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The Thorn Birds Season 1 Episodes
Season 1 Episode Guide
4 Episodes 1983 - 1983
Episode 1
Part 1
Sun, Mar 27, 1983147 mins
In the lonesome and arid 1920s Australian Outback, Mary Carson--an affluent landowner and the proud proprietor of the vast sheep station, Drogheda--takes in her humble farmhand brother, Paddy Cleary, and his family. As the young and ambitious Catholic priest, Ralph de Bricassart, meets for the first time Paddy's only daughter, Meggie, little by little, a beautiful friendship and a strong bond will form, against the backdrop of unrequited loves, bitter passions, and desperate inner conflicts. Undoubtedly, strong-willed Mary is the land's undisputed ruler; however, how far is she willing to go in the name of love?
Episode 2
Part 2
Mon, Mar 28, 198398 mins
After the unrestricted and painful confessions on the night of Mary Carson's seventy-fifth birthday celebration followed by her sudden demise, Father Ralph de Bricassart begins his meteoric rise in the Roman-Catholic Church, as the executor of the deceased's will. As the ambitious priest tries to find his feet in early-1930s-Sydney, for the first time, Meggie finds herself all alone without her mentor, struggling to cope with a new reality and a string of tragic deaths that threaten to take over her life. However, even though Father Ralph seems to have already made up his mind, an audacious and resourceful suitor in the person of the handsome young farmhand, Luke O'Neill, provides a thrilling but risky diversion. Is this the beginning of a new life without Ralph?
Episode 3
Part 3
Tue, Mar 29, 198398 mins
To move on with her life and finally forget Father Ralph de Bricassart, who is now a Lord Bishop, pained Meggie summons up the courage to leave Drogheda to start anew in North Queensland, along with her determined sugar-cane cutter husband, Luke. However, the promise of a better future is a deceitful one--and as Luke is bent on becoming very successful with or without his wife--a night of passion results in heartbreak and a baby daughter. Now, on the velvety sands of an isolated tropical haven, a mortal and flawed Ralph yields under the insufferable burden of choice, as Meggie's graceful young body intertwines with Ralph's under the eyes of God. At last, against all odds, the ardent lovers taste the ambrosial juice of the forbidden fruit; nevertheless, is Father Ralph prepared to renounce his beliefs for the sake of Meggie, his other eternal love?
Episode 4
Part 4
Wed, Mar 30, 1983144 mins
Nineteen long years after Ralph and Meggie's heavenly union in the sun-kissed Matlock Island, Cardinal Ralph de Bricassart returns to Drogheda, in December 1954. For the first time, Ralph meets Meggie's beautiful grown-up children: the free-spirited young woman and aspiring actress, Justine, and her deeply pious brother who wants to join the clergy, Dane. Against all logic--and even though both Ralph and the unattainable object of his desire struggle to suppress their deep feelings for each other--the attraction is irresistible. However, once more, Meggie stands powerless before God's will, utterly unable to comprehend His mysterious ways, and the tragedy that befell the Clearys. All her life, Meggie waged war against God. Is she punished for loving?
