| | Posted on 2018-11-15 22:02:05 |
| Subject: Wentworth | |
| Posted By: Admin | |
| Wentworth(2013) is an Australian show set in a women’s prison. It is a remake of Prisoner: Cell Block H(1979). The show follows the lives of the prisoners and guards as they go about their daily lives. The first four seasons center around Bea Smith from her arrival as fresh prisoner through her journey to top dog. Timid and meek at first, she quickly takes charge. A quick training montage gives her the power to easily dispatch the toughest of prisoners. I was no fan of Bea and was not sad when she exited the show. She was my second least favorite character on the show (we’ll get to the first in a bit), I didn’t like her crusader/holier than though attitude. This show greatly overused the “person A arrives at just the right time/place to prevent a tragedy” trope, especially in Bea’s case. It felt like every episode her life was in jeopardy, only to be prevented because someone showed up out of nowhere to rescue her. It got to a point where it was ridiculous. I almost gave up on the show, until I read spoilers and saw that Bea left after the fourth season. Surely the show would improve upon her leaving, and it did, until the sixth season where the bottom fell out. I’ll get to that in bit as well, which will tie in with my most hated character.  #TeamFranky First I will note a few of the better characters, like Franky Doyle, the spunky inmate who didn’t always have everyone’s best interests at heart. She had depth and grew through the show and unlike Bea, proved quite likeable as a character. Sue ‘Boomer’ Jenkins was the comic relief; the actress kept her likeable and avoided straying into overly annoying ‘trying to be too funny’ sidekick.  I’ll show you how we deal with laggers. The main antagonist for most of the show was Joan Ferguson, first as warden and then as prisoner. In the wrong hands Ferguson would have been an over the top villain, but Pamela Rabe’s brilliant performance brings a chilling depth that draws you into her web of treacherous schemes. If there is one reason to watch the show, her performance is it. Now to the bad, season six, The Fredo Corleone of Wentworth. Without Ferguson and Franky’s arc wrapping up early in the season, they introduced a silly “fight club” plotline just so they could push Ruby the boxer down our throats. On the rare instance when the actress’s performance wasn’t cringe worthy, it was laughable. She (and to a lesser extent her sister Rita) single handedly ruined season six and lowered my overall opinion of the show. If they make a season seven, I will only watch if they kill her off. They really wanted us to like her, every effort was made to draw our sympathy. Oh no! The unstoppable juggernaut Drago found out Ruby murdered her boss Marie Winter’s only son! Now she’s going to tear Ruby apart! The horrors! Who can save her? For her brief time on screen, Drago was a compelling character and one of the (very) few bright spots of season six. I felt they could have done much more with her, but unfortunately she was merely a device to gain sympathy for Ruby. I fear Winter’s fate lies on a similar path, another interesting character wasted to push Ruby. Rounding out my list of most hated characters is Rita, Rose’s sister, at number three, depending on how season seven plays out; she could shoot to number two. A little online research shows Rita is a fan favorite (and to a lesser extent Rose), how the masses are so easily manipulated. Now my hatred for the two has intensified. In conclusion #TeamWinter (with that name, I have to be on her side) |