As the episode begins, we see that Jake’s (Bernard Curry) paranoia has gotten the best of him. He watches his back all the way out of the prison. Kaz (Tammy Macintosh) is pulled out of her cell. She is transported to a private location, where she meets with Will Jackson (Robbie Magasiva). Will admits to Kaz that Jake is the one responsible for drugs flowing into the prison. Kaz pleads with Will to tell Vera (Kate Atkinson). The next day, Franky (Nicole da Silva) meets up with Allie (Kate Jenkinson) in the workshop. They continue planning their upcoming escape from the prison. Allie is adamant that she needs to leave the prison or she’ll kill herself or the Freak. Then, the girls discuss the guard, who refuses to leave his post.

They set their sights on getting access to a walkie talkie. Jake reports to Vera. She immediately asks him about his supervision of Ferguson (Pamela Rabe). He admits he doesn’t believe in the theory of an officer being a drug deal. Instead, he places the blame for the search directly on Will. Then, Jake tells the governor about Will freaking out on him. Of course, he flips it around and suggests Will is angry, because he got his job. Franky gets a visit from her father, Alan (Richard Sutherland). She looks at pictures of her young sister, before asking her father to get her a walkie talkie. Will takes Kaz’s advice. He tells Vera about his suspicion. Vera refuses to believe it. Will promises to bring a witness forth to back up his claim. Then, Will meets with Kaz and tells her that they need a witness. Franky speaks with Iman (Zahra Newman) about her trial.

Iman admits her lawyer hasn’t given her good news. Franky tries to help, but Iman complains that she has nobody on the outside. She becomes upset and rushes off. Linda Miles (Jacqueline Brennan) enters and tells Liz (Celia Ireland) that a detective is there to see her. Jake speaks with Vera outside. She spills the beans and tells him about Will’s potential witness. Jake continues to maintain his innocence. Jake takes the news to Ferguson. Both agree that Allie must be the snitch. Ferguson promises to take care of it. In the meantime, she has a task for Jake. Liz enters the interrogation room and is disappointed to see Detective Ayoub (Maria Mercedes). Liz is grilled about her lying. She admits she lied to help Don. Liz is told she destroyed Don’s case and that he has disappeared. Liz immediately goes into a trance. Sonia (Sigrid Thornton) apologizes to her in the hallway, but she remains out of it.

She calls Don’s number and learns that the phone has been disconnected. She brushes past Vera. Kaz visits Allie and asks her to squeal on Jake. Allie seems reluctant to become a snitch. Eventually, she agrees to help. Jake tells Ferguson about Franky’s visitor. She gives him another task. Franky looks at her necklace. Iman enters and apologizes. She agrees to accept Franky’s help. Franky promises they’ll get the social media posts she needs and help Iman go free. Franky speaks with Vera and insists Iman was only defending herself from a troll. She begs for permission to use the Internet for only a few minutes. Vera eventually gives in and gives Franky permission for a supervised Internet session. When Franky returns to her cell, she finds an envelope full of pictures of her little sister. Franky immediately tells Allie and also tries to convince her that Jake is responsible.

Allie now has a dilemma on her hands. She can either help Kaz or protect Franky’s sister. Kaz promises that the Red Right Hand can protect the girl, but Allie doesn’t seem convinced. Allie is taken to Vera’s office. She pretends that she cannot remember who gave her the drugs. This infuriates Will. Allie takes the news to Kaz. Ferguson seems delighted that she has created a rift between them. Allie follows Kaz to her cell. Kaz complains that even her best friend doesn’t trust her now. Kaz seems to have given up hope of winning back the women. Franky finally gets to use the Internet. She prints off Iman’s social media pages. She also catches the guard not looking and gets plumbing blueprints for the prison, by using Bridget’s login details. Back in the yard, Franky uses a tennis ball to deliver the blueprints to her father. That night, Franky discovers that her necklace has gone missing. Allie says she hasn’t seen anyone enter her cell.

Then, Liz begins to freak out. Franky does her best to calm her down. In the morning, Vera tells Jake that she intends to tell Will about their relationship. Meanwhile, Alan Doyle inserts a plumbing snake into a pipe outside of the prison. A walkie talkie is tapped to the end. Franky and Allie try to enter the prison bathroom, but Ferguson has it guarded. She hears the snake bang on the drain in the shower stall next to hers. Franky manages to call Alan in time. She tells him to try the kitchen. Allie manages to stall Tina (Charli Tjoe) and her crew long enough for Franky to get the walkie talkie. Tina tells Jake he needs to fix this. Will tries to convince Vera that someone spooked Novak. Vera rushes off to a board meeting. Then, Will confronts Jake. This time, Jake tells Will about his relationship with Vera. He brags that he is untouchable and struts out of the room.

Allie and Franky continue their planning in the workshop. Sonia interrupts Liz and gives her a new spade. Vera arrives and speaks with Liz about her doctor visit. Liz explains that Sonia killed Kaplan. She promises that she’ll prove it. Vera speaks with Will. She explains she wanted to tell him about the relationship earlier. Will is convinced she tried to hide the relationship. He tries to convince Vera that Jake will turn on her, but she doesn’t want to hear it. Then, Franky looks through Iman’s social media posts. She finds a message from Mike Pennisi. Iman is shown in her cell playing with Franky’s necklace.

 

Wentworth Review

The 9th episode of this season was better. Using the plumbing system to smuggle the walkie talkie into the prison was unrealistic and cheesy, but it didn’t hurt the episode too terribly. Allie was forced to choose between Franky and Kaz. She decided to side with Franky, while also showing Kaz that she has lost her principles. Kaz was willing to put Franky’s little sister in harm’s way to regain control and bring down Jake. Allie stopped that from happening.

At times, it feels like Franky, Kaz and Allie are making headway, but Ferguson remains one step ahead of them. The Iman character finally became purposeful this episode. How is she connected to Mike? Was she working with him at one time? Will is out to get Jake, while Liz has set her sights on bringing down Sonia. The series has plenty of storylines playing out simultaneously.

The episode did a good job of moving the story forward. For that, it deserves a 7.5 out of 10. Catch up with previous recaps of Wentworth right now!