Back at the DPP, Owen Mitchell (Damian Walshe-Howling) has managed to become promoted to the Director and he is convinced Janet is angling for his job. The two will butt heads on more than one occasion during the course of this case and he'll even stoop to dating someone at the NCC in order to get information. Yes, this season he proves he is the snake we all suspected he was previously. Lina Badir (Andrea Demetriades) is still working there as a solicitor, but she is trying to study for the bar, as well as juggling childcare for her young daughter, Amal, and she and husband Andy Campbell (Christopher Morris) just can't seem to get their schedules worked out, as Andy is also called in to help with Janet's inquiry. To make matters worse, Owen is working her like a dog and, as usual, giving her none of the credit, despite promises to the contrary.
Richard Stirling (Hamish Michael) has struck out on his own and has actually made quite a name for himself as barrister to the stars, at least in the sports community. It seems he has a knack for successfully representing rowdy cricket players who get in legal scrapes. As you can imagine, he'll be involved in the betting scandal case, as well.
As Janet, Tony and Bianca dig into the case facts and interview witnesses, they discover far more than they even thought possible. The mentor of the cricketer who killed himself, Clay Nelson (Don Hany, Serangoon Road), reveals that he may have some inside knowledge, only to put himself in the cross hairs of the dangerous people running the scam. There's even a surprising witness who happens to be the CEO of the corporate sponsor of the Devils, Nelson's team, and Janet knows him all too well. Their previous relationship could put the case in jeopardy.
To complicate matters further, Pearl (Zoe Terakes), the little sister of one of the Devils' teammates, Tyler Perati (Julian Maroun), is groped at one of the team's parties and the footage is spread all over social media. When Tyler sees his teammates laughing at their handiwork, he goes nuts and gets into a brawl, with teammate and friend Nate Baldwin (Adam Demos) stepping in to end the fight with a solid punch to Tyler's jaw, which shockingly kills him. Soon, it is revealed that the team has been on a supplement regimen that could have led to Tyler's unfortunate death, but at every turn, Janet and her team hit roadblocks. As you can guess, Richard will be defending Nate Baldwin on his manslaughter charge, and with her big brother gone, Pearl Perati's life pretty much goes down the toilet and she must resort to desperate measures to even have a place to lay her head at night.
Every layer that the NCC peels back reveals an even more insidious one that includes everything from betting scams to illegal drugs, to all-out murder and plenty in between. Janet will have a lot on her plate, both personally and professionally, and the way it all plays out is not exactly the happy ending she would have liked for either. It will be interesting to see how the effects of this season play out in future series, as I can't imagine them not having an impact.
Personally, I enjoyed Janet King: Series 3: Playing Advantage a bit more than the previous series, but not nearly as much as the first series. Sports isn't really my thing, although it was interesting to see Steve Le Marquand (Rake) in a more menacing role than the one we know him from in Rake. Yes, he is muscle in Rake, but he's also comedic relief and he most definitely is the opposite here. There's also behind the scenes featurettes and a photo gallery as well.
If you've been keeping up with the series, you'll want to continue, since the storyline among the characters is ongoing, but I hope the topic of the next series is a bit more interesting, dangerous, and more broad in scope.
