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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| Uzo Aduba |
Things continue to happen at Litchfield as the prison guards decide to go on strike. With Danny (Mike Birbiglia) admitting that they have been dragging their feet on installing updated equipment, the staff become concerned about their sanity. Sam Healy (Michael Harney) worries that he isn't good at his job until Red (Kate Mulgrew) tells him. Soso (Kimiko Glenn) is rescued after an overdose almost kills her. Morello (Yael Stone) decides to marry someone that she barely knows. Piper (Taylor Schilling) gets a farewell gift from Stella (Ruby Rose) in the form of a tattoo. To keep her from leaving, Piper plants incriminating evidence around her bed. Gloria (Selenis Leyva) admits some guilt to what she did to Sophia. Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) gets her revenge by crashing the van into a wall and hospitalizing her rapist. Cindy (Adrienne C. Moore) converts to Judaism for good. When the guards are on strike, the inmates escape to the nearby lake for a day of freedom. Everyone is happy, if only for a moment.
Flashback
Much like the premiere, this particular week didn't have a flashback that was specified to a single person. Instead, it focused on a variety of people, all of whom explored their upbringings in different ways. While most of them had to do with how religion influenced their later behaviors, there were also scenes involving pregnancies and sick people vomiting in front of churches. There wasn't a strong unifying theme other than to give further back story to these characters.
MVP:
Almost Everyone
This may seem like a cop out, considering how hard it was to find MVP's during various other weeks. However, this one feels like it would be impossible to work without any other. This was the culmination of various stories coming together in a beautiful, resonating harmony. While there are some that I still don't like (Piper), there's plenty that this particular episode did right. The final moments alone are some of the most upbeat and poetic moments in the show's three season history. While there were several standout moments, nobody stole the focus. It was a wonderful moment that reminded us all of what these characters can achieve in unison with each other. While it has been a rocky season, it is in some ways evidence that I will in fact miss them until season four inevitably comes around.
Overall Thoughts
It is really hard to judge this episode because it feels like the thesis of the season has been about how change is slow. While it feels mostly reflective in how Danny and the prison system dragged their feet to get the prison updated, it was also in the characters' various personalities and changes. There isn't much that was as memorably impressive as there was in last year's finale. We do get closure on a lot of plots, while others remain largely open-ended. I'll give the show credit for not being convenient in a finale. However, it is more a reflection of a strong cast than particularly exciting writing this season. True, the final 10 minutes of this episode are beautiful and summarize the season perfectly. However, there's plenty to love and dislike in tow. I will be getting more into that in a TV Retrospective piece tomorrow.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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