The Australian series Apples Never Fall, directed by Chris Sweeney and Dawn Shadforth, presents complex family relations. Based on the novel Apples Never Fall which has managed to sell more than 20 million copies globally, the series is sure to grab the attention of the audiences. When the mother, Joy, goes missing, the children start blaming their father, Stan, for it. The arrow of suspicion also points at a mysterious girl, Savannah, who had come to stay at the Delaney family house a few months ago. Starring eminent faces like Annette Bening, Jake Lacy, and Sam Neill, the series has definitely managed to leave a long-lasting impression on its audiences.
Mild Spoilers Ahead
Joy Delaney
Annette Bening, in the role of Joy, has given it her all to play the role of a loving mother figure in the series Apples Never Fall. She is compassionate enough to let a stranger into her house just because she thinks that the girl might have gotten herself into some trouble. Savannah takes advantage of her gullibility and feeds off the family like a leech for a few months. Joy’s compassion for others makes her dismiss the warnings from her own children. She stands like a solid rock for Savannah, even when the others want to kick her out.
Her personal problems with Stan, however, stemmed from multiple issues between them. Stan’s tendency to escape a difficult situation had always left Joy confused, egging her on to take some irrational decisions. She had gotten Stan fired by Harry’s father by nudging him to get another coach for his son. Even though Joy was protective of her family, she had a vengeful side to her. She had also had a secret affair, which she had hidden from Stan (out of revenge for an unstable life). Joy’s rationality had been hampered as a result of her toxic relationship with Stan, and eventually, she had just walked out of the house without informing anyone. She wanted to check her worth at her house, as she was tired of doing all the household chores for the family. When Joy came across Savannah again, she chose to forgive her, even after knowing that she was a con artist, as she felt a sense of comfort with the girl (that she never felt with her own children). Eventually, when she realized that Savannah could be dangerous, her sense of logic kicked in again, and she decided to return home.
Stan Delaney
Sam Neill, in the role of Stan, has played an escapist in the series! Being a tennis champion, his talents can’t be underestimated, but he was a complete failure as a family man. Stan, escaping the smallest of the fights, had gotten Joy into a state of confusion, leading her to jeopardize his career as revenge. She had also wanted to get a divorce from Stan but somehow couldn’t get herself to do that. His failure as a father and a husband is revealed when all his children start accusing him of being their mother’s murderer. Had he been able to express himself explicitly to his family instead of walking out on them time and again, he wouldn’t have to face such dire situations.
After Joy had left the house, he was ashamed of letting others know about their fight, which eventually got him into greater danger. However, he revealed later that he was afraid that he would hurt his family like his father had and, hence, would often walk out after their fights. It was proved after Joy’s return that Stan was not a bad person after all and loved his family. His inability to express his feelings for them made others see him in a bad light. He also had to go to jail for the suspected murder of Joy, as unfortunately, all the evidence pointed at him. However, when Joy came back, he was delighted to welcome her back, leaving behind all their past rifts and promising to be a better husband and father.
Savannah Pagonis
Georgia Flood has played the role of Savannah in the series Apples Never Fall. The leech of a person that she was, she didn’t hesitate to exploit the maternal instincts of Joy. She came into her house and convinced her that she was the ideal daughter that Joy never had. Savannah tried creating a space in Joy and Stan’s lives just to feed off of their soft spot for her. She also tried seducing Stan at one point, but when that didn’t work, she moved on to Brooks, just to secure her position in the family. Later, when Brooks discarded her, she found ways to blackmail Troy about her secret affair with his boss’ wife. However, when she was offered money by Troy, she didn’t hesitate to leave the house and her bonds behind.
It was later revealed that she was a compulsive stalker who had also stalked her own brother and his family for money. She had also stalked other people just to sustain herself, but she had a personal grudge against the Delaney family. She was mad at Joy for having instigated her father to leave along with her brother in search of a better coach, while she was left behind at home with her unstable, toxic mother. While she had been planning to kidnap Joy, she said that Joy was like a mother figure that she never had and would want to stick by her. Savannah was definitely suffering from some mental disorder, as she had chosen to stalk others and live off their emotions as a profession!
The Children Of The Delaney Family
Troy: Jake Lacy, in the role of Troy, was the rational, money-making son in the Delaney family. However, his personal life was a mess as he was undergoing a divorce and his had been in a rift with his ex-wife over his embryo donation. He also had an affair with his boss’ wife and was trying to get married to her. When Savannah got to know about it, she started blackmailing him for money, to which he eventually gave in. His egoistic side has been revealed, as even after 19 years of an incident, he couldn’t let go of his anger against his father. As a teenager, while he had been practicing tennis with Harry (one of Stan’s best students), he caught him cheating and beat him up. This was not taken well by Stan, and he hit Troy for it. This incident scarred Troy for a lifetime, and his relations with his father never improved after that. He was the first in the family to point his fingers at Stan after Joy had gone missing.
Logan: Connor Merrigan Turner has done an excellent job in the role of Logan in the series. He had been aspiring to buy the tennis academy, built by his parents, but could never really afford to pocket it. He was supposedly the mollycoddled child of the family who was not able to leave behind his parents to go and live with his girlfriend in another city. Logan had stood by Stan when Troy had been telling him otherwise, but after he got his hands on the footage, his views changed. The footage revealed his father dragging a huge packet and discarding it into the ocean (assuming it was Joy’s body). He immediately informed the police about it, which eventually put Stan in danger. He was ashamed of his act when he finally realized that he had been mistaken and that it was not Joy’s body.
Brooke: Essie Randles, in the role of Brooke, has managed to portray a character standing out from the flock. Initially, she did not approve of Savannah being in the house, but after Savannah finally managed to seduce her, she wanted her to stay back. She had given up on her morals to cheat on her partner, Gina, because she thought that Gina had been cheating on her with another woman (irrational decisions and impulsive moves run through her veins!). Later, when she found out that Gina hadn’t cheated on her, she regretted her decision and wanted to get rid of Savannah. Brooke stood by Stan, even when all the evidence was against him. She did not believe that her father could murder Joy. She even dug into her wedding fund to hire a lawyer for her father (as her business had been failing). She started finding evidence to prove that Stan was innocent, but by the end, even she had started doubting him. Brook’s impulsiveness and lack of patience can be compared to those of Joy, adding an additional layer of chaos to the Delaney family.
Amy: Alison Brie, playing Amy, was the most hopeless character of the lot. Amy was too confused with her own life and had not been able to find a clear path of career and had been stuck in a search for it. She was the most spiritual of the lot and believed that a Hope Circle for Joy could get her back (how ridiculous!). She did not miss a chance to propagate her Instagram handle (for more followers) while they were talking about her mother’s disappearance in the media, proving her to be extremely shallow on the inside. She also revealed Brooke’s secret to her family (that she’d been sleeping with Savannah) at the very first chance that she got. More than being concerned about Joy, she was more focused on her own mental health and was often seen gaslighting others for it.
Some Other Characters
- Indira: Pooja Shah has played the role of Indira Chaundry (Logan’s girlfriend) in Apples Never Fall.
- Harry Haddad: Giles Matthey has played the role of Harry Haddad in the series.
- Gina: The role of Brooke’s girlfriend, Gina, has been played by Paula Andrea Placido in the series.
