Orange is the New Black is back on Netflix with Season 4 and despite the cast being in a confined space with blank walls it is ever so exciting! When Season 3 ended it left us on a huge cliffhanger as the inmates took the opportunity to escape the confines of Litchfield Penitentiary and explore the forest right outside and jump into the lake for a moment of freedom. A lot has happened within the past three seasons of the show and there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
WARNING: There are spoilers in this article so read ahead at your own risk!
Episode Two – Power Suit
The drama is being amped up and Orange is the New Black is hitting us right in the feelings once again. It all starts with Daya (Dascha Polanco) who we have grown very attached to. Daya admits that she is struggling with being a new mother on the inside of the prison walls and we can’t help but hurt with Daya over the lack of Bennet. We miss the wonderful Matt McGorry gracing our screens.
The new guard from Maximum Security Prison, Desi Piscatella (played by new OITNB cast member Brad William Henke), takes on a new role at Litchfield as Captain of the Guards. Litchfield is overflowing and Caputo (Nick Sandow) tries to deal with overcrowding in the prison and puts in portapotties to deal with facility overflow. Portapotty maintenance is given to the janitorial worker inmates. Piscatella absolutely terrifies us as a character but actor Ben has a loving heart and his Twitter is hilarious as he responds to unsuspecting fans of the show who voice their hate of Piscatella. Seriously, look at the Tweets, they are so funny that you must follow him @Bwhenke
During the meeting, Sister Ingalls (Beth Fowler) asks Caputo very loudly and publically where Sophia (Laverne Cox) is and a very guilty looking Gloria (Selenis Leyva) sits silently behind her despite the fact Gloria knows that Sophia is in SHU (Security Housing Unit) “for her own protection” rather than punishing those inmates who are transphobic. Caputo ignores the question and this made us really worry about what is happening in SHU with Sophia. We have become incredibly fond of Sophia’s character and we don’t like where this storyline is headed. Gloria feels the guilt for what she did to Sophia last season and calls her son, Benny, to ask him to go to Michael’s house (Sophia’s son) and tell his mother that Sophia is in SHU and that it’s not Sophia’s fault. Crystal Bursett takes on Caputo and Litchfield for putting her wife, Sophia, in SHU. We love that Crystal seems much more caring for Sophia in this season as she threatens to contact ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) about the behaviour happening at Litchfield as it is a violation of Sophia’s rights. We would be there with Crystal 100% if this were real life, we love Sophia and we’re glad that Gloria is trying to right her wrong by letting Crystal know what’s going on, on the inside.
Importantly, throughout the episode, we learn about inmate Maria Ruiz (Jessica Pimentel) who we feel has been long overdue to have her time in the Orange is the New Black spotlight. In a flashback style tale about her past as a child, we learn about the person Maria really is. Through flashback scenes, rather than having young Maria played by a look-a-like child actress, Pimentel takes on the part with a wig and absolutely kills her performance as young Maria! Who better to play Maria than Maria, right? Maria didn’t want to be involved in crime, she fell in love and she wanted to be a dental hygienist but it is still unknown as to why she ended up in Litchfield.
Doggett and her storyline is breaking our heart, rape is a real and life-changing event for those who are taken victim to this heinous act of assault and we are grateful that the subject is being portrayed so well by the cast and writers. The acting in such a difficult storyline is heartbreaking to watch as you just want to jump in and take action. Actress Taryn Manning (Doggett) is putting on an incredible performance alongside Lea DeLaria (Big Boo) and we applaud these ladies for taking on an important role of awareness. (If you have been affected by sexual assault you can find information here: help in the UK at Rape Crisis England and at RAINN in the USA)
Daya finds her mother, Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez), crying and Aleida admits that Cesar, who was initially looking after Daya’s newborn baby, is going to prison for conspiracy and two counts of assaulting a police officer . We shed a tear as we finally saw Daya’s mother show an emotion that isn’t anger or hate and felt a little soft spot for her coming on.
The episode also included an all appreciated appearance of the sobbing lady and she’s not sobbing! She’s actually talking about something pretty personal on the phone, we’ll let you watch that one!
Our favourite quote from the episode:
Crazy Eyes: “Someone that’s not Gingerbread in the head”
Please enjoy this Alex the Kitten gif we found floating around Twitter.
This episode brought up more questions than answers for us but at only episode two we feel like the writers and cast are aiming for Season 4 of Orange is the New Black to be the deepest season yet. The cast are tackling incredibly sensitive issues with such care. We’re proud to watch a show that feels like it wants to change the world by opening our eyes to issues. Onto the next!
Are you watching Orange is the New Black? What do you think of Season 4 so far? Let us know by leaving us a Tweet @CelebMix and check back for more episode reviews.
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