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| Left to right: Laverne Cox, Lea DeLaria and Yael Stone |
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.
With Litchfield now qualified for potential funding, Joe Caputo (Nick Sandow) decides to have his investors see the prison. During this time, Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) begins to have a mental breakdown that causes her to upset many inmates. Piper (Taylor Schilling) and Alex (Laura Prepon) continue to have relationship problems. Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) continues to befriend Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) and starts up a scheme to make some money. Red (Kate Mulgrew) continues to confide in Sam Healy (Michael Harney). Families visit and give various inmates a dose of reality. Daya (Dascha Polanco) discovers that Bennett left and will not be able to raise her child. Despite things going horribly wrong during the tour, main investor Danny Pearson (Mike Birbiglia) decides to go forward with potential investment.
Flashback
It's time to look back at the life of Big Boo. Widely considered to be the poster child for butch culture, she lived a very outsider life. From her lack of desire to wear dresses for yearbook photos to her later relationships, she hasn't had it easy. While she accepts herself as being gay, she cannot handle the hatred that most people dispense onto her. She is vocal about how much she despises this type of behavior. It has broken up relationships and even gets to be a problem with her parents. She basically ends up alone, proud of who she is but without anyone related to her to support it.
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| DeLaria |
MVP:
Big Boo (Lea DeLaria)
In keeping with the pattern, the flashback usually is indicative of who the best person in the episode is. Also, it feels like the show has decided to make her a central force of nature this season, as she has been predominant for a lot of the first four episodes. This isn't a problem, as her outsider offensiveness is part of her charm. With a backstory that may be a little familiar and not the most interesting, it still manages to give us a better sense of why she is a tough person who may not look conventional, but she is loyal to those who love her. I think that her teaming up with Pennsatucky has gotten quite a bit of mileage this season, and they make quite the effective team.
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| Uzo Aduba |
Overall Thoughts
With this episode, more than the impressive previous, the season feels like it has kicked into gear. We have established themes and things are starting to move along. There's plenty to get out of the Pennsatucky/Big Boo relationship that has already proven to be endearing. Crazy Eyes is back to being crazy, which has its perks even after she has become a sympathetic character. However, the most noteworthy part is that it feels like we have a threat to Litchfield now in the guise of the investors. They may only have done a literal walk through, but their character establishments are too loud and proud to just become a background character after this. With everyone going insane, it will be interesting to see where this season goes. It is, for the most part, still really good even if Piper and Alex haven't progressed one inch plot-wise this whole season despite being major screen time hoggers.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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