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| Laura Prepon and Taylor Schilling |
Welcome to the recap series on the third season of the Jenji Kohan Netflix hit Orange is the New Black. Over the next few weekends (Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays) 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.
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| Left to right: Mike Birbiglia and Nick Sandow |
Danny Pearson (Mike Birbiglia) continues this work at Litchfield by suggesting to Caputo (Nick Sandow) about allowing the inmates to do special work. Meanwhile, Poussey (Samira Wiley) begins to hide stuff in the garden with hopes of nobody stealing it. As people get rejected by the test, Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) becomes concerned when she is rejected. Red (Kate Mulgrew) confides in Sam Healy (Michael Harney). Piper (Taylor Schilling) becomes concerned when Alex (Laura Prepon) notices another woman. Daya (Dascha Polanco) considers having an abortion when she finds out that Bennett is gone. Pearson reveals that his job for the inmates is to sew together underwear.
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| Jackie Cruz |
Flashback
Flaca (Jackie Cruz) reveals her teenage years. She is the normal girl who listens to emo music, buys clothes that accentuate her personality, and enjoys the comforts of life. Her mother makes designer clothes knock-offs. She also sells drugs that most students claim make them see things. When this leads one student to jump off of a building, the police arrest her. She didn't actually sell him real drugs, so the charges make her feel insecure. To add insult to injury, she is later forced to work in a sewing room much like the mother that the police don't even acknowledge during their visit.
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| Samira Wiley |
MVP:
Poussey (Samira Wiley)
This is one of those episodes where there's a lot going on and it's impossible to hit down exactly who the best character in the episode is. While it would be easy to select Caputo for going along with Pearson's work, I do feel like it would be nice to acknowledge one major inmate who hasn't gotten a fair shake this season. Poussey has been around and has remained consistently entertaining, but she hasn't done anything of note on par with her peers. This week, she is doing some very strange things in the garden and teaching us plenty about how to hide your stash. While it does seem likely that the tweakers that she speaks to will be her downfall, it is interesting to see her off on her own and doing things, such as contemplating the living status of a squirrel that she sees up in the tree.
Overall Thoughts
It's another very strong episode and Mike Birbiglia is covering a lot of ground quickly. What started off as an innocent-looking man has revealed his plans to run a sweatshop out of the prison. He is borderline skeevy, and that makes him more interesting. Meanwhile, the anticipation for the reveal and its tie-in to Daya's own plot is cathartic writing. While we get some hints that Piper/Alex's relationship will change, they continue to drag the show down. Still, it is a strong episode, even if the show feels like it is taking its time in getting to the great moments. That isn't a problem yet, but we'll just have to wait and see where things go from here. I'm predicting that things will get intense and crazy in the back half. Also, the testing part of this episode is a spot on representation of how confusing and banal job application forms can be.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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