While being handcuffed together only added to the “chemistry” of co-leads Izuka Hoyle and Tahar Rahim in Prisoner, the journey their characters embark on together is far from smooth.
A prison officer and a prisoner were never going to be the best of friends but soon, Amber (Hoyle) is thrust into a world of criminality that she’s not used to, with only Tibor (Rahim) there to aid her.
It’s clear from the offset that Amber is soon being made to witness and be part of morally questionable things that she doesn’t agree with – but why doesn’t she simply get rid of the handcuffs that are linking her and Tibor together?
It’s a question we’re sure many fans will be wondering, so we posed it to Hoyle and asked her why she thinks Amber made the decision to remain cuffed to Tibor, despite not agreeing with what he does.
“I think it’s just because she’s so principled. When she first makes that quick, impulsive decision – because she’s an impulsive woman a lot of the time, she’s a risk assessor, she’s also a problem solver, but she still can be impulsive. And I think when she does handcuff herself originally to him, it’s simply because she thinks it’s the right thing to do,” Hoyle tells Radio Times.
“She hears him, she sees him on the little monitor, and she goes, ‘Oh, I can’t leave this man when I know he’s screaming for help, I can see him. He’s looking into the camera’. And you know, it’s her job. It’s her job to get this man to court, to get him to the Old Bailey.
“At that moment, she obviously isn’t thinking, ‘What if I don’t get back? What if these people come through? What if it takes me away from my daughter? What if it involves my daughter and my husband, my world?’ She’s thinking about the right thing to do, the good thing to do, and that’s where most of her decision making comes from.”
The pair get caught up in this criminal whirlwind after their van is ambushed and as the sole survivors, Amber makes the decision to cuff Tibor to herself. Ever dedicated to her job as a prison officer, the pair are literally shackled together with nowhere else to run.
Ultimately, the pair eventually do get their handcuffs cut, but not without their fair share of twists and unexpected turns that will likely impact them both forever.
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It’s undeniable that part of Amber’s reason for trying to escort Tibor to the courthouse in one piece is due to a dedication to her job and family. On the fact that her daughter is her main drive, Hoyle also told Radio Times: “Oh, it’s the root of all of her decision making. I think it’s where she makes the decisions to better her daughter’s life, and then later to get back to her daughter and make sure her family are safe.
“I think that’s where Matt [Charman] and I really wanted to root Amber in, because she’s surrounded by so much action, so much thrilling crime-related violent stuff. The idea of this quite tender and soft character, but still very strong and powerful because of her motherhood.
“I think that that was just something more interesting and more human, and that was the part we really wanted to like nail with Amber. She is the human part of, at times, an inhuman world.”
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All episodes of Prisoner will be available on Thursday 30 April on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
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