Season Three Discussion

[mysterychicken]

This is completely trivial, and I can't stand Piper/Alex for many reasons, but I can barely look at Alex's overtweezed eyebrows and ever present glasses and Piper's pale, unkempt look and stringy hair.I just want to put a little lipstick on her and do something w/ her hair, and steal Alex's tweezers and shove them up that bad guard's butt.

[mysterychicken]

I too still like Bennett and wish he'd return. Maybe with some balls this time, but I tend to like the 'good guys,' and he truly was a good person at heart. Despise Alaida, and despise is not a strong enough word. That actress is beautiful, but so easy to hate. She knows she sucks, but doesn't seem to care enough to change though, which makes her extra terrible. Daya is a wimp and can't make her own decisions, but I suppose it's growing up the way she did, her flashback made you understand that she wasn't allowed to think any diferently than her mom and she was so desperate for approval so she would agree with anything. Tastee and Poussey are always loveable and smart. Cindy - ugh, I find her so loud and obnoxious, would love for her to take it down a notch. HATE healy - he's terrible!!! Like someone said, he is vengeful and its like a witch hunt with him every season.  I miss Nicky but don't miss how she talks like her jaw is wired shut. Tucky was good this year, first time ever. Norma story went on FOREVER and was anyone else just waiting and hoping for her to actually TALK!?!?! I coudn't believe that it never happened. Also really liked seeing more of the burn victim girl, although I have no idea if her name is mentioned much, I can't think of it.

[Pallida]

rue721, you are absolutely correct – “figurehead” was a poor word choice on my part.  I was trying to get at the idea that she has a lot of power and control (the opposite of figurehead…oops) while distributing risk to others and keeping her employees in the dark in regards to the actual profit margin.   

 

I would be curious about the actual profit margin though.  How much does the guard get? (I don’t think that was mentioned.)  The new packaging looked like a simple food vacuuming machine, so I assume that would not take much capital, and with the versatility of PayPal, I assume that a website with payment option would be relatively “cheap” to setup.  I wonder what the marketing would be like!

[hkit]

I would be curious about the actual profit margin though.  How much does the guard get? (I don’t think that was mentioned.)  The new packaging looked like a simple food vacuuming machine, so I assume that would not take much capital, and with the versatility of PayPal, I assume that a website with payment option would be relatively “cheap” to setup.  I wonder what the marketing would be like!

 

I, for one, loved this arc and enjoyed Piper in it quite a bit. I spent a fair amount of time thinking about what you've outlined above.

$80 per pair

-$8 per girl

-$8 (Red's 10%)

-$8 for guard (I'm guessing he wouldn't have been offered anything less than 10%)

-$5 for marketing/packaging

Leaves me guessing a profit of $51 per pair, to be split between Piper/Alex/Brother+Wife. If I was the brother, I'd be demanding 50% of the profit, since I'd be taking all the risk. But he hasn't shown himself to be fiscally aware, so who knows. 

 

I almost started googling this fetish last night when I couldn't sleep because I want to know what they really go for. I have issues.

[rue721]

I thought it was $70/pair sale price and Red gets 8%? But that sale price could be wrong, I think it changed over the course of the season anyway. 

 

Also, there was the outlay for the website, the ramen, and the packaging supplies (ziplock bags, straws, vacuum packing machine, plastic for the machine, labels, postage). Postage alone probably isn't nothing.

 

I would guess:

$70 Sale Price

- $8 Employee

- $5.60 Consultant (Red, 8%)

- $3 Packaging (including postage)

- $1 Website/Ramen/Pay Packs/Cell Phone/Other Overhead (but this is just a guess)

- $17.50 Partner (Brother, 25% -- but I pulled that percentage out of my ass, could be different)

= $34.90

 

Some of that $34.90 also will have to go toward paying off the guard, eventually, but I don't think that Piper is paying him anything now? I'd guess he'd get something like $10/pair, but who knows.

 

That would still leave a profit of about $25/pair. Which is really good, considering that they're turning out something like 10 pairs every two days. I mean, that's still a profit of something like $150/day. If things go well for 6-12 months (which I doubt they will, but anyway), that's $25-55K profit that Piper might have waiting for her when she gets out. I douuuuuuubt that's going to be what happens, because her brother and sister-in-law seem like they're going to jump ship very soon (so Piper's going to have to give them more to get them to stay), the other girls are likely to start a competing business or some kind of sub-business, *someone* in the "exportation" chain is liable to get caught at some point (especially the guard, who is a dumbass. Stella's argument that he should do this because it makes for a great story was a good idea EXCEPT that the guard might want to start telling that story a little early, and things could blow up in their faces. But eh, what can ya do), and Piper seems like she's likely to be incautious/greedy about expanding the business and overextend herself. Also, at some point, one of the girls wearing the underwear is going to get caught and have the price of the merchandise charged to her, and Piper is going to have to pay that off for the girl. I mean, if Piper is a reasonable boss. So she should really have some money just hanging out earmarked for bailing out her employees, just in case. But she probably won't, because she's reckless. I would guess that would be a story for next season, tbh. But if nothing catastrophic happens, Piper is going to have a good nest egg pretty soon.

 

The person who I really think is sitting pretty in this deal, though, is Red. She's got zero risk, because nobody except Piper even knows she's involved, and her hands aren't getting dirty or even near the panties at any point. Yet she's making ~$30 a day just for knowing about the business.

[SaabStory]

I absolutely love that you guys are trying to figure out Piper's underwear profit. :)

 

Everytime I saw the women jogging around the track, I just assumed they were all "expediting" the delivery, and it cracked me up and made me a little queasy at the same time. :)

I enjoyed the comic relief of this storyline, right down to Piper's brother and sister-in-law trying to "re-create" the "formula".

 

S3 as a whole?

I am admittedly a Vauseman shipper, so the lack of any real relationship was a bummer, but once I let that go, I thought the season came together pretty well after a slow start.

Boo and Pennsatucky were probably the highlight.

 

And the lake scene at the end made me smile from ear to ear...as corny as it might have been.

 

It wasn't my favorite season and certainly not as addictive as the first, but I am certainly going to be back for S4.

 

Please don't wear out my love for Black Cindy by overexposing her greatness. :)

She is perfect just as she is.

Edited June 17, 2015 by SaabStory

[Mindymoo]

I hear you, I just wish there was more to her character.

I disagree that it's the only part. Yea she is horny in prison, and she's a butch lesbian. But she also is fighting for the people she cares about. Donating her makeshift dildo to frame Stella? Everything with Tucky, from making her realize that abortion was the best she could do for those pregnancies and that she was never, ever at fault for her rape? She showed one hell of a lot of growth this season and I am proud of her. I guess you could argue she started off one note, but Boo takes care of those she loves and fights injustice. And she helped take Tucky from someone I loathed in season one, who I tolerated in season two, to someone I rooted for and who my heart broke for. She's not a one-dimensional bull-dyke character, she is showing how awesome and real she is. She could hang out with me and the gals at the Boobyhatch anytime.

[ThatsDarling]

Easily my least favorite of the seasons. Too many story-lines that dragged on well beyond their sell-by dates - The Norma Cult, The Panty Caper, Suzanne As Author, PIPER AND ALEX DRAMA. The Gloria/Sophia falling out was an interesting possibly but suffered from being sidelined in favor of lesser plots until the very end. The lake sequence was cringe-worthy. Daya became slightly less annoying after Bennett took off, but I agreed with the character who complained in E12 (I think), "I'm so sick of her being pregnant!" As with last season's super-rapid ascension and demise of Vee, trying to cram story developments that need at least six months (television time) to breathe into a time frame half that is problematic - Caputo gets wind Litchfield is set to close within weeks (which would have surely been a newsworthy headline well before that), and then poof, next episode they have a buyer who has already put in place their new systems and rules? Uh, no. 

Hear, hear. I had a feeling that whatever came after the brilliance of S2 would be a disappointment, and while I still enjoyed watching this season, it was easily the weakest of the three for me. Too unfocused, with many vaguely-written flashbacks lasting a few seconds each, dull subplots, and an entirely unnecessary new character in Stella.  

 

And nothing against Laura Prepon, but I think it was a mistake to bring her back. The Piper-Alex relationship ran its course prior to this season, and I don't find Alex very compelling on her own. And why does she keep putting her glasses up on her head?

[kieyra]

Randomly ...

 

I like new batshit crazy, very-few-fucks-given Piper. 

 

Stella was pointless-ish. My main problem is that her first appearance was her, with her supermodel-looking self, giving sallow Piper shit for winning the attractiveness lotto? Shut up, Stella. After that I was just annoyed by her. She seemed too pretty AND hot to be attracting zero attention from any inmate but Piper. 

 

Every time it became clear with each new episode that the Norma plot was still going on, I sighed and reached for the remote. I feel like they hit some of those beats so many times. I wasn't a fan of the 'big bad' style of season 2, but I liked St. Norma even less. 

 

I really enjoyed the fanfic plot and the meta-ness of it. I also liked Suzanne's new possible GF/BFF.

 

Of course Boo/Pennsatucky was a real standout arc this season. 

 

Does anyone know why we lost Nicky for most of the season? She might have made the Piper/Stella thing more interesting. 

 

Great work by Mary Steenburgen as Mrs. Mendes. I was rooting for her to get the kid in the end. 

 

I guess I'm also done with Alex, like many others.

 

I would also like to be done with Red/Healy. Ugh. 

 

I would be fine with Pennsatucky's very nice ginger boyfriend coming back, and if he can't find any shirts to wear that would be fine too. 

[jellywager]

This is completely trivial, and I can't stand Piper/Alex for many reasons, but I can barely look at Alex's overtweezed eyebrows and ever present glasses and Piper's pale, unkempt look and stringy hair.I just want to put a little lipstick on her and do something w/ her hair, and steal Alex's tweezers and shove them up that bad guard's butt.

I studied Alex's eyebrows and it looks like the makeup artist does what drag queens do: glue down her original eyebrows and draw new eyebrows higher up. I noticed this when Alex was in the library sitting in the floor talking to Nicky. I could see her natural brow line. What fascinated me is all her nasty fake tattoos. The tribal one on her forearm and the salt shaker on her shoulder blade perplexes me.

Re: St. Norma, I can't stand that character, the is no way anyone (in real life) would put up with someone who refuses to talk. She reminds me of a mime and I find that extremely annoying. I worked with a guy who had a worse stutter than Norma, to get the words out sometimes required physical effort and it did not stop him from talking and we conversed with him like everything was "regular".

Edited June 18, 2015 by jellywager

[JellyFishQueen]

so...I'm worried. I use to like the tv show weeds but as each season went bye, oh my gosh that show turned into garbabage. I wonder if orange is new black has the same faith? I use to like Nancy Botwin however as seasons went by I hated her character and what became of her. Simply selfish, and choices make no sense...So piper future?

[knaankos]

Rating the backstories from this season:

 

Extra Alex scenes - Nothing added really at all. Just showed a few more details but did not add to any character. 

 

Extra Pennsatucky - Good scenes that added to her charcter and showed how she has been hurt by men several times in her past.

 

Chang - Good backstory that showed how she became someone who just hid in the shadows and effectively does what she wants. Unfortunately the character did not grow at all in the season despite the backstory. 

 

Flacca - Sad and ironic. Showed how she likes to fancy herself a smart business woman but is held back by her lack of confidence in certain areas.

 

Boo - Okay backstory. Pretty much exactly what you would have expected though. No indication of why she was in prison except for maybe that brief reference to sports gambling. I prefer when the backstories show why exactly the character is in prison.

 

Norma - Kinda silly backstory. The guy being ok with her not talking ever? And what was she in jail for? Murdering the guy or some other reason? Why would she be in a minimum security prison for what was a pretty cold blooded murder.

 

Extra track girl Muslim scene - Came out of nowhere and I feel like the writers just made it up on the spot to fit into that episode.

 

Healy - Stupid. Just stupid. Very short glimpses of an insane mother and a hobo falling on top of him. What exactly did that show?

 

Caputo - Strong backstory. Learned quite a bit about his past and how he has a pretty large amount of regret in his life and how it affects his work at the prison

[DB in CMH]

Meh. A B/B- for me. It just kinda lurched from one scene to the next without any sort of forward momentum. I did like most of the backstories, but there was no cohesiveness to them at all. 

 

I must confess that it also suffers in comparison to Wentworth, which I'm watching concurrently. 

 

I have no idea how this is going to stay remotely interesting in season 4.

[Agent Dark]

I must confess that it also suffers in comparison to Wentworth, which I'm watching concurrently. 

Yeah, I think that idea that "Piper is a gateway into the prison, so we can explore all these other character's stories" has fallen a bit flat.  Wentworth is clearly the "Franky and Bea" hour, and it benefits from having the strong narrative of its two clear lead characters, with Ferguson as the clear villain.  I think S3 of Orange would have had a much better overall season arc if they had of stuck to Piper as the central character, rather than it basically being a series of vignettes with some background narrative linking each episode.

[Chaos Theory]

I know it is an unpopular opinion for reason I do not understand but I love Piper. She is my favorite character on the show. If she does leave the show it won't ruin the show for me but it will turn the show from a "must watch now" to a "ill get around to it eventually" show. I love the other characters but I come for Piper and her horrible life choices. I loved her panty story and I honestly wonder if everyone would have hated it if someone other then Piper had come up with it. If it had been Poussey and the gang would everyone being calling it the greatest scam ever?

Alex was wasted this season but I think her season was similar to SoSo and Poussey and about how depression is ill treated in prison.

Stella was also wasted. Not sure of the point of her except for a possible love interest for Piper and someone for Piper to fuck over that wasn't essential to the show.

Edited June 19, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[DB in CMH]

I know it is an unpopular opinion for reason I do not understand but I love Piper. She is my favorite character on the show. If she does leave the show it won't ruin the show for me but it will turn the show from a "must watch now" to a "ill get around to it eventually" show. I love the other characters but I come for Piper and her horrible life choices. I loved her panty story and I honestly wonder if everyone would have hated it if someone other then Piper had come up with it. If it had been Poussey and the gang would everyone being calling it the greatest scam ever?

Alex was wasted this season but I think her season was similar to SoSo and Poussey and about how depression is ill treated in prison.

Stella was also wasted. Not sure of the point of her except for a possible love interest for Piper and someone for Piper to fuck over that wasn't essential to the show.

 

I'm fine with Piper, I just think that they have no clue what to do with her. She's not striving to be top-dog, but they can't make her a background character, so she's sort of stuck in story-line limbo. The panty stuff was only mildly interesting, IMO. I think this season really suffered a lot from not having a strong central storyline. I wasn't in love with the Vee stuff last season, but it did give the show a cohesion that it lacked this season. 

[rue721]

I preferred not having a Big Bad or such a strong central storyline. The Vee stuff from last season wasn't great imo. And it became too cartoonish for me. I actually thought this season would have been even better if they'd dialed it back on the Norma cult.

 

But I really enjoyed this season overall. And I liked the problems being more complex/subtle, like the whole privatization thing or how everyone was trying to figure out a balance between loyalty/unity and looking out for #1. YMMV though -- no accounting for taste!

[panthergirl13]

Randomly ...

 

I like new batshit crazy, very-few-fucks-given Piper. 

 

Stella was pointless-ish. My main problem is that her first appearance was her, with her supermodel-looking self, giving sallow Piper shit for winning the attractiveness lotto? Shut up, Stella. After that I was just annoyed by her. She seemed too pretty AND hot to be attracting zero attention from any inmate but Piper. 

 

Every time it became clear with each new episode that the Norma plot was still going on, I sighed and reached for the remote. I feel like they hit some of those beats so many times. I wasn't a fan of the 'big bad' style of season 2, but I liked St. Norma even less. 

 

I really enjoyed the fanfic plot and the meta-ness of it. I also liked Suzanne's new possible GF/BFF.

 

Of course Boo/Pennsatucky was a real standout arc this season. 

 

Does anyone know why we lost Nicky for most of the season? She might have made the Piper/Stella thing more interesting. 

 

Great work by Mary Steenburgen as Mrs. Mendes. I was rooting for her to get the kid in the end. 

 

I guess I'm also done with Alex, like many others.

 

I would also like to be done with Red/Healy. Ugh. 

 

I would be fine with Pennsatucky's very nice ginger boyfriend coming back, and if he can't find any shirts to wear that would be fine too. 

I agree with 99% of what you wrote here (I'm just blah about Piper) but ESPECIALLY your comment about Stella's first speech and Penn's hot boyfriend (although him being attracted to her seemed more like a dream sequence).

 

Some nitpicks:

 

- I cannot stand Morello's "New York" accent. It irritates me the same way Livia Soprano's accent did. There is nothing NY or NJ about those accents.

- It's always obvious when people from California write shows that are set on the East Coast, because they include dialogue about Mexicans and use terms like 'wetback'. They clearly hired some Puerto Rican actresses... couldn't one of THEM say "Um, Jenji? The Mexican thing? It's not a thing here."

- Litchfield is in Connecticut, not upstate New York. 

 

It shows how uneven this season was for me that I was so annoyed by those things. OH and that lake scene... I cannot stand when so much time is wasted during a season finale.

[DrSpaceman]

so...I'm worried. I use to like the tv show weeds but as each season went bye, oh my gosh that show turned into garbabage. I wonder if orange is new black has the same faith? I use to like Nancy Botwin however as seasons went by I hated her character and what became of her. Simply selfish, and choices make no sense...So piper future?

That is actually a great comparison and I had never considered it until you brought it up. Piper and Nancy have a whole lot in common.

I too think Nancy was an interesting character but what I came to hate about her was she made too many risky stupid decisions and relied way to much on her sexual prowess and sexuality in general to try and get her out of those bad decisions. At the same time though, that is the thing Mary Louise Parker as an actress at least pulled off best, playing the sexy manipulative vixen. They seem to be trying to turn Piper into a similar character and I think the problem i have is Taylor Schilling just can't pull off the role as well. Mary Louise Parker had great chemistry with everyone. Taylor Shcilling seems to have chemistry with no one.

I loved Mary Steenburgen too as Momma pornstache. She was great.....I felt very bad for her being manipulated like that through it all. I hope there is some way to bring her back.

[JellyFishQueen]

That is actually a great comparison and I had never considered it until you brought it up. Piper and Nancy have a whole lot in common.

I too think Nancy was an interesting character but what I came to hate about her was she made too many risky stupid decisions and relied way to much on her sexual prowess and sexuality in general to try and get her out of those bad decisions. At the same time though, that is the thing Mary Louise Parker as an actress at least pulled off best, playing the sexy manipulative vixen. They seem to be trying to turn Piper into a similar character and I think the problem i have is Taylor Schilling just can't pull off the role as well. Mary Louise Parker had great chemistry with everyone. Taylor Shcilling seems to have chemistry with no one.

I loved Mary Steenburgen too as Momma pornstache. She was great.....I felt very bad for her being manipulated like that through it all. I hope there is some way to bring her back.

Is... is your user name from 30 rock?

 

Ha! Momma pornstache might be my user name. I like your thoughts of piper actress maybe that's why she didn't get as much screen time this season?

[DrSpaceman]

I preferred not having a Big Bad or such a strong central storyline. The Vee stuff from last season wasn't great imo. And it became too cartoonish for me. I actually thought this season would have been even better if they'd dialed it back on the Norma cult.

 

But I really enjoyed this season overall. And I liked the problems being more complex/subtle, like the whole privatization thing or how everyone was trying to figure out a balance between loyalty/unity and looking out for #1. YMMV though -- no accounting for taste!

I mentioned before my biggest problem with the prison privatization storyline was the lack of subtlety in it all.

If there was one underlying theme though through the season you could make, it was all about mothers/daugheters or at least parents/children. early on they brought up the Freakonomics theory about how aborting kids may not be a bad thing and you could make an argument via the backstories and many of the storylines in this season that they were supporting that initial argument the whole season. Not saying these characters should have been aborted. The argument seemed to be made though that some of these kids were doomed from the beginning due to a poor initial enviroment and poor upbringing. The one ongoing theme the entire season was Daya's pregnaency and her trying her best to break that cycle, recognizing the problem for her own child and despite doing everything she could, in the end, her mom still screwed that up.

[Ms Blue Jay]

For me, one of the worse things about this season is the major absence of Bennett and Nicky.  Matt McGorry for me is one of the most compelling actors in this cast, and Natasha Lyonne is not far behind.  I assume there are good explanations for it -- Matt's other acting job, and whatever with Natasha? -- but the show is a lot less interesting for it.

 

I love giving Chang more backstory and Soso more storyline in general.  I liked Ruby Rose, though I am not sure why she was used in this particular way.  Why would this super interesting, exotic inmate be most attracted to the most boring person in the prison -- Ok, I think I just answered my own question.   Same with Lori Petty -- why was this veteran actor shafted in this way?  Her character was so pathetic, and not enough screentime to get us to care.

 

It was great to give Bursette more storyline and Morello less.  These were some great choices for me.  It was great to give Suzanne the Time Hump Chronicles.  I feel like Taystee and Poussey got kind of shafted... Poussey's really deflated.  But it made room for a great Cindy storyline.

 

Red got shafted because she got Healy, and that's the worst.  I loved the new Counselor, but she seemed like a perfect person.  It would have been great to see more of her to give her more nuance.

 

I liked how Boo became a lot more interesting and sympathetic, but the Penn storylines were far too graphic and disturbing for me.  Then there's Piper.  She's just like the weird court jester in the cast who pops up randomly and does something awful.

 

Overall, I think this is the worst of the 3 seasons.  Not sure, I'll have to back and re-watch.  I sound positive about it, but the first 2 episodes were incredibly boring, the middle was okay, and the ending made me really happy.  I loved the finale with the Miracle and the inmates being happy.

 

Less Flaca please.  One of the worst actors on the show and I can't stand to look at that face.  Less Meth-heads please: Ditto.  

Edited June 20, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[Drapers4thWife]

But at the same time, Doggett has one of the stronger cases to prove rape by Donut Guard: he didn't use a condom (so if she'd gone right away to report, there'd be plenty of dna), she has bruises on her wrists.

 

Doggett doesn't even need that much. In 1996, New York state passed a law that held "that any person in custody in a New York State correctional facility cannot consent to any sex act with an employee who provides custody, medical or mental health services, counseling services, educational programs, or vocational training for inmates." In 2007 it was expanded to include any contractors, volunteers, or anyone that provides services to a prison in any capacity. The state also expanded that to include verbal harrassment, voyeurism, etc. 

 

That's why Bennett was so worried - even if Daya said it was consensual and she and Bennett were in love and going to get married, etc. etc. that doesn't matter in the eyes of the law. It's still rape and Bennett could be prosecuted. So Doggett doesn't even need to prove force or anything like that. Coates would no doubt use the defense of "she wanted it and it was consensual sex" but he would just screw himself. In fact, Doggett could even go to the authorities with a bullshit tale of how she and Coates are so in love and have been having consensual sex and going to get married, and it would get him charged with rape. (In real life, several New York guards were caught and prosecuted after their inmate fiancees bragged about weddings/future plans). 

[betha]

The plot with the best payoff for me was the Red supper club. To see her finally get back into the kitchen, to have to deal with disgusting processed bagged food and sink into a depression, then push her way out of it- with a farm-to-table vegetable supper club that everyone couldn't wait to get into...with tablecloths and servers in prison. Man, my mouth was watering for that corn. I liked the Red/Healy stuff too, though I prefer they just stay friends.

I also loved Leeann's backstory. Brilliant! I finally care about her character.

Least favorite was Bennett leaving, for all the reasons people have states about it not being in his character to desert given how in love and supportive he was. I hope he comes back next season.

I liked Norma's backstory, and young Norma was beautiful, but I agree that plot dragged.

I don't care how twisted she is, morello will always be a favorite of mine. She just gets so happy about things. I love the actress.

They finally did something I liked with Suzanne.

I didn't miss Vee or having a "big bad" at all. I guess I am ok with this being more of a dark comedy than a comedic drama.

The irony of the *kosher* food being the good food was hilarious. Anyone ever had those prepackaged kosher airline meals??

[Drapers4thWife]

I really wonder how the show will fare at the next Emmys being in the drama categories, since I think this season ramped up on the comedy.

[possibilities]

Doggett has one of the stronger cases to prove rape by Donut Guard: he didn't use a condom (so if she'd gone right away to report, there'd be plenty of dna), she has bruises on her wrists.

Doggett doesn't even need that much. In 1996, New York state passed a law that held "that any person in custody in a New York State correctional facility cannot consent to any sex act with an employee...

I know, but without the DNA it becomes a she said/he said situation, and that's why the lack of a condom is significant. The staff taking a prisoner seriously if she doesn't have tangible evidence seems to me to be unlikely in most cases. And since Caputo did look the other way when Bennett confessed to him, I think the bruises help with getting him to take it seriously, even with the DNA.

However, it's too late for any of that now, since I'm sure the DNA is long gone-- even her clothes have surely been laundered by now, and she and Boo have decided to handle it on their own. I'm sure the story is not over, because of how they reacted to seeing who got assigned to van duty next.

[ThatsDarling]

I'm eager to see how they fare with the upcoming nominations. Last year, they were able to fudge the line and send a bunch of names into Guest Actress, but this year's performer ballot? The new threshold prohibits those appearing in more than 50% of the season's episodes from labeling themselves "Guest" and subsequently, every single actress (save Schilling - Lead, and Prepon - Guest) is going after Supporting. I think the Academy made the right decision - the abuse of the "Guest" label has been out of control for a long time. But it's rather overwhelming to see fifteen performers from a single show vying in a single category; they're hardly the only or most worthy names in competition. I wouldn't be surprised if no more than two came out on top in that category. And acting is really the show's greatest strength - the dialogue can be intermittently great but plots poorly structured. 

 

(Pornstache also submitted in Guest.)

I think there's going to be a big dip in Emmy nominations for season 2, not only because most of the cast had to submit in supporting, but because Orange will be competing as a drama. There are about 100 more shows / performers eligible for drama nominations than for comedy.

 

I understand why they changed the rules regarding guest actors, but it's disappointing that much of the cast will go unrecognized now. Lorraine Toussaint could have won in guest, and Yael Stone had a great submission with her flashback episode from last season. I doubt either will be nominated now. 

[Dream Boy]

Lorna having Christopher beat up was really upsetting to me.

 

 

Yeah, that was upsetting. But we need moments like those to remind us that, while these women can be charming, they are still some disturbed individuals. 

[Rahul]

By and large I enjoyed the lighter tone of this season compared to season two. My main gripe is that some of the inmates were given personality transplants which were so egregious that I could not suspend my disbelief and chalk it up to personal growth or change stemming from doing hard time in the slammer. Pennsatucky is the most conspicuous example of this, going from a ignorant, hateful religious fundamentalist to a hapless, misguided victim of circumstance. Similarly, Piper's transition into a callous, criminal kingpin seemed disingenuous. Are we to believe that the second Alex showed her vulnerability Piper was so disgusted she dropped her like a hot potato? Puhlease.

 

Many characters which I disliked before like Penn and Black Cindy were given these ham fisted redemption arcs that were hard to swallow. Cindy's desire for conversion had always been about the better tasting frozen Kosher meals. I know many were moved that ostensible desire to "find her people" at the very end but I was neither sold on the writing or the performance of that scene. We were never given any prior indicators that she was truly identifying with the prevailing philosophies of Judaism. All we got was that afterthought of a flashback in the finale which showed how her father's (was it?) Christian ideas of fire and brimstone were foisted upon her for being an undisciplined glutton.

 

Other musings: After struggling with being ostracized and deep depression all season, I really hope Soso finds acceptance amongst the black girls. I'm less interested in the hinted at budding romance with Poussey than I am seeing how her addition to the group will change their dynamic.

 

Flacca is all kinds of awesome. I hope to see her front and center next season.

 

I'm thankful that Piper's insufferable boyfriend and best friend were dropped from the show and nowhere to be seen. I'm also excited for the addition of the cooking show (who I only know as Nina Sharp on Fringe) to be mixed into the fold. She should make a good foil for Red next season.

 

I know it got quite inane the further it developed, but I would love to read Time Hump Chronicles and learn of Edwina, the freckled android's sexual exploits through time and space.

 

I hope no turtles were harmed in the making of this episode. As much as I love Suzanne (I think she's my favorite black character), I wanted to shake her for tossing that turtle meters into the lake not once but twice!

 

I didn't think it was a problem that Cindy wanted to convert to Judaism instead of Islam or Buddhism. I'm wondering why the show decided to have that really short, otherwise random flashback to show that Watson is Muslim, though. Maybe that'll be part of a storyline next season.

 

I didn't really understand the point of that flashback either. Watson has not been a featured player which I don't mind, since I find her character to be a superfluous nonentity who adds little to the show. However, it was established that Watson's family was not your garden variety Muslim (Sunni or Shia) but rather part of the Nation of Islam, which from my understanding is an exclusively black re-imagining of the religion which was meant to reclaim power and agency amongst the African American community and holds a very hostile view towards whites. Traditional Islam and the Nation of Islam are two very different beasts.

[manbearpig]

I thought it was an excellent season, and for sure my favourite show currently on television now that Mad Men has left our screens.

 

I can't decide if I want Nicky back or not. She's one of my favourite characters for sure, and Natasha Lyonne was stellar in her final episode. The surprise of Nicky being sent to max made for an exciting viewing experience and I'm still a little shocked that she never appeared in the rest of the season. I thought her exit was handled beautifully and I can't imagine a better way for her to leave the show, but...I'd also love to see her return, particularly to give Alex someone to bounce off of because they work so well together.

 

Soso's depression seriously broke my heart. Super pleased that Poussey and Taystee's group were so welcoming to her at the end of the season. Black Cindy is amazing and the actress slays me. Tucky and Boo are a wonderful double act and the writers did a great job fleshing out Tucky's character, even though I really enjoyed the cartoony version of the character back in season one. Daya definitely became more interesting without her bland love story weighing her down. Sofia's predicament is upsetting, there was a lot of good stuff between her and Gloria though.

[Rahul]

I can't decide if I want Nicky back or not. She's one of my favourite characters for sure, and Natasha Lyonne was stellar in her final episode. The surprise of Nicky being sent to max made for an exciting viewing experience and I'm still a little shocked that she never appeared in the rest of the season. I thought her exit was handled beautifully and I can't imagine a better way for her to leave the show, but...I'd also love to see her return, particularly to give Alex someone to bounce off of because they work so well together.

 

Can't believe I forgot to include Natasha Lyonne's exit in my list of gripes this season! Lyonne has such an indelible screen presence and personality. In other words, she's the total opposite of Jason Biggs.

 

I really hope that wasn't the last we see of her. So much so in fact that I'd be willing to forgive a plot contrivance like overcrowding at max if it meant her return.

[CleoCaesar]

Things I liked:

 

• Bye-bye, Bennett. The SL with him and Daya was the TV equivalent of Valium.
• Boo and Pensatucky's friendship. Good chemistry, and Tucky became a likeable character against all the odds.
• Caputo throughout the season. He genuinely wants to do good, but everything about him and his life and his choices prevents that from coming to pass.
• Sophia got something to do this season, unlike the previous one.
• Lots of Red, always a good thing.
• Pensatucky's teenage boyfriend, the nice one, was super hot.

 

Things I did not like:

• Anything with Cindy. She is a worthless example of a human being. She has no morals, no manners, no loyalty, nothing decent about her. She would go back to crime the instant she gets out of prison. Whenever I see posts about her being the MVP or how lovable she is, I wonder if we're watching the same show.
• Morello being a dangerous piece of shit. Poor Christopher. Bump into one psycho and have a date with her, have your life ruined.
• Piper's panty crime empire. It was gross and way too drawn out.
• Speaking of drawn out, the whole clumsy "evil private prison corporation" storyline. We get it, prisons shouldn't be for profit. Corporations are all evil, blah blah. Move ON.
• Same goes for the cult of Norma. These writers can take a good idea and just run it into the ground.
• Lolly. Badly acted and pointless.
• Stella. See above.
• Too many random "minor character's backstory" episodes like Chang and Leanne. The flashbacks this season seemed like total filler.
• Piper and Alex, what was all that about? We were promised more focus on their relationship this season. Uh, what relationship? They kissed a few times, hate-fucked, and it all petered out pretty much immediately.
• WAY, WAY too clumsy with social justice messages and dialogue. A lot of it made me cringe with how unsubtle it was.

[Ms Blue Jay]

For me, Morello's been an asshole from jump.

 

Nothing about that character is positive for me.  Her popularity is a fascinating case study for me - how charm or supposed adorability or how she tugs on heartstrings, I guess, takes her so far in some people's eyes.

 

For some asshole characters in television or movies it has worked on me too.  But everything about Lorna upsets me to the core.  Perhaps the writers are painting her as mentally unstable or having some kind of disorder?  But I still have no sympathy.  Not sure what 'disorder' it is that leads her to be the racist/wilfully ignorant person she was in earlier seasons either.

Edited June 21, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[EvilApplesauce]

I admit that I haven't finished the season yet; I've just wrapped up with episode 10. Maybe there will be a surprise in the next few episodes, but so far I'm not optimistic. I think the show bought into its own hype after season 1, and it's been steady downhill with the writing since then.

 

Disappointments so far:

 

- The actress who plays Taystee was bumped up to (and remains on) main character status according to her billing on the opening credits. But what did she actually get to do this season? It's terrible because I think that the show ruined her character for good with Vee. Taystee doesn't have the library or even much of her friendship with Poussey to help keep her interesting. Another character from the black crew that I think may have been permanently destroyed is Janae Watson. She had so much potential in season 1, and what happened to her friendship with Yoga Jones? Maybe I'm forgetting what happened because of Vee.

 

- I can't figure out why Nicky was written out of the show, but she's sorely missed.

 

- The backstories are proof that the show is making it up as it goes along, in my opinion. Norma's backstory was engaging, but how does it make sense that she was able to sing so gloriously in season 1, yet she could barely eke out a sentence due to stuttering in her flashback? Am I missing something about how stuttering affects people? Another backstory that seemed ridiculous to me: Leanne. When Nicky was still in Litchfield, Leanne was working in the laundry room and she still had meth teeth. After Nicky left, Leanne had a random moment of speaking German with Poussey, and suddenly she was Amish with fresh teeth, both in her flashbacks and in jail. I also read (in the episode thread) that some of us remembered her talking about being a Girl Scout when she was a kid. Wtf? Coincidentally, both of these faith-based backstories tied into the "Norma is Jesus" story of the season.

 

- I'm guessing that the panty-selling business was written so that Piper can get more time added to her sentence, which would mean more seasons for the show.

 

- If I'm wrong about the panty-selling business, then it was just 1 more reason for me to dislike the central character of the show. Is that natural, that the protagonist is arguably the most unlikeable one?? I thought that after coming clean about Kubra and being so happy about Alex's return, that Piper was standing up for her love when she mouthed off to her parents on her birthday and her mother slapped her. How long did it take before she forgot about her commitment to Alex so that she could make out with young Angelina Jolie (I forget the character's name, and where did she come from)? Piper has always been selfish and near-sighted, but at least she was passionate and trying to be a good person in season 1. I don't know who the hell she was this season, but in every scene I wanted to mute the TV. I think the writers lost sight of Piper's psychological condition as she adapted to life in prison, but that was what made her interesting to me: watching how prison matured and changed her outlook on life. When Piper literally had to fight for her life against Pennsatucky, that was powerful. Season 2 also did a good job with the flashbacks.

 

- the "Litchfield is closing / being privatized" storyline has reduced the original cast of officers to nothing. Their only role is to complain about the future of their jobs. The story also turned Caputo sour, which is unfortunate. Instead we get the young dumb officer who risks his job to smuggle panties, and another rookie that risks his job to rape? Maybe the show is trying to say something about not screening for the right candidates in the interest of saving every dime? So many familiar faces have disappeared, and the 1-note personalities this season are a far cry from the days of Pornstache. That dude was disgusting, but at least he was active in different plotlines and he felt like part of the prison, not just decoration. Litchfield almost seems like a sorority now.

 

- Is the new counsellor's job at risk in this "Litchfield is changing management" storyline? If not, what purpose is she serving on the show? Why was she hired? It's not like Healy is doing much besides falling in love with Red, so I don't see that his job is overlapping with the new counsellor's.  

 

There are things that I'm enjoying so far, such as everything Black Cindy, Pennsatucky, Gloria having more of a story and trying to be a mother from prison, and I've always LOVED the woman in the kitchen who says the funniest things in Spanish. But OITNB has never lacked for entertainment value. I can't put my finger on what the bigger problem is, but I thought that season 2 was weakened by Vee and maybe the show would get back to its glory with her gone (and Larry too, thank God!). Now I almost wish that OITNB had completed its story with more episodes in a single season.

 

[lion10]

Responding to EvilApplesauce, it's rare that a protagonist is the most hated one, but it's also just as rare that the protagonist is the most liked one.  I don't know why that is.

 

I felt like this season was worse than Season 2.  Season 2 was pretty dark but it had a whole driving plot in the form of Vee and Red that gave the season focus.  This season was a lot more scattered and the plots that were there weren't the most interesting.  I found Caputo's transformation compelling with him becoming more self interested due to Fig's influence.  I hope he doesn't become too corporate.  I HATE Daya's mom.  She's narcissistic, has terrible taste in men, and emotionally manipulated Daya from such a young age because she didn't want to deal with Daya doing better than her and wanted someone to idolize her.  And having 10 other kids just to have more people to look up to her is disgusting.

 

Healy continues to be the most frustrating character in the show with his goggles of misogyny tainting every single action and thought he does and has.  His life would be so much better if he could get out of that mindset.  He's good looking for a man his age, has a steady job, and otherwise has a decent personality but he's so threatened by women for some reason that he keeps shooting himself and his poor patients in the foot.

 

Until this season I wasn't a fan of Boo but now I really like her.  The show does a good job of showing the humanity of these prisoners while also showing that these are by and large not nice/dangerous people and a good percentage of them probably belong in jail.  On that note, Morello is twisted and I hope what she did to Christopher comes back around on her.

 

Stella was cool but seemed largely to have no point which surprised me because news sites made a big deal on Ruby Rose joining the show.  I wonder what's she in for?

 

I'm really looking forward to Season 4 where the Max prisoners are moved into Litchfield.  Caputo might have saved the prison, but at what cost?  

 

And when the inmates were running to the lake, I expected "Let the Sunshine In" to start playing.

 

I mentioned before my biggest problem with the prison privatization storyline was the lack of subtlety in it all.

If there was one underlying theme though through the season you could make, it was all about mothers/daugheters or at least parents/children. early on they brought up the Freakonomics theory about how aborting kids may not be a bad thing and you could make an argument via the backstories and many of the storylines in this season that they were supporting that initial argument the whole season. Not saying these characters should have been aborted. The argument seemed to be made though that some of these kids were doomed from the beginning due to a poor initial enviroment and poor upbringing. The one ongoing theme the entire season was Daya's pregnaency and her trying her best to break that cycle, recognizing the problem for her own child and despite doing everything she could, in the end, her mom still screwed that up.

 

That's a really good point and that may be what ties the season together.  I'm pro-choice and agree with the logic of the Freakonomics argument but it's an odd thing to tell someone that the world would be a better place if people like them didn't exist.

[possibilities]

Am I missing something about how stuttering affects people?

Yes. It's very common for people who stutter when speaking to not stutter when singing. In fact, it's true in the majority of cases.

[Thog]

The panty smuggling idea was kind of cute until it became a major storyline. But the name "Felonious Spunk" was absolutely brilliant, especially if you're a jazz fan.

[WatchrTina]

I guess my overall reaction to the season is that it felt more claustrophobic than in the past. We had out-of-prison flashbacks in every episode just like in past seasons but somehow it felt more confined this season. I think it was because almost nothing positive happened this season. Red getting her corn was nice but the Red-Healy relationship is so fucked up that did't give me any warm fuzzies. Tastee being promoted to "Mom" was nice, but pretty small. Suzanne's emergence as jailhouse erotic novelist was fun, as was the Doggett-Boo friendship and Cindy's bona fide conversion to Judaism. But everywhere else you turned things were bad and getting worse. Doggett's rape, Sophia's beating, Daya's baby, Gloria's frustrating parenting, the cult of Norma, the guards' deteriorating work situation, it was all just so depressing. Layer on that I hated the whole Piper Panties / Alex Paranoia / Temptation Triangle storyline and you end up with a season that was . . . I can't find the words -- I just don't much care if there will be a season 4. I'm not sure I want to subject myself to a season set in the misery of an over-crowded prison, which is what seems to be in the offing.

I recall being totally jazzed at the end of Season 1 and desperate to talk to someone about it. I found I had a hard time remembering what happened in Season 2 as I prepared to start season 3. And I have no particular desire to remember season 3. That pretty much says it all.

Edited June 25, 2015 by WatchrTina

[LydiaMoon1]

Season 3 has dispelled my fear that I would binge-watch the episodes too quickly and blow through the season too fast. I just finished episode 5 and so far it's been a struggle;Piper/Alex. Red/Healy, Bennett/Daya, Flacca, Norma and the Santaria.  Boring. Boring. Boring.

Edited June 23, 2015 by LydiaMoon1

[DianeDobbler]

After my binge watching/watching this show for the first time I agree that Tucky and Boo were the best thing about the season.

 

I hate even talking about Piper's business except for the fact that it doesn't make sense to me economically. I don't see how she has enough product to generate a profit and pay workers. How much extra fabric is there?

 

Not to mention the whole marketing of Ruby Rose is the cheapest, predicated on lowest common denominator titillation, and all for a very limited actress and boring character because the actress is so limited.

Edited June 23, 2015 by DianeDobbler

[Too Late Kev]

I hate even talking about Piper's business except for the fact that it doesn't make sense to me economically. I don't see how she has enough product to generate a profit and pay workers. How much extra fabric is there?

 

They had patterns to lay on each piece of fabric to cut out the pieces for a certain number of panties. Piper realized you could put the patterns a bit closer together to fit one more panty. If you find the spot where she tells the guard that, you might be able to count how many panties the company thought fit on there. In any case, 1 extra per piece of fabric they were given is a fair amount.

 

In reality, the panty company would fit as many panties as they could and would already have maxed out their space. Possibly the pieces would have been die-cut as well, or at least pre-cut by people who know what they're doing; a bunch of amateurs cutting out the pieces is going to waste a lot of fabric to error. For that matter, hiring people to sew panties without even asking if they've ever operated a sewing machine is idiotic. Those industrial machines they're using go extremely fast and not everyone has the skill for sewing anyway.

[jahidren]

For my first post here, I would say that I still love the show . I enjoyed this season : The episodes gave  us  a more in-depth look at the majority of the characters. With, topics as : "spirituality,faith and the role of women / minorities in the  society": The angles and reflexions are generally interesting.

But, this time,  there are many characters for one episode ...   The plot is somewhat  scattered. -> There is a lack of "focus".  I know that the show  is actually  the adaptation of a book of the same name by  the author: Piper Kerman ... She is now  a consultant on the set: Although, she says that she "can not rely to  the characters in the show  anymore ... Apparently  from now, i'ts too far from her experience". Having said this ;  she has indicated  that, in the next season, she wants to see  Piper Chapman and Big Boo fall in love! "

 

What I miss/regret from the past,  is that Piper has become a kind of stereotype like a "wrongdoer in prison." I find that In the first two saesons , her relationship with Larry, her  family and the outside world, was a very good thing for OITNB :  Trough these different situations : She was a unique character among the others ! Now, Piper has become a real "thug" like most of her "congeners in Litchfield." It would be interesting I think to bring back Larry in the next season ... "Why not as a prison guard!" :) I hope that the fourth season  will give to us something else. (They have just started the shooting it in June).

Edited June 23, 2015 by jahidren

[DianeDobbler]

So I guess my question is, if there's only one "extra", use it for your own purposes and nobody's the wiser, garment (I hate the "p" word) per fabric piece, how many fabric pieces do they go through in a shift? Even at $70.00 per item, by the time you get through the overhead it doesn't seem to me you end up with profits for three people. Seems you'd run into debt pretty fast.

[ChicksDigScars]

my goodness was Piper insufferable this season.  She reminds me of Brenda from Six Feet Under; her problems always operate the same way and because of the same reason: she's a terrible person.  She gets an idea, she pats herself on the back, someone throws a kink in the mix, she panics, she does something really shitty, someone calls her awful, she realizes she is, she makes a promise to adapt/change, she gets an idea.  Rinse and repeat.

- Piper/Alex has run its course.  Adding Stella to the mix made it more unbearable.  Permanently end it please.

 

THANK YOU.  I have zero fucks to give about Piper. She was background fodder for me this season. I was disappointed that Robo-Eyebrows Prepon was back (ESPECIALLY because it felt that they ditched Natasha Lyonne for Prepon, which REALLY pissed me off), but was rather thankful that she was basically background, too, with the exception of her backstory episode, which I half assed paid attention to, since I don't care for her. But, actually, she didn't annoy me as much this season.  

 

Piper continues to be Carrie Bradshaw in prison garb. A self-absorbed, insufferable, horrible person. 

 

 

The show suffered from the lack of a real antagonist inside the prison like a 'Tucky Season 1 or Vee this season.  It's bloody prison.  Where are the evil people?

 

Daya's "mother." Could someone please shank her bitch ass? Not only is she a horrible human being for the way she treats her daughter, and uses her grandchild as bait to extort money, but she is the reason that the inmates turned on Sophia. She perpetrated the hate crime on her.  I think this season's antagonists were Alaida and Leanne.  I was waiting for a satisfying Vee-esque ending for Alaida. 

 

Suzanne's erotica? SO hilarious. The girls taking turns explaining to the rabbi why they needed the kosher meals? Laugh out loud brilliance. 

Edited June 24, 2015 by ChicksDigScars

[Alexandra]

First of all I want to say I hate binge watching fenomenon. It’s been only a couple of weeks and now we have to wait a whole f* year until new episodes. If binge watching does not exist, at list we have 9 months to wait and we could enjoy week after week the episodes. Now it seems so far away next season that I’m depressed just to think about it. Do not mention that there are spoilers everywhere… F** internet!

One doubt: Since when Nicky hates Alex? In season two she called her “demented girlfriend” and now she said “What the fuck is she doing back here?” with scorn in her words. I use to think she likes Alex, in fact in season one, I’ve always thought she had a crush on Alex. One of the challenge for me this season was the relationship between them, and they have not even spoke. Did I miss something?

Season tree

Piper & Alex: Disappointing, Piper always so selfish and always hurting Alex. And the Stella threesome was a little bit annoying. They could have made much more of this story.

The panty story was disgusting.

Sad to see Nicky go. She is a vital part of the show.

Boo-Tucky I like both stories

The Norma Cult: Boring

Healy-Red: I don’t care

Suzanne "Crazy eyes": Always GREAT. The only caracter that keeps her essence from first season

The rest of the stories I’ve liked them.

PS: Sorry about all the grammer mistakes, English is not my mother language.

Edited June 27, 2015 by Alexandra

[DianeDobbler]

Now that I've watched more of it, I don't think S3 was THAT bad, although I missed Natasha Lyonne's character so much. The meth heads are a complete chore. None of the actors in it are engaging.

 

 I find Aleida completely unsympathetic and the Daya baby story tiresome. Gloria is the standout there - wish she had had stronger material. Two seasons running, the black characters have had the best acting and the best storylines. Of the various groups, that's the strongest, most defined ensemble. I also consider Red practically her own ensemble and Mulgrew managed the Healy storyline really well, although that got cringe-inducing at points. I do feel sorry for him at times but he's got to cut out the sad sack routine.

 

I got a huge kick out of Time Hump chronicles. Someone on the writing staff really knows not just fan fiction, but fan response. Somebody in Litchfield should have mailed that stuff to the outside and Suzanne would have been a new, much better E.L. James. The excerpts we heard about killed me. I found it completely believable for Suzanne. Smart, talented and creative plus lack of filter could certainly combine to produce a wildly imaginative and addictive storyteller.

 

IMO Piper and Alex are a believable couple with a lot of chemistry, BUT, as one review pointed out, Alex is an island. Her stories are only about her. They haven't integrated her, and when we'd catch up to her, her worries about her drug kingpin taking her out sounded like she'd dropped in from a bad movie of the week. I also think sometimes the writing for them panders, and the promotions for Ruby Rose were beyond pandering, and beneath the show. Against everything the show presents itself as being, the Ruby Rose hype was: "Hot lesbian joins OITNB!! Will we see a sizzling triangle?" ETA - I was reading an interview with Lea DeLaria, and OITNB was compared to the L Word, which I haven't seen, but which was described as basically a soap opera pandering to those looking for titillation. All the happiness in that interview that OITNB WASN'T that, and the second they started promo-ing Ruby Rose it started becoming The L Word. I'll throw an unpopular-ish opinion in here as well - I think Prepon can act. I didn't think she could act in That 70s show, but here she can. She's very very dry, but when I look at her eyes, she's doing it. She also conveys, when called upon, a ton more warmth in this role than in That 70s Show.

 

I was disappointed when Piper ruined Stella's release, ensuring that the character stays. Not to mention, I find it a little shady that the officers accept this stuff on face value. Anytime there's a conflict one of the inmates can set up the other by planting stuff, and they have to know that.

 

All the interesting stuff on this show is happening without Piper. Also love Boo and Doggett. Boo's affection for Doggett, and her appreciation of and amusement for Doggett's personality is just very genuine, and vice versa. It seems to me the writers have set them up for next season, since when we left them they'd both clocked, with dismay, that Donuts had a new, young van driver, and the two characters do "conspiracy for the good" stuff really well. Also hope the writers are setting up Piper's workers to turn the tables now that they think she's basically toothless. That's way more interesting than Stella.

Edited June 25, 2015 by DianeDobbler

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

But Piper's not toothless. She didn't keep Stella at Litchfield, she got her sent to Max and just a day short of her release. No one is gonna put a toe out of line re: Felonious Spunk when word gets out about the lengths Piper will go to punish those who cross her. And Stella didn't have a crew or even a bestie who would enact some sort of revenge.

[DianeDobbler]

I didn't really buy it though. It didn't feel at all earned, and was way too easy. Yeah, load up the cubicle of the girl who is leaving in two days. That's not suspicious at all.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

I work in a psych hospital, which, depressingly enough, is not totally dissimilar to the prison environment depicted on the show, and I can tell you the residents who are about to be discharged are the ones most likely to start fights or self harm because they get overwhelmed by the pressure of change and are acting out to stay where it's safe--and that's when we've done full transitions that allow them to meet their new staff and arrange support systems BEFORE they go. Prison has none of that, so if I were a CO, Stella hoarding weapons and other contraband wouldn't shock me in the least, and the new guards are too green around the gills to pick up on that anyway. Besides, neither the new guards nor the seasoned ones were aware of any beef between Stella and Piper, or between Stella and any other inmate, for that matter, so why would they think anyone had cause to frame her?

[kdm07]

I was disappointed that Robo-Eyebrows Prepon was back (ESPECIALLY because it felt that they ditched Natasha Lyonne for Prepon, which REALLY pissed me off)

 

AFAIK, Natasha Lyonne disappeared because she found more work outside of the show and thus wasn't avaliable for most of the season. Nothing to do with Laura Prepon.

 

My thoughts for the season: I liked it. It was lighter than S2 but I thought some characters got to really shine this season. Although I did feel like the season was setting things up for S4 which seems to be right now that we know S4 will have more inmates.

 

I loved Black Cindy this season. She's mean, manipulative and selfish but incredibly hilarious and her confession to the rabbi was brilliantly acted.

 

I've always appreciated Flaca and her music taste but I'm glad we got to see more of her philosophical side which always peeked through in previous seasons.

 

Boo and Pennsatucky. I never thought that by S3 these two would tug at my heartstrings like they did. Long may their friendship continue.

 

Suzanne's porn fiction had me rolling. The way the prisoners took to it and started reviewing instead of going to bed or eating and Suzanne's pure bewilderment at all the comments was pretty funny.

 

My main concerns are for poor Maritza who's now on driving duty with that guard, and Alex. 

Edited June 26, 2015 by kdm07