I talk about it so much that, by now, I have to be putting Wentworth as a contender for one of my top 3 favourite shows, somewhere in the esteemed midst of (from third to first) Castle, ER and Person of Interest.
I've said a lot recently about how season 5 played out compared to my expectations, and also suggested how I would move the story forwards from that point onwards, but today I wanted to talk in a little bit more depth about one significant narrative structure that the series uses for its biggest characters and their arcs, which can be easily identified and analysed now the show has had a fairly lengthy run.
And that is that the biggest character arcs all tend to span two seasons. I'm hoping that for Bea Smith, Franky Doyle and Joan "The Freak" Ferguson, I'll be able to show you how their storylines progressed over multiple two-season arcs - and, in the case of Franky's, may still be progressing. (I'll also show how Kaz Proctor fits into the trend, but also perhaps why she doesn't, as well as giving some slightly lesser examples.)
BEA SMITH (seasons 1-4)
I'm going to start with the main character of the show, Bea Smith. (Is there anywhere better to start?)
SEASONS 1-2
Bea is initially imprisoned for attempting to murder her violent and abusive husband, Harry. Throughout season 1, she is unable to avoid being caught up in the usual prison politics: drug muling and a top dog war between Jacs and Franky, the former of whom tries to manipulate Bea by threatening her daughter Debbie, who Jacs' son Brayden eventually murders. This culminates in Bea killing Jacs in the season 1 finale, and spending the majority of season 2 (when not battling the sadistic new Governor) trying to escape to exact revenge.
She is once again successful: breaking out of Wentworth Correctional Facility and shooting Brayden dead, after which she is arrested, sentenced to 40 years and given the top dog mantle by Franky.
SEASONS 3-4
In season 3, Bea is now the top dog, and her position is virtually unopposed by any of the inmates; the only real threat to her authority - and her life - is Governor Joan "The Freak" Ferguson, whose machinations begin to spiral out of control, with very real consequences for the prisoners, staff and the prison itself. Bea spends much of season 3 trying to bring down The Freak and prove that Correctional Officer Will Jackson isn't guilty of murdering her husband, Harry, who died off-screen between seasons 2 and 3. In true Bea Smith style, she is successful in both regards, bringing down The Freak in the finale and helping to prove Will's innocence.
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| Bea Smith |
But season 3 provides a little set-up to the storm coming in season 4, introducing very slowly the character of vigilante Kaz Proctor, whose extremist group Red Right Hand (who hunt and attack abusive men) idolises Bea for standing up to her own abusive husband. But it's The Freak who shops Red Right Hand to the cops, leading to Kaz's imprisonment in the finale.
In season 4, Kaz provides a genuine threat to Bea's leadership, and does so without ever having to lift a finger to harm anyone. While Bea tries to deal with The Freak's incarceration at Wentworth, she struggles to retain her power with politically savvy Kaz undermining her at every turn.
It's up to you to decide if Bea succeeds in the season 4 finale as she has in others; while she does fail in retaining her position as top dog, she achieves her goal of ensuring The Freak is not released from prison - but she does so at the expense of her life.
And so ends Bea Smith. What I would call the first act (seasons 1-2) sees her adapt to prison life, accept it - even embrace it - and rise to top dog, while the second act achieves her fall from grace and death (set up in season 3 and achieved in season 4).
FRANKY DOYLE (seasons 1-present)
Next I want to examine everyone's favourite bad bitch, Franky, who is currently, if my analysis and predictions are correct, in the middle of her third act.
SEASONS 1-2
Franky begins the series as the underdog, biting at the heels of top dog Jacs Holt. Franky runs drugs through the prison and isn't afraid to use or threaten anyone if it benefits her. She and Jacs go back and forth, each winning small battles in the larger war, and while that war is ultimately interrupted by Bea murdering Jacs, Franky nonetheless achieves her goal at the end of season 1 by becoming top dog.
In season 2, Franky continues her drug running, but quickly loses control of not just her power but everyone around her, becoming very isolated. Doreen, disagreeing with the way Franky treats people, stops supporting her; Liz lags on her to The Freak; and Bea challenges her for the top dog title - and wins it.
Importantly, Franky happily passes over the position to Bea, after announcing her "resignation" before a host of inmates. "This is Queen Bea!"
SEASONS 3-4
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| Franky and Bridget |
Season 3 sees a complete change in Franky's actions and her outlook on life. Having passed the mantle of top dog on to Bea, Franky turns her attention to more worthy activities: she tries to repair her relationships with her friends and finds forbidden love in the prison psych Bridget, henceforth directing her energies into making parole - which, following some hiccups, she is granted.
In season 4, Franky builds a life for herself on the outside, and continues her relationship with Bridget. However, she doesn't forget about her friends in Wentworth and, near the end of the season, she returns to aid them in ensuring The Freak pays for her numerous crimes.
SEASONS 5-6?
Released from prison, Franky's past catches up with her in season 5. A poetic hark back to the cause of Franky's initial imprisonment (assaulting a cooking show host with boiling oil) sees her framed for murder; though most fans probably expected this to lead to Franky vehemently bringing The Freak down once more, her new lease on life sees her focus on escaping to prove her innocence, and in the finale (after many unsuccessful or withdrawn attempts), Franky breaks out.
What we see is Franky's growth across two-and-a-half acts: the first takes her to the pinnacle of the prison hierarchy before the second releases her from its grasp as fully as possible, while the first half of the third thrusts Franky right back in.
But we're only up to season 5 so far. If Wentworth writers continue to follow this two-season structure, then we can expect season 6 to be the second half of Franky's third act. There can be only two outcomes: one, she proves her innocence and is free of Wentworth forever; or, two: she is unsuccessful and must return as an inmate for a lengthy stretch.
JOAN FERGUSON (seasons 2-5?)
The meatiest character to utilise this two-season narrative structure is everyone's favourite psychotic Governor and latterly Inmate Joan "The Freak" Ferguson.
SEASONS 2-3
Joan Ferguson is introduced in season 2 as the new Wentworth Governor, replacing Erica Davidson who leaves off-screen after season 1. She is sadistic, cruel and unfeeling; after solidifying her control over the inmates and COs, she indulges in acts such as destroying inmate projects, blackmail, turning the COs against each other, attempted murder and murder. Season 2 is very much The Freak reaching the peak of her power as prison Governor.
Season 3 then follows the traditional Wentworth format of tearing down she who holds the most power. The Freak's crimes intensify as she struggles to hold onto her power - she engages fully in psychological, sexual and emotional torture of an inmate, planting drugs, assaulting her staff, more blackmail, and commits as few as three murders. However, her insanity is revealed to everyone at Wentworth and, in the finale, The Freak is arrested.
SEASONS 4-5
Season 4 sees The Freak return as an inmate, and her devious machinations reset to suit her new environment. Under the protection of Kaz, Ferguson attempts to complete her previous and most personal goal of destroying CO Will Jackson, while also exonerating herself of her prior crimes. She spends her time solidifying her strength as an inmate, and along the way she blackmails new guard Jake Stewart, manipulates Kaz, attempts to murder Allie, attempts to murder Bea, actually murders Bea, has her hitman assassinated ... the list goes on. The Freak does lose a little of her power when Kaz finds out it was her who shopped her to the cops, but by and large the endgame of having The Freak remain incarcerated is achieved, ready for season 5.
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| The Freak becomes top dog |
And season 5 is really where Joan's story comes to its probable end. After all her actions as Governor, and everything she did in season 4 as an inmate, it's her rise to top dog in season 5 that spurs her downfall in a kangaroo court held in episode 11. Ferguson's smarts evade her for one brief minute and her façade drops, and she incites the inmates to the point they nearly murder her. In episode 12, she is broken out of prison by Jake, but her escape comes with a twist: Jake has hatched a plan with Will to get rid of her once and for all, and in the final scene Ferguson is buried alive with just a picture of Bea Smith for company.
It's true that The Freak's downfall in season 5 is much more passive than her downfall in season 3; in season 3, her comeuppance had been brewing from early on, whereas in season 5 it's only really towards the final 2/3 episodes that any real action against her is initiated. I'll admit the second act is less defined than the first, but her fluctuation through a rise and fall, rise and fall format is easily identifiable.
The big question on everyone's lips after the season 5 cliffhanger is whether The Freak will return. I strongly believe that is impossible, and I think the writers' continual use of this two-season structure proves that Ferguson can't come back. In two acts, they have covered everything they possibly could with her character. If that's not enough reason, then we have to think logically: The Freak is a convicted criminal (so she won't be returning as Governor), and if she returned to Wentworth she would be immediately killed anyway. Better to send her off with the poetry of being buried alive with a sketch of Bea for company.
KAZ PROCTOR (season 3 recurring; seasons 4-present)
And now to Kaz, who is the most interesting example of this narrative structure, with her inclusion or exclusion dependent on a number of outside factors. One such factor is whether you take her recurring role in season 3 to count as part of her storyline; personally, I do not, for it makes no sense to me to do so. Kaz's story is about growth, about trying to maintain her no-violence-against-women policy in a place where violence runs riot, and whether she can come to terms with the fact that her ideals are not best suited for the prison environment. Her actions outside of Wentworth prior to her incarceration do not play a part in this growth.
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| Kaz |
Kaz enters Wentworth as a main character in time for season 4, which she spends attempting to undermine and overthrow Bea Smith due to her belief that Bea was responsible for her incarceration. Kaz achieves this almost wholly without involving herself in direct violence towards another woman. The only stumbling block in her steadfast belief that women should not be violent towards one another is her agreement to provide a distraction that would enable The Freak to murder Bea (albeit very reluctantly), after which she finds out it was actually The Freak who shopped her to the cops and attacks her, saving Bea's life. I find that Kaz’s stance of no violence intensifies from that point, and in an attempt to ensure that prison life is improved for everyone, she agrees - once again, very reluctantly - to become top dog.
However, season 5 provides a stark contrast: while Kaz’s non-violent actions in season 4 were well-received by the inmates and earned her the top dog mantle, season 5 proved that inaction is not possible for someone hoping to maintain that status. Her unwillingness to engage in physical violence provides The Freak with an easy route to the top, and Kaz, in her fall from grace, slips onto the periphery, focusing mainly on stopping the flow of drugs into the prison.
Kaz's instigation of the kangaroo court that nearly saw The Freak hanged finally gives impetus to the thought that she may have to shed her pacifistic beliefs for the good of the women, and in the finale she finally decides to perpetrate violence against another woman (although ultimately she has no need to follow through with this decision). It's worth noting just how utterly defeated Kaz looks by this conclusion: she approaches the prospect of attacking another woman with a horrifying, chilling resignation, the kind we see in movies when a main character knows they must sacrifice their life for the greater good. It really shows us how important Kaz's beliefs were to her, and how broken she is by being forced to renounce them.
Kaz's story follows a simple structure: in season 4, she holds fast to her beliefs, then loses her faith temporarily before, regretting her actions, she doubles down on her pacifist policy. Season 5 then sees that faith tested and tested and eventually, she reaches her breaking point. The last we see of Kaz is her preparing to finally be the direct perpetrator of violence towards a woman.
BUT.
According to Wikipedia (though I can find no verifiable source anywhere else on the Internet), Tammy MacIntosh (who plays Kaz) has confirmed that season 6 of Wentworth shall be her last. If this is true, then there's so many ways her story could end. (If you ask me, it has to be by death.) After all, Ferguson's escape provides Kaz a get-out clause to not harm a woman and a default return to top dog; she could be murdered simply for the top dog position (perhaps by Sonia, perhaps by a new, more violent inmate); or Wentworth could add a sense of poetry to her departure by having her attack/maim/kill someone and lose her life as revenge for the one true time she acted against her beliefs.
Or she could die in the middle of an act (as we'll see with some lesser examples below, not all characters with a two-season storyline only feature for an even number of seasons). OR, if the rumours are untrue, Wentworth could start a fresh act for Kaz which sees her control the prison in season 6 and lose it in (a potential) season 7.
But this is all up in the air - and I'm really excited either way. I believe the next step for Kaz will be one of the most exciting parts of season 6.
LESSER EXAMPLES
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| Matthew Fletcher |
As I've mentioned, this two-season narrative structure doesn't apply only to the top dogs of the show, and not every character who enjoys this format is around for an even number of seasons. For instance, CO Matthew Fletcher appeared in seasons 1-3, but his main storyline (his efforts to bring down The Freak) spans seasons 2-3. He was the only person who knew about her past enough to actively take her on in season 2, and due to this wound up on the end of an unsuccessful assassination attempt. In season 3, Fletcher eventually returned to Wentworth, but with significant mental damage and amnesia; his slow recollection of events grows with The Freak's loss of control, and it is only with Fletcher's evidence that The Freak is finally defeated. But that concludes Fletcher's story, and he is not seen in Wentworth again.
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| Jake Stewart and Vera Bennett |
Similarly, CO Jake Stewart's story from seasons 4-5 almost fits into this format: he is introduced midway through season 4, falls under the thumb of The Freak, and in season 5 fights to break free of her grasp. Though he ultimately succeeds, he is poetically drafted back into the very actions he had fought to escape by corrupt Regional Manager Derek Channing. This fits the format slightly less completely, for Jake isn't introduced until 4x05 and so has much less time for his story to unfold; it may be that his first act spans seasons 5-6, and sees him break free of The Freak and then attempt to get out from under Channing as well. (Interesting if Jake in season 6 finally brings down Channing too.)
Lastly, Governor Vera Bennett's growth fits the structure quite well. Again, season 1 is quite anomalous as for officers' main storylines it doesn't really offer much; the meat for Vera's two acts comes from seasons 2-5. In season 2 she is almost completely under Governor Ferguson's spell, while in season 3 she wises up and aids in bringing her down. In season 4, she adapts to the Governorship she has yearned for for so long and explores a loving relationship with Jake; in season 5, Ferguson's machinations not only cost Vera her Governorship, but she discovers Jake was working for Ferguson all along and loses her relationship too, which parks her very much back at square one. A poetic turn of events given Ferguson is (probably) now out of the picture, which gives Vera the freedom to potentially rebuild her career in season 6.
PROS AND CONS OF THIS NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
Obviously, there are a number of positives and negatives to utilising such a simple narrative structure for the main characters. It of course makes plotting a course of character development easier, and allows the writers to build to various mini-milestones along the way; it makes the writing sharper and clearer and the storylines easy to follow and differentiate; and also, it provides a structure that the writers can anticipate - they know when to shake things up ahead of a big plot conclusion.
The biggest downfall of sticking rigidly to such a simple (but effective) structure is the predictability. I feel like in identifying this structure I've picked out where Franky, Kaz, Vera and Jake may be heading in season 6 with regards to continuing their acts or opening out new ones, and although I don't expect to be right, I don't imagine I'm too far off either. And that's as much a positive as negative for me.
Also, the repetitiveness, specifically when the storyline involves top dogs. I feel as if that structure needs a reshuffle: when you binge Wentworth, you see even more clearly the peaks and troughs top dogs experience over two seasons, with Franky in seasons 1-2, Bea 3-4, Kaz (sort of) 4-5 and Ferguson twice from 2-3 and 4-5. It always follows the same general lines: a young, bright upstart nips at the heels of the incumbent ruler, overthrows them and then sustains power for a short while before the cycle repeats.
Final thoughts
While I don't think Wentworth shall be ditching this two-season narrative structure any time soon (it's far too easy to create well-timed, compelling stories within it than without), I do think it might be time to at least freshen its look. But I do believe I've shown the evidence that it is Wentworth's lifeblood when it comes to plotting the development of its most important characters (and to any who would dispute, yes, I would argue that with Bea dead, The Freak likely dead and Franky escaped, Kaz has become the show's central inmate).
Whether I'm right or not that this structure will continue to shape our main characters' growths and declines in season 6 and beyond, I think I've shown just how it has done so as of season 5's finish. The only thing I can say is that Wentworth's top dogs have never held that authority for more than two seasons.
So watch out Kaz.
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