Episode 4.10 - Family Matters
Written by Tim Hyndman
Produced by Claire Phillips
Directed by Brett Fallis
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Karen is left reeling after Fenner assaults her, but he doesn’t feel that he’s committed rape. As she straightens her clothes, Karen can hear Helen Stewart’s warnings in her head – how could she have been so stupid? The following morning, Karen confides in Mark. He is furious with Fenner, but his anger also turns towards Karen when she admits that she willingly climbed into bed with him. Although Karen is reluctant to take the matter any further, Mark persuades her to go to the police.
Crystal goes to put Zandra down for the night and is horrified when she sees cockroaches crawling all over the cot. sits down and writes another letter to the Guardian, this time placing a couple of dead cockroaches inside the envelope. Di manages to intercept the letter before it is posted and shows it to Neil. Instead of punishing Crystal, he decides to allow Di and Mark to take Crystal, Zandra, Buki, and Baxter to the park whilst the MBU is fumigated. Once at the park, Crystal tries to do a runner but is caught by Mark. As punishment for trying to escape, her right to a place on the MBU is withdrawn. Later, Josh arrives to take Zandra home.
Karen is interviewed by the police but there is a fair chance that her case may never reach court. It all depends on whether the CPS decide that there is enough evidence to warrant a prosecution. Back at the prison, Fenner goes to Neil and threatens to turn the whole story, and the naughty photos he has of Karen, over to the tabloids unless he does something to get Karen to drop the charges. Neil is totally unruffled by Fenner’s threats, after all, the bad publicity would be centred on him, not Larkhall. However, he could do something to help, as long as he receives something in return of course.
G-Wing’s run on the canteen has left it woefully short of supplies. There is no shampoo or toothpaste left and the women on D-Wing are mutinous. Picking up on the bad feeling, Yvonne instructs Cassie to restore the canteen program to its original state in preparation for Hollamby’s return the following week. Later, Cassie confesses the extent of her feelings for Yvonne. Roisin is upset and jealous and makes a point of confronting Yvonne. This is a complete bolt out of the blue for Yvonne who tells Roisin that she has nothing to worry about. She’s not interested in Cassie, or any other woman.
Neil manipulates Karen into dropping her complaint against Fenner After following Neil’s ‘advice’, Karen informs Fenner that she has dropped the rape allegation because she’s worried about how a tabloid story would affect her son. She tells him that from now on, all of her efforts will focus on paying him back for all of the women whose lives he has ruined. Fenner responds by handing in his resignation. As far as he’s concerned, Karen is the only person fit to run G-Wing. He informs Neil that he will be back in uniform on Monday morning.
Although little Baxter shows a marked improvement after his trip to the park, his recovery is only temporary and his short life comes to an end when he dies in his sleep. Buki is understandably devastated, but a confession reveals that she has other, darker reasons to be so distraught... her own baby is still alive.
Read the factsheet written by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies to accompany this episode:
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