Another season of the fantastic Wentworth is almost upon us which means it’s time for that annual “Wentworth Endgame Suspicions” that I have been doing for the past few seasons.

Season five took Wentworth into new territory by confirming the death of Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) and bringing fan favorite Fanky Doyle (Nicole da Silva) back behind bars while we also said goodbye to Maxine (Socratis Otto) who left for cancer treatment Juice (Sally-Anne Upton) who copped the unkindest cut of all and Doreen (Shareena Clanton) who finally made parole.

The battle for Top Dog status saw Kaz (Tammy Macintosh) loose out to Ferguson only for her to be stripped of the title when all her past murderous indiscretions come to light while Jake’s (Bernard Curry) troubled dealings were finally revealed to Vera (Kate Atkinson) but her dealings with allowing Bea to escape at last seasons end be held against her from taking action against him.

So here we go, my eight season five end game suspicions and as per the norm, none of this is confirmed! – POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THOSE NOT UP-TO-DATE!

1: Franky and Allie make their escape /// Franky’s bid for freedom has, this season, hinged on her need to escape and find the evidence to prove she did not kill Mike Pennisi (Felix Williamson).  Along the way, she has managed to bring Allie into the plan but with the revelation that Iman (Zahra Newman) was not only his killer, but his lover too, Franky’s bid to escape is more dire than ever.

Franky and Allie make their escape plan but only one makes it outside the walls of Wentworth.

2: Sonia steps up for ‘top dog’ status /// She’s garnered the praise of her fellow inmates with the Green Wall Project, has managed to get Boomer (Katrina Milosevic) on total trust levels and is not partial to a bit of causal murder.

With the status of ‘Top Dog’ currently vacant, Sonia (Sigrid Thornton) will take the opportunity to nab the position with the full backing of the inmates.

3: Liz winds up all alone inside Wentworth ///  After her meeting with an investigator into her perjury and mistrial, Liz (Celia Ireland) discovers that Kaplan (Steve Bastoni) and Sonia had in-fact targeted her all along to be ‘witness X’ in Sonia’s murder trial.

With Bea dead, Doreen and Maxine both gone, Boomer struggling to contain her wrath at Liz’s ‘lagging’ and Sonia out for revenge, Liz suddenly finds herself without any support within Wentworth but she has the knowledge that Sonia set her up from the get-go, but what will she do with that information?

4: Kaz and Allie team up against Ferguson /// A strong champion of a violence free prison, Kaz has often resorted to the use words as her weapon of choice, a move that earned her ‘top dog’ status but also saw it as the reason for it being taken from her.  Allie is still desperate for revenge against the woman who murdered her one true love.

With Ferguson surviving her surprise lynch mob hanging and the fear of retribution, Kaz will abandon her no violence stance to team up with Allie in an attempt to take Ferguson out once and for all.

5: Ferguson makes a plan to escape /// With thanks to Vera, she survived the hanging from the inmates but now Ferguson finds herself vulnerable prey and with no protection from acting governor Channing (Martin Sacks).

Getting wind of Franky and Allie’s escape plan, Ferguson uses Jake to help her with her own plan to get out that involves revealing Franky and Allie’s plans to the guards and using the ensuing fracas to make her escape with Jake and his swipe card.  But will she make it out?

6: Vera sets her sights on Channing and Jake ///  Stripped of her role of governor (thanks to Channing), Vera finds herself in precarious waters struggling to maintain a grip on her life which has become even harder after discovering her entire relationship with Jake was a fabrication created by Ferguson to bring her down.

While Jake knows Vera was the one who allowed Bea to escape in season four’s finale, Vera will take aim at bringing him down along with Channing so as to reclaim her role as Governor.

7: New inmates arrive to shake things up ///  There were some major cast adjustments this season with Bea Smith, Maxine, Iman, Juice and Doreen all leaving Wentworth, leaving it a lot emptier than it has ever been.

New inmates will arrive to Wentworth to fill those empty beds but will any of them bring a familiar face to some of the current inmates?

8: Bea Smith returns to Wentworth ///  It’s been a suspicion all season long that Bea did not die at the hands on Ferguson but was gravely injured and put into protective custody for her own safety.  Could the season five finale reveal this to be true and bring Bea back into Wentworth?

The move could be the driving force for season six with Allie beginning to show feelings for Franky, Ferguson now at her weakest and the position of top dog up for grabs.

So there we have it!  From escape plans to attempts to reclaim the throne to a surprise return, these are my season 5 endgame suspicions.  Agree, disagree or have I missed something?  Sound off in the comments!