SAS Australia 2022 episode four recap by Pip Christmass: I’m not crying, you’re crying
It’s day four on SAS Australia and we are in for some big emotional moments as the recruits talk about some of the darkest times of their lives.
What form of physical and psychological torture will the SAS recruits be subjected to next?
WATCH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: Richard Buttrose cracks during interrogation
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Model Simone Holtznagel is up at 4am, crying with anxiety at not knowing what the day ahead will bring.
“I know that in this course, showing emotion could be seen as a weakness,” Simone says.
“I know they don’t want a bunch of crybabies.”
Meanwhile TV personality Anna Heinrich, who met her hubby Tim Robards on The Bachelor, is missing their little girl, who is only 10 months old.
Convicted drug dealer Richard Buttrose says he’s been through “almost all of the deprivation we’ll be subjected to” because he spent nine long years in prison.
He’s used to being separated from his loved ones – and says “none of that’s going to affect me.”
He’s doing SAS Australia because he wants to prove to himself that he has the physical and mental toughness to get through it.
It’s strange, but I can’t look at this bloke and think “ugh, horrid criminal.”
He’s so carefully and thoughtfully spoken. He looks more like a mild-mannered businessman than someone who’s done serious jail time.
At base camp, he says stuff like, “new day, fresh start,” to keep the other recruits feeling positive.
Episode four is called “Mindset”, and it’s about the mental approach you need to take to get through the tough times.
The first challenge of the day is an SAS drill called “Rapid Extraction,” in which recruits have to leap from a fast-moving speedboat onto the rungs of a helicopter before hauling themselves up into the cabin.
Now, this would be a task that would truly freak me out.
My hand-eye co-ordination is rubbish at the best of times and my upper body strength is on par with that of a garden slug.
Perilous mission
There’s no safety equipment and the boat is travelling at high speed, so it’s a pretty perilous mission (I dread to think what insurance costs on this show).
The contestants have only one shot and a total window of five seconds to get it right, otherwise they’re in the water and out of the challenge.
“There’s a lotta different ways to botch this task,” American DS Clint Emerson drawls.
Too right, mate.
Ebanie’s up first and she commits, but ultimately fails the challenge. Then it’s Simone, who talks about the resilience she has built up during he 12 years as a model.
“I’ve always pushed on and carried on,” she says.
But she gets her timing all wrong, and doesn’t even get her hands on the helicopter rails.
Last in line is Richard Buttrose, who ignores the DS instructions, takes too long to make the jump and plummets down into the water.
He gets called into the interrogation room and faces off against Clint and Ollie Ollerson, who could make even the biggest, toughest unit quake in their boots with his stony-faced death stare.
“You’re giving us this short-cut mentality combined with this constant smirk on your face,” Clint observes.
“Let’s back up. What’s your story?”
Here we go. This ain’t gonna be pretty.
Doing time
Richard was a recreational drug user, then a supplier, and eventually he landed in jail for dealing a “large commercial quantity” (six kilos, to be precise) of cocaine.
“I’m certainly no celebrity; I’m guilty of an offence that thousands of other guys are in prison for,” he reflects later.
“But the headlines, whenever I do something positive, it always comes with, ‘convicted cocaine dealer’ and ‘nephew of Ita Buttrose’.”
In the interrogation room, Richard tells the DS he was married with a son, his wife heavily pregnant with their second child, when he was busted.
It’s at this point that he begins to break down, relating that his wife moved back to England to raise their children.
She sent him little artworks of the kids’ handprints, photographs so he could see them growing up, letters describing his son playing sport.
But one day, after five years, he got a letter saying she was pregnant with someone else’s child – and that she wanted a divorce.
‘I don’t want sympathy’
Whatever you feel about the life decisions that lead to this man seeing the inside of a prison cell, it’s still heartbreaking stuff to watch.
“I don’t want any sympathy from anyone, because a convicted drug dealer doesn’t deserve any sympathy, but the other people it affected – my wife, my children…” he says, trailing off.
“What does this course mean to you?” Ollie asks, his face softening for the first time during the interrogation. I detect a glimmer of sympathy.
“Just that last step of redemption,” Richard answers simply.
“I believe everyone deserves a second chance.”
Next up, Simone gets called in after another sub-par performance.
Remembering Charlotte
She says she’s had a pretty good life as a model – but then opens up on the death of her friend and mentor Charlotte Dawson, whom she first met as a judge on Australia’s Next Top Model.
Tragically, Charlotte Dawson took her own life in 2014, leaving Simone utterly devastated.
“I remember that moment (when I heard) and just collapsed to the ground,” Simone recalls.
“I was asked to go and identify her body because her family was in New Zealand at the time.
“It was something I never thought I’d have to do, especially at just 20 years old.”
The model admits she began drinking too much and staying in bed all day before realising it was something Charlotte wouldn’t have wanted her to do.
Ant suggests Simone changes her mindset – to think about doing the course as a way to make Charlotte proud and honour her memory.
(I’m not crying, you’re crying.)
She says the biggest thing she’s learned since Charlotte’s death is to grab every day with two hands and say yes to opportunity.
The last part of the episode sees the contestants get pepper-sprayed in the face – a thoroughly unpleasant experience that makes every kind of liquid (sweat, snot, you name it) emerge from all your available facial orifices.
Then the recruits must run, half-blinded, down a track to find the medical kit that will put them out of their agony.
Simone has taken on board everything Ant has suggested, but this challenge is just one task too much for her, and she hands in her voluntary withdrawal.
Grit and tenacity
I’m a bit gutted; Simone has become a favourite for me and she has, as she later says, “a lot more grit and tenacity” than she realised.
“I’m not really huge on physical pain,” she concludes in typically droll style.
“But I’m glad I did it.”
After the trauma of the second task is over, the recruits are back at base camp, wondering what on earth they’ll be hit with next.
“D’you reckon they’ll actually shoot us next?” Richard Buttrose wonders aloud.
Everybody guffaws, but I sense he’s only half-joking.
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.
SAS Australia airs 7.30 pm Monday and Tuesday on Channel 7 and 7plus, where you can find uncensored episodes, uncut interrogations, and phone calls home.
SAS Australia 2022 episode four recap by Pip Christmass: I’m not crying, you’re crying
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