You dont need me to tell you that the titular China Girl is in that suitcase.
Her name is Cinnamon, and shes a sex worker at a brothel.
Everyones more interesting when theyre dead.
Credit: Lisa Tomasetti/See-Saw Films/SundanceTV
But were getting ahead of ourselves.
Turns out, police sergeant Al had been pimping out young people this teen included for sex.
Robin discovers this firsthand after she shoots Al in the chest while hes forcing himself on her.
Now, Robin is back in Australia and back at work.
Shes been gone a while, and shes training cadets, who arent exactly model students.
he asks in character.
As her boss later tells her: Youre supposed to encourage them.
In that room today, you were an asshole.
Also during this talk, he asks if they can get together that night so she can explain herself.
He starts by asking her about her love life.
Im celibate now, Robin states, coldly.
Thats a waste, he says, because of course he does.
Then he asks her about the shooting, noting that Al says it was personally motivated.
Did Al attempt to rape her?
How far did it go?
What exactly does she mean when she says he forced her head to his…?
Thats when she gets up and leaves.
Later, we see Robin drinking beer alone by the water.
But no one ever is, especially not Robin.
She goes home, where her brother basically kicks her out (also, he has a mullet).
A few beers later, Robin looks up Marys address and heads there.
Using Google to find your long-lost family its just likeLion!
Except condensed into less than a few minutes!
Twist: Her boyfriend was there the night Cinnamons body was taken away in the suitcase.
But when the women tell him Cinnamon is missing, hes very chill about it.
TV murderers are always so chill, man.
The other day I watched a fly die slowly and felt like I should be tried in court.
You know how her American accent was a bit off inBig Little Liesbut she looked dreamy as ever?
Its not the old guys that you oughta worry about, Mary assures them.
Its the young boys who are raised on porn who only want anal.
is bad, bad news.
This doesnt help convince her parents.
One day, youll look back longingly on this time when you were judging him for needing a ride.
When he leaves the table, Mary accuses her mom of flirting with him.
Is this how you flirt?
While mom and daughter are bickering, Puss is asking Marys dad for her hand in marriage.
This does not go well.
I honestly think she would kill me if I got in her way, she confesses.
And she likely gets it from her birth mother, who told her boss earlier, I dont quit.
After spying on Marys house, Robin goes to bed and dreams of glowing, trippy children surrounding her.
When she opens her eyes to see theyre not there, she howls in agony.
What a nice neighbor!
Robin wants the case, so she and Miranda head to the beach to check it out.
Once there, she opens the suitcase, looks inside, and says, Hello, darling.
You want to tell me what you saw?
That brings us to the end of the first hour.
These dudes are talking about Cinnamon.
Sometimes she makes me get her dumplings.
Leave Brett alone, T.J. (like dont let Brett be bad.)
T.J. says he tried to see her Sunday, but she wasnt there.
The last time Brett saw her was Friday.
Hes shocked shes gone.
So, yeah, Brett has a lot to learn about Cinnamon.
(Recap continues on page 3)
Chapter 2
Johnno.Johnnoooo.
Rewind four weeks, and shes getting ready for her wedding to Johnno.
She seems to be fine with this.
He seems to be fine with this.
Guess whos not fine with this?
Theyre put in jail, where Robin comes to visit so she and Johnno can still get married.
Shes pissed, yeah, but she is determined as hell to get those vows out of the way.
Brett is doing his own detective work, too.
The lead woman at the brothel (a.k.a.
the bottom girl, as Google just taught me) (also a.k.a.
Surprise shes not there.
He does end up getting some information once he leaves the room and runs back into Dang.
Hes trying to tell her his relationship with Cinnamon wasdifferent.She blew him without a condom, he explains.
and reveals that Cinnamon owes a lot of money.
Im all alone, okay?
Believe it or not, Im happy.
A few scenes later, Robin is writing Mary a card and delivering it to her house.
Morgue Ray got through to her!
Marys parents, Pyke and Julia, reach out to Robin and invite her to coffee.
There, they say they havent told Mary yet that Robin is reaching out.
Pyke seems pretty forgiving of Robin for this, while Julia is still furious.
She also keeps talking about how messed up Mary is, seeming to imply that this is Robins fault.
Julia quickly ditches to go hang with her girlfriend, while Pyke encourages Robin to meet Mary.
Shes hesitant, but he thinks it would be good, so she agrees.
Robin admits she was raped by three men, not just one.
Mary responds with a joke mom and dads and then asks if they should take a photo.
This is where the scene takes a turn.
Mary responds that shes going to take some Asian friends to the beach to teach them how to swim.
I can swim, Robin butts in.
Nothing like a murder mystery to aid mother-daughter bonding!
