The ladies of Litchfield are back and oh, how we have missed them. Orange Is the New Black is one of the most successful and well-known Netflix original series, but the quality of the series took a nosedive in later seasons. I am here to tell you that our luck has changed; Orange Is The New Black is back and it’s better than ever. The episodes and the overall tone of the series is snappier, funnier and full of insight. It feels particularly political, something OITNB has always been known for, a badge of honour the series has carried with pride. This time around, rather than playing catch up, creator Jenji Kohan tackles painfully timely themes and real-life issues head-on and the end result is one of the best seasons.
To quickly remind you where all our ladies are now, here’s the deal. Following season 5’s riots, all our ladies were transferred to new facilities and core groups were broken up. We followed a select few last season in the maximum security prison up the hill. These included Piper, Red, Flaca, Gloria, Suzanne, Black Cindy and Taystee, as well as some other familiar faces. Alex Vause also reappeared and at the end of the very uneven season 6, Piper and Alex got married. Yay! Piper was then released from prison, Taystee was broken down by the justice system and Red and Gloria ended up in the SHU. Most shockingly, Blanca Flores was released from prison, only to be detained by ICE and taken away to an immigration centre while her fiancé Diablo waited outside for her.
Narrative Junkies
This season follows Piper’s life outside of prison and her struggles to belong to a normal society outside the strict rules and regulations of prison. A huge storyline follows Flores’ struggle in the detention centre. The second episode also introduces Maritza, who was missing from action last season, who is now out of prison but under strict parole. Things go awfully wrong and Maritza ends up in the same ICE centre as Flores and the pair desperately seek help before they are deported.
Season 7 is a huge improvement to the previous couple of seasons which became muddled and were unable to balance the drama and the comedy in a satisfying way. Season 7 feels the most like season 1, with better writing and enough character development to finish the Netflix original series on a high note.
Red & Nicky
In the beginning of season 7, we find Red still in SHU with Gloria. SHU is hard on the strongest, most badass of inmates but it’s taking its toll on Red who has become a shell of her former self. Both women are eventually released after the new warden, ex-CO Tamika Ward closes the SHU completely, but Red’s personality has changed forever.
Much of the season deals with the aftermath of Red’s time in SHU and the consequences of such extreme punishment methods. After starting work in an ICE kitchen, Red starts showing signs of dementia, having trouble cooking like she used to or being able to perform even the simplest of tasks. Nicky, who is much like a daughter to Red and who sees Red as a mother, is forced to observe Red’s downward spiral helplessly.
It’s possibly OITNB’s most heartbreaking storylines to date, due to its universality. We all have a mother, a sister or a grandparent who has been affected by dementia. Watching a person you love forget who you are and more importantly, who they are, deep down, is a difficult thing to deal with and OITNB nails this storyline.
Blanca & Maritza
Maritza and Blanca find each other in an ICE centre where both work feverishly on their release. This storyline showcases OITNB’s habit of grabbing the bull by its horns. There is no subtle way to tackle the morals of ICE, but OITNB has never been interested in subtle.
While this storyline feels a bit too neat and convenient at times, it’s hard not to throw your remote at the TV when people are deported without a chance to fight for their life in the US. Both Laura Gomez and Diane Guerrerro do fabulous work here, giving a face and a voice to so many people being wronged in these detention centres.
Another affecting story here is that of Karla, another detainee in the centre. Having worked at a law firm she has more know-how about these things and works tirelessly to return back to her children. Her storyline really brings forth how unfair the system really is and the sheer cruelty of their situation. These women are not the enemy, they are someone’s friend, sister or a mother. They are not criminals, but regular people with lives and interests, jobs and families. Karla is presented with a nightmare situation after another, rules and regulations making it near impossible for her to defend herself efficiently and effectively.
It’s a powerful storyline, but one that might have deserved its own series altogether to be examined and explored properly. Now it feels like a by-product of a series so keen on being timely it forsakes these characters too soon in order to keep hopping between themes.
Piper & Alex
I’m just going to say it. I love Piper, I really do. She is what the Brits call “a numpty”. It’s so easy to hate her, she represents everything wrong with white privilege. And that’s why I love the character, unconditionally. It’s at times a thankless role for Taylor Schilling, who fearlessly goes with it anyway and offers us a character to learn from. She represents the worst in us; she never means for bad things to happen but they often do anyway, mostly because she can’t see past her own nose.
Piper’s struggles to fit into normal society are both hilarious and insightful. They are always observed from a place of privilege; the show never forgets that as genuinely hard as it might be for Piper, someone else always has it worse. Schilling hilariously portrays Piper’s pure daftness and sincerity when adjusting to a life outside of prison, without her new wife.
I was always very much a fan of Alex, but she is one of the characters whose storyline isn’t that great this season. Laura Prepon is awarded much screen time, but very little to do with that time. Almost all characters fulfill a purpose and are given deeper meaning, but Alex just seems to be eye candy. It’s a shame, because her moral dilemmas have been fascinating up until now.
Taystee
Danielle Brooks delivers all the goods this season in what might be the biggest and best character narrative in the entire show. Taystee’s journey and transformation has constantly been a source of inspiration and heart-ache for fans and it really comes full circle in season 7.
Having lost her appeal and been sentenced to a life in prison for a crime she didn’t commit, Taystee has lost everything. She has lost her friends Cindy and Suzanne who didn’t tell the truth about the death of Piscatella and she has lost all hope of any kind of life outside of bars. She’s contemplating suicide to escape not just the physical prison she is in, but the prison of her mind.
Brooks balances rage, depression and devastation in her performance as Taystee. It’s not an easy feat, but Brooks makes it look easy. Taystee is a completely different person, almost unrecognisable when compared to her season 1 self. It’s a stark reminder how broken a human can be, what betrayal and a corrupt justice system can do to a person. This is a career-defining performance, which will hopefully ensure that we will continue to see Brooks on our screens.
Suzanne & Pennsatucky
The odd couple are back! Their friendship is sweet and all, but Suzanne who has been such a high light in earlier season’s isn’t served particularly well here. She has a great moment in episode 2 where she asks her visiting mother if she deserves to be in prison and she later helps Pennsatucky study for her GED. She also gets a very emotional scene towards the end, but there isn’t much payoff to her own personal narrative. Uzo Aduba owns this role and she truly elevates her character by injecting her very physical performance with so much warmth and humanity.
Pennsatucky is awarded one of the more tragic storylines this season. Working hard to earn her GED, Pennsatucky discovers she isn’t stupid but dyslexic and it’s a big victory for such a complex character. She started out as a straight-up villain, but she has grown into a much more complicated and fascinating character, who is robbed of a future because of the system.
Daya
In a surprising move, Daya is as close to a villain we get this season and she’s plenty villainous. It’s outrightly infuriating how one of the most innocent and sweetest characters from the early seasons has grown into a monster, hellbent on being the last one standing and working only for her own gain. I guess that’s what prison does to you, but this season, Daya has lost all her humanity. I mentioned it’s easy to hate Piper, but it’s easier to hate Daya. I still cared about how Piper adjusted to the world outside of prison, but I have no sympathy for Daya. She has become someone I do not recognise and I can’t see why Kohan has chosen this route.
Towards the end of the season, I kept hoping for a scene or even just a fleeting moment where Daya redeems herself. I needed someone to lift the curtain and show us that the old Daya is still in there somewhere and this is just her on survival mode.
The Rest
There are so many characters in OITNB, it would be impossible to give them all their due time and space in this review. Overall, all characters get at least some kind of mention and send off, but some storylines are highlighted over others. At the end of season 5 and in season 6, the show’s cast got smaller and more focused. It gets even more so in season 7 and it’s all for the better. OITNB was always an ensemble show and an excellent one as well, but it always struggled to give its characters enough space.
Most notable storyline which isn’t quite allowed to develop enough but is still satisfying is Joe Caputo’s. Now shacking up with Fig with babymaking dreams, Caputo gets dragged into a MeToo nightmare. Unable to admit he was in the wrong, he keeps making the situation worse. It’s an effective storyline about MeToo from the male perspective. The insight here is that Caputo was always in the wrong, he shouldn’t have done what he did even if he felt he didn’t do anything bad. Hopefully this narrative will act as a source of inspiration for many men and women about taking responsibility for your actions and reflecting on your actions.
The Legacy
It’s a shame the series is over for good. After a few disappointing and forgettable series, OITNB seems to have found its stride again. I will admit to crying during the last 10 minutes, because this series has achieved so much and it’s a shame to see it go. It has given a voice to so many people and brought so many real-life issues to our screens with agency and urgency. It always remained happy and upbeat, even when things got serious. Even in the pain and the suffering, there was humour and light.
Season 7 is at its best when examining how much America has fundamentally changed. It’s no longer the home of the brave and free, but the rich and corrupt. Cruelty is now rewarded in this country and there aren’t second chances. It’s hard to say whether season 7 can fully recover OITNB’s reputation as quality TV as this season seems to have arrived with little to no fanfares. It’s a shame, because name another series so powerful and timely. Go on, I’ll wait.
Orange Is The New Black will hopefully be remembered as a prime example of ensemble TV and be studied as an example of how much good a TV show can do. It was never pitch perfect, but it hit enough high notes to make it count. Farewell, Ladies of Litchfield. You will be sorely missed.
What did you think of the last ever season of Orange Is The New Black? Let us know in the comments!
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