Litchfield here I come!
Netflix Presents: Orange is the New Black
- Thread starter tighr
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I just started season 4, and it's pretty good so far, but there are so many characters to remember. I watched episode two and I don't even know who the girl was who pretty much initiated herself into Maria's group by helping her. With the influx of new inmates, it's hard to really keep track of who is who.
Other than that, it's a strong start. Loved the pairing of Alex and Lolly together in the first episode. Also, the use of Last Resort in the final scene was awesome, but very unusual for this show.
Other than that, it's a strong start. Loved the pairing of Alex and Lolly together in the first episode. Also, the use of Last Resort in the final scene was awesome, but very unusual for this show.
Just watched up to episode 4
I wasn't sure what to think about this season prior to last night, but so far I'm liking it overall, 4 episodes in. I'm hoping we get some more meaty stuff going forward and maybe some of this cast does get slimmed down.
NICKY'S BACK!!!! Yeah it was such a small scene, but it was so good to see her, finally. I hope it's not just a one off appearence, and they might explain what her life was like in Max. Also, the fact that it tied into the most interesting story of the season so far in Sophia's and how she is treated in SHU makes her return all the better.
The Alex/Frieda/Lolly plot is still insane. Love how crazy Lolly is getting, and Alex getting Red's help and Red's admission that yeah they should kill Lolly was funny. Piper's storyline is dumb, and I really hope this Judy King storyline gets more meat into it. Right now I'm loving the character moments, like Pussay and Soso in episode 3, or the Alex/Lolly/Frida storyline, or Morello having fake sex in the visitor room while everyone was looking. Now that might be the funniest scene in the series so far.
I'm still having an issue with this big cast. Some of these characters, like Morello and Pennsatucky (God, like Psycho Helena in the Orphan Black Season finale, I wish we got psycho Pennsatucky back) are getting no screen time and that's a shame.
The Alex/Frieda/Lolly plot is still insane. Love how crazy Lolly is getting, and Alex getting Red's help and Red's admission that yeah they should kill Lolly was funny. Piper's storyline is dumb, and I really hope this Judy King storyline gets more meat into it. Right now I'm loving the character moments, like Pussay and Soso in episode 3, or the Alex/Lolly/Frida storyline, or Morello having fake sex in the visitor room while everyone was looking. Now that might be the funniest scene in the series so far.
I'm still having an issue with this big cast. Some of these characters, like Morello and Pennsatucky (God, like Psycho Helena in the Orphan Black Season finale, I wish we got psycho Pennsatucky back) are getting no screen time and that's a shame.
I wasn't sure what to think about this season prior to last night, but so far I'm liking it overall, 4 episodes in. I'm hoping we get some more meaty stuff going forward and maybe some of this cast does get slimmed down.
I just burned through the whole season. Most of the season was terrific, although I agree with tomalak that some characters got a bit short-shifted this season due to the even larger ensemble.
More thoughts later but here are my biggest reactions.
More thoughts later but here are my biggest reactions.
Fuck, where do I start?
They killed one of my favorite characters!
I adored Poussey. I loved her carefree and outgoing nature. She and Brook were a lovely couple, and although they had a couple of bumps in the road in the season, they would've had a good, lasting relationship. Her death was a terrible tragedy.
The other major heart breaker was the entirety of "People Persons." First and foremost, finally finding out the crime poor Suzanne committed: The unintentional kidnapping and accidental death of a child. So utterly devastating. All Suzanne wanted was to share her undying love for people and to constantly interact with everyone. Left unsupervised, she had no idea taking a child she knew from a park was a terrible idea and I knew tragedy would strike the moment the boy tried to flee. Fuck. Almost as bad was Suzanne's present ordeal when the damn CO's force into a fight against Maureen and the experience left her catatonic.
Suzanne's mental illness wasn't the only mental illness explored in this episode. It featured the devastating conclusion to Lolly's character arc. Lori Petty has been an incredible ride throughout the whole show, but this season took her to another level. Following her own tragic backstory, her fate is sealed when Healy realizes Lolly's early confession of murder and burying body parts was completely true. However, instead of immediately acting on this knowledge, he has his own crisis because of his own history with mental illness, both with his mother and himself. I actually thought he would kill himself. Instead, he returned to Litchfield to sadly send Lolly into the hellhole of the psych ward.
I wonder if Laverne Cox's filming of the Rocky Horror Picture Show remake is the reason for her limited role this season. While the show worked well with her exile SHU exile, her presence was greatly missed. I hope she has a larger role next season now that she's out of the SHU and hopefully Sister Jane doesn't stay there too long either.
With just a few of episodes left, I figured the season would end on a prison riot. MCC's bureaucratic for-profit operations and horrific CO misconduct has been outrageous out of control and it was only a matter of time before tensions would boil over completely. It's a shame that the tipping point comes when Caputo finally grows a pair and goes against MCC's spineless, soulless modus operandi, but failed to name Poussey in his statement and focused on making sure Baxter looked good despite MCC's attempt to smear his name.
Edited to add: Forgot to mention before. I loved their "O Captain, My Captain!" moment. A shame it was ruined by tragedy.
They killed one of my favorite characters!
I adored Poussey. I loved her carefree and outgoing nature. She and Brook were a lovely couple, and although they had a couple of bumps in the road in the season, they would've had a good, lasting relationship. Her death was a terrible tragedy.
The other major heart breaker was the entirety of "People Persons." First and foremost, finally finding out the crime poor Suzanne committed: The unintentional kidnapping and accidental death of a child. So utterly devastating. All Suzanne wanted was to share her undying love for people and to constantly interact with everyone. Left unsupervised, she had no idea taking a child she knew from a park was a terrible idea and I knew tragedy would strike the moment the boy tried to flee. Fuck. Almost as bad was Suzanne's present ordeal when the damn CO's force into a fight against Maureen and the experience left her catatonic.
Suzanne's mental illness wasn't the only mental illness explored in this episode. It featured the devastating conclusion to Lolly's character arc. Lori Petty has been an incredible ride throughout the whole show, but this season took her to another level. Following her own tragic backstory, her fate is sealed when Healy realizes Lolly's early confession of murder and burying body parts was completely true. However, instead of immediately acting on this knowledge, he has his own crisis because of his own history with mental illness, both with his mother and himself. I actually thought he would kill himself. Instead, he returned to Litchfield to sadly send Lolly into the hellhole of the psych ward.
I wonder if Laverne Cox's filming of the Rocky Horror Picture Show remake is the reason for her limited role this season. While the show worked well with her exile SHU exile, her presence was greatly missed. I hope she has a larger role next season now that she's out of the SHU and hopefully Sister Jane doesn't stay there too long either.
With just a few of episodes left, I figured the season would end on a prison riot. MCC's bureaucratic for-profit operations and horrific CO misconduct has been outrageous out of control and it was only a matter of time before tensions would boil over completely. It's a shame that the tipping point comes when Caputo finally grows a pair and goes against MCC's spineless, soulless modus operandi, but failed to name Poussey in his statement and focused on making sure Baxter looked good despite MCC's attempt to smear his name.
Edited to add: Forgot to mention before. I loved their "O Captain, My Captain!" moment. A shame it was ruined by tragedy.
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I watched up to episode 12 last night. Before Friday I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue this show. I'm glad I did because this is the best season of the show this far. It's interesting, both shows with Black in the title that i watch ended up with really strong seasons. Looking forward to the finale tonight.
I've only seen 4 episodes so far. I didn't run through this season in a weekend like I did with the previous ones. The show isn't what it used to be. I don't like that the focus was taken off Piper and I wish that Jason Biggs was still there. It was nice to see how prison life affected those on the outside.
I'm still onboard though and will be 'til the end. They've always called this show a comedy and I found that puzzling but this season, it looks like the show has taken on a lighter and more humorous tone so I can see it as more of a comedy now.
I'm still onboard though and will be 'til the end. They've always called this show a comedy and I found that puzzling but this season, it looks like the show has taken on a lighter and more humorous tone so I can see it as more of a comedy now.
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I am about halfway through, looking forward to discussing the whole season with you guys once I'm done. So far I am liking the season, except for...
the Judy King story line. I don't hate it, it just doesn't feel very realistic or interesting to me. I am also not a big fan of Maria's new "gang" and the conflict with Piper. However, I find the Nicky and Sophia stories to be much more compelling, in a sad way. I've just gotten to the point where Nicky finds blood in Sophia's cell, and then we later see her trading sexual favors for drugs. I suspect there is more to come for their stories, and not necessarily in a positive trajectory...
In fact most of the more negative/darker stories are really well done this season. For instance, Alex and Lolly's issues, as well as the racial conflicts. It's realistically sad.
In fact most of the more negative/darker stories are really well done this season. For instance, Alex and Lolly's issues, as well as the racial conflicts. It's realistically sad.
I finished yesterday. So intense. Emotions were high. It was a much better season than the last although I found it to be very disturbing.
I can't classify this show as a comedy anymore. Of course that adds to an already stacked best drama list and I still want Maslany to be nominated for the Emmy. I don't think the Girl who plays Susanne has been in it enough but the end of the season (like episode 11) she steals every scene.
This goes to show everyone sees the show differently. I strongly believe dropping Jason Biggs was one of the best things the show has done and I much prefer the focus on the ensemble. Sometimes the cast size can be a bit unwieldy but it does allow for a wide diversity of characters and storylines. Plus, Piper is one of my least favorite characters, so I've enjoyed seeing less of her. Hell, this season was the first time I felt sympathetic towards her since the first season when
she was branded with a Nazi swastika. She was out of control and out of her depth, but no one deserves that (well, except actual Nazis).
^ I didn't feel sorry for her. The moral of the story is, be nice otherwise karma will come back to bite you.
I've never cared for Alex either but this season I was okay with her.
I've never cared for Alex either but this season I was okay with her.
I've warmed up to some of the ensemble cast but they drop a lot of characters and the focus on one person's harrowing journey through a prison sentence has been lost, and little of it feels organic. Now it's mostly just prison drama. Though I suppose you could argue that Piper has settled into prison life and that the show reflects that. And the show has done well at humanizing inmates who came off as hostile at first. I do hope though they conclude the story sooner rather than later. It doesn't feel like the kind of show that could drag on. A few other points...
I miss Pornstache and the one-legged guy.
I like Soso and enjoyed seeing a bit of her backstory.
Morello's sex scene without the touching is among the best sex scenes I've seen on film.
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I miss Pornstache too. He was a horrible person but least he was entertaining. Actually I miss all the former guards. We still have Luschek though.
The show is renewed up until season 7 so it will be a while before it ends.
The show is renewed up until season 7 so it will be a while before it ends.
True, but she still didn't deserve to have that happen to her.
I've noticed a lot of people don't like Alex, but I do enjoy her, although she's not among my favorites (Poussey, Suzanne, Brook, Sophia, Red, Gina).
Meg Ryan, eat your heart out!
I was afraid of that. I saw placeholders for 7 seasons on my IMDb app but thought it might be a glitch or something. Too lazy to look and confirm.
I wonder if they'll be keeping Piper in prison longer.
Just got through episode five, I love the way Piper accidentally creates an Aryan sisterhood.
Just finished the season. Some thoughts I will put in spoiler code for those who are still working on the series. 
I think my only qualm I have with this show is what I said before, and that is trying to keep track of who is who. For example, who was the leader of the white group? It took me forever to remember Leanne and Angie, and Sister Ingills was a non-factor this year too. I think before season 5 I'm going to rewatch this series to see everything somewhat closer together. It's a great series, with a bump in the road last year, and I'm finding myself looking forward to Season 5.
- I've been thinking about episodes 11 and 12 all day today. These were some of the best episodes this series has had and man they are heartbreakingly sad. In episode 11 you really have the guards treat the inmates like animals and the fight between Susanne and Maureen (?) was chilling. Then in episode 12 I was thinking this was the episode we can catch our breaths because it actually started out like a season 1 episode. Then those final ten minutes hit you like a ton of bricks over the peaceful protest and to see Poussay die was tragic and really sad. I do worry about this event having more of an impact on the "Bury your Gays" troupe that has been going on in the last year. As a fan of Orphan Black, I've read about this thing pretty much for the last year and my first thought was in a TV drama, you do have to do things that do have an impact on people watching. Still, I can understand the argument.
-I wonder if it would have been more impactful if Judy King had held the gun instead of Daya. Daya was almost non-existant this season and having Judy holding the gun might have made a much more impactful statement, a white celebrity holding a gun on a guard over the death of a black inmate. I know it couldn't have been one of Poussay's friends or even the latinas because their anger is so hot, but like I said, Daya was a non-character this year. In fact, she's been a non character since Bennet left.
-Loved the Juxtaposition between Poussay's flashbacks and what was going on present day. It also provided the finale with some levity, coming off of two strong episodes in a row where it was increasingly dark
-Before the season I wasn't sure if I was going to watch because I didn't like what the show did with Nicky and season 3 was not all that great. I'm happy to say that what this season did to bring her back and to finally give us a follow up episode in episode 6 was very much appreciated. I also liked seeing Stella again, even though Ruby Rose was in the news earlier for bad reasons. Lyonne really does fit right in and have great chemistry with Schilling and Mulgrew.
-I actually started to feel bad for Piper this season and I didn't think that would be possible after how Season 3 ended. Bring branded as a Nazi was a really powerful scene and the after effects of it was some of the best stuff Schilling has done on this show. I can't say I like Piper again yet, but this season made a major step in the right direction for me.
-I really hope this cliffhanger scene ends up bringing MCC down. I don't think Daya is going to shoot humps, even though I would applaud it if it did happen because he was the worst, next to Pescatella. Still, this show isn't known to go the way the audience wants, so I have a feeling season 5 is going to be the MCC's downfall and maybe Fig coming back and having a bigger role. At least I hope so. I'm also glad this season did end with that cliffhanger, which was a lot better than seeing them swimming in a Lake for 10 minutes.
-I wonder if it would have been more impactful if Judy King had held the gun instead of Daya. Daya was almost non-existant this season and having Judy holding the gun might have made a much more impactful statement, a white celebrity holding a gun on a guard over the death of a black inmate. I know it couldn't have been one of Poussay's friends or even the latinas because their anger is so hot, but like I said, Daya was a non-character this year. In fact, she's been a non character since Bennet left.
-Loved the Juxtaposition between Poussay's flashbacks and what was going on present day. It also provided the finale with some levity, coming off of two strong episodes in a row where it was increasingly dark
-Before the season I wasn't sure if I was going to watch because I didn't like what the show did with Nicky and season 3 was not all that great. I'm happy to say that what this season did to bring her back and to finally give us a follow up episode in episode 6 was very much appreciated. I also liked seeing Stella again, even though Ruby Rose was in the news earlier for bad reasons. Lyonne really does fit right in and have great chemistry with Schilling and Mulgrew.
-I actually started to feel bad for Piper this season and I didn't think that would be possible after how Season 3 ended. Bring branded as a Nazi was a really powerful scene and the after effects of it was some of the best stuff Schilling has done on this show. I can't say I like Piper again yet, but this season made a major step in the right direction for me.
-I really hope this cliffhanger scene ends up bringing MCC down. I don't think Daya is going to shoot humps, even though I would applaud it if it did happen because he was the worst, next to Pescatella. Still, this show isn't known to go the way the audience wants, so I have a feeling season 5 is going to be the MCC's downfall and maybe Fig coming back and having a bigger role. At least I hope so. I'm also glad this season did end with that cliffhanger, which was a lot better than seeing them swimming in a Lake for 10 minutes.
I think my only qualm I have with this show is what I said before, and that is trying to keep track of who is who. For example, who was the leader of the white group? It took me forever to remember Leanne and Angie, and Sister Ingills was a non-factor this year too. I think before season 5 I'm going to rewatch this series to see everything somewhat closer together. It's a great series, with a bump in the road last year, and I'm finding myself looking forward to Season 5.
The parallels are much stronger with the Black Lives Matter movement; Poussey's death and Eric Gardner's death; her body left out in the open for hours after her death like Michael Brown; "SAY HER NAME!" and Sandra Bland.
I completely disagree. Judy King has no motivation to pick up the gun. She was terrified for her life. She was in middle of fleeing when she was caught in the middle.
Daya is an interesting choice because she's been low key this season. However, she hasn't been completely absent. Her life has changed again now that her mother has left Litchfield and she's trying to fill that void. Her mother, Aleida, worried Daya would get sucked into the Dominican gang, hence why Aleida wanted Mendoza to keep an eye on Daya. Daya picking up the gun is interesting because we don't know what she'll do. Will she kill Humps in order to prove herself to Maria or will she remember her mother's worries and back off? Don't forget, while she hasn't had issues with Humps in particular, she's had a lot of history with abusive CO's.
Daya is an interesting choice because she's been low key this season. However, she hasn't been completely absent. Her life has changed again now that her mother has left Litchfield and she's trying to fill that void. Her mother, Aleida, worried Daya would get sucked into the Dominican gang, hence why Aleida wanted Mendoza to keep an eye on Daya. Daya picking up the gun is interesting because we don't know what she'll do. Will she kill Humps in order to prove herself to Maria or will she remember her mother's worries and back off? Don't forget, while she hasn't had issues with Humps in particular, she's had a lot of history with abusive CO's.
I loved Poussey's flashbacks in the finale. A beautiful swan song to her carefree nature. I cried when she looked into the camera smiling. 
I'm up to 4x07.
- It's nice that Caputo has a girlfriend. I thought that she might dump him eventually but it looks like it'll be the other way around. He has a heart. She doesn't. Or so it seems. Some of you know the answer already and I'll find out soon enough, assuming it all goes down this season.
- Lori Petty is phenomenal.
- It's nice that Caputo has a girlfriend. I thought that she might dump him eventually but it looks like it'll be the other way around. He has a heart. She doesn't. Or so it seems. Some of you know the answer already and I'll find out soon enough, assuming it all goes down this season.
- Lori Petty is phenomenal.
^ I don't like her either. She rubs me the wrong way. After last season, I thought he and Fig were headed towards a relationship but I guess it was just a sex thing.
Lolly gives Suzanne a run for her money in the "crazy department."
Lolly gives Suzanne a run for her money in the "crazy department."