Teal Tuesday is back! Get ready for the final shot of prison drama Wentworth

The potentially fatal stabbing of a favourite and the re-emergence of a terrifying character had fans on edge in last year’s jaw-dropping season finale of Wentworth.

Almost a year later, we learn whether Allie survived the attack and why everyone should fear The Freak in the show’s brutal final season.

It’s the beginning of the end, with the gates closing on Wentworth Correctional Centre after eight crazy, addictive seasons. While it’s a sad goodbye to one of our best-ever dramas, rest assured, Wentworth is going out with a bang.

The final 10 episodes just might be the most explosive in the show’s history. Danger is lurking in every corner of Cell Block H – and no-one is safe.

“The stakes are very high,” Kate Atkinson, 49, who plays former governor Vera Bennett, tells TV WEEK of what viewers can expect this season.

When we left our inmates, Allie Novak’s (Kate Jenkinson) life was in the balance after she was stabbed in the showers by Judy Bryant (Vivienne Awosoga) and left for dead.

The fact it was Judy who shivved Allie was a huge shock – everyone assumed it would be rampaging Lou Kelly (Kate Box).

Earlier, Lou attacked Allie in her cell because she was convinced Allie had stolen her mobile phone and the money she’d set aside for a life-changing operation for partner – and fellow inmate – Reb Keane (Zoe Terakes).

If not for Marie (Susie Porter) hitting the panic button, Lou likely would have killed Allie right there.

But Allie was innocent. As we found out, it was activist Judy who took the money to pay a hitman to kill a visiting US politician who wanted to extradite her to America. And because Allie knew Judy had stolen the phone and cash, Judy ambushed her in the showers.

In this week’s season return, set three weeks after these events, we can tell you Allie has survived the stabbing. But she isn’t the person she once was.

Lou is more menacing than ever before, snarling to anyone prepared to listen that she should be Top Dog. Will she rise to power?

Elsewhere, Joan “The Freak” Ferguson (Pamela Rabe) is back! In the final moments of the first half of season eight last year, Joan, who thought she was Kath Maxwell, had an epiphany as a result of being tortured by Vera.

She realised she was Joan, and all her memories – including the evil things she’s done and had done to her – came back.

“Joan has reconciled with the fact she is indeed the person they call The Freak,” Pamela, 62, teases of events ahead.

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Scroll through for more plot teasers ahead of tonight’s Wentworth Season Nine premiere!

In Plain Sight:

No-one in Cell Block H would have suspected Judy Bryant was the one who shivved Allie in the showers in last year’s tense finale.

But this dangerous would-be killer is feeling more than a little nervous when Allie reappears this week.

Judy’s attack on Allie was definitely bold. The activist and hacker stole Lou’s mobile and money – which she used to commit an act of terrorism. But silencing Allie, because she knew about the money and phone, was also fraught with danger.

What if Allie saw her face during the attack? What is someone else saw her go into the showers? It’s why a nervous Judy decides to start trouble with Lou in the yard. She hopes she’ll be slotted – or possibly transferred elsewhere.

But Will is having none of that, telling Judy she needs to be there for Allie right now. And so Judy must keep up her charade. That is, at least, until Allie calls Judy into her cell. No hiding now…

Someone else who’s keen to stay out of sight is Rita Connors (Leah Purcell), who’s wanted by police in connection to a murder, but shows up to see her ailing father.

Can Joan Contain Her Freaky Thoughts?

To the outside world, she’s maintaining she’s Kath Maxwell. But inside she knows she’s Joan “The Freak” Ferguson. And with memories back, Joan is fighting all kinds of urges.

The question is will she act on them? This week, Joan’s staring at Governor Will Jackson (Robbie Magasiva) in the yard when her memory flashes to being buried in a coffin. We won’t spoil what happens next, but it is shocking, even for hardened Wentworth fans.

Prison psychiatrist Greg Miller (David de Latour) is still under the impression Joan has amnesia. And when he asks her to share any details about her previous revelation, that she watched her father kill her mother as a child, Joan’s not interested.

“You keep pushing,” she says. But is the doctor pushing her too far? Is The Freak about to blow a fuse?

One person who does not trust Joan in the slightest is former governor Vera. Last year, Vera went to extraordinary lengths to prove Joan was lying about her amnesia – including giving her hallucinogenic drugs to get her to tell the truth.

Now, Vera pours over video footage of Joan in the kitchen, waiting for her to slip-up.

“You must have noticed moments lately,” Vera says to prison guard Jake (Bernard Stewart). “A look, a moment…”

“No, I haven’t,” Jake fires back, incredulous that Joan is doing anything other than prepping meals.

“Vera wouldn’t trust Joan for a minute,” Pamela, 62, tells TV WEEK.

Of course, if Joan does have revenge on her mind, that could bode very badly for Jake, Will and Vera, given their history together.

Top Dog Dramas!

Poor Boomer. Not only is she devastated that her mate Allie was stabbed in the showers, but she’s feeling the pressure to stand up to Lou Kelly. And standing up to someone like Lou is far from easy.

When we see Sue “Boomer” Jenkins (Katrina Milosevic) this week, she’s desperate for answers.

Why hasn’t Lou been nabbed for shivving Allie, she asks Will. In truth, Boomer feels bad that she wasn’t there to protect her friend.

Will tells her there’s no evidence it was Lou who stabbed Allie. And while Lou has denied she had anything to do with it, she’s not exactly sorry it happened.

After all, Lou still thinks – incorrectly, not realising the actual culprit – that it was Allie who stole her phone and money.

Now, Lou is throwing her weight around the prison yard, clearly pushing for Top Dog status. But will Boomer stand up to Lou’s bullying?

Boomer finds herself being bullied and having to stand up.

Truth and Lies:

From the moment she landed in Cell Block H on charges of mass murder and arson, Sheila Bausch has maintained her innocence.

Her chance of being cleared of her crimes oddly may lie with Lou and her partner Reb, who were both at the Truth Path conversion therapy cult with Sheila (Marta Dusseldorp).

This week, both Lou and Reb are questioned by police about Sheila. Will they help her out? Or will they hang Sheila out to dry?

Any why is manipulative Marie having a word in Sheila’s ear?

Wentworth returns Tuesday, 24th of August at 8.30pm on Showcase.