Wentworth’s final season recently reached Netflix US and I gobbled it right up. The season ended the story of the women and the guards in Wentworth Prison with lots of love, revenge, murder, mistaken judgements, and even some redemption. My personal thanks to everyone involved in this series. From beginning to end, Wentworth has been top notch melodrama.
This was either season 9 of Wentworth, or the second part of season 8. In 10 episodes many separate plotlines played out. Quite a few characters were killed (I won’t tell you who), some found they were better or worse human beings than they thought they were (I won’t tell you who), and some walked away from the whole explosive mess as survivors (I won’t tell you who).
Kate Box as Lu became Top Dog part way through the season, after something happened to Rob (Zoe Terakes). Lu was ruthless.
The mob from H Block who were still around included Boomer (Katrina Milosevic), Allie (Kate Jenkinson), Ruby (Rarriwuy Hick), Rita (Leah Purcell), Marie (Susie Porter), and Judy Bryant (Vivienne Awosoga). Coming and going around this key group were Sheila (Marta Dusseldorp), Eve (Tina Bursill), and the seemingly unkillable, neverending presence of Joan Ferguson (Pamela Rabe).
Will Jackson (Robbie Magasiva) was governor, with help from Vera Bennett (Kate Atkinson), Linda Miles (Jacqueline Brennan), Jake Stewart (Bernard Curry), and the crooked shrink Dr. Miller (David de Lautour). A deranged Ann Reynolds (Jane Hall) was the boss of them all.
One hallmark of this series is that the characters stay consistently who they are through the seasons. The schemers keep scheming, the fighters keep fighting, the lovers keep loving, and the worriers keep worrying. Pamela Rabe got to play another persona for much of the season because she was pretending to have lost her memory (and personality) from a head injury.
The acting from this cast is always believable. The situation is gritty, the language is foul, and the danger feels real. Everyone in the cast does a terrific job with it.
There were callbacks to characters and events from past seasons, which I appreciate. Any mention of Bea always makes me happy. Some of the bloopers running with the end credits went all the way back to season 1 to include a lot of favorites. After such a grim final season, it was nice to see bloopers and to see familiar faces of characters from the past.
Fiona Banks and Beck Cole were the only women directors this season.
Here’s a trailer. It’s not an official trailer so I hope it stays on YouTube for a while.
Is Wentworth a continuation, or re-titling, of the wonderful Prisoner: Cell Block H?
Yes, it was based on a 1979 series called Prisoner.
It was syndicated in the US as PRISONER: CELL BLOCK H. I watched it religiously. It occupied the 11 pm slot on most Fox channels, the time slot formerly occupied by MARY HARTMAN MARY HARTMAN. It was quite popular and can still be found on YouTube
That’s good to know. Thanks.
Cant wait to dive in! Binged entire series during lockdown last year – great characters, wonderful actors, plot twists – both exciting and fun! Worked in television for over 30 years – now get to actually sit back and enjoy it. Appreciate your updates on this and so many other projects worthy of our attention.
You’ll enjoy it! Thanks for reading.
Just finished the last episode of Wentworth and I’m going through withdrawal. After so many episodes of these characters, I will miss them. Yes some of the scenes were horrific but the dynamics remained intriguing and up to the last minute. The series held one’s attention. Besides the excellent acting, credit should be given to the music, which swelled when the action was at its peak and ebbed when there were some reflective scenes. Altogether, Wentworth remains the singular, best series I’ve ever seen. I did not find any of the sex scenes gratuitous. The denouement of all the tensions are resolved seamlessly in the last episode. Viewers will love the ending!
Feel the same. These characters will be with me forever.