The 5 Most Important Moments From Wentworth 8x06, 'Fugitive'

With Joan Ferguson's return to prison imminent, and Ruby Mitchell failing to return from her Day release on time, tensions are running high in Wentworth when episode 8x05, 'Fugitive' begins.

Governor Will believes Ruby has simply done a runner, leaving the other prisoners to find the truth, while with Lou away, Reb and Marie are left with the unenviable task of watching over the former Protection Unit prisoners.

Here are the five most important moments from 'Fugitive'.

1. Joan/Kath returns to Wentworth

Of course, the biggest moment from the episode is when Joan 'The Freak' Ferguson returns to Wentworth prison. Joan is still claiming to believe that she is Kath Maxwell. While Will, Vera, and Jake do not believe this for a second, but Will is secretly grateful. As long as Ferguson appears to be suffering amnesia, he can justify keeping her in the Psych unit, away from Allie and the other prisoners.

Dr. Miller, who was not at Wentworth during Ferguson's earlier reign of terror, dismisses Vera's claims that she is faking, and 'Kath' appears to pass all of his psychological tests. By episode's end, she almost has Jake convinced as well. Is 'Kath' genuine, or has The Freak pulled off the greatest con in Wentworth history?

2. Marie saves Reb

Lou is absent from most of 'Fugitive', having been taken to the Hospital for a check-up on her re-attached finger early in the episode, and only returning towards the end. This leaves the vulnerable Reb without his protector, and unfortunately, it doesn't take long for someone to take advantage of the situation.

Former protection prisoner Rattray, aka Critter, a paedophile, corners Reb in his cell and attempts to sexually assault him. Luckily for Reb, Marie intervenes, stopping the attack. The unfortunate event leads to a bond forming between Reb and Marie, especially after Marie declares her full acceptance of Reb's gender identity (one of the only inmates to do so). Marie also claims that Reb reminds her of her dead son, Danny. Both agree to keep the attack secret from Lou, as Reb fears that she would seriously harm or even kill Critter.

Sadly, her new friendship with Reb leads to trouble for Marie.

3. Rita rescues Ruby

After spending much of season eight on the sidelines while she has been in protective custody, Rita Connors takes centre stage in 'Fugitive'. Rita manages to slip her ankle monitor, escape her minder, and sets off to rescue her sister, Ruby, from the crooked cops who have captured her.

After a tense stand-off in the warehouse where Ruby is being held, Rita succeeds in freeing her sister, although not without accidentally killing Morelli, one of the crooked cops. Rita gives Ruby strict instructions to return to Wentworth and not tell anyone what happened. She then sets off in the hope of visiting their terminally ill Father.

Unfortunately, Rita's escape, even if for good reason, has probably bought her her own ticket back to Wentworth.

4. Allie, Judy, and Boomer torture Marie.

Thanks to her new friendship with Reb, Marie wishes to help in the quest to earn money for his surgery, so calls an old contact with the hope of re-establishing a drug trade in Wentworth. Unfortunately, seeing Marie in the visitor centre with this old contact, Allie recognises him as one of her old 'heavies', and comes to the conclusion that Marie is responsible for Ruby's disappearance. So, Allie, Boomer and Judy drag Marie into Allie's cell to question her on Ruby's whereabouts.

When the regular beating fails to yield results, Judy suggests they try water torture, to which Allie agrees. Unfortunately, Marie cannot give information she doesn't have.

As a viewer, knowing Marie truly knows nothing, the scene is harrowing to watch. A few other things worth noting. Boomer's character development is on full display in this scene.. from the bad tempered muscle at the beginning of the series, now she was the first one to stop when Marie was suffering. Judy's suggestion of water torture may hint that she is not as innocent as we've been lead to believe.

5. Allie's breakdown

At some point during the torture session, Allie is left alone with Marie. She almost kills her, but Boomer returns in the nick of time with the news that Ruby has returned safely, and Marie was telling the truth.

While both Marie and Allie are severely shaken by the incident, Allie spends the final minutes of the episode in what appears to be a severe state of shock.

If she can't pull herself together by next week, Wentworth may be on the hunt for a new Top Dog.