Category Archives: Wentworth

Tales of Freedom and Revenge in Wentworth’s Season 5 Finale

Pamela-Rabe-as-The-Freak
Did Ferguson get her comeuppance?  images credit: Foxtel

There are no words to describe just how shocking the season five closer episode of Wentworth was!

NO WORDS!

That said, my last post – “Eight Wentworth Season Five Endgame Suspicions” once again proved that either i’m a) terrible at reading the set ups and misjudged quite a few things or b) at the whims of the talented team behind the show who masterfully created one of the best finales this show has seen to date and threw every viewer for a six.

My score card from that last post was a measly 3.5 out of 8…same as last season so let’s look back at that finale and how my predictions played out.

SPOILERS BELOW!!  Do not continue if you have NOT watched the season FIVE finale!

1: Franky and Allie make their escape /// Taking this as a point from not only the escape plan itself (which we all knew about) but also down to Franky (Nicole da Silva) being the only one who successfully escaped inside one of the Greenwall Project boxes.  With Allie (Kate Jenkinson) busted by Jake (Bernard Curry), Franky made her successful escape and made a touching and fleeting reunion with Bridget (Libby Tanner) before fleeing off into the open darkness!

2: Sonia steps up for ‘top dog’ status ///  Well, that one is clearly a no!  With Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) recovering from her wounds, top dog status went immediately back into the hands of Kaz (Tammy Macintosh).  As it turned out, Sonia (Sigrid Thornton) did not even make an attempt to claim a throne that should clearly have been hers!

3: Liz winds up all alone inside Wentworth ///  Errrrrm.  Another missed point here. Utterly freaked with the knowledge that Sonia had set her up all along and worried for her safety, Liz (Celia Ireland) approaches Franky for protection but after Allie informs her of the escape plans, Liz makes her boldest move to date to protect herself and doses Sonia’s tea with a whole vial of drugs found inside a shipment of mulch causing a very critical overdose.

4: Kaz and Allie team up against Ferguson ///  Gave myself half a point for this one as Allie pleads with Kaz to steer clear of Ferguson while Kaz abandons her ‘no violence’ stance to finally take Ferguson out for good but, another plan that was in the works stops Kaz from getting to her.

5: Ferguson makes a plan to escape ///  Tick!  While I had envisioned Ferguson using Jake’s knowledge of Franky’s escape plan help her get out, it seems when Jake busted Allie, she revealed all to him allowing a plan to be set in motion that saw several people including Allie giving up her escape route, to get Ferguson out of Wentworth for good.

6: Vera sets her sights on Channing and Jake ///  Total miss here.  Not a single shred of evidence to show that Vera (Kate Atkinson) even planned to tackle Channing (Martin Sacks) though Vera’s “I’m a big girl, fuck you” speech to Jake in the staff meeting room was not only utterly vicious but so so so so good!

7: New inmates arrive to shake things up ///  Another miss here.  With so many inmates gone this season, there seems to be a vast wasteland of empty beds and tables in the cafeteria – even the head count towards the end of the episode showed just how few prisoners are currently left inside some of the living quarters, and yet not a single new face was presented.

8: Bea Smith returns to Wentworth /// Biting my tongue here as not only was this another miss, this could have made for a killer final scene reveal had it not been for another even more stellar final reveal.  BEA SMITH DID NOT RISE FROM THE DEAD.

That final reveal – yes, Allie teamed with Jake to get Ferguson out of the prison using the Greenwall Project box and before Franky could get out of her box, Ferguson’s was taken away by a mysterious person.  By the time Vera realized she was gone, Ferguson was BEING BURIED ALIVE in her wooden case of freedom (looking at a drawing of Bea Smith done by Allie mine you) BY WILL JACKSON (Robbie Magasiva)

So what does season six (currently in production and slated for 2018) hold for us?  Will Sonia survive her overdose?  Will she discover it was Liz that did it to her?  Will Jake and Will make amends while bonding over BURYING SOMEONE ALIVE?  Will Franky find the evidence she needs to clear her name of double homicide?  Will Vera reclaim the position of Governor?  Will Kaz finally take control of Wentworth with her reclaimed top dog role?  Will the Greenwall Project continue to operate?

Will Ferguson pull a Richard Hart (Patrick Muldoon) from Melrose Place and….

giphy-downsized-large.gif

So many questions and such a long wait!  Sound off in the comments section!

 

 

EIGHT WENTWORTH SEASON FIVE ENDGAME SUSPICIONS…

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!

WentS5_1
Prison Break?  images copyright – Foxtel/Showcase

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.

WentS5_2
New Top Dog?  images copyright – Foxtel/Showcase

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.

WentS5_3
All alone within the walls of Wentworth.  images copyright – Foxtel/Showcase

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?

WentS5_4
Red Right Hand.  images copyright – Foxtel/Showcase

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.

Pamela-Rabe-as-The-Freak
Prison Break Part Two? images copyright – Foxtel/Showcase

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?

S5_6
Cleaning up the trash.  images credit Foxtel/Showcase

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.

wentworth-s5-cast
images credit – Foxtel/Showcase

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?

bea
Back from the dead?  Images credit – Foxtel

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!

 

How Wentworth Survived After Killing Its Queen Bea.

wentworth-s5-cast

It’s a risky move for a television show with such a staunch world wide fan base to kill off one of its main characters in an attempt to shake things up and introduce fresh blood and fresh stories yet oddly enough, despite the hark from fans claiming they’ll never watch again, the bold move usually works.  Homeland, House of Cards, Grey’s Anatomy, M*A*S*H and 24 are just some of success stories where killing off main cast have worked in their favor.

Wentworth, is the most recent entry into this world with the murder of main player Bea Smith (Danielle Cormack) at the end of the shows fourth season and questions quickly began to flit about how this show could survive without the driving force that Wentworth sprouted itself from.

The tour de force that was Bea Smith and the story around her propelled the show from a generic Prisoner remake into a modern day drama-come-love-story with an incredibly dedicated fan base, devastated their “Queen Bea” had been mercilessly slaughtered at the hands of series villain Joan “The Freak” Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) leaving her girlfriend Allie Novak (Kate Jenkinson) to pick up the pieces and exact her revenge.

This death, so surprising and utterly shocking, risked putting Wentworth fans off-side with the belief the show was supposed to be a telling of Bea’s entrance into prison and her rise to ‘top dog’ status and while, in point, we did get that tale, the killing off of a main character is still none the less a gusty move for any show.

What we didn’t notice however was the growing importance and build-up of the other characters within the show, each getting story lines that played quietly along the Bea Smith/Joan Ferguson/Allie Novak main story arc, all ready to take effect when the time was needed.

These stories involving Vera’s (Kate Atkinson) battle to maintain control of her governor position, Franky Doyle (Nicole da Silva) struggling to develop a healthy life outside of the Wentworth with girlfriend Bridget Westfall (Libby Tanner), the buddy buddy snitch snitch relationship between Sonia Stevens (Sigrid Thornton) and Liz Birdsworth (Celia Ireland) and current top dog Kaz Proctor (Tammy MacIntosh) feeling her grip loosen on her top dog status were all slowly bubbling along and came to flourish and hit the ground with both guns blazing when the time was right.

This move not only forced us to move on after Bea’s death but implemented a newer relationship with these characters on the back of strong writing and even stronger acting from the cast, allowing the show to thrive in a time of viewer devastation.  The fact that this death wasn’t used as a way to end an ugly love triangle or to move on a story arc that just wan’t working is even more testament to the writing on the show.

Bea’s death was personal but it was also a propeller, not just for the show but for each an every character within the world of Wentworth.  Killing off a Queen Bea can be dangerous but when done right, breathes new life into an already fascinating and intense show.

Wentworth continues Tuesday nights on Showcase and will see production begin this month on season six.

Wentworth Season 5 – What We Know and What Could we Expect?

SHC-Wentworth-S5-Hero.jpg

We’re only a few short weeks away from finding out what the fallout is following Bea Smith’s (Danielle Cormack) death at the hands of former prison warden and current inmate Joan Ferguson (Pamela Rabe)  in the new season of Wentworth starting April 4th on Showcase.

While most of us are hoping for some miracle, it’s no secret that those involved with the show have been very vocal in letting us all know that Bea is in fact very dead and that Cormack is off perusing other projects. That said, the impact of Smith’s murder will play heavily into this upcoming fifth season affecting inmates and prison staff alike.

Foxtel have confirmed that contrary to earlier suggestions, there will be no time jump between the end of season four and the start of season five, with this new season picking up right after Bea’s death with the focus heavily on the theme of revenge as shown in various teaser promos released by Foxtel.

So what do we know so far about season five?  Kaz Proctor (Tammy McIntosh) cements her role as the new top dog within Wentworth but will her ‘no violence’ policy react negatively with the inmates when it comes to the punishment of Ferguson – especially with that of Allie Novak (Kate Jenkinson) whom unbeknownst to Ferguson, survived her lethal hot shot.

 

Liz Birdsworth (Celia Ireland) continues her top secret mission with  Don Kaplan (Steve Bastoni) to get Sonia Stevens (Sigrid Thornton) to confess her crimes though has Sonia cottoned on to what Liz is doing?

Boomer (Katrina Milosevic) continues to support Maxine (Socratis Otto) through her battle with breast cancer.

Franky (Nicole DaSilva) and Bridget’s (Libby Tanner) relationship outside the walls of Wentworth continue to go from strength to strength but will Bea’s murder push Franky to do something that will send her right back?

Jake Stewart (Bernard Curry) deals with the consequences of his actions with Ferguson that led to him murdering the key witness in Ferguson’s trial and the smuggling in of the drugs used to give Allie the not-so-lethal hot shot.  This begins to put stress on his relationship with Governor Vera Bennett (Kate Atkinson) who is still blind to his unlawful actions.

All will be revealed when the fifth season of Wentworth begins April 4th on Showcase.

 

Literal Blood, Sweat & Tears for Wentworth’s Season 4 Finale

SigridSonia
Lady be crazy!  (c) Fremantle Media/SoHoTV

WHAT A FINALE!!

Why is everyone so shocked?!  I mean really come on, this is Wentworth people!  The team creating this show have always set the bar high for compelling television and continue to raise that bar with each and every season finale!

My last post, I offered up some season 4 end game theories which came off from not having previewed the episode but from reading what Wentworth had offered up during the season.  My score card?  Not the greatest…i’m giving myself a 3.5 out of 8….so not even 50% but let’s look back at that finale and how my I went in my predictions.

SPOILERS BELOW!!  Do not continue if you have NOT watched the season 4 finale!

1: Ferguson Becomes a Free Woman (sort of right) /// I was partially right on this one!  Joan did in fact find freedom after raking in Jake (Bernard Curry) to kill star witness Nils Jesper (Tony Nikolakopoulos).  It was a bold move on Ferguson’s behalf but that final scene proved that her freedom will be certainly short lived.

2: Sonia reveals her true freak (right) /// Sonia (Sigrid Thornton) kept us guessing for most of the season as to her guilt or innocence and as I called it, we would discover that Sonia in fact is a cold hearted murderer but in the way we found out was nothing short of chilling.  After a meeting with Det. Don Kaplan (Steve Bastoni) Liz (Celia Ireland) discovers that the body of Sonia’s missing friend had been found with a shaved head.  It was an odd mention to reveal and after seeing Sonia’s devastated response to her friends death, Liz believed Sonia to be innocent.  It’s not until Sonia offers to be the one to shave Maxine’s head as she goes through chemotherapy that Sonia, so calm and gentle mind you, mentions the power one has when shaving someone’s head and that it’s a symbol of rebirth.  It’s the first reveal of Sonia’s inner freak that Liz or us viewers have ever seen.

3: There Will be no Top Dog (wrong) /// Karen (Tammy Macintosh) says early on in this final episode that she doesn’t want the job…”let someone else take charge”.  It’s after a brutal fight between herself and Bea in which Bea believed Kaz to be the one to give Allie (Kate Jenkison) a ‘hot shot’ that she overdosed on.  It’s not until she’s ‘drafted’ by the other imates that she accepts the job of prison top dog.

4: Boomer Does not Fall Pregnant (right) /// It was only a short scene, a very quiet mention in which Boomer (Katrina Milosevic) reveals to Liz that the pregnancy didn’t take.  While only a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene, it was another touching moment for Booms this season.

5: Vera Will Discover Jake’s Past Offences (wrong) /// Jake managed to not only keep his secrets hidden from Vera, he left his co-worker Will Jackson (Robbie Magasiva) exposed as he kept his tracks hidden when Vera (Kate Atkinson) demanded an officer wide drug test to try and find who helped smuggle the drugs in that somehow ended up in Allie’s veins.

6: An Inmate Will Die (sort of wrong) /// To be clear, Allie woke up from her coma and Bea…well they can’t kill Bea right?!  Wentworth played a sneaky game on us by making us believe Allie would not wake from her induced coma thanks to the overdose provided to her by Joan.  In the meantime, we all believed that Bea would finally get her final revenge on Joan for those actions but when the tables turned on Bea, she, like us, all believed there was no hope for Allie and literally surrendered herself to the brutality of a stabbing with a screwdriver.

7: Doreen’s Sentence is Extended/Reduced (sort of right) /// While there was no mention of Doreen’s (Shareena Clanton) current sentence being altered, it was revealed she “doesn’t have that much time left” and that it should play well for her if she were to request a transfer to Perth where Nash (Luke McKenzie) is currently holed up with their son Joshua.  There wasn’t much more for Doreen this episode but it looks like this decision will play heavily into her story line for season 5.

8: Franky Distances Herself from Wentworth (wrong) ///  Can I just say though, was I the only one thinking the worst when Franky (Nicole da Silva) put the gun she took from Shayne (Hunter Page-Lochard) into her pants outside the court where Joan’s trial was taking place?!  While that scene decided to go no where, it seems like Franky has no desire to remove herself from the ladies inside Wentworth and that was shown in a touching scene between herself and Bea in the visitors room where the two talked love and life.

So there you have it.  Another wonderful season, another spine tingling season finale!  Will Bea survive her attack?  Will Allie make a full recovery?  What will happen to Ferguson? Will Jake keep his secrets close? Will Doreen make the transfer to Perth?  Will Franky and Bridget live happily ever after?  Sound off in the comments above!

Wentworth Fourth Season Premiere Date Announced

26913F3700000578-2991250-image-m-23_1426166992752

Mark your diaries people – Wentworth’s fourth season premiere has finally been announced and it’s coming to SoHo on Tuesday, May 10th!  I’ll just start with the reveal trailer….

 

Season four will see Bea and the inmates return to Cell Block H after the destructive fire that tore through the prison in the third season finale but not all is as it seems with another inmate looking to take Bea’s top dog position within the jail.  There’s also a confirmation that Frankie Doyle (Nicole da Silva) and Bridget Westfall (Libby Tanner) will be back with Frankie now free from Wentworth trying to adjust to life outside the walls of Wentworth and ‘the freak’ aka Joan Ferguson is still around, albeit spending some time wrapped cozily in a stylish white jacket!

New faces to this season includes Sigrid Thornton as Sonia Stevens, a wealthy cosmetics entrepreneur, recent entrant into Wentworth and murder suspect.  Bernard Curry as Corrections Officer Jake Stewart and Kate Jenkinson as another new inmate Allie Novak.

So once again, remember, Season four begins Tuesday, May 10th on the SoHo channel on Foxtel!

SoHo Teases First Wentworth Season Four Look

WentworthS4

Push our buttons why don’t you SoHo!  Yesterday, via the SoHo Channel Facebook page, a small and soundless snippet of a trailer was posted with the words

“Your patience has been rewarded…
Wentworth Season 4 – COMING IN MAY!
#Wentworth #Season4 #SoHoTVAU #Foxtel

That’s it.  Nothing more and nothing less.  Not even an exact date in May!!!  As we’re now in mid March, this is the longest we’ve ever had to wait for any information on the upcoming season of Wentworth (bypassing the new cast members) and this snippet is sure not to be the last before the May premiere date.

tumblr_o42j8oXTZq1si9fjqo2_r1_500.gif

So now it’s a waiting game as SoHo relentlessly tease us with these meager flecks of information!

tumblr_nzcnhcqf8p1uxbhvho6_500.gif

Are you excited for the new season of Wentworth?!  Sound off in the comments above!

Wentworth Season 4 Air Date Revealed?!

wentworth6.13

One thing is for sure, Wentworth, the top-notch Aussie based prison drama from Foxtel’s SoHo channel, sure know how to keep fans waiting!  While seasons three 2015 premiere date was revealed on Christmas day 2014, the only information us eager fans have been treated to is the casting of Bernard Curry as corrections officer Jake Stewart, Kate Jenkinson as new inmate Allie Novak and Sigrid Thornton as inmate Sonia Stevens.

But, is it possible we’ve finally been given the news we’ve all been waiting for?

Wentworth’s official twitter page has been oddly dormant since Jan 12th, Foxtel’s have been very silent on anything Wentworth and SoHo’s is the same applies to all three’s other social media accounts including Facebook pages.  Wentworth star Danielle Cormack though posted to her Instagram account attempting to set the record straight on the date

CormackInsta

The 25. 04. 2016 date falls into line with Wentworth’s usual premiere dates for an April start, so until official word comes through, as per usual, it’s a waiting game for us all!

 

New Faces Revealed for Wentworth’s Fourth Season

WentworthS4_1

Recently announced via Wentworth’s facebook page, two new and quite familiar faces have been confirmed to join the cast for the Aussie prison drama’s eagerly aniticpated fourth season.

Coming to season four is Corrections Officer Jake Stewart who is played by Bernard Curry, whom we know as Caleb’s sketchy father Jamie Doyle in Pretty Little Liars and as Principal George Turner on MTV’s Faking It and Kate Jenkinson, better known as bitchy Kendall Quinn from Super Fun Night and as Kate Reid (Patrick’s sister) from Offspring.  Jenkinson will be playing new inmate Allie Novak – there’s a typo in the official image above!

No word as yet on how each will be introduced or how they’ll play into the new season and we’re only speculating and secretly hopeful (thanks to this posts header image) that both Frankie Doyle (Nicole da Silva) and Bridget Westfall (Libby Tanner) will be returning after last being seen driving off into the sunset at the end of season three.

Wentworth returns to Australian screens in 2016 on SoHo.

The Freak is out in THAT Wentworth Season Three Finale

Crazy is as crazy does.  Wentworth went out on a fiery high.
Crazy is as crazy does. Wentworth went out on a fiery high.

I’ve said it the past two seasons and i’ll say it again – Wentworth is nothing short of incredible (Australian) television and Tuesday night’s season three finale only cemented that fact bringing a close to a multitude of story arcs and opening up some brand new ones.

Warning – if you have not seen the season finale – do not continue!  Spoilers beyond!

https://twitter.com/cameron_adams/status/613313009235005440

The season three finale included the death (booooo) of inmate and she-of-the-eepy-creepy-eyes Jess Warner (Georgia Chara) who finally revealed her true freak and why she found herself in Wentworth, who met an untimely end at the hands of Ferguson (Pamela Rabe), who, herself had a mighty fall from grace as her past indiscretions came to a head and the release of Frankie Doyle (Nicole da Silva) into the waiting arms of former prison counselor Bridget Westfall (Libby Tanner).

So now the big questions remain for season four – that sneak peak at the end of the credits featuring a heavily disheveled Ferguson sporting a rather snug straight jacket while sitting in a padded cell – surely that means her story line will continue into season four.  Will Karen Proctor’s (Tammy MacIntosh) entrance into Wentworth prove trouble for Bea (Danielle Cormack) considering Ferguson set Bea up as the informer who tipped the police off to Karen’s involvement with the Red Right Hand vigilante group?  Will Vera (Kate Atkinson) step up as the new governor?  And the biggest of them all – Surely Frankie and Bridget can’t be really gone right?

Either way, I didn’t do too badly in my 8 Wentworth Season Three End Game Suspicions post!  Nailed Jess, Ferguson, Frankie and Karen’s end-games!

Tell me your thoughts people!  What did you think, what do you think and what do you want for season 4?!  Sound off in the comments below!

Wentworth returns to SoHo in 2016 (awww man!!)