, she yells at Mamalo Amaral (Dorian Nkono). The Australians deny their Americans. Rowdy offers to tell them the Americans’ location. Shammi suggests killing them. Mamalo warns it would turn into a public relations nightmare because Australians are loved by everyone. Rowdy mentions ransoms while pleading for his and his men’s lives. Mamalo is eager to learn more about ransoms.
Seconds later, the staged hostage video wraps up. Mamalo describes the video as spectacular while Shammi claims it was so believable that she nearly shot the Australians who are celebrating in their cell. The celebration comes to an end when they learn Pete and Utah (Jeremy Lindsay Taylor) have been detained. After blaming their situation on the Americans, Pete claims he and Utah were digging a tunnel while they were filming. He threatens to reveal the truth after their escape.
Sydney – Posing as a hooded attacker, Jemima pretends to rob Josie who catches on fairly quickly. Jemima asks why Josie can’t play along like their mother. Josie claims her life is on track. Jemima reminds her of her podcast with zero views. Handing Josie a USB drive, Jemima says it will help take down the people behind her termination.
Behati-Prinsloo – The Australian captives use the American tunnel to escape. Rowdy suggests staying but the team refuses. The four Australians bicker back and forth with the two Americans until they are captured. In the room where the staged video was filmed, Director Bustard (Fayssal Bazzi) rants about “Planet Earth” and iguanas. He explains how a newly hatched iguana escaped an attack by hundreds of snakes by fleeing to a nearby ravine. He points out that the iguana made a mistake by keeping the snakes a secret. Bustard claims to have been warning of the snakes in his country for years but no one listens. Assuring him that he is listening, Rowdy suggests utilizing the popularity of the staged hostage video to bring awareness. Utah says his cousin being in a “Ding Dong” commercial scored him more chicks than Elvis. Bustard reminds him that they are trying to escape. Rowdy says they are trying to survive. Later, Bustard shoots Utah in the head before saying, “This is what will happen to snakes that try to enter his ravine” while the camera is rolling. The episode ends.
C*A*U*G*H*T Review (Caught Review)
Although the premise of the series isn’t entirely original, the show did have a different feel. The jokes weren’t as rancid as one might assume and some of them were introduced rather nicely. I don’t know if it was because it was the first episode or because the show was only half an hour, but it felt like there was always a lot going on. That’s not necessarily a bad thing and the show is easy enough to follow. I also have to give kudos to all four of the Aussie captives. They not only pull off their roles, but they seem tailor-made for them. The episode earns a 5.3 out of 10.
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