Poussey Washington: Accent a Droite, Bitch!

[angora]

I realize that's probably the most obviously thread title ever, but what can I say?  It had to be done.  Poussey was a character that snuck up on me; I didn't really notice of her until WAC Pack, when she won me over with the yuppie impression, rap skills, and stint as Taystee's campaign speech hype-man.  By the end of the season, she was definitely my favorite, and her incredibly awkward attempt to scare Dina straight was one of the best things I saw on TV this year.  I just love Samira Wiley's earnest, exuberant performance - can't wait to see what's coming up for Poussey in season 2.

[Julia]

I really hope we see more of her in the next season. I loved the way she was determined to hold her own, and how she submerged her feeling of abandonment into being seriously pissed that Taystee didn't escape.

[Mya Stone]

Her arc this season (2) has been heartbreaking, and amazing to watch. 

I think I might have developed a little bit of a girl crush. 

 

[Portia]

I think I might have developed a little bit of a girl crush. 

 

Get in line! Samira Wiley is almost distractingly beautiful. I wish I had the face to pull off that haircut.

[smrou]

Samira Wiley is almost distractingly beautiful.

And how.  She's all-around gorgeous but has a particularly lovely mouth.  Is that weird to say?  It sounds a bit weird, but whether she's smiling (oh what a smile) or not I just find myself looking at her mouth a lot.   

 

At any rate, I always loved Poussey (how could you not?) but with her whole storyline this season she definitely moved up in terms of how much I adore that character.  I don't know if she's my #1 but if not then she's damn close.  (It's currently a battle between Poussey and Nicky for my favorite, but I think Nicky has the edge.  But in terms of crushworthiness Poussey wins that battle for sure.)

Edited June 9, 2014 by smrou

[Mya Stone]

And how.  She's all-around gorgeous but has a particularly lovely mouth.  Is that weird to say?  It sounds a bit weird, but whether she's smiling (oh what a smile) or not I just find myself looking at her mouth a lot.   

 

At any rate, I always loved Poussey (how could you not?) but with her whole storyline this season she definitely moved up in terms of how much I adore that character.  I don't know if she's my #1 but if not then she's damn close.  (It's currently a battle between Poussey and Nicky for my favorite, but I think Nicky has the edge.  But in terms of crushworthiness Poussey wins that battle for sure.)

 

I admire her face as a whole, but especially her bone structure and eyes. But now that you mention it, yes, her mouth is perfect too. 

As for P, as a character, she only endeared me more to her this season. I truly felt terrified for her after she stood up to Vee. Watching her relationship with Taystee crumble and then be built back up was way better than the John/Daya story, or Piper/Larry/Polly, or any other couple. 

[ChocButterfly]

I admire her face as a whole, but especially her bone structure and eyes. But now that you mention it, yes, her mouth is perfect too.

 

Damn, I hadn't thought of it, but her bone structure is perfect! She's probably the most physically attractive character on the show, I don't know why she's not more actively desired in prison. Nicky should be all over her, hehe.

[leighdear]

Did we ever find out why she ended up in prison?  We know she almost pulled a gun on the German Chick's dad, and they got sent back to the US.

 

What was she tried for?

[Mya Stone]

It's speculated that she got busted for selling marijuana.

[Ankai]

For some reason, it really tickled me that her most active attempts to get at Vee's drug trade happened when she got drunk.

[Mya Stone]

For some reason, it really tickled me that her most active attempts to get at Vee's drug trade happened when she got drunk.

I think when she drank she dropped the facade of having it all together in there. The tough girl front was gone, and what remained was the same scared teenager who was willing to shoot a high ranking German official to be with the girl she loved. Although Taystee is not her romantic love (though she may wish), she is the closest thing to it and was only willing to fight back when loaded. Liquid courage, and all that.

[Ankai]

I realize that, but I did find it a little ironic.

[Mya Stone]

Oh, absolutely.

[AncientNewbie]

I didn't recognize her at first when her flashback started. She really can be quite striking.

I'm hoping she has more to do in s3. Not that she wasn't strong in s2, but I'd like to see her in a less reactive role.

[kieyra]

With such an awesome ensemble cast, I have to admit that Poussey was easy for me to overlook in S1 as "Taystee's sidekick". That of course changed in S2. I felt her backstory was one of the more engaging ones, and the actress's talents really got to shine. And yeah, she's also gorg.

[bravelittletoaster]

I had a feeling they were going to do it, but I wish they hadn't gone there this season with Poussey carrying a torch for Taystee.  I liked their dynamic last season for the fact that I was pretty sure Poussey was gay and Taystee was straight and it was a non-issue.  I kind of wish it had just stayed there.  But I'm gay myself and hyper sensitive to second hand embarrassment from unrequited straight crushes in storylines.  I just find it so awkward and uncomfortable.  Not that the show's not allowed to explore awkward and uncomfortable, because of course it is.  I just kind of liked Poussey and Taystee as they were, personally.  I'll be interested to see how they snap back next season, because they went through a lot of shit in the last couple of months that's not--I think--easily swept under the rug.

[junemeatcleaver]

I want the show to hook Poussey up with a nice girl.  None of the current ships, Piper/Alex/Larry or Daya/Bennett, do anything for me.

Edited June 14, 2014 by junemeatcleaver

[Iseut]

I'm also somewhat disappointed that they decided to make Poussey carry a torch for Taystee. Their friendship was one of my favorite parts of Season 1 (and continues to be in Season 2; I just didn't think the change in dynamic was necessary). It does make it even easier for Vee to drive a wedge between them, though, so maybe it was a smart choice by the writers.

 

I've had a girlcrush on Poussey for as long as I remember watching her on the the show. Not sure when it started, exactly. Definitely punctuated with the best quote ever, the title of this thread. Her reaction to Taystee's "freedom" dance, as well as her poignant speech when Taystee came back, were some of my favorite moments of S1. And most people talk about being blown away by Annie Golden's voice at the Christmas pageant. That was beautiful, but it was Poussey/Samira's rendition of Amazing Grace that brought me to tears. I wish they'd find more ways for her to sing on the show. 

[angora]

I'm okay with Poussey's feelings for Taystee, but not crazy about it.  I loved their friendship so much in season 1, and I don't like the thought of Poussey pining.  I'd much rather see her fall for someone who'd love her the way she wants - next season, please?  You'd think women would be all over her.

 

I was just so impressed with her all season.  While she still had moments of lightness and humor - the entire pee-hole discussion was a riot - she was definitely one of the heavy-hitters this season, and she BROUGHT IT.  As soon as she found out Vee was in Litchfield, I knew Poussey wouldn't fall for her tricks.  I love that she stayed wary as the others started getting sucked in, and her strength through all of Vee's games and manipulations was great.  Samira Wiley knocked it out of the park.

[Athena]

She is definitely one of my favourites along with Nicky.

 

Her arc this season (2) has been heartbreaking, and amazing to watch. 

I think I might have developed a little bit of a girl crush.

 

She is beautiful. In her flasback, her wardrobe was great and it showed off her body much more than her prison grey sweater. She has swagger, beauty, skills and confidence. More of her, please.

[LadyNebula]

I also have a bit of a girl crush.  My goodness, Samira Wiley is beautiful.  Poussey has quickly become one of my absolute favorites (along with Nicky and Suzanne) and I can't wait to see more of her next season.

[mledawn]

I didn't see this posted here, but I came across a great interview in The Guardian where Samira reveals she does not speak German.
 

Speaking of the flashbacks, young Poussey’s fluency in German was a show-stopping moment on OITNB. Did you speak German before shooting?

[Laughs] I just learned it for that episode. I really worked hard and in Julliard we learned how to work on different accents and how to learn different languages phonetically. I felt prepared.
What was your reaction then when you got the script and Poussey’s lines were in German of all things?

When I got the script, I was [laughs], I was really surprised. I was mainly like, “They’re trusting me to do this?!” I think Jenji [Kohan] and all the other writers really know us. And it felt awesome that they trusted me with something that large.

 

 

The article also reveals why Poussey is in prison:

 

Poussey is serving a six-year sentence for selling weed. What’s your take on these sentences that don’t fit the so-called crime and how faulted the prison system is?

To be honest I think the time and effort spent “reforming” these women … I just don’t know how much putting them in a box is actually doing what we’re saying it’s doing. I’m really interested in new ways of reforming and actually, actually trying to reform. Especially in this prison that we’re portraying. It’s minimum security. These aren’t murderers. These aren’t violent criminals. I wonder if [there's] some other program, rather than placing them behind bars for years of their lives when a lot of them are young girls and still developing, you know what I mean?

[Hanahope]

6 years for selling a few baggies of weed compared to 15 months for carting an entire suitcase filled with thousands of dollars for heroin.  Both women came from relatively middle class homes.  I think this is a good example of how black people get sentenced much more harshly than white.

[Wilowy]

It's official, Poussey's my favorite. Her and Vause (who is reprehensible no matter how hard she tries but is still fascinating to watch) are almost tied, but P wins. 

 

Samira is just off the hook gorgeous. 

[bravelittletoaster]

6 years for selling a few baggies of weed compared to 15 months for carting an entire suitcase filled with thousands of dollars for heroin.  Both women came from relatively middle class homes.  I think this is a good example of how black people get sentenced much more harshly than white.

Maybe, but Piper also took a plea deal, which leads to very different sentencing guidelines.  We don't know if Poussey pled out or fought the charge and lost, but with that sentence it's likelier the latter.  

 

Which is not to say that blacks don't get the short end of the stick in terms of incarceration for drug crimes, because I'm sure they do, I'm just not sure that comes to bear here since their crimes and sentencing were no doubt under very different circumstances.  If Orange wanted to explore that issue I'm sure they'd illustrate it with a more similar or even identical crime resulting in different punishments so as to really gaslight it.

Edited August 8, 2014 by bravelittletoaster

[Wilowy]

Yeah, they do. But I'd like to see Poussey's trial. I want to see what happened.

[janie jones]

Maybe, but Piper also took a plea deal, which leads to very different sentencing guidelines.  We don't know if Poussey pled out or fought the charge and lost, but with that sentence it's likelier the latter.  

 

Which is not to say that blacks don't get the short end of the stick in terms of incarceration for drug crimes, because I'm sure they do, I'm just not sure that comes to bear here since their crimes and sentencing were no doubt under very different circumstances.  If Orange wanted to explore that issue I'm sure they'd illustrate it with a more similar or even identical crime resulting in different punishments so as to really gaslight it.

And also, not that I'm a legal scholar, since Piper was just transporting money (even though it was a shit-ton of money), isn't that a lesser crime than actually selling drugs?  I know the money in question was a lot more than the drugs Poussey was selling were worth but still.  I mean, if my friend kills someone and I help them cover it up, I'm not held as responsible since I'm not the actual killer, right?

Edited August 10, 2014 by janie jones

[bravelittletoaster]

Yeah, carrying the money is technically a money laundering charge.  I don't think you can really compare Piper and Poussey's crimes.  It's apples and oranges and we also haven't even seen definitively what landed Poussey in there, just heard some off-hand comments about how it was related to dealing marijuana.

[JBC344]

And also, not that I'm a legal scholar, since Piper was just transporting money (even though it was a shit-ton of money), isn't that a lesser crime than actually selling drugs?  I know the money in question was a lot more than the drugs Poussey was selling were worth but still.  I mean, if my friend kills someone and I help them cover it up, I'm not held as responsible since I'm not the actual killer, right?

I think it depends on the scope of your "covering it up" but in some cases yes, you can be held just as accountable as the person who "pulled the trigger". 

[HorseyFace]

My partner thinks Poussey was going to commit suicide, not murder the German officer.

[Kerrey92]

Add me to the list of Poussey lovers.  She is gorgeous, vulnerable, humorous, loyal and smart.  I adore her.

[ZuluQueenOfDwarves]

Rewatched a YouTube compilation of Poussey's S1 scenes (don't judge), and realized why she busted out Amazing Grace at the pageant. You can see Black Cindy and Taystee's surprise when she starts, then it occurred to me that she'd told Taystee about her mother's death 8 months prior. Amazing Grace is typically sung at funerals, and since she missed her mother's, she's singing it in recognition of her (Poussey's) first Christmas without her.

[Janet Snakehole]

I think she is officially my favorite.

I was not a huge fan of the Norma storyline, but what I did like about it was that Poussey still interacted mostly with her original group. I was afraid that it would be a redux of Vee and Tastee and everyone would turn on her again. She did break my heart with her loneliness and I really felt for her in the moment when she forgave Suzanne.

I am excited for her friendship or possibly more with Soso next season. Glad that Samira is on my tv.

[Willowy]

Bless this darling girl, this character. We all loved you, Poussey. Rest In Peace.

[Falafel]

She's been my favorite since season 2. She was always a kind and decent person, but every flashback we got of her made me love her more. I can't imagine watching this show for another season with her, especially now that the show and Litchfield have gotten bleak as fuck. She was the one character I could really root for. I wasn't that affected by the scene where she was killed, but watching the characters react to her death and even seeing the actress talk about it just made me feel sad. 

Edited July 8, 2016 by Falafel