Welcome back to Wentworth, I just needed a wee break after binge recapping season one; let’s see how Franky, Bea and Liz are doing!

We open with a very strict-looking woman explaining their mission statement here at the Wentworth Correctional Facility, they are here to correct.

The last three months of instability has left the inmates running wild and hey, where’s Erica? I see Vera, Fletcher and Will, UBI Guvnor Davidson?

The women are indeed enjoying increased confidence and access to drugs, but what surely must be the new Guvnor explains to the guards “today, that confidence ends.The systems will be shut down. Each and every person will know their place.” I like how Vera already looks softer than last season, hair escaping a bit and not so scraped back.

We’ve been watching a slender and nervous young woman transport drugs all over the prison via a laundry cart, the new Guvnor stops her just outside the laundry. Ooh! Franky has taken over the steam press! Of course she’s top dog, that’s expected, this must be one of her runners.

The nervous young woman is ordered to empty the trolly, which doesn’t yield drugs immediately until the faceless woman digs out the packet hiding in a ripped seam while Franky watches. I had to laugh when Franky kept her eyes on the woman after the cart was toppled and seemed to yield nothing; her face said “do you know about the part underneath?” plain as day.

The young woman is led away screaming “I swear I didn’t tell her!!” and Franky asks “and who are you?” The faceless woman steps forward, introducing herself as “Miss Ferguson. But you can call me Governor.”

All the chills!!

Franky and the new Governor Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) lock eyes; she’s ready to make some changes!!

Hey! Is that a new song or a remix of the title song?? I don’t remember there being words! Must ask The Google.

Franky’s asking Liz about the new warden, what’s the story, morning glory? It seems Ferguson’s nickname is The Fixer but Liz reckons they can do better than that, yeah?

Franky’s interrogating the two women who were handling the drug delivery this morning, who wants to step up and take responsibility? When nobody says anything (except Liz: c’mon Franky!), Franky figures they’ll settle it like the Romans did. Does that involve buggery, gladiators or lions? It’s gladiator-style today!

The two women are pushed into Boomer’s cell, they’re to slug it out until one wins and she gets to walk. The nervous one is all like “we don’t have to do this, if we both refuse” and that’s all she gets out before the little one punches her and starts slamming her hair against the concrete wall. It would have looked funny if the little one didn’t look terrified. Franky struts away, still mad, while Liz follows, upset and advocating: they don’t have to do this! She’d made her point and shut Franky’s door, she doesn’t want to hear it.

Kim shuts the door and comes over for a cuddle while a perturbed Franky relaxes on her bunk. You can practically see her saying to herself “work work work, all the bloody time.”

Fletcher’s just back from a month in Bali; he’s also quit drinking. It’s part of his stress management plan and just then Vera walks in. She’s ignoring him, but we learn that her mum is dying of cancer so Vera’s moved back home and he’s TRYING to make things up to her. I remember that the last thing he said to her was “Fuck off, Vera” so HE’S GOING TO HAVE TO DO BETTER than a small statue of Buddha.

The new Governor busts in there; there Vera is, she’s needed in Medical. The two women from this morning are there, beat to shite and Ferguson wants to know why. It’s probably a reprisal for the morning and Ferguson shit-talks Erica for a bit while Vera tries to explain. Ferguson doesn’t want to hear any excuses, though, who took over when Jacs was killed? Bea was the favourite (she was? Yay!) but indisposed, so Franky filled the void. Bring her to the new Governor. NOW, Vera!

Franky’s waiting and waiting for the new Governor in her office, I imagine this will be very different from the meetings she had with Erica in there. She’s just starting to mess with stuff on the desk when Ferguson bursts in, that’ll be all Linda! They bandy around a bit, but Ferguson never loses control of the flow, even when talking about Erica (I snorted when Franky tried a flirt “well that’s a bit forward” when Ferguson said she’d like to “understand” her as Erica did). She needs someone with smarts and influence to help keep the women in line; and then adjusts the cardholder Franky had moved a quarter of an inch. So. Detail oriented, I gather. I’m probably going to end up hating her, but I like her so far!

Franky wants to know what’s innit for her? Ferguson talks about leadership while picking up a pen, clearly she’s referencing Jacs being stabbed in the neck with a pen three months ago. Oh, sorry, 4 YEARS AGO SPOILER ALERT!

Franky just wants a little quid quo pro for her girls, how about a start with helping Kim Chang get her CPA? Done and deal, time to go Franky. Oh and one more thing; she hands Franky a stack of letters. Ohhhh, they’re letters Franky wrote to Erica and Channing decided to not pass them on to the ex-Guvnor. Did she read them? No answer, but yeahhh.

Back in Franky’s cell, Boomer asks about the new Governor. Franky calls her a Player. Boomer has just the thing to cheer Franky up! Boomer drags a cell phone out of her nether regions: she’s just been using that for deals, right? Not calling her boyfriend? No, never, I didn’t, I wouldn’t, okay just the once. But lookit; she videod the scrag fight! And that, my friends, is irrefutable evidence and basically Not A Good Idea. All the real scumbags of the past few years have been caught because they decided to record thing for posterity.

Boomer thinks her young man is rooting someone else (took me a few seconds to figure out that wasn’t a gardening reference) but whatever, Booms, how much of the fight did she film, Franky wants to know? I’d say if Franky wanted to watch the fight, she would have, but whatever. The two fighters are Lucy and Sarah!

Dory’s back from visiting Kaiya, she’s getting so big! She heard about the girls. Liz thinks Franky’s losing the plot and has been since Erica left. Tanya from C Block is looking at making a move and Kelly’s been shooting her mouth off.

Ferguson watches our Peer Workers for a minute before coming over to ask who’s got the green thumb? Liz is up for parole in two months, yay! I hope she handles it a little better than last time. Ferguson wants to have a meet with Liz about who will replace her after she’s gone as Peer Worker. Ferguson admires the white roses that were planted for Bea, she’s heard a lot about this Bea. Had a lot of impact and perhaps the new Guvnor is planning to attack on several fronts.

A beautiful Bea is flashing back to helping Debbie look for a new dress for the Formal, she looks glorious!

Will’s holding a class in the Education Centre, one involving diaries? Is he running a group grief session? He’d be uniquely qualified and he sure helped Bea. Ah, no, he’s taken over Erica’s educational program, this class was about alcoholism and addiction. Ferguson counters his explanation with “there are no drugs in prison”

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA

*coughing fit*

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA

Breathe

Will stumbles a sec, um, well, in THEORY there are no drugs in prison, but she thinks offering the inmates a support group is giving up, there will be no support groups in her prison, no hand-holding, she’s going to cut the supply.

I once worked in an alcohol and drug addiction centre; drugs everywhere, honestly.

Will doesn’t argue, just stacks more chairs as she starts to probe him personally. His background is in Social Work, is it not? And why did he quit?

I have a feeling Ferguson doesn’t ask any questions she doesn’t already know the answer to and I like her slightly less already.

Will had a bad experience, something to do with a mother and child who had to be separated. Does he think he made the right decision? What kind of question is that? He thought the child was at risk and he had no idea the woman would kill herself after. Ohhhh. She reminds him: sometimes a Social Conscious can be helpful, but it can also backfire. That’s the last meeting of the drugs and alcohol support group *creepy smile*.

Fletcher comes in, there’s a reporter to see Ferguson and she’ll want to see this. Ahhh, someone’s sent that video of the fight to the news desk, I told you cell phones with video capability are everyone’s downfall! Ferguson tells Jovanka (Cassandra Magrath) that Wentworth doesn’t have a monopoly on teal tracksuits and she’s been sold a staged fight. Jovanka’s running it anyway, but Ferguson warns her: she does that and she’ll cut her off at the knees, freezing her out and giving all scoops about the prison to her opposition. If she spikes it, she’ll give Jovanka the inside track on “real” news. Jovanka wants to shake on it, Ferguson stares at her hand for a full 20 seconds before grasping it.

Ferguson is an extremely well-prepared woman.

She sanitizes her hands after and asks Vera her opinion about who’s behind this leak. Franky of course, she’s “big on social media” and YOU COULD SAY THAT. Now Ferguson wants to hear all about Bea Smith and I would bet every last American dollar I don’t have that she already knows everything there is to know about our Queen Bea. It would be interesting, how she asks for information she has already, if it weren’t being used as a bludgeon. If she was using it as a way to determine character or bias, sure, but so far it just seems to be of the ripping someone’s arm off and beating them with it variety. You know, metaphysically speaking.

We’re back with Bea and Debbie in la la land, trying on a dress for formal, but there are all these prison-type noises interrupting and then Bea has blood on her hands and then reality is flooding back in. There’s a face at the door and it’s Ferguson.

Vera tells us that Bea had a complete breakdown after the sentencing, Channing has had her sedated ever since. Bea is moaning “Debbie” and we get a rundown of Bea’s jail time.

The initial charges of attempted murder were dropped and she got 12 years for the Jacs Holt murder. “Manslaughter” corrects Vera and excuse me, I need to shout for a minute.

1. IF BEA HAD PLED GUILTY IN THE FIRST PLACE, AS SHE WANTED TO INSTEAD OF CAPITULATING YET AGAIN TO HARRY (OSTENSIBLY FOR DEBBIE, BUT YOU KNOW THAT WAS JUST SO PEOPLE DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS BEATING BEA), SHE NEVER WOULD HAVE BEEN IN PRISON, DEBBIE WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN AT RISK AND BEA WOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN BEEN AWARE THE LIKES OF JACS HOLT EXISTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There you go, I’ve just hung Jacs’ manslaughter on Harry. You’re welcome.

Ferguson wants a list of Bea’s meds, she thinks “it’s time she joined the land of the living.”

Indeed, Bea is dragged out that very morning, off her head and barely able to focus. Liz, Dory and Franky are horrified but Boomer’s able to get a joke in “got a pen?” *neck stabbing motion*. She’s a card, that one.

Franky, Dory and Liz look very worried. Bea’s being released into H Block already?? WTH?? She can’t even keep her head up! Bea’s starting to get angry, she feels weird and wants her medication. They’re going to make her go cold turkey in the compound?? How can that be considered sound, medically? Well, I guess Ferguson doesn’t care about the inmates, we’re learning that very quickly.

Will suggests the exact same thing. Vera snaps at him, it’s not her choice, Will! Sorry, sorry

Liz and Dory are in to see Bea, who’s still completely OUT of it. They keep chattering but Bea’s not getting any of it.

Time for the count! But it’s early, and there’s also a toss of H block on the books. Boomer, well, I love Boomer but she’s not the brightest bulb in the Bismark, is she? She’s stashed the cell phone in the super-secure under-her-mattress safe space. Franky isn’t worried, why is that? Does she have one of the guards on her payroll? She must, given that all Fletcher brings out is a stack of newspaper clippings about Jacs and Debbie’s deaths from under her mattress and not the phone. Hm

Ahhh, no, Franky moved it. Miss Gray tipped her off. Who’s Miss Gray? There are new guards everywhere!

Franky asks after Bea to Liz, no, she doesn’t think Bea has any “plans”, except maybe to not drool on herself, calm down, Franky! Liz is sifting through all the clippings, they’re mostly about Brayden Holt.

Bea is sweating out the drugs in her bed all night, getting up to throw up and then back on the bunk to sweat some more. She looks a little more lucid in the morning.

Vera is arguing with someone on the phone, she needs an exact time when her mother is being brought home, please! She doesn’t get it, so asks for a notification. Fletch asks if she needs him to cover her shift, but she’s not ready to forgive him yet, so after a long pause, she declines.

The new Guvnor has a few jobs for Fletcher anyway! Mopping the wet cells, erk. He figures Ferguson is gunning for him since he was up for the Governor’s job. Channing figured Fletcher had it on lock and everything, until Ferguson’s friends in high places stepped in.

By the way, Ferguson is listening to ALL of this from her office, including the part about choosing who’s going to take a crack at the new “smoking hot nurse” Rose. She turns from Fletcher’s folder to open up Vera’s.

Vera’s begging for a little time off to go settle her mum, she won’t need leave as she’s hired a part-time nurse. This job IS very important to Vera, Ferguson! She admires Vera’s work ethic, she’d like to be her mentor. She’s a great believer in succession planning.

I am very worried for our Vera suddenly. I quite liked how Vera was developing some confidence, finally, but this woman is cruel and lacks empathy. She’s amazing at getting everyone to sign up to her agenda though, I’ll give her that. She’s made pacts with half the prison, including Vera, who jumps at the chance.

Franky and Kim have been making out in the hall the entire time Vera and Ferguson have been talking, get the new Guvnor Kim’s education plan, will Vera? Fanks

Standoff with Ferguson and Franky in the hallway, too bad about the PR stunt, she had high hopes for their partnership. Lots of posturing (I thought it was just dudes that have penis measuring contests!) ending with a direct reference to Franky being next on the neck-stabbing train. Ferguson also manages to imply that she’ll be working with Bea but really slams it home when she says the rest of the prison might buy Franky’s tough-girl act, but *whisper* “they didn’t see those letters.”

She drags Booms out of the phone line, even though Boomer NEEDS to talk to Des! This must be the possibly-rooting-elsewhere boyfriend.

Bea’s made it to the shower room, gazing blearily at herself in the mirror when Boomer comes in and slams her head up against a wall. A lot of things have changed in the last three months, Red, Franky’s in charge now! Just to make sure she fully understands, Boomer shoves Bea’s head underwater while all the women watch.

This is RIDICULOUS. WHEN has Bea EVER challenged Franky?? Too much, too much Franky you asshole! Surely you could have waited until Bea could FOCUS properly before pretending to murder her, right??

Franky leaves with a whispered “sorry, Red, just something I had to do” and WHATEVER, FRANKY.

Franky gets back to her bunk to throw Kim down on her bed, she wants to fcuk right NOW! That’s as visceral as this show has gotten.

Bea wet and confused back in her cell when Liz and Dory find her, she can’t see Debbie. She needs her medication!! Will comes in, what does she need? Can she walk to the Infirmary?

She’s handcuffed to a bed, thrashing about, but Ferguson isn’t worried. The first 36 hours are the worst, she’ll be fine by morning. That does not sound like a guess. Will challenges her: this isn’t right. That makes no difference.

Will stops by the Infirmary to check on Bea, who is resting now so he gets to flirt with the new nurse Rose (Maggie Naouri). She IS very attractive and speaks her mind, which is good, but she also knows when not to speak up, which is even better. Will has not sorted that out yet. She’s pulling a double shift and sends him to get her coffee.

Bea wakes to find herself handcuffed, but she does seem a little more lucid.

Fletcher’s furious, he’s been put on the schedule for Special Spend, which apparently only female guards had to do previously. Ferguson asks if having a Y chromosome precludes him from being able to push a trolly? No.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Ferguson taps Linda Miles to help with a prisoner transfer this morning, Kim’s moving into D Block to further her studies. Oooh, Linda and I think Franky isn’t going to like that…Ferguson don’t curr and hey, thanks for the tip about the drugs this morning, Linda!

Bea’s out in the yard again, Liz is showing her Debbie’s roses while Dory’s digging up the verboten cell phone in the flowerbed. She tries to hide them, but the Guvnor’s out in the yard again and she can SMELL that sort of thing. Who wants to bet me that there will no longer be any flowers in the yard shortly? Anyone? Hit me back in comments! Dory has NO poker face.

Ferguson introduces herself to Bea, letting her know she was the one who had Bea removed from Medical and we’re just starting the dance with these two.

Dory freaks out and tells Franky she found her phone, who chooses to go over and push Bea some more. I mean. Honestly.

Bea’s in to see Franky in the laundry room, she wants sedatives. That works for Franky, on so many levels, so she’ll do that, but it will cost her.

Linda’s in to snatch Bea out, she’s on light duty and can’t be in there. Oh ho, Linda is playing ALL the sides, she was the one who gave Franky the tip about the phone search AND she tipped Ferguson off about Franky’s drugs. She is also the SOURCE of Franky’s drugs, I get it, that was a bit of a distraction; lookit the prisoners, not the guards colluding.

Linda wants that phone gone now, so Franky sends Booms to take care of it while Franky hands over some sedatives to Bea. Already?? Liz sees (Liz sees EVERYTHING) and approaches Bea in her bunk, after stopping to grab a newspaper clipping then jumping in Bea’s face. Debbie is GONE! Brayden Holt killed her and she is not going to spend the rest of her life spaced out. “You take it one day at a time and you find a reason to get up tomorrow, any reason, Bea. Just find one.”

Dory’s being brought out into the yard in the middle of the night in her pajamas to meet Ferguson, why doesn’t she look surprised? The flowerbeds are all torn up, I guess Franky wasn’t specific enough about WHERE the phone was in the flower beds. I’m glad Bea saw the roses at least once, though. Who owes me 10 bucks over my bet that those flower beds would be gone or not?? Who??

Boomer’s crying on the phone with Des, who IS rooting (with?) someone else, but why Rachelle?? She’s been with every bloke in Frankston and why wouldn’t that be a recommendation? Rachelle sounds like she should know what she’s doing, anyway! And “c*m dumpster”is overused as a nickname. She has to go now, she says, handing over the phone to Will and Fletcher who are standing over her.

There are very few funny moments on Wentworth, but I love how it shows you can do it without slapstick *coughOITNBcough*

Ah but Dory won’t be replanting the flower beds, the Guvnor has another plan altogether. Dory will be given a plot of land to create a vegetable garden. What?

Bea takes a sedative anyway, but it’s to say goodbye to Debbie (who looks AMAZING in her new dress for the Formal – I thought it was a shirt! So tiny), she has to say goodbye for good now. Debbie says “my date’s here, wanna meet him?” I would bet all my monies that is Brayden, thanks to Liz holding up his picture and I bet Bea’s new lease on life is based on

Closing montage has Bea with her eyes open, Vera taking the Buddha statuette home, Will getting an anonymous text “Scum” (er-ooh?), Dory excitedly explaining the new vegetable garden under the new Guvnor’s watchful eye (so WORRIED for Dory all of a sudden!!!) and Kim being escorted to her new cell in D Block. Ferguson is everywhere, except Bea’s room, where she’s flushing the rest of the sedatives and glaring at Brayden Holt’s face in the newspaper clipping. We’re out.

I’m very glad that Bea’s found a reason to live, but she’s not exactly Jacs Holt with a criminal enterprise inside and outside prison at her fingertips, is she? How could she possibly get to him? All she’s got on the outside is Harry, and I’m pretty sure he only likes to attack those smaller than him. We’ll find out more next time on Wentworth, deuces y’all!