Wentworth Series 8 Episode 7 Recap

As the episode gets underway, Judy Bryant (Vivienne Awosoga) is led by Linda Miles (Jacqueline Brennan). Linda leads Judy to a meeting with Ann Reynolds (Jane Hall) who has a surprise for Judy. Ann reveals that Bryant is going to be extradited to the States. Judy immediately asks for a phone call with her father but she is told that isn’t going to happen. She lays on the ground until Linda pulls out her baton and orders one of the other guards to help her haul Judy away. Allie Novak (Kate Jenkinson) tries to figure out what is going on when Judy is carried back to her cell block. Judy tells Allie and Boomer (Katrina Milosevic) that they want to throw her into a hellhole in the States so she wants to call her father and stop that from happening.

Boomer recalls that Lou Kelly (Kate Box) has a phone. As for Allie, she is sure that they’ll be able to sort something out but Boomer isn’t confident about that. After that, Ruby Mitchell (Rarriwuy Hick) is transported back to Wentworth. Judy and Boomer are excited to see her back but Allie is angry that she nearly blew it all by missing her curfew and hanging out with mates. Ruby follows Allie into her cell and tries to smooth things over with her. Allie goes off because she nearly killed Marie Winter (Susie Porter) when Ruby went missing. Ruby doesn’t tell the truth before she is asked to leave. Then, Ann tells the staff about Judy’s extradition and that Bryant’s privileges remain fully suspended. Dr. Miller (David de Lautour) is asked about Joan Ferguson (Pamela Rabe).

Greg is convinced that Joan is suffering from a severe dissociative fugue state or amnesia. Apart from that, she is mentally sound so Ann things it is a good idea for Joan to return to general population. Will (Robbie Magasiva), Vera (Kate Atkinson), and the others are worried that Joan moving back into general will create problems. Will refuses to let her go but Ann wants to discuss that with him a little more. Their argument continues in the hallway with Vera following and joining in. Will decides to quit because Ann isn’t willing to listen to reason. Ann thinks it might be for the best but Vera warns her that she’ll lose half the senior staff by the end of the week if Will goes. Judy tries to get assistance from Vera but she can’t help her. Jake (Bernard Curry) is happy that Ferguson has amnesia but Vera can’t understand why he is being tricked by her.

Then, Vera visits Ferguson for herself and asks her if it is worth getting torn apart. Vera warns Ferguson that she is not going to save her this time before encouraging her to admit she is a psychopath. Vera pleads with her to cut the crap since nobody is looking but Ferguson doesn’t break character. Lou and Reb (Zoe Terakes) get a delivery that has been soaked in LSD. Marie arranges for Reb to get 20% and Reb thanks her for that. Lou surprised Reb by showing him that they only have 10 grand to go before they can afford to pay for the surgery. Judy enters and tries to bum the phone but Lou says she doesn’t have one even though it is sitting in her hand. Ruby and the others head to the call center to work and Ruby pays one of the guards so Judy can try calling her father.

While Judy works to unblock international calls, Susan speaks with a guy name Gavin and quickly strikes up a friendship of sorts with him. Judy speaks with her father briefly before Linda enters and puts a stop to that. Boomer tries to stop Linda but ends up getting hit with the baton several times before Judy’s call is ended by Linda. Allie complains to Will about Linda’s behavior and learns that Ferguson is going to be moved to general population. Will says it is out of his hands and he has resigned as a result. Allie tells him that it must be good to have choices but she doesn’t. If she were to give up, the others would be in big trouble. Ruby, Boomer, and Judy discuss the situation in the bathroom while cleaning up. Allie joins them seconds later and tells them about Ferguson’s upcoming move to general.

Lou and Reb sell LSD in the laundry before Judy notices Lou tipping off Linda. She quickly comes up with a plan to get even. Lou meets with Ann who thanks her for handing over the information about Bryant. She wants Lou to know that Judy cannot be allowed to use a phone. Lou is asked about Ferguson but she was transferred right after she became governor. Ann asks Lou to protect Ferguson and she promises that Joan won’t be any trouble because she has amnesia. Lou agrees to help because she wants to make sure that Reb is able to get that top surgery. She joins Reb outside while Boomer and Allie realize some of the women are high on LSD. Then, Ferguson steps outside and everyone focuses on her.

They call her Freak and harass her until Lou gets involved, shakes Ferguson’s hand, and tells everyone to shut up. Ferguson wipes her hand off before being taken to the cell with Reb and Lou. Lou threatens to throw Ferguson to the pack if she tries any of that psycho stuff. Meanwhile, Allie tries to figure out what she needs to do about Lou and Ferguson while Judy believes she can get a phone call thanks to a lawyer. Judy also has a plan to get even with Linda and get access to a phone. She suggests dropping a note for Linda and confronting her after that. Ann confronts Will and admits she underestimated how much the staff respected him. She offers to go out to dinner with him so they can discuss the matter. Meanwhile, Joan talks to Greg about the hatred the women have for her.

She admits she would like to know what Joan Ferguson did. Vera is glad to find out that Will is going to have a drink with Ann. She tells him that he has the power and can negotiate on his terms now. They sit down that night and Will tells Ann he needs a general manager who trusts him to do his job and that he wants to be part of the decision making. Will wants to be a part of the board meetings too. He wants Allie to be returned to laundry since Allie being top dog makes their job much easier. Lastly, he wants a raise and Ann finds that funny. That night, Ferguson listens as the women called her a freak and everything else. Marie approaches her and tells her to give a week or so because they’ll move to someone else. Ferguson confirms she wants to regain her memories although Marie says people take drugs to forget.

Marie admits she wishes she could forget sometimes too. Ferguson asks Marie to call her Kath and she does. Boomer checks on Ruby and tells her about her conversations with Gavin. Will’s dinner with Ann ends and she tries to kiss him but he stops her. In the morning, Will returns to work and tells Ann that Bryant has been approved to call her father. Ann agrees to arrange it before Vera enters and realizes Will is sticking around. Judy drops a note for Linda while Boomer has stolen a spit mask. Linda interrupts to let Judy know her call is scheduled. Boomer believes they don’t need Miles anymore and Judy agrees with that. During the call center job, Boomer speaks to Gavin and lies about her age and other things. Ruby guides her until Jake enters and stops that. Judy is taken to Ann’s office so she can cell her father. Judy tries to get her father to help her but he isn’t willing to cooperate.

Judy doesn’t understand how her father can be like that. Ann tells Judy that she must be such a disappointment for her father before Judy is led out of the room. Judy tells Boomer and Ruby that Miles was lying about the phone call and it never happened so she plans to attack her as previously planned. They wait for someone to meet them and throw the bag over their head. Judy attacks the person from behind and hits her in the head only to find out that it is Ann and not Linda. Ruby and Boomer aren’t happy about that but Judy says she was the enemy because she was in bed with the NSO guy. Ruby and Boomer want to tell Allie but Judy isn’t sure that is a good idea. Allie goes to the bathroom and finds Ferguson there. Marie tries to calm her down but Allie isn’t going to miss the opportunity to confront Ferguson.

Allie wants to know what Ferguson is playing at but Ferguson says she isn’t playing and cannot remember anything. Allie grabs her and tells her that she stabbed Bea to death. She also tells Ferguson that she gave her a hot shot. Ferguson pleads with Allie to stop before screaming at the top of her lungs and running out of the bathroom. Boomer checks on Allie and learns that she just lost it at Ferguson. Allie confesses that she doesn’t trust herself anymore because she was going to kill Marie and it was more than just trying to save Ruby. Boomer comforts her before telling Ruby that she couldn’t tell Allie about Judy’s mistake. Boomer says Judy is right and that they can’t say anything because it would mess up Ruby’s parole.

Ruby walks through the prison and drops a note under the door of the mail room before the alarm sounds and the guards begin running around. Ann is rush to the hospital while Judy sits and waits for something to happen.

 

Wentworth Review

I need more Marie and Reb sitting and talking about deep stuff. I don’t know. Other than that, most of the characters do very little for me. It is tough to get into the Ferguson character because I am sure she is going to transform back into a psycho soon enough. I am not a big fan of Judy Bryant. The original was at least tolerable most of the time. I can appreciate Jacqueline Brennan finally getting some attention but it might be too little too late. The staff in Cell Block H was far more interesting because they had dramatic stories.

It was more than just drama at work. I miss that. I am really not sure where the writers are trying to take this season. We’re already 7 episodes into the season and I don’t see a coherent story overall. Allie is trying to maintain her spot as top dog but I am not sure anyone is even trying to get that role. There are a lot of things going on but nothing big holding the season together. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Previous recaps of Wentworth can be found on Reel Mockery.