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Orange is the New Black


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So after I enjoyed House of Cards so much I must say Netflix are impressing me with the quality of their original shows. This one is another winner. I binged on the first three episodes and I'm going to spend the afternoon bingeing some more.

 

This struck me as Sex and the City trying to be Oz initially but it is not so. It's a perfect balance between comedy and drama and the back stories of the inmates are genuinely affecting. It's also nice to see Captain Janeway back on TV heh.

 

The original programming Netflix puts out these days is more than worth the 7 euro a month. It's a goddamn bargain.

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Kertins and LL have been marathoning this one, i only catch bits but it looks interesting...i think sen just finished season 1 and was talking about how dark it got, and that she was looking forward to season 2

 

crazy that that's the redhead from that 70's show

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It gets better as it goes on. Thing is, this show marks a transformation in Piper which is why the first episode is so fucking bland. Because so is Piper. I admit, when I first started watching it, it wasn't Piper that kept me coming back. She was so fucking white bread and flat that I really didn't care. But that changes as Piper does. Give it some time. Also, Mulgrew isn't the most horrid lady out of the bunch. Her story and her character tug the heartstrings. And as always, Mulgrew is doing a bang-up job.

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Also forgot to mention two things earlier that are in the plus column for this show: Laura Prepon & lesbian sex. Oh, and did anyone catch Jason Biggs' Am. Pie references in the first episode? I missed it but my gf pointed out...

 

 

In the scene where he found out about Piper's crimes he mentioned he told her everything, even about "the webcam incident" and the "penis shaving."

 

Disappoints Eugene Levy didn't play his dad in this series as well.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 years later...

Guh double post. Surprised there isn't more chat about this show.

 

I finished Season 4 recently and I can safely say OITNB goes from strength to strength. This season was by far the darkest yet. Shit gets real in a big way in certain episodes. Also...

 

 

Pousseys death broke my damn heart. She was such an interesting character. So full of heart too. The final episodes flashbacks of her adventure in New York just laid on the feels even more.

 

I like how the show calls attention to the injustices that happen every single day. Especially the shit that goes on with corporate-run prisons and the sheer absence of human compassion in these organisations.

 

 

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Damn. Forgot to post about this here. For me, S4 was the best since S1. The focus on the problems with for profit/corporate run prisons was especially effective this season. Caputo became one of my favorite story lines, seeing how the system changed him in ways. Good stuff. Yeah, and that finale. Oof. Kicked me right in the feels.

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  • 2 years later...

CK5EtYL.jpg?2

 

Here is my non-spoiler take on OITNB S7 as a whole.

 

Overall S7 veered way too much towards issues rather than characters, which is nothing new for the show—looking at you S5. This final season had some really, really great character moments and character development, but then it just kinda shat all over them in the last two episodes—even the new ICE characters. If you take someone on a journey with characters through seven years, you owe ALL of those characters a fair ending. S7 focused on ICE so much that the writers had to rush in the final two episodes to try and give the series regular cast an attempt at endings. And a surprising number of characters were either ignored or given very vague final scenes. Oh, and what about all the characters that were jettisoned from the show back in S5 after the riot? Well, they get basically cameos in the series finale. A few even get lines of dialogue. But honestly, not one character gets even remotely close to the great finale Poussey Washington got back in S5. And that’s disappointing—knowing a show is capable of melding emotion and social commentary so brilliantly in a single character yet failing to do that again after 26 more tries over two seasons.

 

One of the things that impressed me about the show early on is how the guards and prison admins were also main characters that were real people and not just caricatures. We don’t get that so much in S7. Fig & Caputo get a great deal of screen time and have pretty good seasons until the last few episodes. Also the new Warden Ward gets a good number of scenes, but she is unevenly used mainly to show how the prison system eats up and disposes any “good” people. The remainder of the guards and Polycon reps remain one dimensional, self-serving characters.

 

If you look at OITNB S7, and the entire show itself, its sum total is greater than the parts that make it up. The show had more potential than it ever truly achieved in the end. Instead of continually reaching across lines to bring new understanding to social issues through characters and their lives, it unwaveringly always leaned to the far left and pandered to the base. But it did try. And it was funny. And there were characters I cared about, and I did see life from some different points of view a few times. So good on ya, OITNB.

OITNB S7 Grade = B

OITNB Series Grade = A-

 

Here are some SPOILER comments on the good/great things I liked about S7 broken down by characters.

 

Taystee 
She had maybe the best written arc of the season. How she turned tragedy and despair into hope with the micro loans program came about in a believable way. I’m glad that Poussey came back for one last scene in a flashback, too. I dug that character and it was actually a well written and performed scene. 
Piper 
Her struggle adjusting to life on parole was engaging, informative, and heartfelt. That last scene with Larry seemed forced though. I don’t mind her not writing the memoir at the end like a modern day Ponyboy in Outsiders. TV show Piper & her time behind bars is vastly different than the real woman who inspired the series. I like how the last scene of the series was with her and Alex. However, they took that relationship on so many twists this season that I was kinda rooting for her to go with Zelda rather than Alex at the end there.
Nicky
She had one of the best character arcs overall, not just for the season but for the series in general. The actress who plays her is phenomenal, and if you haven’t seen her in the show Russian Dolls then I highly suggest it. 
Blanca
I feel like this was one of the breakout characters for me in the series. And she got a hefty amount of screen time in the final season--except for the final episode, but I’ll stay positive here. Even though her journey through the legal system was rushed in the final episode, I love how she ended back with Diablo. That last scene with the two of them was OITNB at its best—humorous and heartbreaking all at the same time.
Flaca
She went from being someone totally shallow and self-absorbed to being an actual human being with compassion and empathy. She was well handled for a minor character.
Florida Women (Except Doggett)
Red, Frieda, Morello, Lolly (Lori Petty’s character), & Suzanne all had a good season. They all experienced tragedy and humor true to their characters. Tiffany Doggett was on track for maybe the best arc of the season until the last two episodes. Utter. Fucking. Bullshit. (Sorry not sorry about going negative on that one!)
Mendoza & Ruiz
Episodes on both of their back stories were fantastic. I feel like Mendoza had the most winding road for a character emotionally. Both are complicated women and I think the endings they got serve their characters well.

Edited by Mr. Hakujin
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8 hours ago, The Vagrant said:

I am on episode 8 of the last season and I hate it so far. I think it is one the worst seasons of the show.

Let me know what you think of the spoiler comments once you finish it out. I can probably guess what you're not liking about S7, but I'm curious what you felt the "good parts" about the season were.

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I feel like Taystee ended the show as the star/MVP/GOAT character. The final season also did something peculiar and made Piper kinda likeable again.

 

Spoiler

Agree with Haku on lots of parts, especially that 1 particularly bullshitty part. The last episode or 2 was rushed as fuck and they could have done with having potentially 2 feature length episodes to help tie things off better rather than rushed fan service.

 

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20 hours ago, the division of joy said:

I feel like Taystee ended the show as the star/MVP/GOAT character. The final season also did something peculiar and made Piper kinda likeable again.

 

  Hide contents

Agree with Haku on lots of parts, especially that 1 particularly bullshitty part. The last episode or 2 was rushed as fuck and they could have done with having potentially 2 feature length episodes to help tie things off better rather than rushed fan service.

 

Yeah, very good point on how they actually made Piper a likeable "main" character for this final season. I honestly thought she could've been done on the series after the S6 finale, but I'm glad they gave her S7 as she was a highlight.

 

You talkin' bout Doggett OD'n as the bullshitty part, right?

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