I can’t believe we’re already in season four of Wentworth, what a wild ride this series has been! Let’s see if Joan Ferguson gets what she wants and is released into the wild: methinks it’s a foregone conclusion and just another step towards her and Bea’s big showdown. Rolling S4:E3 Prisoner after the break!

Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) is lead into the yard by Vera Bennett (Kate Atkinson) in slow-motion, just long enough for us to enjoy her move into the light and the prisoners shouting “FREAK!” in harmony.

Lucy Gambaro (Sally-Ann Upton) christens the former governor with her HEP-C spit; I can imagine just how OCD Joan Ferguson must be crawling in her skin right now. A showdown with some skinheads is called off by Bea (Danielle Cormack), I wonder how long that will hold.

Vera sees Ferguson to her cell, where she will be contained for the time being. She even offers Ferguson her handkerchief to wipe off the spit, don’t you soften, Vera!

LOVE the scoring in that scene with the heavy guitars; Wentworth does GREAT music

Vera pulls Bea into her office, she wants a more visible crackdown on violence against Ferguson, they got their conjugals, didn’t they? It’s not going to be easy, Lucy’s RARING to go

Maxine (Socratis Otto) is getting her breasts checked, the nurse finds her lump very easily, let’s get that looked at right away. You never want to hear those words. Fingers crossed for fibroid, my Maxie!

Ferguson’s in H3 with Kaz Proctor (Tammy McIntosh) and sexy Allie (Kate Jenkinson); that makes sense because they don’t have any history with the former governor. Well, not that they KNOW of, I imagine it would be a whole ‘nother ball of wax if Kaz knew it was Ferguson who turned her in.

Joan’s enjoying some flashbacks when Kaz brings her in a cuppa; she immediately sucks up to the head of The Red Right Hand. I don’t think Kaz is that stupid, even she can tell “things aren’t always what they seem.” Then she dumps out the tea. First contact made!

She’s flashing back to some disturbing images of being kept in a padded room while dirty and bloody, is that her dad watching her?

Now that I think about it, it must have been when she was first committed; after the fire, covered in soot and blood.

Dory (Shareena Clanton) has been rejected for conjugal visits, she’s the only one with a solid fella on the outside, come on! Boomer (Katrina Milosevic) is cleared, now if only she had a fella…Liz (Celia Ireland) has noticed how quiet Maxine is, no need to worry about that emergency mammogram, love!

I miss Franky

Bea and Allie flirt by the garbage can

Bea’s looking for information; what’s The Freak been up to in H3? Nothing. Just sitting there and staring at the wall. And now moving another baby step into her plan, asking Kaz for protection. Her plan is simple, pretend to back Kaz in a power move against Bea and then strike when out. It’s the same thing Franky did, strictly rookie.

Kaz refuses, she will not put her girls in danger to protect The Freak.

Vera and Bridget Westfall (Libby Tanner) are discussing the newest member of the general population; however did the psychiatrist judge Joan The Freak Ferguson sane? Ah, he thought he could teach her empathy, then beat her bloody and put her in a padded room?

In the present, Joan asks to meet with the Peer Worker, eeh.

Will Jackson (Robbie J Magasiva) and Bea make up the beds for the conjugal visits; Kaz spreads some rumours that Allie would like sorted out, please? That’s just none of her business. Yet.

Vera isn’t letting Dory have another conjugal visit since her unsanctioned root that led to wee adorable baby Joshua, no ma’am! Oh and Joan wants to see you!

Time for Maxine’s mammogram, and Bea to put the screws on Dory: she will go see Joan, she’s not asking.

Dory is freaked out, but doing her job as Peer Worker, technically Joan DID save her baby, so there’s that. Joan also thought Dory was a long-dead prisoner she was having an affair with, soooo.

Fraught

Joan reminds her of all that, and just like that: her second hook is set.

Dory chats a bit about missing Joshua, giving him to his dad just shows what a fine mother she is. Bea gets her report, but there wasn’t much to explain.

Ferguson stares at the paintings in Vera’s office; it’s reminding her of the psychiatrist again. What exactly did this guy do to her? Who tries to teach a psychopath empathy with shock therapy? A psychopath with a medical degree I guess! Okay, it’s music, not shock therapy, but I have my eye on him.

Vera’s arranged for the shower Joan requested, but no airing today, sorry. Why not? Because you’ll be lynched, that’s why. Ferguson presses; she’d like to sit in the sun, not after lockdown and maybe the ombudsman would like to know about the refusal? OKAY 5 MINUTES. JEEZ

She gets about 60 seconds before the prisoners spot her, even the extra guards won’t help, especially after one gets knocked the fcuk out by a rock to the face. Dory jumps in front of Lucy and her gang; Bea said nobody touches the Freak!

That was a close one, but Ferguson makes it through another day and NOW she has access to Will, who rushes onto the yard to assist the fallen guard. Gone is dreamy, kindly Ferguson, this one spits poison rapid-fire under her breath while Will walks her back to her unit.

Ahhh now we have it; the whole prison is expecting BEA to kill Ferguson, she’s already a lifer, why not? That’s the other penny dropping and why the women are actually listening to Bea and backing off. They just want to know when Bea is going to do it, times a wasting!

Vera informs Ferguson she will be moved back into Protection, Ferguson snaps that she’s acting like it’s her fault! OF COURSE it’s your fault! She then launches into an attack on Vera, who always just wanted to be liked. It’s fatal. She thought she taught Vera that ages ago.

I call bullshit on that; every non-psychopathic person in this world wants to be liked, some just pretend they’re above it.

Vera counters that she learned NOTHING from Ferguson and flounces while Ferguson delves back into her memories of sessions with the psychopath psychiatrist. She’s never had a conventional relationship? When did her dad die, how old was she? Her psychiatrist is getting creepy close too, physically, when asking about her dad, what the hell? Putting his hand on her knee?

Will brings Vera in the progress report; Mitch (Anthony West) took a snooker ball to the face earlier, not a rock, my bad. Vera’s cancelling all the conjugal visits until someone fesses up, Will and I think that is a Very Bad Idea. The promise of sex has been all that’s kept the women in line, don’t take away the roots!

The women argue in the dining room but I’m looking for Maxine, okay, whew: there she is. No results until tomorrow, fingers crossed!

Boomer’s so disappointed, she hasn’t gotten off properly in AGES! Allie gives her a tutorial on how to make a night out of self-love while Bea pretends she isn’t listening closely.

What’s going on there?? I thought Bea was working Allie on Maxine’s advice, but is she starting to become actually interested in Allie? She’s never shown any interest in any of the other women, but Allie IS adorable and has that intriguing mouth.

Ferguson is “enjoying” her lunch in the unit solo, with only CO Linda Miles (Jacqueline Brennan) to keep her company. She knows Linda’s weakness, though, it seems our blonde CO has a gambling program. Feel like earning a little extra dough? She sure does! Third hook set.

Really, as long as there are people involved, there is no such thing as a non-corrupt prison, right? LIKE I KNOW

Allie waits until everyone’s cleared out of the dining room before approaching Bea: sorry for freaking her out! I gather Allie was a sex worker previously; she know a lot of sex is just fcuking, if your brain isn’t engaged, it doesn’t count. Oooooh I DO think Bea is interested in our young lass.

So many voices in the night, calling for the Freak to die; Bea is taken by Linda to see said Freak in the middle of the night by Miles.

She tells Bea she’s getting a shower the following day, come alone and they’ll do that dance that must happen. Like when Boomer had to bash Bea when she got back from Psych after Debbie’s death. Boomer and Franky didn’t want that to have to happen, but the women do need their pound of flesh.

Bea leaves, but Ferguson’s noticed what I picked up on: Bea’s tired.

Maxine’s not being a LOT of help, she totally thinks Bea should kill Ferguson, it’d be the end, right? Done! That’s easy for her to say, she’s never killed anyone! Bea lives with the Holts every day, seeing their faces every night. She doesn’t want to see the Freak in there too! She’s got to make a choice, and soon.

The chanting surrounds Bea in her cell, staring at her shiv and Ferguson, smiling in her room.

Vera stops Bea on the way to breakfast after Dory confirms that Ferguson is showering this morning; is Bea going to handle the women or what? She’s just about to, Vera, on you go.

Bea makes for the shower, right as Ferguson enters and classical music plays. She showers and remembers the handsy psychiatrist giving her status updates, she’s reconnecting with her emotions! I hope she bashed that fucker. Oh, but not before he screwed her up against a wall, COME ON.

Her shower is interrupted, but it isn’t Bea, not yet. It’s Lucy and her gang, WHAT ARE THEY DOING???? Oh man. Another rape. Oh you guys

You guys

I’ll be back in a bit

Bea finds her after, a bloody trail reaching to her dressing herself. Seeing the shiv, she asks Bea “Are you going to kill me? Or help me?” Bea helps her and of course you would.

Bea comes into the dining room like a vengeful angel; only Maxine seems to notice the blood she tucks under her sweater.

The Freak collapses in bed, Miles wants to help but Ferguson doesn’t want anyone to know. Kaz hears the moans and comes in, seeing the towels covered in blood she is horrified. She comforts Ferguson while we see that she was only playing possum with the psychiatrist, that’s how she got signed out. She knew he was a predator and allowed him to assault her so she could use it as leverage.

And now Kaz will protect her after all, which makes Ferguson smile through her pain, but I still want to throw up. For reals, still so much nausea and with that we’re out, thank the gods and the wee boarlets. I don’t know if I buy that anyone would allow that to happen to themselves to incur sympathy, but I may not be the most objective cat in the klatch. Until next time, you guys. Cheers.