Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons S5 premiered on 9th January 2020 on Netflix. Produced by Netflix, the series features Raphael Rowe as the host.
Cruel and Scary
Raphael Rowe is a sufferer at the hands of the judiciary system. He was wrongly sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a crime he didn’t commit. It took him years to get out of the horror and clear his name. Rowe has hosted 3 seasons of the show in the past (S2-S4) and S5 marks his fourth season hosting Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons. S5 takes you inside 3 prisons set in South Africa, Phillippines, and Greenland respectively.
The first episode takes us inside a Brandvlei Correction Center, a South African prison where we come across the concept of gang numbers and how this prison is dangerous for everyone including the officials. There are 3 number-gangs (26, 27 and 28) and every prisoner is supposed to join or sooner or later. And how do they recognize their members? They have their numbers tattooed. The episode at moments will make you feel scared and concerned for Rowe!
Further on, episode 2 takes us inside Manila City Jail, Philippines, and to its credit, the prison is one of the world’s most crowded prisons and it is as horrible as it sounds. The prisoners here are serving sentences for stereotypical crimes you might have expected from the very beginning. But the last and final episode is where the surprise lays silently for the viewers i.e., Greenland’s Nuuk maximum-security prison that houses the world’s most dangerous criminals and was established just 4 months ago.
The prison is close to a 5-star hotel. Yes, a 5-star prison! The prisoners are allowed to cook, roam around, and just be on their own. With prisoners shifted from Denmark, the Nuuk prison has some convicts like Kali talking about how they don’t like the guards as if it’s a vacation! It’s weirdly scary and surprising. One of the guards also says that it’s supposed to be relaxing for the prisoners. Unsettling.
Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons S5 is interesting and engaging but not entirely. At certain points in the series you see things you’ve seen before, we see reasons for crimes mostly being poverty. Episode 3 of the series surprised and shook me at the same time. And if you are to watch the series for a specific episode then it has to be this. It is commendable and definitely not how it is supposed to be. The series at certain moments might feel dragged and pulled but overall it is a fine experience.
Stream It or Skip It
STREAM IT! Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons S5 is informative and watch-worthy. The series offers some good moments that’ll help you delve deeper into the psyche of prisoners though not in great lengths and is good-to-go!
Inside The World’s Toughest Prisons S5 is now streaming on Netflix.
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