When Orange is the New Black was originally conceived, it was not meant to be a show for Netflix. It was created in the traditional television mold. And while it certainly lent itself to binge-watching better than most shows, it was still easy to imagine it airing on HBO or Showtime. This season was however, completely created knowing that people would be binge-watching.
And thus it's reflected in the first two episodes, something that would not happen if it was shown week-to-week. It's too daring, too risky to completely isolate all your interesting characters for one episode and then ignore your main character in the second episode. Granted, Piper is essentially a supporting character in 80 percent of the episodes, but still this would not happen if it wasn't on Netflix.
And that risk - and it's still a risk even knowing your audience can immediately watch the next episode - pays off. The first episode is a master class of tension and unease. Piper's not interesting to me, but finding out what the hell is happening to her definitely is. And then we get dropped into a new prison. Piper in that prison is a show I would want to see too. (Though it was not perfect - the weird rodent game her bunkmates forced her to participate in didn't really work for me)
Then in the second episode, we ignore Piper. It feels like a normal episode still. Vee gets introduced through flashbacks and then in a twist at the end. I kind of like what they did with Vee in that it takes a while to figure out if she's good or bad - relatively speaking of course (though I was pretty sure early on, it's still ambiguous for a while). The introduction to Vee was also beneficial because the rising tension between two - three really - factions of the prison was one of the things present in this season that wasn't there in the first. I'm a sucker for well-written escalating tension throughout a season.
The other positive about Vee? It forces Taystee, Poussey, and Crazy Eyes to re-play out how they got there in the first place: Taystee's need to feel like she has a family, Poussey being in love with a woman she cannot have, and Suzanne not fitting in because of her mental illness. I'm honestly not a huge fan of what they did with Suzanne's character for most of the season, but I'd be lying if I didn't enjoy the conclusion and it was a good place to take her character even if it wasn't fun to watch. Poussey though? Damn, I liked her before and now she's probably my favorite character.
Not all the characters though managed to become more awesome. Morrello for instance became much more terrifying. Not to spoil anything, but let's just say what she does is the stuff of nightmares. Somehow, you still feel sorry for her though even though... and hopefully she's improving going forward. She's definitely gaining more self-awareness throughout the second season at least.
Looking back, it's hard to believe how little actual stories came from most characters. Piper got her few episodes and actually became much more likable - that is until the end when Alex got involved. Let's just say this show needs to learn to stop writing about characters who have long been past their expiration date. I was actually infuriated for about 10 minutes in one of the later episodes because it was 10 straight minutes of characters I could not give a fuck about. It was Piper and Alex (ugh seriously Piper is likable... until Alex gets involved - then I hate every second on screen) and then Larry and whatever Piper's best friend's name is. I refuse to learn it. I do not care about her, I have never cared about her, and she serves no purpose in this show whatsoever. And as far as Alex is concerned, without spoiling, let's just say Piper has been given a very declarative reason to stop talking to her and yet somehow that reason is seemingly forgotten by the end.
With my little rant out of the way, one of the positives of this show is that it gives minor characters backstories that aren't necessary, and yet completely appreciated. Did we need to know Miss Rosa's backstory - she's the one with cancer? No, but I will say that it does pay off. Speaking of old people, I like how the show ended up reflecting on the older women at the prison.
You have the old lady with what is probably Alzheimer's - whose story provides a few laughs until it takes a dark turn. The others remind you that these women probably did much worse things than the other ladies - after all, they probably didn't just get into prison but have spent their life there and got transferred to a low security prison from good behavior. I just really enjoyed them getting some life injected into them from joining with Red.
Speaking of Red, she had her downfall last season, and this is her slow rise back up to the top. Her rivalry with Vee is actually a major plot point for this season and I did enjoy their scheming against each other. Her former "family" doesn't get to do much unfortunately - Morrello's character gets viewed in a clearer picture and Nicky gets to give good advice every episode - it somehow didn't feel like it suffered. This season was largely Red versus Vee and Vee versus Poussey and it's reflected in the time the other characters are given.
The "third faction" leader, Gloria, is also given some perspective and her transformation from weak-willed to being a badass who doesn't back down is essentially what they did to Red, but it's still satisfying. I can't say I liked the Bennet-Diaz story too much - Bennett says something insensitive, Diaz gets mad, rinse, repeat. Sorry, still not really buying that they love each other.
Enough about the inmates, I have to say that the work that they did with the guards was also pretty great. Healy isn't exactly redeemed, but his futile attempts to make a difference at least made me feel some sympathy for him. I don't remember my feelings towards Caputo last season, but hell if his laughing in the face of Pornstache and Natalie Figueroa don't make him instantly endearing. O'Neil becomes a fun side character, Luschek is funny, and Fischer's story actually has a nice arc of sorts.
What's amazing about this series is that it seems perfectly cast - like the young representations of the characters we know and the characters themselves seem like they couldn't be played by anybody else. Now go look at the IMDB history of the actors. Nearly every actor is in barely anything else except for the men. I don't know who the casting director is, but give that person a raise. I applaud them and sadly a lot of it has to do with the underrepresentation of the women in movies and shows. (And specifically minorities, overweight, unattractive, or even unconventionally attractive women.)
I mentioned above that Piper became more likable this season. She seems more hardened and she also has a mirror image of who she used to be - or at least the naivety. Soso, the new Asian inmate, is excited and talkative and she slowly gets drained by the end of the season, spurred a bit by a self-imposed hunger strike. She's a bit one note and not fully formed, which is fine - most of these characters were that until they got a backstory episode. Plus, her purpose in this season seemed to essentially be Piper 2.0 and any attempts to further her character would have lessened that parallel.
It's hard to say if this season was better, worse, or the same as last season. Last season, it took me until about episode five to get really into it and then I was sucked in. This season, I was already fully committed to the show. I haven't revisited the first season either so I don't know if that's because the show started slow or because I hadn't gotten used to it yet. Either way, I'm going to give it the same grade - this season may have been marginally worse, but I enjoyed more of it than last season - and it gets knocked a little for having the awful Alex-Piper and Larry-what's her face scenes.
Weeds - Kohan's former show - had a reputation for declining soon after her first season. I've seen the first season, but not past it, and I can't comment on that show's decline. But the fact that this show has maintained its quality into the second season and not lost any of its luster is extremely promising. And whereas Weeds was somewhat limited in its storytelling, Orange is the New Black is limitless in what it could tell. There are no boundaries and it could continue airing for years theoretically. Right now I'm probably overly optimistic about this show, but I hope it does. The second season was great and there are no signs this show will ever lack a story to tell.
Grade - A-
Playlist
1. "If So" - Atlas Genius
2. "Shout (Parts 1 and 2)" - The Isley Brothers
3. "Tight" - Mix Chopin
4. "Fluorescent Adolescent" - Arctic Monkeys
5. "All for You" - Sister Hazel
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