Control
For Life returns this week with an episode all about control. That control however, comes at the hands of Cassius who continues to pull the strings inside the prison. Alongside this, drama unfolds with Jasmine learning the truth about her Father which threatens to spill over into some messy melodrama in the weeks to come. Although we don’t get a courtroom setting this week, we do get an internal case which helps to show Wallace will do anything he can to get out of the prison.Only, that may be easier said than done, especially given Cassius looks to be digging his claws in. With elections 6 weeks away, episode 8 of For Life begins with Aaron building a case against Maskins with Henry’s help. With the Board putting pressure on the Warden though, this may not be that easy. Henry continues to dig and starts looking back through old files again. Cassius makes his move in the showers and hits Wild Bill and his group. On the back of this, the Warden reduces down the shower privileges for all inmates. Cassius decides he needs to seek legal advice and inevitably that means bringing Wallace into the fold. As it turns out, Wallace approaches him first and asks for a favour. Wallace phones Jasmine after convincing Cassius to let him use the phone and tells her about the divorce papers he signed last episode. It’s a big moment and something that sees a seismic ripple hit the whole family on the back of this. Meanwhile, the prison court session gets underway and Wallace works as Cassius’ lawyer, spinning the story so Cassius was the victim in the bathroom attack. Just before the Judge makes his decision, Cassius asks for some more time. As they begrudgingly agree, the Warden berates the Captain about Cassius hoarding the phones, reminding him that this is a community and they need to look out for all the inmates. Wallace visits the Captain who starts to break down following what Cassius did to him and learns that Cassius now owns him. As the court case continues, the Captain is forced to testify and lies to the group that he lost the bloodied shiv. Thanks to this statement, and Wallace’s bravado, Cassius is free to go. On the back of this, Cassius returns the burner phone and tells Wallace he’s more useful to him inside the prison than outside. While this looms over the show as a warning sign for the future, for now Wallace greets Mr Martin, the transferred inmate, who arrives at the prison and talks to Wallace about his case. As the episode closes out, Marie returns home and finds a letter from Darius, whose packed his things and seemingly left her. While it seems likely that Darius has left, Jasmine finding out about the divorce papers threatens to spill over into some messy drama to come with Marie, especially given her Mother didn’t mention anything to her. While this is likely to spill over in future episodes, for now it’s all about Cassius’ control inside the prison and that influence is only growing. Going forward it seems likely that he’ll try and stop Wallace from leaving the prison and do everything in his power to stop him in his tracks. For now though, the series continues to tick by and with a decent enough case to chew over, For Life delivers another enjoyable episode. It’s not perfect but it’s an easy enough show to sink into and if you’ve made it this far, no doubt you’ll be tuning in again next week to find out what happens.
