S03.E01: Mother's Day

[Tara Ariano]

Caputo's kinder, gentler new regime includes organizing a Mother's Day fair for the inmates that brings up a LOT of mixed feelings about family.

[Primetimer]

Mother's Day offers plenty of teachable moments for Orange Is The New Black's Sophia -- just like every other day of her life.

Read the story

[Morbs]

I watched Season 2 so quickly I retained like nothing.  I was so happy that the season was posted early, and for some reason I had guessed it might be, because unlike seemingly the rest of the world I don't care about basketball.

I'm just happy to have the show's rhythm back, with countless characters and endless backstories and the way the series humanizes people that are so easy to forget about.

 

Was the Asian girl who commented that the empty pinata was like a metaphor for the child's lives on the show before?

[Princess Sparkle]

I watched Season 2 so quickly I retained like nothing. I was so happy that the season was posted early, and for some reason I had guessed it might be, because unlike seemingly the rest of the world I don't care about basketball.

I'm just happy to have the show's rhythm back, with countless characters and endless backstories and the way the series humanizes people that are so easy to forget about.

Was the Asian girl who commented that the empty pinata was like a metaphor for the child's lives on the show before?

Yep, that was Soso.

I hadn't realized how much I missed the show until I watched this ep tonight. I missed these ladies so, so much. Taystee referencing Harry Potter might have been my favorite part.

I was relieved that nothing happened to the baby whose mother smuggled in drugs (other than, you know, being used as a drug mule). I was terrified something bad was going to happen to the child just being left alone outside.

I wont lie, I started bawling at the end. First when the alarm went off and all the inmates were on the ground with their kids either crying or asking 'what are you doing mommy?', then when the one inmate found out her boyfriend wasn't going to be bringing her daughter to see her anymore, and then I completely lost it when Poussey found the Calvin and Hobbes comic she'd read with her mother.

[Mya Stone]

This episode hit every single bit of why I love this show - humanizing, horrifying, and humorous, all wrapped up into one tasty morsel.

But I really hope the Alex and Piper show doesn't last forever...because, no. Just no. Piper is the wooooooorst. (tm Jean Ralphio)

[Knittzu]

Of all the inhumane things our prison system does to people, separating mothers and babies has to rank in at least the top three horrors. That final scene just hurt to watch.

[JAYJAY1979]

A great first episode of.the season..and not a lot of piper.and Alex. If they are kept as a minor subplot, all will be good.

http://www.chicagonow.com/confessions-coffeeholic/2015/06/catcher-in-the-rye-orange-is-the-new-black/

[Morbs]

Yep, that was Soso.

 

 

Thanks, I remember now.  She smelled like a turtle tank.

[Janet Snakehole]

This episode hit every single bit of why I love this show - humanizing, horrifying, and humorous, all wrapped up into one tasty morsel.

But I really hope the Alex and Piper show doesn't last forever...because, no. Just no. Piper is the wooooooorst. (tm Jean Ralphio)

Agreed, only I put Alex in the category of being the worst. Zero sympathy for her moping around after being back in jail.

[Mya Stone]

Agreed, only I put Alex in the category of being the worst. Zero sympathy for her moping around after being back in jail.

I honestly go back and forth on them.

Actually - new worst. Leanne. Blech.

[Lillybee]

I like that Red realized that she only has two years left and didn't want to do anything to add on to her sentence.

[knaankos]

so like, is Piper even in this show anymore? She's almost like a secondary character these days. Weak start to the season. Very soft and no story

Of all the inhumane things our prison system does to people, separating mothers and babies has to rank in at least the top three horrors. That final scene just hurt to watch.

they broke the law. 

[knaankos]

Really hope this gets better. This episode was a bunch of tired and weak pulls at the heartstrings with overdone storylines and fabricated new ones. Every character seems stuck in mud.

[Boilergal]

Welcome Back Orange!!!!  So sad I have to work today and can't binge through it. 

 

Pennsatucky and Boo - that will be a great friendship.  It was sad to see Pennsatucky come to terms with what she has done, but sweet of Boo to put in perspective of what life really would have been like.

 

Piper and Alex - meh - if they become a third string story I'd be fine with that - but I don't want it to be the focus of another season.

 

Morello genuinely looked depressed- the actress did a great job.

 

Wanted to beat the everliving crap out of the mom that set her 7 month old baby on the ground outside the portapotty to snort whatever it was....that made me sick.

 

My heart breaks for Maria when Yadi said he wouldn't be coming back - but I think when piper was talking to her last season about the transfer she said she has 6 years remaining - so I can understand that he doesn't want the baby growing up thinking it's the norm, wants to give her a better life so good for him putting the baby first.

 

Guess there is going to be drama with the new female counselor -

 

Can't wait to be out of work tonight and binge through 5 more episodes.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Pennsatucky and Boo - that will be a great friendship.  It was sad to see Pennsatucky come to terms with what she has done, but sweet of Boo to put in perspective of what life really would have been like.

 

I couldn't get over Pennsatucky's teeth -- they look so normal now.  

[elzin]

they broke the law. 

Their babies didn't break the law.

 

We ALL break the law. Some of us just don't get caught and/or we're privileged enough that our offenses are minor enough that they don't become a problem. I mean, I TRY to be law-abiding, but sometimes I don't notice the speed limit sign, for example. I've accidentally littered, I park sometimes where it's iffy.  I'm not saying all criminals don't deserve to be punished, but breaking the law itself would mean pretty much everyone would be in jail at some time.

 

And the point of this show to me is that maybe the punishment for these women doesn't always fit the crime. That was clearly spelled out in the book, but I think it's a theme that carries over in the show.  Also, just because you maybe do deserve punishing for a crime it doesn't mean your humanity is automatically gone. Our justice system is severely broken, especially for nonviolent offenders. What happened to the woman at the end was awful, and barring some really violent offense, it was terrible to watch and to think of the implications on her family. We don't even know her backstory, so for all we know she could be the one innocent person in there.

 

I'm so heartbroken after that episode but I loved it and I missed this show so much.

[sev]

Tired start of the season, puffed away all the big momentum of the last season finale, weak dialogue.

 

Onward to the next episode!

[Morbs]

 

so like, is Piper even in this show anymore? She's almost like a secondary character these days.

 

Thank God!

[Helena Dax]

So happy to have this show back! I loved this episode. It was a way to see the new Litchfield. Caputo isn't perfect, but he seems to be doing a  better job than Figueroa. I'm curious about the new conselour; I guess she can't be worse than Healy. 

 

If Alex finds out Piper did it, she's going to kill her.

 

In Spain, women can live with their kids in prison until they're three years old. They are in a special building and there's a nursery school for the kids. I'm  not 100% sure  that's the best for the children but if it is, then I'm glad they're allowed to be with their mothers. 

Edited June 12, 2015 by Helena Dax

[random chance]

I don't know, once the kids turn three and they're kicked out wouldn't that be pretty traumatic for them? 

[Janet Snakehole]

I don't know, once the kids turn three and they're kicked out wouldn't that be pretty traumatic for them?

Good point. There probably is no real good solution to this issue, unfortunately.

Boo is not one of my favorite characters (especially after the stuff with Little Boo last season), but I really liked her talk with Pennsatucky about abortion. Pennsatucky has against all odds endeared herself to me.

[Helena Dax]

I don't know, once the kids turn three and they're kicked out wouldn't that be pretty traumatic for them? 

 

Honestly, I don't know.

[Sesquipedalia]

Thurston and Lovie Howell were depicted with more subtlety. Healey's was too short to be meaningful and seemed an easy cop out; he's sexist because of crazy mommy.

 

 

I agree the portrayal of the bad moms was trite. I wish they would have given Maria's backstory. Then her baby being taken away would have had more impact. 

[AmandaPanda]

I really liked this episode. I liked that they focused a little bit on everyone, mainly because I needed a refresher on who some of the characters were.

 

I loved the scene between Pensatucky and Boo. My heart was breaking when she was baptizing the crosses with Mountain Dew. I loved that Boo referenced Freakonomics and helped her feel better about her past choices.

 

I loved that Taystee referenced Harry Potter. It made me as happy as the reference to The Fault in Our Stars from last season. 

 

I loved the scene between Sophia and her son, even though I cringed at the advice she gave him.

 

I almost cried at the end scene with Maria finding out that would be the last time she held her baby. Really, that whole last segment was just a heartbreaker. I felt so badly for all these women. 

 

And then there were Piper and Alex. The less focus on them, the better.

[laschifosavita]

It didn't really add up to an amazing episode, but there were a lot of really great individual scenes.  I loved the scenes with Boo and Pennsatucky.  Those are two characters that I would like to see fleshed out a bit more.  There were loads of little moments with most of the bigger characters, which was really nice.  It's a bit weird that there wasn't that much carry over from the previous season, especially since it ended so great.

[runforcover]

I can't tell if this show can't sustain itself or maybe I never really liked it in the first place.  The softening of all the primary characters - who are now mostly impervious to the psych effects of prison, crime, and, suddenly, their own fallibility - unless they've been clowned out like Catholic Bride.  That scene in the dollar store with Pentatucky broke my heart.  She was a great character -  a ruthless moron with a deadly mission!  And now all the lesson learning and the sitting still for the quoting of Freakonomics.  

 

Again, maybe the show's always been like this.  It's hard for me to tell.  I feel like the first season mixed character unpredictability and vulnerability well. Maybe it'll pick up.  The prison ward stuff is, per usual, a huge eye-roller.  Yeah, yeah, a lesser man would rape his inmates.  This is what I mean.  You get the softening of characters and then other characters' bloody reactionary edges are sharpened just to make us laugh.  Even when sophia told her son to find an insecure girl to fool around with first.  I feel like that line would've been used at some point to reveal to audiences that, yeah, sophia, like every character on anything, is also an asshole and kind of disappointing.  Instead it's lost in a the sentiment of reaching out to her son and the cotton candy irony (and a sit-com-ish grin) of wanting to be woman in a shitty-man's world. the "yes-yes" of which struck me as a mis-use of her.

 

I don't know; maybe it's just me.  MAybe I don't get it.

Edited June 13, 2015 by runforcover

[knaankos]

I can't tell if this show can't sustain itself or maybe I never really liked it in the first place.  The softening of all the primary characters - who are now mostly impervious to the psych effects of prison, crime, and, suddenly, their own fallibility - unless they've been clowned out like Catholic Bride.  That scene in the dollar store with Pentatucky broke my heart.  She was a great character -  a ruthless moron with a deadly mission!  And now all the lesson learning and the sitting still for the quoting of Freakonomics.  

 

Again, maybe the show's always been like this.  It's hard for me to tell.  I feel like the first season mixed character unpredictability and vulnerability well. Maybe it'll pick up.  The prison ward stuff is, per usual, a huge eye-roller.  Yeah, yeah, a lesser man would rape his inmates.  This is what I mean.  You get the softening of characters and then other characters' bloody reactionary edges are sharpened just to make us laugh.  Even when sophia told her son to find an insecure girl to fool around with first.  I feel like that line would've been used at some point to reveal to audiences that, yeah, sophia, like every character on anything, is also an asshole and kind of disappointing.  Instead it's lost in a the sentiment of reaching out to her son and the cotton candy irony (and a sit-com-ish grin) of wanting to be woman in a shitty-man's world. the "yes-yes" of which struck me as a mis-use of her.

 

I don't know; maybe it's just me.  MAybe I don't get it.

I totally understand where you are coming from. Every character has been softened so much, that it is no longer believable. The makers of the show seem to be trying to appeal so much to the audience that they do not want to risk any of these characters becoming disliked. They hardly even have faults anymore. Healy, Pennsatucky, Crazy Eyes, Taste and Pussey's 3rd wetl (don't know her name)... all of which used to be pretty unsavory characters, now are all on redemption tracks. 

[Thog]

I loved the entire scene between Pennsatucky and Boo, but especially this:

"I'm a wacky clown. I don't need symmetry."

 

Poussey made me cry.

[Mrs OldManBalls]

Big Boo's clown get-up did nothing to lessen my dislike of clowns.

 

I suspect that Pennywise would steer clear of her. 

 

I loved the scene between Pensatucky and Boo. My heart was breaking when she was baptizing the crosses with Mountain Dew. I loved that Boo referenced Freakonomics and helped her feel better about her past choices.

 

They are so opposite, but these women seem to be able to relate to each other very well. Bonus points to Boo for not shitting all over Buddy Jr. as a name choice ( as I type I realize the kid would have been called BJ- omg the teasing)

[Chaos Theory]

I like Healy's flash back.  It really explained the man and his actions and prejudices over the last two seasons.  Crazy mother.  

 

I also like that they are not sweeping under the rug that the Bennet/Diaz relationship is fundamentally wrong.  Yes they may be in love (and I believe they are) but Bennett is still a guard and Diaz is still an inmate.  

 

I totally understand where you are coming from. Every character has been softened so much, that it is no longer believable

 

 

I disagree.  Explaining someone's past does not excuse their behavior.   Healy is still a racist/sexist/homophobe but checking in on his past with his almost definitely mentally ill mother at least partly explains his issues with women.  It does not excuse it.  Pennsatucky is still Pennsatucky but seeing what she had for a mother at least explains why she is who and what she is.  It doesn't soften them in the least.  

 

<_Edited for content and clarity

Edited June 13, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[runforcover]

 

 

 

I disagree.  Explaining someone's past does not excuse their behavior.   Healy is still a racist/sexist/homophobe but checking in on his past with his almost definitely mentally ill mother at least partly explains his issues with women.  It does not excuse it.  Pennsatucky is still Pennsatucky but seeing what she had for a mother at least explains why she is who and what she is.  It doesn't soften them in the least.  

 

<_Edited for content and clarity

It's not the explanation of their history that makes these characters hard to buy or "softer".  The show has relied on this maneuver from moment one and it is a very effective means of storytelling.  The softening is more present in the dialogue and the prison context.  If you ask me, as soon as they gave Pennsatucky new teeth, it was a wrong turn.  This is a bit hard for me to explain because the show is clearly exploring a certain political and ideological landscape that I have no desire to shit on.  The backstory stuff is generally strong and insightful.  Characters lose their meat, imo, when they become more political objects than much else.  And I think this is a tough standard I'm suggesting.  But the show's female and sexuality centred content, and the characters dealing with those things, are most powerful when it's up against a more intractable system (which IT IS - after all, this is prison, no?).  The other option, I personally think, is if the show goes on to explore what happens to assertions of identity, difference and expression in a disciplinary system that in fact allows for this, that accommodates this. Because if critical television has insisted on anything, it is that this permission is never without its price.  But maybe this isn't the show's M.O., which, like I said, I'm not going to shit on.  

A few more episodes and we shall see.  I need faster pacing or I will just fixate on the political implications and all the inter-personal stuff.

Edited June 13, 2015 by runforcover

[Sesquipedalia]

I can see what you mean about the softening, especially with Pennsatucky and Healy. In season 1 Pennsatucky was a straight-up psycho who had shot someone for "disrespecting" her and tried to kill Piper in prison. Now she's just a comically politically incorrect bumpkin. What a difference some new teeth can make! It's like spending time in prison is truly rehabilitating her, which I don't think the show is trying to portray.

 

On the other hand, she is presumably off meth, so that would make a big difference in her personality. Plus someone like Pennsatucky probably shouldn't have been in a minimum security prison in the first place. She probably should have been gone after the first season, since there was really no way to keep the character around without softening her somewhat.

 

I thought Season 2 got a little OTT with the level of violence since most of the people in Litchfield are nonviolent offenders, so I don't know if the show needs another arch villain like V, but it does need more conflict than what was introduced in Mother's Day.

[elzin]

I don't think it was her new teeth. I think she was humbled and humiliated after her Chapman beatdown and losing her crew.  I think if she had won the fight and Leanne and Angie had stayed loyal, she'd have been back being S1-esque. I don't think she got wiser, just more tired.

[Sesquipedalia]

I loved the scene between Pensatucky and Boo. My heart was breaking when she was baptizing the crosses with Mountain Dew. I loved that Boo referenced Freakonomics and helped her feel better about her past choices.

 

 

I didn't make the connection that it was Mountain Dew until now. Nice touch.

 

Did anyone else find it creepy that Boo was giving her Freakonomics speech while dressed as the evil spawn of the grim reaper and the clown from IT? I don't think that would have made me feel better at all.

[larapu2000]

Yes, Boo wins the episode with that awesomely disturbing makeup and her knowledge of Freakanomics.

[charming]

I want to hug Poussey. Samira Wiley breaks my heart every time!

[WatchrTina]

 

Sophia's [flashback] (as Marcus) was the standout.

You do know that Marcus (pre-op Sophia) is not played by Lavern Cox, right?  Pre-op  Sophia (Marcus) is played by Lavern's identical twin brother, who is not trans-gender.  That's actually my favorite story about this whole show.  They cast Lavern in the role of Sophia and then started brainstorming how to do her pre-transition flashbacks.  Someone jokingly said "It's too bad you don't have an identical twin brother."  When she said she did they thought she was kidding them at first.  He is credited as "M Lamar" and OITNB is his only credit on IMDb.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The best thing about this episode was minimal Piper and Alex. If their presence is limited to 1-2 short scenes per episode, I will enjoy this show a lot more!

[SparedTurkey]

Regarding Pennsatucky - she wasn't ever a true blue anti-abortion nutjob. It was shown - either season 1 or 2 - that she fell into it after shooting up the abortion clinic because the nurse said something that pissed her off, and said nutjobs paid for her lawyers. Seeing as she has now not been on meth/drug of choice for awhile, and having lived in close quarters with the others AND having been rejected by her previous meth friends - I buy her looking else where. And, well, it's funny. I buy it.

[Blakeston]

Explaining someone's past does not excuse their behavior.   Healy is still a racist/sexist/homophobe but checking in on his past with his almost definitely mentally ill mother at least partly explains his issues with women.  It does not excuse it.  Pennsatucky is still Pennsatucky but seeing what she had for a mother at least explains why she is who and what she is.  It doesn't soften them in the least.

I absolutely think Pennsatucky has been softened. She's very, very different from when we first met her - she's so much nicer that she often feels like a different person. That doesn't mean I think she gets a free pass on her bigotry. You can believe she's been softened, and also recognize that the shitty things she does shouldn't be excused.

That said, I disagree with the idea that all of the characters have been softened. Tastee was incredibly lovable in the first season, and then in the second season, she joined forces with Vee, betrayed Poussey, and tried to get Nicki back on heroin. Crazy Eyes lost a whole lot of her likability, too. And we saw that the nun was excommunicated for her self-centeredness.

Throughout the series, a major theme has been that people aren't entirely good or evil. I think that's why the writers have made a point to highlight some of the most likable characters' flaws, and show a more likable side of some of the most awful characters. I like that aspect of it...although in Pennsatucky's case, I'm just not finding her new personality very plausible.

[Chaos Theory]

Pensatucky has always been someone who bought into her own reputation. Even her original backstory had her shooting the abortion nurse not out of any sense of moral outrage but because she got her feelings hurt. Then suddenly she gets fans who love her and want to listen to her. My guess is no one ever listened to her before so she shouted whatever easy bigotry sounded good. Pennsatucky is still Pensatucky but one who is trying to find herself and not someone who puts on a show for her followers and fans.

[jsm1125]

I wish more of a tribute or mention had been made about Rosa, though I do like that Red and Anita miss and respect her. Are we supposed to assume that the crash in the quarry killed her, or that she passed away from cancer?

 

I like how each character at Litchfield got a relatively equal amount of airtime this episode.

 

Was the woman who was panicking during Gloria's ritual the same woman who cried constantly on the phone in Season 1?

 

Caputo mentioned two names that I had never heard of to Healy as he was explaining why Rodgers is at Litchfield. Have we ever seen Callahan or Bailey before?

[ganesh]

I'm most interested in Red, Sophia, Nickles, and Poussey. I think it's a good choice from a tv pov to open the season with a little from everyone. I never really enjoyed Piper/Alex, so if their plot is just one of all the others and not featured, I'm pleased. I don't care about Bennett and Diaz either, but I agree you can't just ignore the whole plot either. 

 

I don't know the direction for the season. Last season, the 'showdown' got a little much for me, so I hope there's something new. 

[Your Aunt Tilly]

Yes, Boo wins the episode with that awesomely disturbing makeup and her knowledge of Freakanomics.

 

That makeup was so disturbing!  I had to hold my hand up to cover half the screen while she was on.  I can NOT look at clowns!

 

You do know that Marcus (pre-op Sophia) is not played by Lavern Cox, right?  Pre-op  Sophia (Marcus) is played by Lavern's identical twin brother, who is not trans-gender.  That's actually my favorite story about this whole show.  They cast Lavern in the role of Sophia and then started brainstorming how to do her pre-transition flashbacks.  Someone jokingly said "It's too bad you don't have an identical twin brother."  When she said she did they thought she was kidding them at first.  He is credited as "M Lamar" and OITNB is his only credit on IMDb.

 

I love that it is her brother playing the role.  I hadn't heard the story of how they found out that she had a twin.  That really is a very lucky break for the show, isn't it?

[Moxie CrimeFighter]

Of all the inhumane things our prison system does to people, separating mothers and babies has to rank in at least the top three horrors. That final scene just hurt to watch.

 

they broke the law.

 

Their babies didn't break the law.

 

Their babies aren't in jail.

 

In Spain, women can live with their kids in prison until they're three years old.

 

...Oh. I stand corrected.

 

This episode was kind of all over the place. That one woman made a terrifying clown. Although I guess that's redundant.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Moxie CrimeFighter

[MarysWetBar]

Agreed, only I put Alex in the category of being the worst. Zero sympathy for her moping around after being back in jail.

I so agree. Everytime i see her I'm thinking"oh go away so we can get back to the interesting characters".

[random chance]

Their babies aren't in jail.

 

 

...Oh. I stand corrected.

So long as prisons are the means of enforcing law, I can not imagine what kind of a solution there could ever be that wouldn't basically punish the child. I don't like Maria's husband at all but he was right, it's no place for a baby.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I love that it is her brother playing the role.  I hadn't heard the story of how they found out that she had a twin.  That really is a very lucky break for the show, isn't it?

There was a similar story about Linda Hamilton when they were filming some scenes in Terminator 2. They were trying to figure out how to shoot them and someone said it would be much easier if she had a twin. She told them that she had a twin sister so they brought her in!

[smrou]

So long as prisons are the means of enforcing law, I can not imagine what kind of a solution there could ever be that wouldn't basically punish the child. I don't like Maria's husband at all but he was right, it's no place for a baby.

This issue is being explored somewhat in this season of Wentworth since one of the main characters had a baby this season and has been keeping the baby with her in prison but there's been some thought/discussion of whether to give temporary custody to her sister. 

[stopeslite]

 

but I think when piper was talking to her last season about the transfer she said she has 6 years remaining - so I can understand that he doesn't want the baby growing up thinking it's the norm, wants to give her a better life so good for him putting the baby first.

 

But the baby's mom being in prison IS their normal. That's what their life is. What's the alternative? Talk about mom in shady, vague terms so they're always wondering what happened? Vilifying mom, which always to a kid means that something about them is horrible too, since they came from their mom? There's no way to estrange a kid from their mother without the kid feeling icky in one way or another. He can take the kid to visit mom while still showing the kid how awful it is to be in prison and what mistakes she made that landed her there. Heck, the kid would have a better view on how prison is awful and you don't want to do anything that puts you there than other kids would.