We’re in a dark alleyway, and a young woman drops baggies in a trash can, but the cops suddenly shine a flashlight in her face.
Then it’s onto some Very Moody Opening Credits
Our girl Bell paints her nails with friends, only to remove the polish immediately. Her father is in poor health, and she’s his caretaker.
The old newspaper she uses to clean her nails has the familiar-to-Bell story of a girl who stabbed her teacher to death. Claire. This Is Important.
Bell’s mostly bedbound father gets dressed up and moves outside for graduation photos. Her boyfriend, Top, takes the pictures. He’s also covering her upcoming college tuition.
Then he takes her to a graduation celebration, with loud music and drinking. Yuck!
She leaves her purse behind to dance with Top. Then steps away to call her dad. After they hang up, she hears sirens.
Top is already outside. Over the phone, he helpfully tells her to leave. Then she discovers her purse is full of drugs. Top has no idea where they came from, then sees his friend with a nose full of them. He doesn’t tell her that. He tells her not to tell the cops and toss them out.
It’s thanks to those directions that we catch up to the opening scene. As the cops get her, Bell sobs for Top’s help. He’s right outside the alley, but he lets his friends drag him away. He. Sucks.
Suddenly, I think there’s a big time jump. Bell is still dressed for the party, but is entering prison. She’s strip-searched and given a uniform.
Prison Warden Wichai welcomes the new inmates, telling them to reflect on their wrongdoings and become better people. Then he screams, “Understood?” at them.
Bell’s cellmate Kae claims to be kind and sweet, and maybe she is? She’s got some medication she claims is for allergies. Maybe it is?
Kae gives us a tour of the prison
She warns Bell away from the greenhouse where an older inmate named Pa works with another inmate called Rabid Dog.
She also warns her about the scary and violent 3D gang. Its leaders are Dao, Duan, and Deedee, two sisters and a cousin. Dao, the oldest, is sleeping with Wichai to try to get the other two out sooner.
There’s also the library, where Kae has Bell work with her the next day. Bell takes out a book on roses. This is a mistake, because Rabid Dog wants that book!
This is, of course, Claire. She’s a vicious fighter. And people think she eats cat food.
We also meet Mangpor, who smuggles stuff into the prison, with the Warden getting a cut.
A new prison guard gets aggressive about the roses in the greenhouse, yanking one out. In return, Claire strangles her with dried vines. Unfortunately, they break, and she gets beaten.
Claire’s put in solitary, but Wichai wants it kept from the director. The same new guard dumps Claire’s food on the ground, but Claire grabs her arm and yanks it before letting her go. Claire Does Not Care.
Meanwhile, Bell calls her father’s caretaker and lies about being away for a few weeks. I think she’s hoping, somehow, she’ll get out that fast.
Then Bell lets someone borrow The Wrong Book
The worst member of 3D, Deedee, had a smuggled item waiting in that book. She goes after the book borrower, then Bell, who crawls under the cafeteria tables to escape her.
Meanwhile, Claire has a nightmare about bloody scissors and the cops coming. The guards let her out. She’s hungry.
Naturally, Bell crawls near Claire while escaping Deedee. Claire looks at Bell’s attackers menacingly, and they leave them alone. Then Claire invites Bell to her extra food.
Bell apologizes for everything until Claire tells her to stop. Then she apologizes for apologizing. Claire does some staaaaaring while Bell eats, but… It’s not romantic. More intense, while everyone else watches.
Deedee asks the guard who hates Claire if she wants revenge. That night, the guard lets the 3D gang out to attack Bell. Then, she enters Claire’s cell and whacks her on the head with a baton. But Claire takes the baton and threatens the guard.
The 3D gang starts beating Bell. Then Claire tells the guard to call for help, forcing the gang to stop as other guards run in.
Everyone is in trouble. Wichai makes the inmates stand outside in the sun. In his office, he scolds the guard and Dao. The guard admits to going after Claire, but not helping the inmates. She suggests the inmates be transferred, but gets transferred instead.
But Dao, who wasn’t part of the fight, is warned that this jeopardizes Duan and Deedee’s chances of getting released sooner. And it threatens their regular family visits. Dao warns them to leave Bell alone.
Outside, Bell faints, but Claire catches her. She recovers in Pa’s cell, learning her cellmate is Claire. Pa tells her that Claire called the guards to stop them from beating her.
Everyone is excited for Family Visit Day!
They’re decorating like it’s a party. Bell thinks Top, who is helping her with legal stuff, is visiting. Deedee thinks that despite being busted for sex work, her boyfriend is visiting.
Spoilers: Neither boyfriend visits.
Top wants his Dad to help him pull some strings and get Bell out, but he’s both a worthless boyfriend and a worthless son. His Dad doesn’t want Top ruining the family name and wants him away from Bell. He even had his guy convince Bell to plead guilty, not for her but for them.
No, Dad will not be pulling any strings.
Back at prison, Claire gives Pa her blood pressure meds.
Speaking of family, Warden Wichai has one too. His son, Porsche, lost his job because he tried to do the right thing. Wichai’s Wife wants him to work at the prison. Porche and Wichai do not want this.
But on the day of the family visit, Porsche is introduced as the new guard. Wichai doesn’t want anyone to know Porsche is his son, but everyone notices he’s getting special attention.
Dao has a heartbreaking visit with her mother and her angry, resentful son. Kae’s visitor is another member of a gang she’s taken the fall for. Pa’s son is a no-show.
Bell assumes Deedee is in a good mood from seeing her boyfriend and tries to apologize. Deedee is not in a good mood and is about to beat her when Duan stops her.
But it’s not over yet
Later, Manpor wants Bell’s Help With Something. She leads Bell outside so Deedee and the 3D gang can attack her. Bell scratches Deedee’s face and flees into an abandoned bathroom.
The 3Ds think this place is haunted. Then Dao finds them, and she’s Not Happy.
Inside, Bell meets Capybara, Claire’s orange cat. She thanks Claire for her help and explains her sad backstory. Claire tells her she can cry and gives her a funny book in case she’s done crying. Bell is not done crying. Claire teases her not to cry over the library book.
Porsche tries to stop Dao from smoking. It doesn’t go well. He’s been abandoned by the female guard who’s supposed to be with him, so Dao threatens to report him. She’s in charge.
Bell is with Pa at the prison snack shop when Pa forgets she no longer works there.
Claire has a visitor. The sister of her victim, who is here for the truth, again. Claire says she needed money, her brother caught her stealing, so she killed him. Stop visiting. Her brother isn’t coming back, and she needs to live her life.
Bell discovers she’s on the news. Top’s Important Representative father disavows any knowledge of her and the drugs, and says she and Top had already broken up.
Unfortunately, her father is also watching this news.
Bell nearly faints, and Deedee punches her in the nose twice.
Then Dao punches Deedee in the face. Porsche calls for help. Pa passes out. And Dao thinks Claire will be pissed that her people were hurt.
Bloody-nosed Bell glares, and Claire is walking… somewhere…
Wow, that was A Lot
The first episode was INTENSE. Thankfully, the second episode slowed down and let things breathe and develop before that intense ending.
Poor, poor naive Bell. Surface-level, Top at least appears better than many exes terrorizing drama land. He’s sincere, and I understand why she trusted him. But he’s also incredibly weak. He’ll let her life get ruined rather than risk his own comfortable existence.
Claire is an enigmatic mystery hidden underneath that dark, heavy, thick mop of hair. I think she’s giving Pa her blood pressure meds because she knows Pa’s memory is going, and doesn’t want her to forget or overdose.
There’s no way Claire just killed some guy for money. What’s the real story? And why is she protecting Bell? Is she just drawn to her? Is it a childhood connection thing?
Right now, I’m eager to see how Bell grows stronger and to learn the truth behind Claire.
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