Season 5: The Prison Riot. Here there be spoilers.
While I thought the idea of a whole season taking place over the course of a few days was both daring and risky, I really wasn't sure if the show would be able to pull it off believably. And for the most part, aside from a few minor issues, it did. The biggest problems the season faced were in the middle of the season as it deliberately stalled the hostage negotiations to the penultimate episode and character arcs played out in bubbles, sometimes almost entirely disconnected from the riot situation. Another issue that arose is how some important characters would disappear for several episodes at time, particularly Linda, Alison, and the guards as a whole, That being said, I largely loved the season as the show continues to dive in head deep into social issues of today. Not just the insanity of private prisons turning inmates into slaves and production costs, but also cultural appropriation, race relations, and the lack of faith in the justice system, to name a few.
I loved Taystee's role throughout the season as she struggled to come to terms with Poussey's death and found herself leading the hostage negotiations for the inmates. I especially loved her empowering speech she gave to the media, stepping over Judy King's celebrity to do so. Sadly, she became so caught up trying to enforce speedy justice for Poussey that she blinded herself from being able accept a good deal from Figueroa, even if said deal wouldn't be completely honored by MCC and the governor. Most of the flashbacks this season didn't stand out much, but Taystee's was one of the exceptions (along with Red's, Frieda's and Janae's). Not only do we learn about her birth mother, but we also see her first meeting Poussey! I wish the show hadn't spoiled Samira Wiley's surprise appearance in the guest credits, and considering other Netflix shows like
House of Cards do hide surprise appearances, I'm confused as to why
Orange is the New Black didn't do the same. Still...it was so wonderful to see Poussey one last time
Suzanne's story was likewise very emotional as she is not only dealing with the trauma from last season's forced brutal fight with Maureen, but she has also lost her routine and access to her medication. Anyone who has dealt with mental illness knows, losing ones routine can be especially devastating and can easily cause setbacks for that person's development, so it's no surprise Suzanne regressed badly to the point that she was viciously tied up her bunk. Such cruelty disgusted and infuriated me and
then Leann and Angie gave Suzanne whiteface instead of letting her free. I know they're not her caretakers, but I was surprised that none of Suzanne's friends (Taystee, Black Cindy, Janae, Alison) didn't check on her. Well, Taystee's failure to do so was less surprising and that causes her a lot of trouble later on. It is further unfortunate that Lorna had a change of heart to not give Suzanne her medication upon releasing Suzanne, but I certainly understand
Lorna's reasons for it. I don't know details about medication, so I don't know the legitimacy of giving Suzanne lithium would induce sleep on her, nor do I know if an epee pen would counteract it, but I do find it questionable that Suzanne was back to her normal self after waking up. But at least we got the brilliant line of “It’s like reality, only fake!” upon discovering
Frogger.
I liked Gloria's storyline and how she struggled with her loyalty to her fellow inmates and her motherly need to be at her wounded son's bedside. And I thought she was going to make all the way there, even with Maria's "approval," so I shouldn't have been surprised by Maria's betrayal. Even though Maria finally got the chance to hold her baby for the first time, I was still furious at her from preventing Gloria from reaching her own son. That being said, I could also understand Carmen's reaction to Gloria's selfish attempts and how releasing the hostages endangered all of the prisoners' access to
their children.
Nicky's storyline focused largely how she helped others, particularly Lorna and Red, which in a way, might be a coping mechanism for her to not fall back into drugs. Granted, there are bumps in the row as Lorna once again rejected Nicky's advances, but I smiled happily as Nicky drilled sense into Vince's head about committing to Lorna and their impending child. Likewise, I loved the role reversal between her and Red, as Nicky dutifully took care of Red as she came crashing down from her unintentional speed high. Sadly, we didn't get to see much of that dynamic before Piscatella kidnapped her, but during that situation, Nicky became very protective of Red.
I could go on and on about the various storylines, such as Leann and Angie's comedic chaos throughout the riot, Piper and Alex's mostly useless storyline that ended with a touching and romantic moment, Linda's masquerading as an inmate that ultimately lead to an amusing "I am Spartacus!" moment, and Pennsatucky's continuously bizarre and grotesque relationship with Coates, but the ones I focused on were the ones that struck out the most to me.
Which brings me to the elephant in the room: Piscatella. While I appreciate the attempts to humanize him, he's still thoroughly a piece of shit without an ounce of remorse. Yeah, we see how and why he broke but it's simply not an excuse for any of his behavior, although I did like how that flashback tied in with Taystee's confrontation with him at the end and perhaps helped her to back down. I was amused by the initial horror film elements of his stalking of Litchfield, but by the time it got to the stereotypical shower sex scene, I was rolling my eyes. Thankfully, it stopped dragging out the scenario at that point and focused on the real horror: His sadistic torturing of Red and brutal handling of the other women, particularly Alex. I knew Frieda's hideaways would obviously come into play, but I hadn't consider how they would overcome Piscatella or that Gina would have the present of mind to record Piscatella cruelties. It's a shame he didn't see justice for his crimes but I was amused that he casually became collateral damage from CERT's equally mindless and brutal tactics.
This leads us tumbling into the terrible conclusion. The sheer brutality of CERT's methods of subduing the inmates left me sick. In more cases than not, they went out of their way to treat these women as nothing more than cattle, willingly and perhaps gleefully using electrical shock as often as they could even when it's completely unnecessary. We had fair warning that someone would die as a result of one particular CERT member's untrained eagerness, and for the briefest of moments, it looked like Maritza would be the one before Piscatella fell victim. While I wasn't surprised by CERT's keenness to tear down Brook's beautiful memorial to Poussey, I was heartbroken to see it happen nonetheless. Brook's trained and deliberate civil disobedience in the memorial was likewise very touching, which lead to one of the most beautiful shots of the whole show: Her being limply carted away, while seeing the memorial fade away from her perspective. Lastly, we see CERT blasting their way into the pool hideout (Was the explosion even necessary? Probably not.) as the gathering of almost all of my favorite characters (sans Brook, Lorna and Sophia) link arms to face whatever may come as the show fades to orange.
Bastards.
There are a lot of unresolved issues that will surely be addressed next season: Who survives the confrontation at the pool and what are the repercussions of their lasting resistance? Where are all of the Litchfield inmates being bused to? Will Linda be able to extract herself from imprisonment after Leann and Angie destroyed all of the physical records? Who will be punished for Humphrey's death even though it's clear Daya only shot him in the leg, or will they just pin it on her? Will Caputo ever work again? Will MCC's contract get dissolved? What happens to Pennsatucky and Coates? Will anyone notice Pennsatucky or Chang are missing, especially since the count was off by one (ten in the pool, Linda offsets, but the other two are unaccounted for)? Will we ever see Sophia or Sister Jane again? And the most important question of all, will Piper and Alex get the chance to fight over the cake?
On a side note, how was Michael J. Harney listed as a cast member for the whole season when he didn't even appear (and Healy was barely even mentioned), while so many others such as Diane Guerro (Maritza), Laura Gómez (Blanca), Vicky Jeudy (Janae), Kimiko Glenn (Brook), and Amanda Stephen (Alison) aren't? It's especially weird that Jackie Cruz (Flaca) is a cast member but Guerro isn't. Speaking of cast members, I wonder if Laverne Cox wanted off the show or just hasn't the time for it due to other projects, because Sophia's decision to step out of the riot and be sent to maximum seemed like an odd choice on her part. I would have thought she would be a cast member at this point.
