Piper's relationship with Larry faces a real-world test. Red's efforts to redeem herself is finally rewarded. A familiar figure returns to Litchfield.
Season 2 of Orange Is the New Black has been about connections and examining the connections the ladies make in prison and the connections they have outside of prison. In this ecosystem, that often breaks down along gender lines. The Latinas, the Blacks and the Whites are all off together doing their own things. The guards and administration have things just as rough. And yet, they can always escape from this place. Some are gone temporarily like Mendez while others are gone for good like Fischer. Most importantly though, this system is broken. Everyone wants to make a difference but not everyone has the resources or the capabilities to actually make it possible.Miraculously, Piper is given the chance to leave this place on a 48-hour furlough. She wasn't able to be there for her grandmother during her last moments. And yet, she's still able to reconnect with all the people in her life on the outside. She's placed back inside the world of painted smiles and "if no one's talking about it, then it simply doesn't exist." Her entire life she's been forced into this image. Piper the good girl. That image is what forced her to act out in the first place with Alex. She's been finding herself in prison. But everyone on the outside is so quick to dismiss that side of her. They all are under the assumption that the Piper in prison doesn't exist and that the Piper they know of is the only Piper out there. With this time away from prison, all she wants to do is go eat a hamburger and get drunk. It's against the rules. But she just says screw it and spends most of the time drinking. That's the person she really wants to be. She goes along with the whole facade that is her family. And yet, she is not stunned or mortified by her brother taking over their grandmother's funeral and turning it into his wedding - like her parents are. She's surprised but likes that he is just being himself. He's not trying to belong to this group of people. His only connection to them is that he is family but he's not letting that keep him from truly being himself. Piper has struggled with that kind of confidence forever. It's only after having a truly honest conversation with Larry that she starts living the life she wants to live. It's uplifting and celebratory even though she's all by herself. But that's also exactly where she wants to be.
Meanwhile, in prison, Red has found companionship with the fellow older inmates. Everyone else is easy to dismiss and make fun of them but they are people to. When Soso is going on about the conditions and being treated unfairly, it's a wonderful parallel to the struggles of the older inmates. They are mistreated but they shouldn't be taken for granted. Yes, there's the one who lost her mind. But the rest are forces to be reckoned with. They can be intimidating. They are here because they must have done something big to get lifelong sentences. And yet, Red never intends to deceive or rip off the Latinas in the kitchen. She always planned on giving Gloria her payment. Instead she was focused on winning back the support of her former crew. They had such a good thing going but Red was always selfishly at the top. She's the mother figure in this group who's always been supportive of her girls even though she sometimes thinks of her own agenda instead of the consequences for the other girls. This meal in the greenhouse is a grand gesture and for the first time she truly apologizes for her previous actions and the pain she caused.
Red's dinner does win back support even though it forces one of them - Big Boo - straight into Vee's camp. She discovers the grate during the meal which means Red is not being as forthcoming as her apology would suggest. Vee is slowly getting her grips into everything at the prison - just like she did in her previous stint. Vee's the top dog simply by giving her girls the encouragement and attention that they've never had in life. Red was helpless the first time Vee took over her smuggling business. It is surprising to see that Vee was the person who helped Red initially toughen up to the prison lifestyle. But that only makes it more painful when Vee has her girls beat Red up to show her who has control. That moment of defeat is what allowed Red to build her circle of friends. And that's why upon seeing Vee's return to Litchfield, Red decided to break out of her pity party and toughen up again. But the circle is slowly repeating itself. Vee has her side and now Red has her's - with Gloria's crew messed up in the middle. Taking over control won't be as easy for Vee this time around and I can't wait to see how the chips will fall next.
Some more thoughts:
- "40 OZ of Furlough" was written by Lauren Morelli and directed by S.J. Clarkson.
- Vee reading "The Fault in Our Stars" and then offering it to Rosa is both very ironic and very timely as the movie adaptation just made it big at the box office this month.
- Poussey has definitely become the heart of the show this season. All she wants is companionship and yet she is forced into the drug business in order to stay friends with Taystee.
- But I'm also starting to dislike Taystee a little bit because of her pure devotion to Vee. Taking one of the most likable characters from the first season and making her friends with the antagonist of the second seems like a very odd choice. We'll have to wait and see what the payoff will be.
- Mendez is far from an innocent person but it's interesting to see Daya and Bennett argue over how his return to Litchfield changes things. It's strange he hasn't acknowledged her presence yet though.
- But Bennett also puts things into motion. Faced with a suspension for rightfully looking through the Black's bunks for contraband, he reveals that Daya is pregnant and that it must be Mendez's baby to Caputo.
- Piper also made good on her promise to Red and visited her restaurant. To her surprise though, the place has shut down and is now for lease. That won't make Red happy at all - and could possibly threaten her smuggling business.
- Another pleasant surprise has been the evolving Healy-Pennsatucky friendship. They are so similar to one another in that they often let their anger out in moments where they feel uncomfortable. Healy is trying to deal with those issues at the same time she is. So it seems well positioned for them to try and grow together.
- Piper to Larry in the bathroom: "Do not defend your boner to me right now."
