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.
Litchfield is on track in every way this week. Piper (Taylor Schilling) is successful in running her dirty underwear business. She is also in deep consideration of a relationship with Stella (Ruby Rose). Alex (Laura Preon) goes after Lolly (Lori Petty), who she believes is out to kill her. Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) reveals that she hasn't had sex and is scared when a woman hits on her. Sophia (Laverne Cox) continues her conflict with Gloria (Selenis Leyva). Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) discovers the downside to her new guard friend when their relationship leads to a rape, partially caused by the guard's recent reprimand from Caputo (Nick Sandow). Morello (Yael Stone) befriends someone who beats up her ex. Cindy (Adrienne C. Moore) is continuing to pursue Jewish culture. Everyone is getting annoyed that Piper may in fact be making enough money to legitimately be ripping off her workers. Lolly reveals that she thinks that the NSA is after her. Soso (Kimiko Glenn) continues to admit her depression.
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| Taryn Manning |
Flashback
Pennsatucky delivers a heavy dose this episode. There is her neglectful childhood where her mother tells her that her first period is a sign that she will be used differently by men. She progresses to a partying teenager who doesn't drink that much, but hangs out at wild parties and knows when to keep people from having sex with her. Things continue to go well. She meets someone and has a great life discovering her sexuality. Everything is happy. That is, until they break up and in a turn of morose, she turns to liquor, only to be trapped by another partier who decides to rape her.
MVP:
Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett
After a long break from the Flashback/MVP crossover, it looks like we're back on track. It has been an interesting season for Pennsatucky, who has been more central to the plot. It helps that she has become increasingly more sympathetic and thus interesting. She has made some odd relationships, but she has come a long way from just being this weird religious nut that we knew at the start of the series. However, there's an interesting question as to what's going to happen next with her. Having been raped by a guard, is there any way that she is going to be as optimistic about life? I'm sure we'll get a complicated story for Pennsatucky, but I feel that at the rate that the show is going, we're going to barely get there. This season has been slow and the plot has barely progressed in the past five episodes.
Overall Thoughts
We are 10 episodes in and have three to go. It seems unfair to really compare what this season is doing compared to the past, but just consider how further along things felt in season two. The fights between Vee and Red (Kate Mulgrew) were starting to reach their climax. Here, we don't have much going on besides Alex attacking Lolly and maybe Crazy Eyes getting a new girlfriend. While I will admit that the Gloria and Sophia story is actually kind of fascinating, it is so minimal to the actual plot that it likely won't hold the weight that is necessary to make this back half at all a cathartic conclusion for everything. Maybe it is the fact that I am not into a lot of the stories this time around, but there isn't much that I find myself caring about. The performances are still really good, but it is starting to wear and I feel that the ensemble is starting to show their weakness. I don't say this often about characters, but if Piper can be written off of the show, maybe things could get better.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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