 |
| Pablo Schreiber |
Welcome to the new recap series on the second season of the Jenji Kohan Netflix hit Orange is the New Black. Over the next few Saturdays, we will be looking through the episodes and highlighting the events that make this comedy/drama a stand-out in general TV. Does the series have what it takes to make another phenomenal season of TV, and can the tales of Piper Chapman and her inmates satisfy expansion? Stay tuned and make sure to follow along at your own pace.
Brook Soso (Kimiko Glenn) continues her hunger strike. Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) seeks counseling from Sam Healy (Michael Harney). Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) is suspected of taking drugs and smuggling stuff in. Red (Kate Mulgrew) continues to run her operation while providing solace to Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), who finds out that Larry slept with her best friend. As a result, Piper is on a quest to have a revenge plan. Morello (Yael Stone) gets a visit from her ex-fiance who accuses her of being a mental case. Poussey (Samira Wiley) begins feeling suspicious of her fellow inmates and tries to take on Vee (Lorraine Toussaint) to no effect other than a whooping. Red won't let Vee team up with her to run the smuggling operation. Pornstache (Pablo Schreiber) is arrested for "raping" Diaz (Dascha Polanco).
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
 |
| Taylor Schilling |
MVP:
Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling)
There are some weeks where it is hard to find an MVP of Orange is the New Black. However, there seems to be one central focus for the past two weeks. Whatever Piper is up to, the writers are clearly interested. She has found out about some crucial things that feel more central to the show's focus. While it does seem like Red and Vee will dominate the season in a way that makes them as potential leads a logical debate, this episode gave us plenty of growth on Piper's story and her growing dependence on herself. Fresh off of furlough, she is full of confidence and willing to do whatever she needs to get her way. In an episode full of shining moments, she only wins MVP because she has the most focus and greatest through-line of the episode. Sure, Red's smuggling operation is interesting, but there's not much drastically new compared to Piper's revelations that she can take down her ex-fiance on a grand scale.
 |
| Left to right: Schilling and Laura Prepon |
Flashback
We get a look back at Piper and Alex's (Laura Prepon) relationship. We see a romantic moment that was unfoiled by Alex's girlfriend walking in on them having sex. There's a lot of other discussion points, including how the two met at a bar and what their chemistry was like. It isn't a very deep flashback compared to everything else that has been shown this season, but it continues to flesh out the Piper/Alex relationship in ways that make their chemistry more endearing. It is also nice because while Alex hasn't been a prominent force since the first episode of this season, she has managed to occasionally pop up in rather interesting ways.
 |
| Left to right: Danielle Brooks and Samira Wiley |
Overall Thoughts
If there is one thing that the show is successful at, it is skidding by on great performances. I will admit that while I really enjoyed the episode, I don't think that much of value happened to specific characters. Yes, Pennsatucky still has mental problems. Soso is still on a hunger strike. Red and Vee still have conflicts. In fact, Poussey is the only real shift in the entire smuggling story this week, and that is both satisfying and tragic. To see her getting beat up and disowned by her peers is something powerful. Pornstache leaving also held a lot of resonance because while it does feel like a tease to have him appear for such a minimal amount of time, he made it count. His cocky vulgarity definitely made the payoff all the more satisfying. Even then, Piper's story has somehow picked up and actually has gotten interesting in this episode. Yes, her furlough had a lot of great moments, but considering what everyone else has been doing, she is behind. Here, she has a great potential arc to play her out for the rest of the season. Only time will tell. Either way, tension is starting to get high and the series is continuing to get more wound into something fascinating again. Let's hope it works.
Comments
Post a Comment