So I just finished watching season 3 of Orange Is The New Black... and I liked it! A lot! There were some problems, which I will get into... but for the most part, I thought this was a good season that probably described prison life a little more accurately than in previous seasons.
I'm going to start off by talking about Larry, because that was the first big difference that I noticed. I'm team Larry, I know thats an unpopular opinion, but I love Jason Biggs and Larry really is/was the perfect boyfriend. Piper just really messed things up with him. I think Polly reminded him most of Piper and thats why he felt like he had to sleep with her... I think it was great that he proposed to her right before going to prison! I can understand that he didn't forgive Piper for sleeping with Alex! It makes sense!
So despite me liking him a lot... I still felt a little relieved that he wasn't on this season. I'm not crazy about love triangles on tv shows in general... so the fact that there was no love triangle in the beginning... just a really complicated, hot relationship between Piper and Alex, I was okay with that. Piper is CRAZY for going back to Alex again and again. Its stupid, irresponsible and Alex got her into jail... and Alex shouldn't blame Piper for getting her back into jail either... she really has no right to be mad... but yeah. I was digging their situation... until it started to cool off. When Piper got bored, I thought it was boring. Classic Piper. She doesn't have much of an Arc in the whole series and its boring and sad to watch... until SHE GOT BADASS!
So at the end was the most Piper had ever changed in the show. At ALL! She was a cold biotch at the end and it was really cool! I liked that she was very in control with the Panty business... the only time I was like "really?" was when she blamed Flacca for stealing when it was clearly Stella AKA Piper's Booty-blindness girl. She was a hot butch girl that kinda looked like Justin Bieber that had a thing for Piper. And then Piper just sold her out at the end which was really cool. I think she may have overdone it a little bit putting ALL the contraband in her bunk... I mean she's gonna need it if she wants to frame anyone else... but she did good. She was a badass and she can get some next season! Lol.
One thing I didn't like... at all about this season... There are lots of interesting female characters. This is a female driven show and that is the beauty of it... A LOT of the backstories were dealing with the male prison guards! And I thought... really? There are so many female inmates that we haven't seen a backstory for. Brooke, Angie, the hispanic women besides Gloria, Dayanara and her mom... we know a little bit about Flacca, but I would have liked to see more. NOTHING about the girl that everyone thought was possessed by the devil... nothing about the girl that got her baby taken away or the other young girl... We don't even really know all that much about Sophia or Gloria or Poussey. I would have rather seen more of that than the male guards story. Bennet's story kind of bored me... he was in the war and nothing happened other than a few guys he talked to got shot... but that didn't really give me insight into his character or anything. Caputo was interesting enough... but I feel like its implied that he already has a shitty life that he doesn't want... I would have preferred not to see his story. I really wanted to see Brook, or the woman with the green eyeshadow or Angie or... pretty much anyone else. More of black Cindy. Yoga Jones... There's just a lot that they went over and a lot they didn't.
That being said... the backstories weren't amazing. I felt like they were so exciting last season. All of Rosa's flashbacks, Gloria, Cindy, Poussey, Crazy Eyes... there were a ton. And this year it seemed like they just did very boring simple things. I feel like Big Boo had a good story... but they just kind of made it look like she was upset and yelled at that kid and then just didn't see her mom... nothing really stuck that well or made me feel any different about them as characters. Flacca, Leianne and Norma's were kind of my favorite... but meh. Nothing really that gave it much more meaning whereas in the first two seasons, I felt like I could totally understand how their minds worked and why they ended up in prison and I liked them because of that. I felt that way with Nikki and Pennsatucky's stories also...
Speaking of Nikki... what the hell? She had such a great story this year and they got rid of her so fast. And you could definitely feel that something was missing from the show without her there. And I didn't like it. It wasn't really the same without her... I would hope they bring her back because she's kind of the glue that holds the show together, in my opinion... but it was just kind of sad without her. And I would have liked to see how her and Luscheck and Boo all worked together and what they got away with and what they didn't get away with.
On the other hand... Pennsatucky. Probably one of the most brilliant character arcs in the history of TV. And it was really heartbreaking this season. Pennsatucky is now what kind of holds the show together and Taryn Manning has always done such an amazing job at playing her... idk how many other actresses could play Pennsatucky. The first season she was just this ignorant villain who I hated more than anyone else in the entire show... possibly more than anyone else in any tv show. Then she starts being friends with Boo, and she gets more normal... and then this season, she's just very human. And you see her first love and its so pure and real and then you see her getting raped by the guy in her high school and then by the guard and its heartbreaking... but at the same time she has very VERY funny moments and she is really great at being the shows comic relief. I think its just brilliant how she shifts and changes pretty much every episode... definitely every season... and I just think she's really a cool character.
I also really liked the themes of this season. The religious theme, the business theme and the trust no one theme... I think it all really worked out. That was kind of a nice way of putting everything together and it really wrapped it up nicely. And it went together quite nicely too.
I liked seeing Taystee as the mom of the group. And she sort of knew that she was the mom, but she also resented it a little bit... thats very much a Taystee thing to do. I love that she, poussey and Suzanne saved Brook. I thought they all worked really well and they were all super smart and quick to save her life. And I love that they accepted her into their group, and it seemed like Poussey really liked her... so that will be interesting to see next season.
I liked Suzanne's 50 shades of Grey type of story... I hope that they release it.
And as I said, all the themes were really good. All the new characters I think they did a good job with, I really wanted to know more about pretty much all of them. I would have liked to see a backstory on Mike Birbiglia's character. The "Warden" (not a warden) and I even would have liked to see a little more Fig involved with all of that. I'm kind of sad that she has her life back on track... not that sad cause she's still having sex with Caputo which is funny. And I totally knew it! And yeah... it was pretty good.
Ohh and the last thing. I said I thought it was more realistic and I think they did that well with the way people mistreated Sophia and the food. I don't think the food in prison is as good as what they were showing the first few seasons... nothing seemed all that bad. But the slop seems... more accurate to me. I also know that Laverne Cox is obviously an activist for the Trans community and on Katie Couric a few years ago, she showed a story of a trans woman that was being kept in a men's prison... which I don't think is right at all... but probably a more accurate version of what goes on. I don't think many states would have a trans woman in a female jail... unless it was someone like Laverne Cox or Caitlyn Jenner. And thats sad. I think that's an issue that they needed to bring up. And the fact that she was kept in Solitary Confinement just really showed that in a vert meaningful and powerful light. She doesn't fit in with men even though she was a man, she doesn't fit in with the women, even though she's a woman...and she's just on her own. She is the only one that can understand her situation and it is really sad. And I think that Laverne Cox gives such a great performance because she is an activist, she does know the struggles of being a trans woman and a trans woman in prison and... thats really powerful in her portrayal of Sophia.
So overall... I liked this season better than Season 2. I didn't love Vee's story in Season 2... and while I really enjoyed the actress playing her, I didn't think they did such a great job with the new characters last year compared to this year.
And a lot of it was very powerful. The river at the end... and then they show all the guards. Caputo's pathetic life. Cindy's Mikvah. Piper giving herself the tattoo. All powerful and it was pretty cool overall. This season was definitely one that will stick out.
So yeah... that is it. I hope I covered everything I wanted to! Did you guys like this season? Did you hate it, did you think last season was better? What are your favorite/least favorite parts? Let me know!
Byeeee!
-Shannon
I'm going to start off by talking about Larry, because that was the first big difference that I noticed. I'm team Larry, I know thats an unpopular opinion, but I love Jason Biggs and Larry really is/was the perfect boyfriend. Piper just really messed things up with him. I think Polly reminded him most of Piper and thats why he felt like he had to sleep with her... I think it was great that he proposed to her right before going to prison! I can understand that he didn't forgive Piper for sleeping with Alex! It makes sense!
So despite me liking him a lot... I still felt a little relieved that he wasn't on this season. I'm not crazy about love triangles on tv shows in general... so the fact that there was no love triangle in the beginning... just a really complicated, hot relationship between Piper and Alex, I was okay with that. Piper is CRAZY for going back to Alex again and again. Its stupid, irresponsible and Alex got her into jail... and Alex shouldn't blame Piper for getting her back into jail either... she really has no right to be mad... but yeah. I was digging their situation... until it started to cool off. When Piper got bored, I thought it was boring. Classic Piper. She doesn't have much of an Arc in the whole series and its boring and sad to watch... until SHE GOT BADASS!
So at the end was the most Piper had ever changed in the show. At ALL! She was a cold biotch at the end and it was really cool! I liked that she was very in control with the Panty business... the only time I was like "really?" was when she blamed Flacca for stealing when it was clearly Stella AKA Piper's Booty-blindness girl. She was a hot butch girl that kinda looked like Justin Bieber that had a thing for Piper. And then Piper just sold her out at the end which was really cool. I think she may have overdone it a little bit putting ALL the contraband in her bunk... I mean she's gonna need it if she wants to frame anyone else... but she did good. She was a badass and she can get some next season! Lol.
One thing I didn't like... at all about this season... There are lots of interesting female characters. This is a female driven show and that is the beauty of it... A LOT of the backstories were dealing with the male prison guards! And I thought... really? There are so many female inmates that we haven't seen a backstory for. Brooke, Angie, the hispanic women besides Gloria, Dayanara and her mom... we know a little bit about Flacca, but I would have liked to see more. NOTHING about the girl that everyone thought was possessed by the devil... nothing about the girl that got her baby taken away or the other young girl... We don't even really know all that much about Sophia or Gloria or Poussey. I would have rather seen more of that than the male guards story. Bennet's story kind of bored me... he was in the war and nothing happened other than a few guys he talked to got shot... but that didn't really give me insight into his character or anything. Caputo was interesting enough... but I feel like its implied that he already has a shitty life that he doesn't want... I would have preferred not to see his story. I really wanted to see Brook, or the woman with the green eyeshadow or Angie or... pretty much anyone else. More of black Cindy. Yoga Jones... There's just a lot that they went over and a lot they didn't.
That being said... the backstories weren't amazing. I felt like they were so exciting last season. All of Rosa's flashbacks, Gloria, Cindy, Poussey, Crazy Eyes... there were a ton. And this year it seemed like they just did very boring simple things. I feel like Big Boo had a good story... but they just kind of made it look like she was upset and yelled at that kid and then just didn't see her mom... nothing really stuck that well or made me feel any different about them as characters. Flacca, Leianne and Norma's were kind of my favorite... but meh. Nothing really that gave it much more meaning whereas in the first two seasons, I felt like I could totally understand how their minds worked and why they ended up in prison and I liked them because of that. I felt that way with Nikki and Pennsatucky's stories also...
Speaking of Nikki... what the hell? She had such a great story this year and they got rid of her so fast. And you could definitely feel that something was missing from the show without her there. And I didn't like it. It wasn't really the same without her... I would hope they bring her back because she's kind of the glue that holds the show together, in my opinion... but it was just kind of sad without her. And I would have liked to see how her and Luscheck and Boo all worked together and what they got away with and what they didn't get away with.
On the other hand... Pennsatucky. Probably one of the most brilliant character arcs in the history of TV. And it was really heartbreaking this season. Pennsatucky is now what kind of holds the show together and Taryn Manning has always done such an amazing job at playing her... idk how many other actresses could play Pennsatucky. The first season she was just this ignorant villain who I hated more than anyone else in the entire show... possibly more than anyone else in any tv show. Then she starts being friends with Boo, and she gets more normal... and then this season, she's just very human. And you see her first love and its so pure and real and then you see her getting raped by the guy in her high school and then by the guard and its heartbreaking... but at the same time she has very VERY funny moments and she is really great at being the shows comic relief. I think its just brilliant how she shifts and changes pretty much every episode... definitely every season... and I just think she's really a cool character.
I also really liked the themes of this season. The religious theme, the business theme and the trust no one theme... I think it all really worked out. That was kind of a nice way of putting everything together and it really wrapped it up nicely. And it went together quite nicely too.
I liked seeing Taystee as the mom of the group. And she sort of knew that she was the mom, but she also resented it a little bit... thats very much a Taystee thing to do. I love that she, poussey and Suzanne saved Brook. I thought they all worked really well and they were all super smart and quick to save her life. And I love that they accepted her into their group, and it seemed like Poussey really liked her... so that will be interesting to see next season.
I liked Suzanne's 50 shades of Grey type of story... I hope that they release it.
And as I said, all the themes were really good. All the new characters I think they did a good job with, I really wanted to know more about pretty much all of them. I would have liked to see a backstory on Mike Birbiglia's character. The "Warden" (not a warden) and I even would have liked to see a little more Fig involved with all of that. I'm kind of sad that she has her life back on track... not that sad cause she's still having sex with Caputo which is funny. And I totally knew it! And yeah... it was pretty good.
Ohh and the last thing. I said I thought it was more realistic and I think they did that well with the way people mistreated Sophia and the food. I don't think the food in prison is as good as what they were showing the first few seasons... nothing seemed all that bad. But the slop seems... more accurate to me. I also know that Laverne Cox is obviously an activist for the Trans community and on Katie Couric a few years ago, she showed a story of a trans woman that was being kept in a men's prison... which I don't think is right at all... but probably a more accurate version of what goes on. I don't think many states would have a trans woman in a female jail... unless it was someone like Laverne Cox or Caitlyn Jenner. And thats sad. I think that's an issue that they needed to bring up. And the fact that she was kept in Solitary Confinement just really showed that in a vert meaningful and powerful light. She doesn't fit in with men even though she was a man, she doesn't fit in with the women, even though she's a woman...and she's just on her own. She is the only one that can understand her situation and it is really sad. And I think that Laverne Cox gives such a great performance because she is an activist, she does know the struggles of being a trans woman and a trans woman in prison and... thats really powerful in her portrayal of Sophia.
So overall... I liked this season better than Season 2. I didn't love Vee's story in Season 2... and while I really enjoyed the actress playing her, I didn't think they did such a great job with the new characters last year compared to this year.
And a lot of it was very powerful. The river at the end... and then they show all the guards. Caputo's pathetic life. Cindy's Mikvah. Piper giving herself the tattoo. All powerful and it was pretty cool overall. This season was definitely one that will stick out.
So yeah... that is it. I hope I covered everything I wanted to! Did you guys like this season? Did you hate it, did you think last season was better? What are your favorite/least favorite parts? Let me know!
Byeeee!
-Shannon
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