Wasteman

Taylor is trapped by his position within the prison's drug economy. He depends on Gaz and Paul for his Subutex supply and fears losing access to drugs that keep his addiction manageable. Additionally, Taylor knows Gaz and Paul control the prison's drug trade, and confronting them would jeopardize his upcoming parole. His inaction reflects both his vulnerability and the brutal code of survival in prison.

Earlier, Taylor is shown continuing to buy drugs from Gaz and Paul despite his hope for release, establishing his dependency and their power over him.

Dee dies from a drug overdose. Earlier, Dee had been spiking Taylor's food with drugs to keep him dependent. On the night before Taylor's release, Dee consumes his own spiked food without realizing it, causing him to overdose. After a brief confrontation with Taylor, Dee collapses and dies. Taylor then sets up the scene to make it appear Dee overdosed naturally during the night.

Dee's habit of spiking Taylor's food with Subutex, established earlier in the film, becomes the mechanism of his own death.

Dee is furious after being attacked and beaten by Gaz and Paul, and he demands revenge. When he forces Taylor to steal a knife from the kitchen, Dee blackmailes him by threatening to have his friends on the outside kill Taylor's 14-year-old son Adam if Taylor refuses to kill Gaz and Paul. This threat exploits Taylor's desperate desire to reunite with his son and makes the ultimatum feel genuinely life-threatening.

Dee had previously helped Taylor contact Adam and sent him trainers, establishing the real connection between Taylor and his son that Dee weaponizes.

At the last moment, Taylor cannot commit murder. He has spent 13 years in prison for accidentally killing a teenager through drug dealing, and killing again would destroy any chance of redemption or a real relationship with his son Adam. The violence of the act itself also repulses him. Rather than commit murder, Taylor returns to his cell, where he discovers Dee has already overdosed.

Taylor's original crime was selling drugs that killed a teenager, his guilt over that accidental death and his hope for redemption with his son provide the moral weight that stops him.

Taylor needs to cover up what actually happened. If authorities discover Dee was murdered, Taylor would lose his parole and freedom. By positioning Dee's body to appear as if he overdosed naturally, Taylor protects his own release the next morning. This act shows how Taylor has been corrupted by the prison environment, choosing self-preservation over honesty.

The earlier scene where Taylor goes through withdrawal establishes his vulnerability to manipulation and his desperate need to get out.

Dee is building a bond with Taylor to gain loyalty and trust. By allowing Taylor to call Adam and sending expensive trainers as a gift, Dee positions himself as someone Taylor owes. This manipulation serves Dee's goal of eventually having a reliable ally, or pawn, in the prison's drug trade and later, in his plan for revenge against Gaz and Paul.

Dee's generosity with Adam foreshadows his later weaponization of that relationship when he threatens to have Adam killed.

After Dee returns from the hospital and attacks Taylor for not helping during the assault, Dee forces Taylor into subservience. Taylor becomes a mule collecting drug drops in the courtyard because Dee now controls him, the assault and the filmed video of Taylor punching Dee have given Dee leverage over him. Taylor has no choice but to comply to survive the immediate threats.

Gaz and Paul previously forced Taylor to punch Dee while filming it, establishing that Taylor is caught between powerful forces.

Taylor is serving 13 years for manslaughter. He accidentally killed a teenager by selling him drugs, the same drugs Taylor bought from Gaz and Paul to feed his own addiction. Taylor sold drugs to provide for his son Adam, but the transaction resulted in the teen's death, leading to his incarceration.

This backstory explains Taylor's guilt and his desire for redemption, which later prevents him from killing Gaz and Paul.

In the final moments before Dee dies, Taylor offers him a joint as a gesture of peace and humanity. Despite everything Dee has done, threatening Adam, forcing Taylor into violence, the two share one last moment as equals. This act shows Taylor's compassion even toward someone who manipulated and threatened him, highlighting the complex bond formed between cellmates.

The friendship built earlier between Taylor and Dee, where Taylor confessed his crime, establishes the depth of their relationship.

Taylor has been secretly buying Subutex from Gaz and Paul throughout his imprisonment to feed his addiction. When Dee arrives and takes over the drug trade, Taylor's supply is disrupted. Combined with the chaos of the riot and his forced involvement in Dee's operations, Taylor begins experiencing withdrawal symptoms, making him physically and mentally vulnerable during the most dangerous moments.

Early scenes show Taylor regularly buying drugs from Gaz and Paul in the prison workshop, establishing his addiction.

Gaz and Paul control the prison's drug trade. When Dee arrives and starts selling drugs, he cuts into their territory and profit. This threatens their dominance, so they beat Dee unconscious as a warning to stop selling. The attack is meant to reclaim their monopoly on drugs within the prison.

Dee's arrival is immediately described as disrupting the existing drug trade controlled by Gaz and Paul.

Taylor qualifies for early release based on good behavior over 13 years. Although he becomes involved in Dee's drug operations, is forced to assault Dee on film, and is complicit in Dee's death, the prison authorities are unaware of these events. Taylor leaves the next morning after setting up Dee's body to appear as an overdose, and a prisoner films his departure.

The opening scene establishes Taylor's eligibility for early release pending good behavior, framing his entire arc.

Dee adds Subutex to Taylor's food to keep him addicted and dependent. By maintaining Taylor's drug dependency, Dee ensures Taylor remains loyal and controllable. This manipulation is how Dee maintains power over Taylor throughout their cellmate relationship, making Taylor more willing to do Dee's bidding.

This directly explains how Dee is able to overdose on his own drugs, he unknowingly consumes the spiked food he had been feeding Taylor.