eXiled

I never, not for one second, believed that Suzanne was ever normal. Shit, when Alex talked to Piper briefly, Suzanne threw pie at her. Nothing stressful about that. The peeing incident has been mentioned. She's full on crazy whether she's swirling with Dandelion, beating Poussey down for Vee, or telling her mommy how she likes to wear her hair. And I love her for it. I don't ever want her disappearing into psych.

I'm so thrilled for the show and the cast for their nominations. I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed a show that was both popular with audiences and critically acclaimed. Like others I wonder how the comedy category will help/hinder OitNB. I haven't watched the Emmys in over a decade, but I do recall they seemed to be a conservative bunch. I wonder if this generation of voters would give a chance to a show that isn't the standard 30 minute laugh track farce.

Good trailer. As I watched Season 1 I often asked myself the same question: WHY? Why was I watching? Why were the characters behaving as they did? Why did very little of the plot make sense? Why could I not bring myself to stop watching? Yet I look forward to tomorrow's premiere for some reason. I hope some logic emerges. Sometimes I saw pieces of what could be a really great show hidden beneath the not-so-good parts. For some reason I WANT to love this show. I just hope Season 2 gives me a reason to do it.

Piper's general selfishness, cluelessness, and neediness are some of her better qualities. When I decided to watch a show about a woman who goes to prison because she transferred drug money for her drug mule girlfriend, I had expectations of this character, and so far, Piper is living up to them. Had Piper been imprisoned for protecting herself from an abusive spouse, or stopping a child from being victimized, or for taking the fall for a corporation, I might expect to see a selfless, honest, guileless woman whose time in prison would result in growth. I might actually feel sorry for her predicament. I might actually expect more from her. But Piper Chapman lived with a drug peddler, traveled alongside her and reaped the benefits of that lifestyle. And she loved it...until she didn't anymore. During that time she made an exciting trip while carrying $50k in drug money. She never thought about how carrying that money might affect her future. Just like she probably never thought about how the drugs Alex smuggled in affected the lives of others. Most of Litchfield's inmates have dirty hands. Some will be self aware enough to become better people, but as in real life, I suspect most will revert to type. I'll still enjoy them even when they're acting like assholes. Taystee and Suzanne surprised and angered me this season, but I'll still root for them to get it right. I'll continue rooting for Piper too. Am I cynical? I never rooted for Dr. House to get off vicodin, get some magical leg surgery, fall in love with Cuddy and develop an awesome bedside manner after discovering his heart's desire. I wanted him to be a motherfucker to the end.

- At first I was resistant to the obvious set up of Fig becoming an inmate, but the more I think about it, the more I think I'd love it. She is so getting her ass kicked. Or licked. - I didn't enjoy Healy's softening. I didn't buy it either. I'd like him to go back to unraveling. He's better as the delusional, lesbian-hating, buyer-of-women loser he truly is. - I want Daya and Bennett's secret to be revealed so that Daya can be shipped to another prison not on my TV screen. Bennett can be fired or relegated to background guard who rarely speaks. I'm good either way. - I want Piper in perpetual meltdown mode as she selfishly gets her fill of Alex (while attempting to keep her duplicity under wraps), jealous about Polly and Larry, despite not really wanting Larry. I want Parry to marry and have another tyke. It would drive Piper nuts. Also, strangely, I still want Polly to remain Piper's best friend. Yeah, she's shitty, but so is Pipes. Besides, I really like Polly's self awareness. She realized that she deserved her gift of dogshit Also, she helped Piper set up Alex. - Another poster mentioned being interested in seeing Nicky and Poussey get something going. I wouldn't mind seeing a cross-racial love affair and some of the intricacies, problems, and comedy that would open up. Morello's oh-gee-whiz innocence would give way to her casual racism and Taystee might not like seeing Poussey in love, even though Taystee doesn't want to pursue a sexual relationship with her friend. - Boo and Pennsatucky need to happen. It'll be compelling and weird and totally fun. I also would like to see more of Boo as a person and not as only comic relief or a foil. - I want to see Nicky fight to stay clean. One of the most haunting images of the last ep is Nicky eyeballing the heroin like it was the most beautiful woman in the world. - I want to learn more about Yoga Jones, Norma, Flacka, and others.

There's Season 3 Hate Sex? #Ohdeargawdyes!

Season 1 definitely beats Season 2 for me because I'm in this for Piper's journey. As awesome as the supporting cast is, I came for her story and my viewing habits will continue based on her story. Doesn't hurt that I ship the hell outta Vauseman. The Vee arc was compelling. Lorraine Toussaint was EPIC in this role. Watching Taystee revert to survival tactics, seeing Suzanne do anything for love, and learning that there's more to Black Cindy than jokes really kept the show moving. And yet...for me there was always a missing part. I lived for any scrap of Piper's story, even when Larry was involved. When S2E10 opened with my grrrls making sweet, sweet love, I squeed so loudly that my husband side-eyed me. Red's band of merry old gangsters tickled me to no end. Nicky is always a pleasure and I pray she stays clean. I'm curious about Boo and her new friendship with Tucky. I enjoyed learning more about Slavic-Spanish Rosa and her past as a black widow bank robber. Seeing how she dealt with Vee's rudeness took the show out on a high note for me. Yet even with all that good stuff, I hope next season is about 70/30 = Piper/Others.

Piper: Bitches gots to learn

You hit the nail on the head. Vauseman is hot. Because I'm shallow that's the most important thing for me. It's been years since I've shipped a pairing this hard. I look forward to more of their shenanigans.

I don't read Twitter, Tumblr or the rest. I'm still on old-fashioned message boards, lol. Personally I think some people are just disagreeable. Some others simply like what they like. I remember being one of the only people who didn't like Willow and Tara on BtVS way back when. I was accused of being homophobic (clearly not the case since I ship Vauseman in a shameful way and would have watched Eliza Dushku's Faith get it on with ANY woman on BtVS/AtS--especially Lilah). But I take it all in stride. Not everyone sees the same things. Like....I don't see the big deal over Poussey. I tend to think she's the weakest of her clique (well, the second weakest after the woman who plays Janae) but it's only my opinion. Also, some people swear up and down that Alex has reformed and means Piper no harm. *Shrugs* I won't ever believe that. I'll always believe Vause to be a huge snake. Yet knowing she's a snake does not stop me from liking her chemistry with Piper. I don't need to believe either character has GOOD INTENTIONS to enjoy their interaction. They can be heartless bitches and still own me. I'll let others ascribe sweet motivations to their actions. It won't change what I see.

During "Thirsty Bird" I yelled at my TV because I knew Alex was setting Piper up AGAIN. I try to hate Miz Vause, but it's impossible because of my main moral failing: I am a Chemistry Whore. As a Chem-Ho, I tend to root for it anywhere I see it, even when said chemistry is damaging to the characters as individuals. The chemistry is powerful in Vauseman. I've seen lots of viewers claim to dislike Piper and Alex and/or the actors portraying them, but for me, these two crazy, untrustworthy, unhealthy women make the show. I just don't know if I'd be as interested if they weren't on the canvas, even though I adore many of the other characters. I want Alex and Piper together. Or apart. I just want them near each other. Being part of each others lives. Even when they're hating each other they're better than Daya and Bennett, two chemistry-less bores. The name of this thread says it all because I've always been fascinated by this type of love. It ain't pretty, it ain't always romantic, it can be soul-crushing, but I always find it entertaining.

Spencer Truman was such a drain on the show. I was about to type "from the fall of 2005 to sometime in 2007." I checked Wikipedia and discovered that time period was almost his entire run on the show. It felt much longer. It really felt like a 4-year stint to me. I dislike how everyone in town was neutered or became dumb to prop him. I felt terribly for Blair when she whored herself out to that piece of crap, especially since Frodd could not have cared less. Spencer sterilized Kevin, which in turn, gifted viewers with SonFucker and her spawn. I think I really started hating Spencer because his ex-wife appeared to eat the show right alongside him. Paige, no matter what actress played her, was vapid and ubiquitous and awful. In later years I hated Echo, Rex, Gigi, Cole and anything Ford-related. Rex was considered so important that he had like 5 backstories of paternity. I didn't care about Rex when he was Roxy's spawn. Why would I care about his neverending saga of suck? Poor Clint. His dalliance with blowsy alkie Echo stuck him with a twitchy, pedantic, sanctimonious overgrown boy with highlighted frosted tips he's constantly pushing out of his eyes. I disliked Rex so much that even watching Dorian's disappointing dealings with him (remember when she had him shot up with heroin?) I could not bring myself to feel badly for him. In fact, I'm such a terrible person that I hoped he'd die, Dorian would somehow beat the wrap, and we'd never have to hear about him again. My favorite 5 characters are Dorian, Viki, Blair, Gabrielle and Todd. I chose these characters because they make me laugh the most. I wondered about their lives the most. They made me cry the most. They horrified me and disgusted me the most during their darkest hours. They've made so many mistakes and have rarely bored me or angered me enough to stop caring.