The best episodes of Rake
Ranked by viewer rating, highs first. Lit marks on the season rail place this list across the run. Vote on a placement to back it or contest it.
- 01
Cleaver defends David but Barney sees it as a betrayal; Fuzz gets Missy drugs and then she seduces him. Wendy has a date with an old flame; and a free David announces he's standing for the Senate.
- 02
Wendy reluctantly takes Cleaver in when he's evicted, while Barney is reeling from the costs of his rescue. David and Scarlet's romance is slowly being scuttled by her children; and Missy is desperate for drugs.
- 03
Consumed by remorse after sleeping with his best friend's wife Scarlet (Danielle Cormack), and facing his ninth appearance before the Professional Conduct Committee of the Bar Association, Cleaver's (Richard Roxburgh) day only gets worse when he's confronted with a front-page story declaring his nemesis David Potter (Matt Day) a hero. When a dispirited Barney (Russell Dykstra) arrives at Cleaver's rooms ready to employ a private detective to find out if Scarlet's having an affair, a panicked and guilt-ridden Cleaver tries to reassure him that his marriage is safe. But he finds a welcome distraction in the brief Barney delivers involving a famous chef charged with bigamy. The chef, George Dana (Lech Mackiewicz), has two restaurants - one in the city, and one in the Blue Mountains - and a wife and family to go with both. Meanwhile, David Potter leaves hospital in a blaze of glory and asks Missy (Adrienne Pickering) to move in with him. She promises to stay at least until he's well, still avoiding his questions about her past. However, Cleaver is still dealing with his own woes - begging Scarlet not to leave Barney, and confessing his misdeed to ex-wife Wendy, who is not as understanding as he'd hoped. When Scarlet decides to tell Barney that there's someone else, it's his best friend Cleaver he turns to and they go out to drown their sorrows. Cleaver can't believe his day could get any worse when Missy and David arrive at the same restaurant to have dinner with friends. Meanwhile, back in the courtroom, Cleaver's bigamy case is going well...that is until word reaches the court that along with George Dana's most recent restaurant in Newcastle, there is another...Mrs Dana. As Cleaver receives another late night phone call from Missy, they're both left wondering what it is they can't let go of.
- 04
Cleaver takes on a case defending Denny Lorton - known as Pica - a once famous but now homeless artist who is accused of murdering a 15-year-old male prostitute in a city back lane. Still struggling with his Scarlet-related demons, and nervous about working with Barney on the case, Cleaver arrives drunk to an art gallery event, making a spectacle of himself in front of Missy and David. But Missy has her own problems as she continues the charade about her past in her new life with David. When David introduces her to Attorney General Joe Sandilands - a client from her Club Jules days - her heart skips a beat. But Joe keeps schtum. With Joe encouraging David to run for office, Missy finds herself at a parliamentary garden party and out of her depth, and once again turns to Cleaver for support. Meanwhile, the atmosphere between Scarlet and Cleaver is less sexual and more combative, while at home Barney gives Scarlet the cold shoulder. At a school visit to discuss their son's lack of progress, Cleaver and Wendy find one ray of hope when Fuzz's English teacher sings his praises. But they are soon to discover the attractive Fiona is teaching Fuzz much more than English. Meanwhile, Cleaver, believing in his client Lorton's innocence, manages to win the court case by shifting suspicion to the prosecution's key witness Stanley Shrimpton. Soon after however, he is given information about Lorton's past, and shaken to the core, decides to exact his own punishment on Lorton. But his day gets even worse and he loses his temper as Fuzz arrives with Fiona, expecting his father to be his usual indulgent self. Meanwhile at Barney's insistence, Scarlet relents and gives him the name of the man she slept with...except it's a name that implicates his best friend Cleaver.
- 05
The seemingly perfect life of obstetrician Dr. Bruce Chandler (Sam Neill) is turned upside down when his briefcase is stolen, and a very incriminating DVD finds its way to the local police. Meanwhile, Cleaver (Richard Roxburgh) is miserable when Barney (Russell Dykstra) won't talk to him after his lapse of judgement with Scarlet, and he runs once again to ex- wife Wendy (Caroline Brazier) for solace. But the reception is cool - not only from Wendy, who thinks it's his fault that Fuzz (Keegan Joyce) started an affair with his English teacher, Fiona - but from Fuzz himself, who thinks it's Cleaver's fault that the affair is over. So Cleaver finds a distraction at a boxing match where he takes cocaine and recklessly doubles his bet. And once again Mick Corella's standover man Col (Steve Le Marquand) is there to remind him of his growing debt. Cleaver wakes up battered and bloodied to find Scarlet (Danielle Cormack) on the doorstep declaring that she's homeless. Later that day the Chandler case lands on Cleaver's desk. He can't believe his eyes - the man who delivered his son and godchildren, accused of a "three way with the family dog". With Scarlet's presence compounding his guilt, he tries to get her to leave, but then Melissa (Missy) (Adrienne Pickering) turns up, railing at the realities of partner David's (Matt Day) new political life. As Scarlet advises Melissa to stick with him because a good man is hard to find - it slowly dawns on her that Melissa is Cleaver's 'Missy'. When Wendy arrives looking for Fuzz, Cleaver can't quite believe the circumstances that have all his women under his roof at once. Meanwhile Cleaver is using more and more cocaine. Taking advantage of Missy being close by, he enlists her help on the Chandler case and she comes up with a smart strategy that serves them well. But a call from Joe Sandilands (Geoff Morrell) has Missy scurrying back to dependable David, while Cleaver seeks solace in another line of coke.
- 06
Radio shock jock Eddie Langhorn (Rachel Griffiths) is charged with inciting racial hatred, and turns to old flame Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh) to defend her. Meanwhile, Cleaver needs some defending himself when his tax case goes off the rails and he's placed on remand. Feeling lost without good mate and colleague Barney (Russell Dykstra) by his side, a visit from Missy (Adrienne Pickering), in prison brings him to the realisation that he has hit rock bottom. As he tries recover his position with Missy, she is experiencing the 'joys' of political life with David (Matt Day) as they sit through a session of Ukrainian folk dancing at a local council hall. Cleaver arrives at work to find Eddie Langhorn waiting for him, and knows immediately that he's in for trouble as he's never been able to resist her charms. As they share a caustic but predictably sexually charged lunch, Cleaver discovers he has a willing participant in his revisited coke habit. Cleaver then learns his father has had a stroke, and hoping to repair their relationship, takes Fuzz (Keegan Joyce) to the country to visit his ailing father. It doesn't go well. There is a family fight, Fuzz will not forgive him, and the car he borrowed from ex-wife Wendy is side-swiped. As prosecutor on the Langhorn case, Scarlet (Danielle Cormack) is relishing the thought of seeing Eddie - a woman she dislikes intensely - locked up, but her confidence is shattered when she is surrounded by a gang of hoods in a park. As Scarlet flounders in court, Barney gives her some information that could change the nature of the case, and he also confesses that the woman Scarlet saw at their home was a nanny. While David, enjoying his embryonic political career and ever more intimate relationship with Missy, proposes. Cleaver manages to win the case but is disheartened to learn that Eddie Langhorn has conned him once again. And then Missy arrives to tell him that she and David are getting married. Alone, and flicking though an old photo album, Cleaver ponders whether his fractious relationship with his family is probably all his fault.
- 07
As Barney (Russell Dykstra) starts to rebound from his recent marriage woes, Joe Sandilands (Geoff Morrell) is publicly outed as one of the MPs who patronise brothel Club Jules. Meanwhile, seeking relief for a hang-over, Cleaver (Richard Roxburgh) gets hit over the head during a botched robbery at a local pharmacy. So too does one of the hapless robbers when his accomplice takes a wild swing at a CCTV camera and misses, badly injuring his mate. Feeling sorry for himself Cleaver calls Barney to the hospital, hoping Barney will see his injuries as punishment for his betrayal. But Barney sees this as just as another of Cleaver's manipulations To add insult to injury, a small piece about the attack on Cleaver in the newspaper is overshadowed by a story of an assault on a woman in Glebe. So Cleaver is delighted when he's presented with handling the defence of the woman's assailant, Travis Tanner - a case which came to him via Missy (Adrienne Pickering) , who says she saw the accused elsewhere at the time of the assault. When the injured robber dies, his mate is charged with manslaughter, and Cleaver is asked to defend him. Meanwhile, Joe Sandilands, having lost everything - including his wife and children, looks to Missy for solace but realises it's Cleaver who has her heart. Barney and Scarlet (Danielle Cormack) visit a marriage counsellor, where Barney makes it clear that their marriage is over - leaving Scarlet reeling. When Joe commits suicide, everyone is devastated: after the funeral Barney uncharacteristically visits a pole-dancing club; a maudlin Cleaver, yearning for the good old days, kisses ex-wife Wendy (Caroline Brazier); and Missy, the last to see Joe alive, turns to Cleaver, only later having to confront an angry David (Matt Day) who wants to know why she's always going missing. A family dinner for Fuzz's (Keegan Joyce) birthday turns ugly when Fiona tells Fuzz she's leaving him for a younger boy. Meanwhile Missy arrives at the Tanner trial to give evidence for the defence, but is instead confronted with something from her past that could change her relationship with Cleaver forever.
- 08
At one of their regular swingers' parties, Mick Corella's (Richard Carter) wife Kirsty (Robyn Malcolm) runs into an old school friend Nigel (Paul Gleeson), and they exchange numbers. When police dig up Nigel's body in a car park Mick becomes their chief suspect. Meanwhile Cleaver (Richard Roxburgh) enlists Fuzz (Keegan Joyce) and Nicole (Kate Box) to help him forge receipts for his tax case. When Wendy (Caroline Brazier) arrives to collect Fuzz, Cleaver suggests that raising a second mortgage on 'their' house would solve his back taxes problem, and a furious Wendy reminds him that the house is 'hers'. Meanwhile, David (Matt Day) wins his seat in parliament, but the government is ousted, so he has given up a promising career to waste his life on the back benches. As Missy (Adrienne Pickering) commiserates, her disappointment for him and the weight of her guilt over the lies about her past get the better of her, and she blurts out the truth about who she is. As David slowly digests her news, it dawns on him that not only was Joe Sandilands (Geoff Morrell) one of her clients, but so was Cleaver Greene! So as his tax case against Cleaver resumes, David is openly hostile and determined to put him away.Meanwhile, Mick Corella insists that Cleaver defend him, and he and Barney (Russell Dykstra) are forced to work together again. When Missy tells Cleaver it's over with David, she is taken aback by his reluctance to commit. And, although happy to see Cleaver and Barney working together again, Scarlet is having second thoughts about ending their marriage. In the meantime Cleaver has decided Missy is the girl for him - but has he left it too late. Hating the fact that they are defending such a vile man, Cleaver and Barney hatch a plan that could blow Mick's defence right out of the water. But if Cleaver thought getting Mick Corella locked up for life would solve his debt problems, he has another thing coming. But Barney has forgiven him and the world seems to be back in balance ...well, as balanced as Cleaver Greene's world could ever be.
- 09
A man walks through Hyde Park and without warning explodes.Never out of the headlines for long, Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh) is caught in an affair with Claudia Marshall (Toni Collette), the Premier of New South Wales, making himself a sworn enemy of her husband, Attorney-General and Police Minister, Cal McGregor (Damien Garvey).David Potter (Matt Day), now Shadow Attorney General, sees this as his chance to bury Cleaver Greene once and for all, calling him "a dishonest low-life who spends his time defending society's scum, and spends his nights carousing with them". When Cleaver uses the media to retaliate, it's a race to see who will sue for defamation first.In Parliament, David savages the fact that Cleaver is defending Zuharah (Sapidah Kian), a beautiful Muslim woman who's been charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act after her husband accidentally blew himself up in a botched suicide-bombing. The case is circumstantial but the hounds of the media and Macquarie St are convinced that any woman in a head scarf must be a terrorist. Cleaver and Barney (Russell Dykstra) are determined to save her.Cleaver's ex Wendy (Caroline Brazier) is having troubles of her own, having just discovered that her recently acquired husband has been cheating. Scarlet (Danielle Cormack) and Barney are playing happy families, and are preparing for Max's 7th birthday party. At Scarlet's behest, Cleaver has been banned from all family gatherings.Battling to save her own skin, the Premier alleges that Cleaver has been blackmailing her – threatening to destroy her career. And although Cleaver has text messages that could bring her undone, will he be able to use them with the Attorney-General, the Shadow Attorney-General and the full weight of police and judiciary lined up against him?
- 10
Cleaver's (Richard Roxburgh) affair with the Premier proves to be costly when her husband, Attorney-General Cal McGregor (Damien Garvey) begins a campaign of harassment against him. And not only is David Potter (Matt Day) suing him for defamation, but, after the clown punch-up at seven-year-old Max's birthday party, he's lost Barney (Russell Dykstra) as a friend and colleague as well.Meanwhile, Barney and Scarlet (Danielle Cormack) are seeing a counsellor, but Scarlet's efforts at being the perfect wife are falling flat, with Barney hoping she will just go back to work. He's busy defending Lawrence Fenton (Garry McDonald), who's charged with fraud for posing as a board member at various meetings around town in a campaign aimed against the corporate debasement of the English language.Cleaver, meanwhile, has been asked to defend Damien Trengrove (Don Hany), who's been accused of stealing two million dollars from a children's leukemia foundation run by his glamorous wife Clover.Cleaver, looking to Wendy (Caroline Brazier) for solace, arrives just as her book group is winding up their chat about A Thousand Lies I Have Told by a new author, J. M. Doolan. Cleaver's in his element, taking special notice of newly-divorced neighbour Sally (Katrina Hobbs), while Wendy can't wait to tell him how Fuzz (Keegan Joyce) is applying himself to his studies and even jogging every day.Cleaver is yet to discover that both neighbour Sally and author J.M. Doolan have surprises in store for him.Cal McGregor's campaign of police harassment continues. Cleaver is hauled in for questioning again, and runs into Barney and his client Lawrence Fenton, who wants Cleaver to join them on his case. Barney won't have a bar of it, but when Lawrence gatecrashes a conference on global security being held by Cal with the British Home Secretary in attendance, Barney can't resist Cleaver's entreaties. David Potter uses the breach of security to embarrass the A-G, who pulls out all the stops – charging Lawrence with terrorism.Cleaver is now defending an innocent ex-school teacher whom Cal is determined to persecute, and a slimy corporate thief who for some unknown reason, Cal wants to set free. Is there any chance that he will see justice done?
- 11
Missy's (Adrienne Pickering) book about her life as a prostitute has caused a sensation, and she's engaged to the infamous founder of an on-line leaks site, Joshua Floyd (Martin Henderson). Meanwhile, Cleaver (Richard Roxburgh) sleeps with the niece of an ex-girlfriend, who has a budding film career and loves Alfred Hitchcock movies. When he discovers she's not yet 16, he's horrified but it's too late. She's been charged with accidentally killing a fellow actor while filming a scene, and blackmails Cleaver into defending her. Cleaver's debt to the Corellas has prison-widow Kirsty (Robyn Malcolm) making amorous plans for his repayments schedule, while he's fighting David Potter (Matt Day) over the defamation case. Scarlet (Danielle Cormack) applies for a job with Attorney- General Cal McGregor (Damien Garvey), and her disdain for Cleaver gets her the job. Meanwhile, Cleaver's woes escalate when Fuzz (Keegan Joyce) reveals that he's been having an affair with Wendy's flirty neighbour Sally (Katrina Hobbs). An Alfred Hitchcock thriller on late night TV opens Cleaver's eyes to the fact that his 16-year-old client may well be a blossoming psychopath. Just when he thinks things could not be more complicated, Missy walks back into his life.
- 12
Missy (Adrienne Pickering) and Joshua Floyd (Martin Henderson) are Australia's most newsworthy couple: the bestselling author of a controversial memoir, and the founder of an on-line leaks site currently facing treason charges. A bitter Cleaver (Richard Roxburgh), having been ditched by Barney (Russell Dykstra), represents a 'mammophile' peeping tom for the incompetent solicitor Lincoln Lincoln (Rhys Muldoon). Wendy (Caroline Brazier) needs his help with Fuzz (Keegan Joyce), in anguish after Sally's abortion, but Cleaver is under pressure to meet the emotional and physical needs of his sugar mummy, Kirsty (Robyn Malcolm) and is being cleverly outplayed by Harry-Sorry-David (Matt Day) in his defamation case. His only joy comes from setting Kirsty and Col (Steve le Marquand) loose on a Joshua Floyd soiree where Joshua shocks Cleaver and the Sydney bar by inviting Cleaver to represent him in the case of the decade. Cleaver has a lucrative brief, his own chambers and is in America Today as 'leading human rights lawyer, Cleaver Greene'. Are things about to go right?
- 13
Cleaver outsmarts the appeals judges, but life outside is not good. He is a legal pariah, jobless, homeless and phoneless, and while he has been inside, his world has been sliding towards chaos.
- 14
At Malcolm's funeral Cleaver meets Mal's sister Felicity, a honey blonde with an acid wit; and baulks at being Scarlet's junior in the case of a gambling-addicted client.
- 15
A murder brings Felicity back into Cleaver's life. He knows he needs Barney, despite everything that's happening in Barney's life; and he can't say goodbye to Wendy or Missy.
- 16
Cleaver is retained for a low rent tawdry sex offence, but the Royal Commissions that have decimated David's front bench mean that even barrel-bottom Cleaver Greene is getting lots of briefs
- 17
Roger bans Cleaver from Wendy's, and Fuzz has returned with a Congolese wife, a Cleaveresque attitude, and (according to the AFP) a suitcase full of stolen blood diamonds
- 18
Siege veteran Cleaver leads Wendy, Fuzz and Prue out of Roger's hostage crisis, but is accidentally shot in the buttock.
- 19
Something is seriously awry in Cleaver's world. His practice is booming, Barney is thriving and he is falling in love with Felicity. But does fate have some nasty surprises in store?
- 20
Cleaver's descent to earth lands him straight into the clutches of a one-time mentor and now powerful criminal on the run, Edgar Thompson. Meanwhile Barney is adrift above the Pacific.
- 21
Cleaver's been hiding out in the country posing as a writer, but his cover's blown when Barney appears on Australian Story, complete with images of his best friend. It isn't long before Thompson's goons arrive on the scene.
- 22
Barney & Cleaver are back on speaking terms and share a case; Cleaver rescues Missy who's been enjoying a cocaine-hazed few days with Cal McGregor, and appeals to Wendy's better nature to take her in.
- 23
After David's acquittal Cleaver and Nicole worry about Barney, but then Cleaver gets himself disbarred and Wendy kicks him out. But Jack is determined to get him out of Wendy's life forever.
- 24
Cleaver considers a career change but David throws a spanner in the works. Cleaver's determined to win Wendy back, but Jack is scheming to get rid of him for good. Will it work? Fuzz has some surprising news.
- 25
Missy (Adrienne Pickering) is on trial for murdering her fiancé. The only way Cleaver (Richard Roxburgh) can save her is to expose the conspiracy by the security apparatus Joshua (Martin Henderson) humiliated. Assisted by a mysterious smoking man, he follows the money trail to ASIO, the CIA, and towards information that may bring down the international banking system and several governments. Kirsty (Robyn Malcolm) is furious that Cleaver is spending so much time with Missy, but when Col (Steve le Marquand) threatens to express that disapproval in the usual manner, Cleaver recognises that Col has a secret. Delirious after a mosquito-induced broken arm, Barney (Russell Dykstra) confesses to Scarlet (Danielle Cormack) that he has met someone else. Hurt and confused, Scarlet allows an innocent lunch with Harry-Sorry-David (Matt Day) to progress down a primrose path that, with some help from Cal McGregor (Damien Garvey), will lead to perdition. Can Cleaver maintain professional standards long enough to have Missy acquitted? Will ASIO and the CIA allow him to win?
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