Episode 4.11 - Battle Lines
Written by Jaime Caruana
Produced by Claire Phillips
Directed by David Holroyd
Fenner is back in uniform, and Neil is in desperate need of a new Wing Governor, especially when the prison inspectors arrive unexpectedly at Larkhall’s gates. Karen turns the job down, which means that Hollamby is the only candidate left. Neil hopes that the vast profits from the canteen will impress the inspectors, but after G-Wing’s free-for-all, the loss column vastly outweighs the profit column. Hollamby responds by ordering a mass confiscation of all resaleable items. The inmates are furious, but Yvonne is quick to come up with a plan and orders everyone to eat, drink, and smoke a bit of everything. Neil and the inspectors arrive on G-Wing and are greeted with complete chaos.
Baxter’s funeral is a poignant affair and the sight of his tiny coffin deeply upsets the women. When the new chaplain, Henry Mills, asks if anyone would like to say a few words, Crystal stands and stuns the congregation with a tirade against God. Meanwhile, Al is losing patience with Maxi who is left visibly distressed by the funeral and then refuses to front up when Shaz and Denny tease her about her tears. Forced to take matters into her own hands, Al arranges to meet Shaz in the gym for a fight that will settle things once and for all. But then Maxi recovers her nerve and informs Al that if anyone is going to fight Shaz, it will be her.
Buki approaches Mark and begs him to find out if her baby son, Lennox, is still alive. Although Karen advises him not to get involved, Mark agrees to help and starts searching through back issues of the local newspaper. He discovers that Lennox was discovered by a passer-by and then taken to a local hospital. The nurses at the hospital gave him the name Winston. Buki is ecstatic when Mark gives her a copy of the newspaper clipping and phones Camden police station to own up to abandoning her baby.
Cassie has disgusted Roisin and Yvonne with her decision to run a book on the outcome of the fight between Shaz and Maxi, and further infuriates them by making herself referee. At first the fight is well-matched, but Shaz eventually manages to get the upper-hand and goes for the knock-out blow. Roisin and Yvonne arrive to stop the fight and find Tina cradling her unconscious sister in her arms. Later in her cell, Maxi attempts suicide by forcing toilet paper down her throat. Awoken by the sounds of Maxi choking, Al decides to lend a helping hand. In the early hours of the morning, she pulls a blanket up over Maxi’s head and returns to her own bunk.
Hollamby discovers Maxi’s body the following morning. Instead of raising the alarm, she panics and locks Al up with the body until she can come up with a plan to hide it from the inspectors. She collars the Julies and gets them to help her wrap Maxi in plastic bin-liners. Under the noses of the oblivious inspectors, they wheel the body off the wing. Over on the admin block, Neil corners Fenner and offers to help him break Karen and Mark up. He tells Fenner that he can arrange for Mark to be offered a promotion in another prison, but makes it clear that he would expect a big favour in return.
Read the factsheet written by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies to accompany this episode:
Episode 11 - Prison Inspectors