Screw Episode Five Review

The situation on C-Wing has gone from bad to worst with Screw having its best episode so far.

C-Wing has been in lockdown because of the boxing fight riot. The three-day lockdown starts to impact the mental health of the prisoners. Due to these circumstances Leigh demands all the guards have a one-on-one with all their at-risk prisoners. One of these prisoners is Lucas Cooper (Joe Bannister) who has recently been put on the at-risk list, even though he doesn’t believe he’s an at-risk prisoner.

The quality of the Screw episodes had been drastically different. The previous episode felt stale and cliched as it focused on a storyline where a young prisoner was preparing to kill someone else to prove they’re tough. Episode Five stood in stark contrast because it was able to convey its message and have dramatic tension.

The first half of the episode was focused on the mental health crisis with a particular focus on how overworked the prison staff were. The character of Miss Malone (Naomi Yang) was a prime example of this because she had the job to assess the prisoners and she had so many files she wasn’t able to keep track of all her cases. When she meets Cooper she was given the wrong name and the prisoner claimed that he must have been confused for someone else.

The mental crisis also extended to the guards. There were struggling with the stresses and strains of dealing with the prisoners’ issues. They are suffering from understaffing, an overwhelming workload, and a lack of training and pay. This was shown through Campbell who had to restrain and calm down a prisoner during a breakdown and he ended up succumbing to stress. It was a moment that made Campbell more human and relatable and showed the impact of the issues affecting the prison service. Even Leigh was suffering because her good intentions did not have the desired results.

The second half of the episode was a hostage situation. After Cooper loses his mobile phone he ends up taking drastic action and locks himself in the office with Leigh. He suffers from a mental breakdown and was irrational and unpredictable. The hostage situation was made ridiculous because Rose was made to be the lead negotiator because she had recent training and was Cooper’s keyworker. Yet Rose has only been in the job for a few weeks. Despite this, the hostage situation gave Screw some dramatic tension.

Episode Five also continued the long-running stories involving Leigh and Rose. For Leigh, her world starts to crash down. As well as Leigh struggling with her promotion, Toby had discovered she had been secretly living in the prison and found her real birth certificate. The walls were closing in on Leigh and she was feeling the heat. Rose also feels the heat because Costa blackmails her to smuggle in more goods for him. Because of this, she sets out to get herself sacked so Costa wouldn’t have leverage over her. But this would mean Rose would lose a job she seems to like.

Episode Five did the job it was set out to do, explore the themes of mental health within the prison service and show how overstretched the service is, whilst also having a tense second half.