Australian Television: Tenko: episode guide
Shattered Dreams (1)
Episode 1.01
Written by Paul Wheeler
Singapore, 5 December 1941
Marion Jefferson wakes in bed, and begins her normal routine: a snack, meet her old friend Victoria Armstrong for shopping and breakfast at Raffles (one of the most posh hotels in Singapore) and more shopping, then home for a nap, and then get dressed for the dinner dance. Marion, feeling that she can't contribute anything to war effort where she is and missing her son, also plans to return to Britain. Her husband, Colonel Clifford Jefferson, continues his inspections of British defences in the area, and gives a bolluxing to a Major for being entirely too complacent that any Japanese attack will be by sea and will be repulsed, warning of the possibility of an overland attack and their overall weak defences.
Sister Ulrica arrives at the Singapore Archbishopric to ask why the monies for her mission haven't been sent on for several months. Christina Campbell shows several friends around the Indian section of Singapore, and is approached by Simon Treves, who finds her fascinating. Nurse Kate Norris arranges an afternoon off from her work at the hospital, so she can meet her boyfriend, Tom Redburn. Tom proposes to Kate. During the course of the day, it becomes apparent that most of the populace is blissfully unaware of any danger. Rose Millar and her boyfriend Bernard Webster (a radio journalist) go to Raffles for breakfast, and argue over whether and how the public should be informed about the possibility of a Japanese advance. Bernard goes on the air live to warn people, but his broadcast is cut off in the middle, and he is fired.
Two days later, Colonel Jefferson is notified that the Japanese have landed four hundred miles north of the city and are headed south. Moments later, Singapore is bombed. Sister Ulrica gathers a group of nuns and leads them over to the hospital, which is overwhelmed with casualties. Her help is gratefully accepted by Dr Beatrice Mason, who runs the casualty ward. Colonel Jefferson pleads with Marion to leave the city, but Marion feels that she can now help out, and refuses to leave.
Shattered Dreams (2)
Episode 1.02
Written by Paul Wheeler
Singapore, 10 December 1941
The hospital continues to try to cope with casualties. Kate is sent home, almost exhausted. Colonel Jefferson and his wife Marion go to the casualty wards, where Marion is horrified by the injuries and offers her help. Colonel Jefferson also offers whatever help the army can supply to Dr Mason. Dr Mason says that she thinks they'll manage, if that's the end of it. Colonel Jefferson informs her that it's just the start: the Japanese are advancing towards the city.
Colonel Jefferson and Jack Armstrong (also in the Army, but I missed his rank) talk between themselves about the Japanese advance south, and discuss evacuating the British civilians in the city. Bernard Webster confronts them over the Japanese attack, the lack of defences, and the Army's failure to warn the city. Beatrice asks Marion to organise relief centres for refugees, and Marion agrees. Marion opens her home and gets other women to open their homes to the refugees.
On New Year's Eve, there is a big party at Raffles, where many of the civilians remain wilfully ignorant of the Japanese advance. Colonel Jefferson urges Marion to leave the city: the Japanese are just a few days out. Marion reluctantly agrees. Christina Campbell, half-Scots and half-Chinese, attempts to join the evacuation, but is denied passage because she looks partially Chinese and the passage officer demands to see her father's birth certificate before he'll issue her a ticket. Simon Treves, who has been spending more and more time with Christina, 'reasons' with the officer, and Christina is given a ticket. Dr Mason dismisses the nurses and tells them to evacuate, but stays herself to tend the wounded.
The evacuation ship arrives and is loaded: Marion, Vicky, Christina, Kate, Nellie, Rose, Tom and Bernard board the ship for the several-day voyage to Australia. During the voyage, the ship is torpedoed. Marion loses Vicky in the confusion. The survivors (Marion, Christina, Kate, Nellie, Rose, Tom and Bernard) wash ashore on the island of Kampong Getah, and take shelter in an abandoned house, where they are discovered by a group of Japanese soldiers. Taken prisoner, the men and women are separated and marched into the forest.
Freedom's End (1)
Episode 1.03
Written by Jill Hyem
Kampong Getah, February 1942
The women (Marion, Christina, Kate, Nellie, Rose) have left a transit camp where they were joined by Dr Bea Mason, Dorothy and her baby Violet, Sylvia Ashburton (a spirited older woman), Sally Markham, Judith Bowen and her daughter Debbie, and Blanche Simmons, a cheerful Cockney. The women are marched to a abandoned plantation where the coolie quarters are being fenced in for a prison camp. Dorothy, having lost her husband, is listless and uninterested in life, even not caring for her baby. Captain Yamauchi greets them, and lays down the ground rules of the camp. Blanche, desperate to go to the bathroom, discovers that the facilities are extremely worse than they could have imagined.
The group settles into two of the three huts, the third being set aside by the Japanese for a future contingent of internees. Bea takes charge of the hut she's in, gathering all the group's medicines into one place and starting to treat their injuries. In the other hut, Sylvia Ashburton displays her prejudices and refuses to sleep next to Christina, whereupon Rose makes Sylvia switch places with her. Bea, expecting Marion to be a sort of leader in the other hut, tells Marion to make sure that the women don't drink until the water has been boiled and to gather the medicines together. Marion tells Bea that she has a crystal set that she was bringing back to her son, but she hasn't had time since the shipwreck to see if it still works. In the washhouse, the women are very proper and modest about cleaning themselves until Blanche walks in and strips off, declaring that they're all girls together. The others follow her example. Returning to their huts, the women settle in for their first night in the camp. Marion decides to keep a diary of life in camp.
In the morning, the women are wakened for their first Tenko (Japanese for roll call). They are taught how to stand and how to bow. Sylvia refuses to bow, but eventually does so when the others are threatened with punishment. Sally Markham discovers that she's pregnant, and worries about her missing husband and the unborn baby. Sylvia ransacks Marion's pack for the crystal set. Caught by the Japanese, she is put in the punishment hut.
The women decide that they need an 'official' spokesperson to talk with the Japanese. Bea turns down the job and nominates Marion, who is elected. The women scrub down the huts and clean out the latrines. The third hut is filled with a group of Dutch women, including Sister Ulrica and Dominica Van Meyer, a rather unpleasant rich woman. The Dutch women, having been brought in from their homes, have brought a number of possessions with them, which makes several of the British prisoners jealous. The Dutch bring word of the fall of Singapore.
Freedom's End (2)
Episode 1.04
Written by Anne Valery
Sylvia is used as an example to teach the Dutch women how to bow. Sister Ulrica, in the absence of any one else, becomes the leader of the Dutch prisoners. Captain Yamauchi announces that a trader will be coming to the camp, and speculation and hopes run high over the anticipated goods. Dorothy, taking more interest in life, obsesses about her Violet's health. Most of the younger women are removed from the camp, and the older women worry about them until their return, when Blanche explains that they've been out cutting down trees. Bea asks Marion to enforce discipline in Marion's hut, but Marion is reluctant.
The trader arrives; the trader's wife offers to smuggle milk to Dorothy, but Dorothy has no money to pay for it. Van Meyer resents being forced by the Japanese to work, so Dorothy offers to do her work if she'll pay for it, so that Dorothy can supply Violet with milk. Sneaking out of camp to get the milk, Dorothy is deeply scratched by barbed wire; Violet develops diarrhoea. When Dorothy's untreated wound becomes infected and then discovered, Dorothy's smuggling becomes known to the other internees. Sister Ulrica wants to tell the commandant so that Dorothy's trespass won't cause punishment for all the prisoners.
The smuggling is discovered by the Japanese. All traders are forbidden to come to the camp anymore, night roll calls are started, and meals are available only twice a day. This causes a schism between the British and Dutch internees, but Marion and Ulrica manage to bring the groups together. In the blistering heat, the trader's wife is tied to a pole in the compound for punishment; Dorothy smuggles water to her at night, but the trader's wife dies.
Sticking Together (1)
Episode 1.05
Written by Jill Hyem
Some time has passed since the smuggling incident, and social structure in the camp is breaking down. Violet has died and is being buried, and the Japanese inform the internees of the invasion of Burma. Bea is worried about the increasing number of sick in the camp, and is rationing medicines to make them last longer. Blanche, a sore on her leg from the first woodcutting having become infected, becomes convinced that Bea is withholding iodine from her deliberately. Some of the women without children in the camp are annoyed at the noise they create. When Marion tries to organise relief for the mothers, by education and group games, several of the non-mothers turn her down. Ulrica is upset that the British aren't attending her religious services. Rose refuses to turn in the mosquito netting around her bed for the sick. Blanche, proud of her hair, refuses to get it cut despite lice problems. Sally worries about giving birth in a few month. Sylvia is reluctant to treat Christina, who has fallen ill.
Blanche, Marion, and Sylvia all make various attempts to raise morale, but have minimal effect. Bea warns Judith to keep Debbie away from Blanche because Blanche is common, and Judith agrees; however, Debbie is determined to be friends with Blanche because Blanche is fun. Judith comes down with malaria, and Marion's request to Captain Yamauchi for quinine is denied. She asks for permission to set up a sick hut, but there is no free hut inside the wire and the Japanese won't let them outside the wire. Captain Yamauchi suggests re- organising the prisoners among the existing huts, which is done, but upsets the prisoners.
Marion hears Kate and Nellie discussing her leadership abilities, and wants to resign. Marion calls a meeting of the British internees. She proposes some changes — creating education and entertainment committees, and rebuilding a burnt-out hut for a sickbay — and asks for a vote of confidence. She is re-elected leader of the British.
Rebuilding the burnt-out hut into a sickbay increases camp morale. Blanche eventually decides to get her hair cut. And two Japanese secret policemen arrive at the camp.
Sticking Together (2)
Episode 1.06
Written by Anne Valery
The secret police interrogate Marion about British organisation in Singapore prior to the fall. During interrogation, the Japanese tell her that the British have withdrawn to India.
The other prisoners notice Blanche is smoking a lot of cigarettes; she also supplies a round of tea to the prisoners in her hut. The internees speculate that she may have become too friendly with the guards. Work on the new sickbay continues. Ulrica is now among the malaria patients; during her illness, she and Bea find they have much in common.
Blanche fills in as Debbie's mother while Judith remains sick. When one of the malaria patients die, Bea asks Blanche if there is any possibility of getting quinine, but Blanche has already tried and can't. Blanche sees Dorothy going off with a guard, and asks Dorothy if there's any chance of quinine from the quarter, but Dorothy refuses to ask.
The sick hut is completed, and the internees hold a party to celebrate; the British dress up in their best clothes. One of the guards tells Blanche that Red Cross parcels have arrived. Still in their party clothes, Blanche, Rose and Dorothy slip over to the supply hut to count them. The trio is caught by three guards, who take them into the hut to 'view the parcels'. Blanche and Dorothy and willing to trade themselves for quinine, but Rose balks and all six are caught by Lieutenant Sato. Blanche palms some quinine during the ensuing confusion.
Captain Yamauchi strongly wants the rape story to be a lie, saying that the women tried to seduce the men. Dorothy agrees; Rose and Blanche deny the story, and are tied to the punishment poles in the compound. Sylvia overhears Dorothy with one of the guards, and Marion reports her to Yamauchi, who warns her to keep the women away from the guards. Rose and Blanche are released from the poles and Dorothy is assigned to extra work details. Blanche is determined to be revenged on Dorothy, but Yamauchi forbids reprisals.
The quinine having worked on the remaining quinine patients, Judith thanks Blanche.
Victims Of Circumstance (1)
Episode 1.07
The internees start to notice the de-feminizing aspects of their imprisonment: almost no one is having periods anymore, skin is becoming rougher, and some don't feel they look like women anymore. Yamauchi and Marion stroll around the camp, discussing conditions, morale, army discipline, Sally's pregnancy, and the future of the camp internees.
Sally insists on playing part of a game of rounders, and her friendship with Nellie becomes closer as her pregnancy continues. The rounders game increases Sylvia's respect for Christina, and the two work together to make dinner. Sally gives birth to a stillborn baby; she and Nellie become closer as Nellie tries to console her for the loss. Dorothy, who is still visiting soldiers, starts rumours about Nellie and Sally, and the prisoners' opinion run high over whether the friendship is 'unnatural'. After discovering the rumours, Sally and Nellie distance their relationship.
Judith Bowen has another attack of malaria, making Blanche wonder about all of their eventual fates.
Victims Of Circumstance (2)
Episode 1.08
One of the boys turns 13 and is sent to the men's camp. The mother breaks down at the gate, and the guard's unsympathetic treatment almost brings rebellion from the prisoners before Marion calms things down. In the aftermath, Yamauchi gives permission for everyone to send one postcard home — 25 words, and one compulsory sentence from a selection. Nellie and Sally try to cope with the distance between them; the friendship between Sylvia and Christina starts to gel. Kate, Christina, and Dorothy think they should start a newsletter, The Tenko Times.
Bea is forced to ask Blanche to try for morphia for one of the Dutch patients, but Blanche refuses. Blanche, Rose, and Kate propose the formation of an escape committee, but the idea is rejected: the jungle isn't safe enough to live in, and the island and the surrounding area is all Japanese-help. Everyone agrees except for Blanche, who tells Rose she is determined to escape. Rose considers joining her, but decides to remain in camp in case Bernard is still alive.
Just before Judith Bowen dies, Marion promises Judith that she'll take care of Debbie. Debbie's friendship with Blanche increases, and she tells Blanche that her family name is actually Cohen, and they're Jewish. Blanche advises her to keep it secret. Van Meyer accuses the British children of theft, but Debbie discovers that it's actually Blanche preparing for escape and tries to blackmail her into allowing Debbie to join in. Blanche refuses, but Debbie gatecrashes the night of the escape. Dorothy finds them making preparations, but promises not to turn them in. When Rose finds out from Dorothy that Blanche is taking Debbie, she tells Marion, who tells Yamauchi in hopes that he will be lenient with Debbie. Blanche and Debbie are re-captured.
Last Days (1)
Episode 1.09
Written by Anne Valery
Drought season
Yamauchi imposes punishment details on the camp: the sick must parade with the others, Blanche and Debbie are tied to the punishment poles, personal possessions are burnt, including the postcards home. The prisoners are angry that Marion and Rose turned Blanche and Debbie in, and their life is miserable enough from their own guilt. The Dutch, angry that they are again being punished for British misbehaviour, insist that both groups should now be treated separately.
Yamauchi learns of Christina's gift for languages and makes her his secretary. Nellie wonders about the men's camp.
Marian pleads with Yamauchi for mercy for Debbie, and he agrees. When she asks for mercy for Blanche as well, he agrees — if the internees will make 500 work hats in the next seven days, and the punishment details will not be lifted. Marion agrees, and the British prisoners organise themselves. The British, stung by the Dutch separation, decide not to ask the Dutch for help. When individual craftsmanship proves too slow, the British switch to assembly-line production, but they are still making hats too slow.
Ulrica visits Yamauchi to complain about the guards making fun of Sunday services, and learns of the agreement. She brings the Dutch, and hat production increases. Tied daily to the pole, the prisoners can only offer Blanche verbal encouragement without offering any details. The day before the deadline, Christina and Yamauchi discover that the deadline was misunderstood, and that there is no possibility of enough hats being completed in time. Yamauchi orders the punishment details cancelled for the final day, and supplies spring water to the internees. The women barely manage to make enough hats, and Blanche is released from 10 days in the sun.
Last Days (2)
Episode 1.10
Written by Anne Valery
Bea is worried about the diet of the sick, and announces an outbreak of beri-beri. Yamauchi gives them ten bean plants to grow, which may help the outbreak — once the plants grow. Ulrica trades the end pages from her bible (suitable for rolling cigarettes) to the guards for yeast tablets.
Christmas is approaching, and Ulrica and Rose argue over who should run the Christmas concert and carols. When Yamauchi announces that the internees will be transferred to another camp, the concert is moved up. The work party reports seeing a group of men working in the distance. Yamauchi gives the internees the day before the move off from work details and agrees to try to get work of relatives in the men's camp. When it arrives, there is both joy and disappointment among the internees.
Christina has been stealing paper from Yamauchi's office for The Tenko Times and Marion's diary. As she leaves his office on the last day, he reveals his knowledge of her subterfuge by reminding her to take some paper with her. The women leave the camp, uncertain of their future.
Episode 2.01
December 1942
The women have been split into two groups for the march, with Sylvia, Blanche and Nellie in the second group. Bea has become demoralised and listless after her continual effort over the prior months, and also by the slow degradation in her eyesight. Speculation about the new camp is rife, but the instead of going to the camp, the guards march the women down for a surprise day on the beach, which is richly enjoyed by all.
The march continues on, for several days. There continues to be elation and despair from the list of names from the men's camp. The guards get lost, and the group is forced to backtrack. At one overnight stay, the group picks up Joss Holbrook and Edie, both sick elderly women who have been left by a previous party of guards for the current group to pick up. Joss immediately asks if anyone knows anything about her friend Monica Radcliffe.
Debbie, bitten by a spider on the beach, dies. The guards try to move on without burial, but the women refuse to move until it's done, insisting that it's only right that she be given a Christian burial. Marion, cleaning up Debbie's possessions afterwards, finds a Star of David and realises that the Bowens were really Jewish.
Others die as the journey continues before they finally arrive at the new camp on New Year's Day, 1943.
Episode 2.02
1 January 01, 1943
The women arrive at the new camp and are processed in. Joss continues to look for news of her friend Monica. Kate, having enjoyed the trek to the new camp, finds herself more resentful of the confinement, and decides to hide the fact that she's a nurse until she knows what things will be like. Marion is in despair from the aftermath of Debbie's death and the continued weight of responsibility. Ulrica discovers that she is the only nun in the camp, which causes her consternation. Sally is deeply depressed, and Christina tries to get her more interested in living.
Dr Natalie Trier comes and inspects the new internees, and they are released from their new hut to be greeted. Lieutenant Nakamura is the commandant, but he speaks no English and the camp is really controlled by the official interpreter, Miss Hasan. Miss Hasan has a reputation for tantrums, but generally leaves the internees alone if the work is done. After being greeted by Lieutenant Nakamura and Miss Hasan, the group is met by Verna Johnson, who is in charge of distribution, and meet Daisy, a British orphan who works as Verna's servant.
The new camp has mattresses, running water, a choir, gardens, traders (when the prisoners are good), and a cat that belongs to Verna. The women are given temporary clothes, and the old ones taken out for boiling and disinfection, but are later informed by Verna that the old clothes have disintegrated, and that they will have to repay her for the 'temporary' clothes that they have. The loss of their clothes (practically the only thing most of them have to call their own) infuriates the women. They are also informed that they are expected to repay the camp funds for the food rations consumed on the first day as the Japanese didn't issue any for them, and also for the mattresses, and that there's a swear box for people caught swearing. The women realise that Verna runs the internees and takes her cut on everything that happens in the camp.
They are also informed that the women in the new camp work off-site at a factory, making headgear for Japanese soldiers, and they will be expected to join the work crews soon. Christina is put on a truck to another camp to act as their interpreter. Marion is reunited with her old school chum, Lillian Cartland, and her son Bobby. Lillian obsesses about Bobby's health and diet. Bea, hospitalised, resents Dr Trier's detached treatment of all the patients, including herself, and even more upset when no visitors are allowed for the first day, and only for half-an-hour on all following days. Bea is also upset with the continued deterioration of her eyesight. All of the women are confronted with the realisation that they must start over in this new camp.
Episode 2.03
2 January 1943
The women continue to chafe at conditions in the new camp: the loss of their clothes continues to infuriate them, and the camp rules, the swear box, the discipline committee all seem unnecessarily restrictive.
Lillian explains to the new camp internees that the rich will pay them to do their chores for them. When Verna announces that the committee has decided to use Red Cross monies to pay for the mattresses and that the new internees won't have to pay for them, Bea, Rose, Marion and Joss decide to ask for their group's monies to be kept aside: Verna may be the camp leader and representative, but she is not the leader of the group from the old camp. However, Miss Hasan rejects Ulrica's and Marion's petition for separate leaders: all contact should come from Verna, and only Verna.
The women start to settle into their new life and make some plans: Ulrica discovers that a priest comes over from the men's camp to hear confessions, and Kate and Rose decide to try to get news from Bernard and Tom. Dr Trier arranges a special diet for Bea, so that Bea will become and stay well enough to treat the ill. Bea discovers that Dr Trier is keeping data on all the prisoners, and that she hopes to use the data to publish a study after the war. Marion asks Lillian if Lillian can get her some paper for her diary. With Christina gone, Daisy tries to get Sally to focus more on life. Joss and Kate set up in the shoe making/mending business. And Dorothy approaches the guards, offering to trade herself for cigarettes and other small luxuries.
Verna warns the group that there's going to be a search. Bea warns Marion to hide her diary. When Verna overhears this, she offers to hide it for Marion, but takes the opportunity to read it before returning it. Verna offers Marion a position on the disciplinary committee; during their discussion, Marion realises that the committee members are not elected, but appointed by Verna.
Dorothy, having established contact with a guard called Shinya, is distressed that he keeps giving her cigarettes but refusing her offers of repayment. They finally agree on English lessons as an acceptable trade. Lillian is appalled when she realises that Dorothy sleeps with the guards.
All of the prisoners are ordered to make themselves pretty for a propaganda photo, and are loaned new clothes and a touch of makeup for the occasion. Sally, still out of sorts and angry at the Japanese, fakes illness, slips into the commandant's office, and commits suicide. This ruins the Japanese plans for the day. Kate, wanting to help prepare Sally's body for burial, reveals that she is a nurse.
Episode 2.04
15 January 1943
Having agreed that Sally was insane at the time of her death, the internees bury her in Christian ground. Punishment details are announced, with only Ulrica and the ill being excused, but Ulrica insists on working too. The first shift at the factory leaves the women exhausted, but Rose thinks that some men from the men's camp may be working in another part of the factory and schemes over contacting them. Rations are cut for the first time at the new camp, so that the troops at the front may have more; this makes Lillian even more obsessed with Bobby's diet and health.
Lillian arranges for Marion to teach the children; Dorothy continues to teach Shinya English. Bea continues to be angry that visiting hours, even for the dying, are limited to half-an-hour a day, and decides that she really doesn't like the limitation imposed on patients' rights by modern medicine. Verna and Van Meyer sound each other out and spend some time together, and Van Meyer becomes Verna's hairdresser. Van Meyer finds out from Verna that Joss is actually Lady Jocelyn Holbrook, which makes Van Meyer fawn over Joss; Van Meyer also tells Daisy that Joss is a Lady.
Ulrica looks forward to the priest's visit the next day; although concerned over the condition of her gown, she is too tired to clean it. Joss slips it out while Ulrica is sleeping, and washes it for her. In confession, Ulrica confesses that she helped with Sally's burial service because her love for Sally was greater than her horror at Sally's sin. Her penance is to not speak to the others (other than items related to work), and to restrict her contact with them, as they have led her away from God.
Josh suspects that Dorothy may be pregnant. Dorothy later confirms this to some of the women, and the women are concerned over possible reprisals against them for Dorothy's indiscretions. Ulrica is the only one who tries to comfort Dorothy. Dorothy is convinced of the hopelessness of trying bring the child to term, even if she wanted to, especially considering Violet's fate. She tells Ulrica that she wants to terminate the pregnancy, causing Ulrica to break her silence.
Episode 2.05
Shinya becomes concerned over Dorothy's behaviour. Bea tells Kate about the pregnancy, and the women discuss what to do. Van Meyer is horrified that the baby was fathered by one of the guards, but the rest of the women accept it. What causes division is the argument over whether abortion is acceptable or not, especially considering the medical conditions in the camp.
All prisoners are given extra duties; Dorothy's involuntary protest gets her heavy duties.
When Daisy becomes ill with dysentery, Van Meyer agrees to act as Verna's maid.
Ulrica, convinced that Dorothy and her potential sin are more important than her penance, tries to convince Dorothy that abortion is wrong. Dorothy says that it's either abortion or suicide. Dr Trier notices the concern over Dorothy, and mentions it to Verna, who pries it out of Van Meyer. Verna offers Dorothy an abortion; Dorothy accepts. Verna gets the money from Miss Hasan (who wants it repaid), and makes the arrangements. The decisions made, Ulrica tells the other women to support Dorothy, whatever their personal opinions. The abortion is started the next day, but the announcement of a visit by the new district commander causes Miss Hasan to send the women from Marion's hut to the factory, and hide the abortion proceedings in a storeroom.
The new district commander turns out to be Major Yamauchi, promoted from his position as their previous commandant. Miss Hasan comments that the women from the old camp are undisciplined, but realises her error when one of the children recognise him. Yamauchi is unhappy with the command structure of the camp, and replaces Lieutenant Nakamura with Captain Sato, also promoted from their last camp. Captain Sato conducts a surprise roll call when the group from the factory returns. Bea plans to cover for Dorothy's absence and take her chance with punishment for 'forgetting to include her on the sick rolls'. Dorothy, not wanting Bea to run the risk, insists on attending the roll call, but collapses partway through. After her abortion, she becomes depressed, but eventually recovers.
The priest visits again, and Ulrica confesses that she broke her previous penance and also that there was an abortion. The priest, concerned that Ulrica is making decisions without the guidance of the church, arranges for Ulrica to continue her internment at a convent. As she leaves, Ulrica tells Bea that, while she knew how to be a nun, the women in the camp had been teaching her how to be a woman.
Episode 2.06
31 March 1943
Shinya tells Dorothy that some of the soldiers from the camp are being transferred to the front.
Lillian hopes that she and Bobby will be included on a repatriation list, and asks Marion to check with Yamauchi during his visit the next day. Marion's request for an interview with Yamauchi is denied by Verna, however he notices her during his inspection and agrees to see her. Marion asks for information on the other prisoners from the first camp, information about Christina's whereabouts, and information on the repatriation list. Yamauchi replies that he is too busy to concern himself with the fate of the prisoners from the first camp, that he will look into the matter of Christina, and that the repatriation list should be handled through Verna. Verna punishes Marion and her hut by refusing them dinner that night and breakfast the next morning.
The next day, Verna tells Marion that two new internees will be added to her hut. At the end of the factory shift, Christina is brought back to rejoin the group, although she must report to Yamauchi's office down the road from the camp every day. And Blanche is transferred from her current camp to their new camp, bringing news of their old friends (Sylvia dies from cholera the first month in the new camp, but Nellie is alive and well and running the sickbay).
Christina and Blanche have to make some adjustments to living in the new camp, but it's made easier by the support of their friends. Blanche discovers that Debbie has died, and blames Rose for telling about their escape attempt, but later discovers that she misses her friendship with Blanche. Blanche meets Joss and, determined to defy the Japanese, they team up.
Rose is still trying to figure out a way to contact the men's camp. This becomes unnecessary when, working at Yamauchi's office, Christina is approached by a member of the underground, who contacts the men's camp and brings back word that Bernard and Tom are both alive and at the camp.
Lillian has been giving part of her rations to Bobby. Bobby gives some of his food to one of the other children. When Lillian finds out, she has a fit. The repatriation list comes through and Lillian and Bobby aren't on it; Dr Trier is.
Episode 2.07
22 April 1943
Christina brings a note from Bernard to Rose, arranging a rendezvous the night of the Emperor's birthday, when the guards will be distracted by a large party the Japanese are planning. Christina is nervous about the risk both she and the man in the underground are running, and wants to stop acting as a courier. Joss asks Christina to contact the underground for resistance purposes, and Christina refuses. Yamauchi, suffering from stomach problems and unable to eat much, gives his uneaten food rations to Christina.
Verna puts Van Meyer on the discipline committee. Marion objects, and gets the committee to agree that future selections will be held by vote. Lillian continues to give part of her ration to Bobby and obsess about his condition. Lillian asks Dorothy to ask Shinya for extra food for Bobby. After Joss is punished for trying to steal guards' underwear, Joss and Blanche make plans to disrupt the birthday celebration. Rose, discovering the plans, asks Blanche to delay their execution, so she and Bernard can meet with less risk.
On the Emperor's birthday, the repatriates leave the camp. Dr Trier has asked for her repatriation to be cancelled, but it is too late and she must leave. The Japanese forbid the repatriates to bring any notes with them. Dr Trier decides to try, but asks Bea to keep a copy just in case, and asks her to add to them as needed. Bea worries about coping with Dr Trier leaving, especially with her bad eyesight, and feels overwhelmed by the responsibility. Kate thinks about becoming a doctor when they're released. The internees are given soap and extra rice rations. Shinya sits out the Japanese party, and Dorothy keeps him company, talking about life in their different cultures.
Rose tries to make herself up for her rendezvous. Blanche slips in, gives her some lipstick she stole from Van Meyer, and offers to escort her through the forest to the rendezvous. Rose and Blanche slip out of the camp. When Bernard meets them at the hut, Blanche slips back to camp. Bernard gives Rose a bottle of Vitamin B, and tells her to tell Kate that Tom sends his love — he's been unable to reply to her notes because he's been in solitary. He's also seen a newspaper clipping: the Allies are gaining ground. He also reports that Sally Markham's husband Peter died a while back from diphtheria. Bernard and Rose agree to get married.
Josh accidentally reveals the rendezvous to Kate, who hasn't heard replies from her notes to Tom and is distressed at not knowing of the plans. Marion discovers Blanche sneaking into camp and deduces the rendezvous. Later, Sato breaks up the soldiers' party and sends them to search for Rose and Bernard. The camp watches the soldiers leave, and shots are heard from the forest.
Episode 2.08
30 April 1943
Due to the ill-fated rendezvous, Sato decrees the following punishments: rations are cut until the Japanese know how things were arranged and who helped. Emotions in the camp run very high. Lillian still obsesses about Bobby and has taken him out of classes. She gives him most of her rations, and works extra hours for food for him.
Rose is brought back, shot in the back; Bernard is dead. The entire camp chips in items for the surgery needed for Rose, even Verna miraculously producing a bottle of disinfectant. Bea and Kate operate on Rose; when Bea realises she can't focus enough to operate, she turns the operation over to Kate and assists her. Afterwards, Bea feels old, used up. Rose recovers consciousness, but is paralysed and without feeling from the waist down. Yamauchi arrives and questions Rose. When she refuses to answer, Miss Hasan tries to hurt her, but chooses points where Rose has no feeling. Rose confesses that she passed notes back and forth through the latrine walls at the factory. Satisfied, Yamauchi leaves. Rose tells Kate that Tom is alive, and rations are restored to normal, thanks to Rose's confession.
Dorothy teams up with Joss and Blanche and distracts Shinya while Joss and Blanche plant rats in Verna's hut. Shinya tells Dorothy that the guards at headquarters said that Rose and Bernard were informed on. Blanche, who blames herself for not staying on lookout, speculates that Christina is getting extra food from the Japanese. Speculation runs rife over who the informant is, and suspicion falls on Christina. Joss and Marion prevent physical retaliation against Christina, but she is to be brought before the discipline committee.
Daisy having fallen ill again, Lillian is acting as Verna's maid. Verna spreads word about the Christina's supposed guilt. Christina is worried about the hearing before the disciplinary committee. Yamauchi is still having stomach problems and continues to give Christina his rations. He notices that she is worried about something, but thinks it is about Rose and tries to offer her comfort, speaking of honour. Honour becomes Christina's defence at the hearing, which delivers a verdict of Not Proved.
Blanche visits Rose, but it's terribly awkward, and she leaves quickly. Afterwards, her taste for pranks — and for life — are gone. Joss finds out from one of the children that Verna is giving fish to her cat, and tells Marion. Marion is furious, and joins Joss in her pranks.
Lillian gives Bobby an egg. Marion later discovers Lillian giving Bobby yeast and a banana, and has it out with Lillian, discovering that she is the one who betrayed Rose and Bernard.
Episode 2.09
12 May 1943
The other children refuse to play with Bobby.
Dorothy and Blanche trap Lillian and cut her hair. The others are rough on Lillian, tripping her in the mess.
In an attempt to make amends, Blanche asks Christina to the dance, but is turned down.
One of the children tells Dorothy that Shinya is the one who shot Rose. She confronts him, and it's true. Shinya tries to rebuild his friendship with Dorothy, but she rejects him, and sleeps with the other guards to get cigarettes.
Marion approaches Verna about getting Lillian and Bobby transferred out of the camp, and finds that Verna's already spoken to Miss Hasan about it. Yamauchi and Marion talk. He agrees to the plan, and confirms Bernard's death. Lillian and Bobby are transferred out before morning roll call. Lillian sends for Marion to say goodbye, and wants to tell her where the extra food came from, but runs out of time when Verna comes in. When Blanche discovers that Lillian is gone, her anger and her spirit return.
Two months pass. Joss is still looking for word on her friend Monica. Christina finds out that Monica is dead, having died of heart problems early in her captivity. Marion realises she misses being the leader. Bea wonders where the disinfectant for Rose's operation came from. Van Meyer cuts open her mattress and makes a pillow for Rose. Rose asks Van Meyer to cut her hair, but is refused. Joss and Marion spot a native outside the wire, who arranges a 'postbox' to pass messages between Kate and Tom.
Joss still wants to contact the underground, but Blanche refuses, saying that she doesn't want to end up like Rose. Blanche goes to Rose and cuts her hair for her. Rose's urine becomes infected. Blanche asks Bea to euthanise Rose, arguing that they did it for Dorothy's baby. Rose, wanting to die quickly, refuses food. When Miss Hasan finds out, she gets very mad and says that no one will eat if Rose doesn't: they don't want another suicide. Rose capitulates and eats. Later, the evening of her birthday, Rose asks Bea to kill her. Bea still resists it. In the morning, Bea tells the hut that Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Episode 2.10
3 September 1943
The drought affects the internees in their camp: tap water is for drinking only, everything else must be hauled from a water hole. The work load is increases, with even Verna ordered to do manual labour, especially since she still owes Miss Hasan for Dorothy's abortion. Daisy's hands blister from the work at the factory, complicated by the extra work she still does for Verna.
Bea's eyes are still worse. Joss resists going to her for a tooth extraction, and Blanche has a hurt leg, but tries to get medicines from the guards instead of going to Bea.
Blanche turns Joss down when Joss proposes a new prank. The guards search the camp again and burn miscellaneous personal possessions, including (unknowingly) Marion's diary. Angry, Marion agrees to help Joss sabotage the truck that takes the internees to and from the factory. Yamauchi's stomach is worse, and he collapses in his office. After he is taken out, Christina straightens the office and finds a letter from the Red Cross. She returns to camp and tells Marion about the letter. Marion sends her back to learn more. Christina finds out that the parcels should have arrived at the camp on 12 April. Marion confronts Verna, who says that the parcels were sent to a convent on Japanese orders, due to Rose's night with Bernard.
Letters from the resistance state that the Allies have landed in New Guinea. Blanche tries to seduce one of the guards, but fails. As a consolation for herself, she arranges for some bootleg liquor to be smuggled in for her hut, and has a party.
Marion finds the disinfectant bottle from Rose's operation. She realises that the parcels should have arrived on 12 April, and the Emperor's birthday was 29 April. Christina returns to the office, and Major Yamauchi is back at work. Marion is delighted, because she wants to arrange a confrontation over the Red Cross parcels.
Shinya tells Dorothy that he is being transferred to the front, and asks her forgiveness for shooting Rose. She forgives him. Shinya tells Dorothy that Verna is the one who arranges for the guards to search the camp. Angry, Blanche and Kate bring Verna to the hut for questioning, where Marion charges Verna with charging the internees for the contents of Red Cross parcels that belong to them by right; Daisy confirms that she's seen Red Cross parcels in a locked storeroom. The women nearly riot, but order is restored when Verna agrees to tell Marion the truth: she says she did it, but under Miss Hasan's orders.
The next day, Christina heads to work with orders to ask for Yamauchi's intervention. While she is gone, an Allied plane, attempting to bomb Yamauchi's headquarters, also bombs the camp. Shinya and the cat die; Sato is injured. Some of the women break into the storeroom and use the Red Cross parcels to treat the wounded. Yamauchi arrives in the middle of the chaos and forcibly stops it.
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