Shows like Under the vines is more about character and mood than plot. We want to spend time with the people in and around Oakley Vineyards in the beautiful New Zealand countryside, which is why the show was successful in its first two seasons. But at the end of the second season, a stranger turned up claiming to own half of the vineyard. Can he be added to the cast of the show without spoiling the mood?
UNDER THE GRAPE VINES SEASON 3: STREAM OR SKIP?
Opening shot: After a recap of the second season, we see shots of Oakley Vineyards early in the morning. All the residents of the house are awakened by a man singing a sea shanty.
The essentials: The people being awakened are the winery’s co-owners, Daisy Munroe (Rebecca Gibney) and Louis Oakley (Charles Edwards), and Tippy (Trae Te Wiki), the winery’s heavily pregnant winemaker. The person singing the sea shanty is William (Mark Mitchinson), who has lived in the house since he arrived six months ago and claims that the winery’s late owner, Stanley Oakley, promised him half of the property after a night of drinking. His proof? A promise scribbled on a bar menu.
Daisy and Louis deny the claim and the parties will soon settle the dispute before a mediator. Louis, a former lawyer who has disbarred in London, believes they have a watertight case but William is extremely confident, so much so that he is making plans to build a new cellar entrance, i.e. a tasting room, for the vineyard even though they already have one.
But William isn’t the only problem they have to deal with. Daisy is planning her wedding with David (Kirk Torrance), who has specific ideas about what venue they should use. Tippy has kept her pregnancy a secret, even though it’s obvious, and Daisy and Louis don’t know how to broach the subject with her. Daisy also wonders why Nic (Carrie Green) and Vic (Cohen Holloway) are avoiding her, even though the couple say Daisy and Louis are the “heart parents” of the twins Nic is expecting.
In the vineyard next door, Don (Jon Bach) tells his wife Marissa (Sarah Perise), after a night of listening to William talk about his world travels, that he is ready to let her retire and see the world. Marissa, however, is not ready; she had just offered to manage the neighboring vineyard of Hilary (Catherine Wilkin), whose blindness is worsening.
Popular handyman Gus (Simon Mead) is living in Los Angeles with Daisy’s actor boyfriend Griff (Dean O’Gorman), but he unexpectedly returns with bad news about their relationship with the vineyard. But he’s there to support Daisy and Louis in their case against William. As confident as Louis feels, William knows he’s up to something that will significantly strengthen his case.
What shows will it remind you of? During the second season of Under the vineswe compared the show with Northern Ireland of all placesand we stick with this comparison.
Our opinion: After season 2 of Under the vinesyou got the feeling that show creator Erin White and her writing team were trying to figure out what direction to take with the character-driven light drama. Louis and Daisy had settled into the picturesque winery in New Zealand and put their feelings for each other on hold. So if there wasn’t any conflict or tension between the two, where would it come from? From the outside, of course; it came in the form of William, who claims he owned half of the winery. We’re just not sure that was the best direction for White and co. to take the show.
It’s not that William as a character is the “villain” of the series; his personality and ideas just don’t mesh with those of Daisy and Louis. But the question of his ownership seems to be settled by the end of the first episode, so the three must work together. But that also means that the main task of this season is the three of them battling to run the vineyard together, which requires a deft writing hand to avoid becoming repetitive and annoying. Perhaps giving William a little more depth, rather than simply making him a retired storyteller, will help.
But the beauty of a show like Under the vines are the stories that the supporting characters get, and all of them have taken an interesting turn. Let’s hope they all get carried out in this season like they did in the first two.
Sex and skin: None.
Farewell shot: A positive development: Policewoman Yvonne (Amanda Billing), who invited Louis to her home to get legal advice, notices that he is not taking her advice seriously and makes the first move. Louis is pleasantly surprised and returns the favor.
Sleepy Star: We love the no-nonsense nature of Trae Te Wiki’s character Tippy, and her reactions to Daisy and Louis’ awkward attempts to talk about their pregnancy are priceless.
Most pilot-y lines: Daisy describes David’s chosen venue as very Game of ThronesDavid says he thought the show was mostly about “boobs and dragons.”
Our call: STREAM IT. Under the vines is still a fun and relaxed film. We just hope the show doesn’t go in a bad direction when an outsider shakes things up.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and technology, but he makes no mistake: He is a TV junkie. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.comFast Company and elsewhere.
