East West 101 - Season 3 (ATOM Study Guide)

This is the third season of the award-winning police drama series East West 101. The seven one-hour episodes maintain the complex storytelling and high production values of the previous series. In keeping with the 'east west' theme already established, the new season explores the ramifications of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan through crimes committed in Australia. What happened during the war in the opium fields of the Chora Valley in Afghanistan and the collateral damage to civilians in Tikrit in northern Iraq comes home to the streets of Lakemba and the malls of Cabramatta in Sydney's western suburbs.

A violent robbery is committed; $36 million dollars is stolen and four men are killed. One of them is a Middle Eastern gang member with international connections. The robbery has the marks of a military operation. Has it been committed by extremists to fund an act of terror in Australia or is it the work of highly organised crooks?

Detective Zane Malik is on a quest to find the men responsible, and the professional task has a personal edge. His son and wife are in a car accident the day of the robbery. Malik suspects the car was hit by a vehicle fleeing the robbery. But is he right or has grief overwhelmed logic?

Joining Major Crime is Detective Neil Travis. Travis has returned to the police after a stint in the army. He is a damaged man, haunted by an event that occurred in Iraq. He is one of that 'band of brothers' who have seen combat and faced death in the battlefield.

As Malik progresses further with his investigation, through violence and murder, the evidence starts to link the robbery to the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. But he no longer trusts his colleague. Travis has a secret. What is it? What if a group of disgruntled returned soldiers were to use the skills honed by war to continue the battle on the home front, to act outside the law? Would Travis protect them?

As Malik gets closer to the guilty, he knows he must be prepared to make the supreme sacrifice if he is to extract the truth and nail the men responsible for murder and theft.

While there are some narrative links between the episodes in Seasons 1 and 2, Season 3 can be watched independently.

Curriculum linksEast West 101 season 3 would be enjoyed by and be suitable for middle and senior secondary students of:

• Cultural Studies
• SOSE/HSIE
• Legal Studies
• Religion and Society
• English
• Drama
• Media and Cinema Studies.