Time’s initial set-up to the second instalment of this high-stakes prison drama is gripping, tense and superbly well-written. With a brilliant lead cast and amazing supporting actors, Time Series 2 looks like it will supersede its predecessor, securing the series as one of the best Crime Dramas in recent months to be featured on BBC iPlayer.
Table of contents
With the renewal of this series, I was happy to see a BBC Time Series 2. With the introduction of three amazing characters portrayed by Jodie Whittaker, Bella Ramsey and Tamara Lawrance, we got a brilliant portrayal of life at HMP Carlingford.
It’s unclear why Whittaker chose this role. It was more than likely because she wanted to try a new role dissimilar to the ones she had started previously.
It may also have a bit to do with her sympathy with convicted criminals who are only provided with a bottle of water and a tent when they’re released as she mentioned here: Jodie Whittaker: “People are leaving prison and they’re being given a tent”.
Time TV Series Season 2 story
So what’s the story really about? Well, it follows a womens Prison most likely near Greater Manchester in the fictional town of Carlingford.
It closely follows three inmates. One is a younger girl with a heavy drug addiction, another is accused of a heinous crime against a child, and the third’s crime is related to simple fraud.
The series follows their time spent in the hands of HM Prison Service. It also looks at contact or lack thereof with their family members and the increasing instances of violence they experience with different prisoners and staff.
The interactions while sometimes lacking realism are raw and authentic. All the actors were on their A-game for this thrilling drama. But is it better than the first series? Let’s find out.
Time series 2 cast
The Time Series 2 cast was just as good if not better than the original cast from the first series. I really liked seeing this side of prison life as this is the first prison drama I’ve watched featured in a women’s prison, and the results it seemed, were satisfactory.
Kelsey
Kelsey (played by Bella Ramsey) comes in with a heavy heroin addiction. The Prison Service treats this with Methadone, giving her 30m a day. As well as this her neglectful boyfriend makes her take heroin into the prison. This results in problems later down the line.
Bella’s performance was great and I enjoyed the new character she portrayed. It’s clear her acting talent is boundless and it was very interesting to see this side of her artistic abilities shine.
She also falls pregnant while in prison and has to deal with the ever-looming prospect of the DHSC taking away her children because of her historic drug abuse.
Orla
Secondly, we have Orla, (played by Jodie Whittaker). She did a great job at portraying a single mother who is convicted of defrauding her gas provider, or “fiddling the leccy” as she puts it.
Orla’s stay in HMP Carlingford is plagued with anxiety and frustration. She tries her best to console her oldest son who’s not happy in the slightest with her imprisonment.
Unfortunately, her relationship with her children seems to break down. When it’s revealed that her mother can barely look after them, they go into care. This is because of her excessive alcohol abuse, and later on, her children are taken by the DHSC.
Abi
Finally, we have Abi (played by Tamara Lawrance) who acted as the “baby killer” in The Time series 2 cast. However, it’s quickly revealed that much is to know about this subplot. This is when we hear the sounds of a crying baby in Abi’s head while she takes a shower.
Abi’s hardline stance to the other prisoners was also cool to see. She isolated herself as one of the tough girls in prison, after beating and smacking several other inmates as well as making murder threats to anyone who intimidates her in any way.
I think her character had the most depth, with the viewers getting to see flashbacks into her past. They also learn about her crime in more detail. She also had to defend herself from various assaults and other troubles. These all were handled with ease and effectiveness.
On top of that, in the Time series 2 cast, we saw many other characters, such as Faye McKeever, who plays Tanya, who appeared in another Crime Drama by BBC iPlayer called The Responder. Read our post on The Responder here: Why You Must Watch The Responder.
Supporting cast
There were many supporting characters who all did a fantastic job such as the prison medical staff, the Chaplin who oversaw many incidents involving deep, personal issues with some of the main characters and even investigated a fake letter which she suspected had not been written by an inmate’s son. A full list of the supporting cast can be found below.
- Siobhan Finneran as Marie-Louise
- Lisa Millett as Prison Officer Martin
- Faye McKeever as Tanya
- Julie Graham as Lou
- Kayla Meikle as Donna
- Alicia Forde as Sarah
- Sophie Willan as Maeve
- Louise Lee as Prison Officer Carter
- Michelle Butterly as Nurse Garvey
- Karen Henthorn as Elizabeth
- Nicholas Nunn as Adam
- James Corrigan as Rob
- Matilda Firth as Nancy
- Brody Griffiths as Callum
- Isaac Lancel-Watkinson as Kyle
- Maimuna Memon as Tahani
I also particularly liked the appearance of Prison Officer Carter, played by Louise Lee. I also liked Kayla Meikle who played Donna.
The plot
The initial set-up of the series wastes no time diving us into the drama and immersing us into the life of our main character Orla. She manages three kids and works at a local bar.
During this time she is forced to make an early deposit. She then subsequently tampers with the gas meter to avoid paying a large sum when it comes to billing.
We don’t get to see her arrest or sentencing. However, it’s implied that she pleads guilty to the offence, and does not have time to see or say goodbye to her children, much to her distress.
Much of this contributes to her degrading mental health. This gets worse when she isn’t able to see her eldest son, who waits outside the prison. This culminates in her attacking another prisoner and demanding she can see her children, much to the disapproval of P.O. Martin.
Orla constantly battles fear and misery and when she is finally released she barely has enough money to get by. This culminates with her stealing from the local bar owner on three consecutive days.
However much to her amazement and distress, his CCTV camera captures everything and she is quickly sent back to prison where she sees Kelsey and Abi.
Foreshadowing
Interestingly when Orla leaves for the first time she says to them: “Hey don’t take this the wrong way but I hope I never see both of you again”. Then, within a few weeks, she’s back inside.
This foreshadowing helped me realise that a lot of prisoners are simply a product of their environment and are sometimes even set up to fail and fall back into the system, and maybe this is what Time is trying to tell us.
Character arcs
Kelsey continues to take drugs into the prison, even taking some herself. This gets serious when she realises she’s pregnant, and realises she can get extra time off due to her baby.
Now, because of this, she decides to abstain from drugs while she has her baby, a move that angers and frustrates her manipulative boyfriend, who even suggests she get rid of it. The best part is that Kelsey eventually overcomes this fear and control from him, and if you want to watch this series then please know there are some great character arcs in it.
The ending of Time Series 2
I’m not going to get too much into the ending as to not give anything away. However, I can assure you it’s great and very moving. This is especially true for Kelsey, as much is explored with her pregnancy and dangerous relationship with her boyfriend. Orla and Abi also get their moment, and much is explored with those two
BBC Time Series 2 was able to set the bar even higher and explore new themes surrounding female actors in the prison service and this was very interesting to me as it provided a completely new dynamic.
I started watching the second series of Time thinking it would be worse than its predecessor, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and proved completely wrong.
I’d invite you to watch Time Series 2. If you enjoyed the first series then this second instalment brings completely new perceptions, situations, and moments that you will not get with the original.
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