Netflix's Orange Is the New Black - Episode 2.08 "Appropriately Sized Pots"
Piper faces a new backlash over special privileges. Caputo feels pressure to toughen up, resulting in administrative changes.
Very early in "Appropriately Sized Pots," Rosa sits down with Healy who tells her that the government will not pay for the surgery her doctors recommend to best treat her terminal cancer. It's a particularly devastating way to begin an episode. And with the episode's flashbacks focusing on Rosa, we're to believe that she may soon be coming to a tragic end. However, the episode's major death is not Rosa's. It's actually Piper's grandmother who she got furlough to say goodbye. Rosa is resolved for death. She knows it's coming and it's terrifying. In her life, she had this need to rob banks and got extremely close to the band doing the deeds with her. What started off as a nervous job was poised to consume her life and take away everyone she ever cared about. Now, she's in prison and paying for it by living a long life as well as a slow ending one. She knows the cancer is going to kill her while she's still in prison. She's accepted that fact. But it's not at all what she pictured her life being. She pictured her death as this elaborate thing. She never expected to make it out of every robbery she did. She wanted to die doing what she loved doing.And yet, Rosa's allowed herself to make friends and get close to people again. After a life time of guys dying on her to feed her desires, she strikes up a friendship with a fellow young patient getting chemotherapy. They bond over their shared complaints of the nursing staff hooking them up to the machines. But Rosa's done this enough times to really know the system. She knows that death is coming and yet she's always thinking. Noticing the details of people's lives and patterns that emerge from their needs. That's what made her such a great bank robber. She planned things with precision and the lack of it was what got her caught. She's learned her lesson. But she'll never shake that desire to rob. She and her young companion manage to take their nurse's wallet - a haul of just 63 dollars. She shakes it off in the moment as a lot of planning for so little reward. But it's really the most important thing in the world to her. As she's waiting for death to come, all she wants is to smell the crispness of money. Her pal may have a new lease on life but she is slowly slipping away and unfortunately can't do a thing about that.
Elsewhere, everyone is talking about Piper's furlough request being granted. There are those curious as to what she's going to do on her days away from the jail. And then, there are those who are super pissed that she's getting out. It once again breaks down along racial lines. It's been awhile since we've suppose to see Piper as a privileged white girl. And yet, that is exactly how she comes across in this instance. And that's how we are suppose to see her. Her passionate speech in the cafeteria is suppose to get the taunting to stop but it ends up with a pie thrown at the back of her head - by Suzanne of all people! Yes, it's sad that her grandmother is dying. But everyone else has an equally sad story from the outside world. Poussey couldn't be there for her dad when he was dying. Sophia couldn't mend fences with her estranged father before he passed. In this world, there is heartbreak and only every once in a while do the stars align for people to say goodbye.
Piper's furlough also fuels into the larger story of Healy trying to do better by the inmates. He can make sure that they are clean and safe. But that's literally the least amount of effort he can do. He has a renewed passion in his career. Yes, he can't help everyone. He can't help Rosa and that pains him. But he can help Piper - a woman he doesn't even really like. But he's aware that he's making a difference in her life. That's rewarding even though her grandmother tragically dies before Piper can even get in touch with her family.
But the prison is also really struggling for any sense of order or control. Fig walks into the place and demands the laws to be enforced but then hides out in her office all day long. And yet, she expects everyone to get in line. That means that Caputo is forced into the role of strict bad guy - demanding excellence from his guards. When Fischer speaks out, he has to fire her because that's simply the only solution at the moment. He likes her personally - and she's been a big help with the phone call monitoring. But he's also running a prison. He'd love to treat these women better and actually help them with their lives - like Healy is doing. But he can't. He needs to be the man in charge. That forces him to (rightfully) head to Red's greenhouse to bust her smuggling operation. But she's more clever than him and got the stuff out of there before he could discover it. It leads to him giving sympathy paints to the elderly inmates. But this prison ecosystem is still broken. Fig couldn't care less and now Mendez is blazing back again to shake up everything!
Some more thoughts:
- "Appropriately Sized Pots" was written by Alex Regnery & Hartley Voss and directed by Daisy von Scherier Mayer.
- It's nice to see the parallels of white privilege between the Piper and Soso stories as well. Soso is a peaceful protestor that doesn't believe in the strict regulations the prison has laid out. And yet, she is physically forced to obey those guidelines and she ends up in a shower with poop ready to rise up in it.
- The Latinas would mostly take furlough to go fuck their respective others but Red would enjoy cooking her famous Russian dish in her restaurant again. She pleads for Piper to stop by the place to see how it's going. That's before Piper gets the devastating news. So, I'm expecting Piper to stop by if she actually does get out.
- Nicky's the one who comforts Fischer after getting fired. She's lifting up her spirits declaring that any job is better than coming to this place every single day. She got the best thing in the world - the chance to leave Litchfield.
- I'm really enjoying Flaca's really candid advice column.
- I'm actually surprised by how little Pennsatucky screentime we have gotten this season considering Taryn Manning was upped to series regular.
