Company policies lead to a shortage of critical supplies and an eventful trip to a prison convention. Piscatella starts a new anti-gang initiative.
One small, simple decision can often snowball into something much bigger and more chaotic. That's essentially what the prison system has been on Orange Is the New Black for four seasons now. It has only intensified by the shift to being a privately owned prison where MCC is more concerned about money than the quality of life for the inmates. One decision can be a big deal. But once all of the decisions start adding up, it can truly be overwhelming and dysfunctional to the inmates forced to live all of their days in this place. The audience has been on this journey alongside them. We have seen the decision making process and know how the folks at MCC are justifying their decisions. It's horrifying to watch. They do everything to be cost effective. They are looking at the bigger picture when the everyday lives of the inmates are being flung into chaos. The inmates can make some devastating choices as well. They can believe they are doing one thing only for things to quickly get out of hand. That's exactly what can happen in an environment like this. It's only getting worse and more complicated as the season goes along.MCC made the decision to expand the amount of prisoners that can be housed at Litchfield. They did so by doubling up the bunks. But it has also been a decision dominated with a conversation about how to save money. They are still operating with the same budget despite being responsible for more people. We've seen how and why there has been so much turnover with the guards. MCC didn't want the old guards to unionize and get benefits. So, they've been replaced with guys who simply aren't well trained for this environment. And now, Litchfield has hired veterans in the hopes that their discipline (plus, living in the cabins just off site) will bring stability to the place. But there's only so much the guards and administrators can do. They do care about what happens in the prison. Piscatella is worried that graffiti will lead to an all out gang presence in the prison. But the chaos and confusion is much more pronounced with something much simpler. The prison just doesn't have enough maxi pads for the inmates. They have been deemed non-essential. They can instead buy tampons at commissary. But with no job opportunities, that creates a power vacuum of socioeconomic differences and privilege that the system has no idea how to handle. That's a vastly interesting storyline even though it seems like it is just getting started here.
The inmates are struggling with the decisions being made at the top. They are the ones who have to find crafty solutions to the lack of maxi pads. Piscatella recognizes that it's a problem. But it's not a high priority for him. It's not important enough that he'll stay on the line until he gets more ordered for the prison. Meanwhile, Caputo and Linda go to a privatized prison convention in order to have fun and pat themselves on the back for all the good work they have done. It's a fantastic new environment outside of the prison. It's a condemnation of everything MCC is doing to Litchfield while also showing just how it can be supported by so many people. The battle for Caputo's soul is still ongoing. He has obtained and grown so much this season because of his new power. He has moved up in the world and it is a look that suits him. He is willing to support everything MCC does because of his crush on Linda. They have a nice bond. But she is the one pushing for all of the cost-cutting maneuvers. At this convention, they enjoy lazer gun demonstrations and talks about needing to look at the years of a prison and not just the days. Those are the conversations that fascinate them. And yet, they completely just walk past a booth for a menstruation cup that could be so beneficial to Litchfield right now. They are so out of touch with what the real problems are at the prison. Not even a welcome return from Danny is enough to get them to see the error of their ways. Instead, it just brings the two of them closer together.
All of the focus of this hour is on the systemic problems of the prison and how they are continuing to build into chaos for the inmates. So, the flashbacks do get lost a little bit. Maritza is the focus of them in this hour. She's a character who has been on the show since the first season. And now, she is being given more importance than ever because of her new association with Maria's new crew and panty business. She's the one who comes up with the solution for getting the product outside of the prison. She drives the van to pick up and drop off the guards at shift changes. It provides a wonderful opportunity for this endeavor. The flashbacks show that she is comfortable in this kind of environment as well. In her pre-prison life, she was a small time con artist at a club. And then, she got promoted to a much bigger con all in the pursuit of money. But this isn't a story about how she got caught. It's instead a story about her needing to think quickly on her feet in order to be successful in her mission. She is trying to steal a fancy sports car from the dealership. She is working with people who know how to get it done. But things get complicated when a third wheel decides to crash the test drive. She is still successful in stealing the car. She just had to be more creative. And that's the exact kind of skill set she demonstrates with the guards. She is thrown when Coates isn't the one assigned to look after her at all times with the vehicle. And then, the guards catch the guy picking up the delivery and she concocts a story about him being the gardener for outside the prison. All of this works too. It provides her with a thrill and purpose that excites her.
And yet, how long is Maria's operation going to last? She took the business idea from Piper and has slowly been building up her enterprise this season. Piper desperately wants it back. She got a sense of power and control in Litchfield and doesn't want to give it up. She has always been a very entitled and self-interested character. And now, that is approaching some very dangerous territory. She feeds into Piscatella's greatest fears of gangs rising in Litchfield. She essentially starts racial profiling in the place. Because Piper complains to the captain of the guards, the rest of the guards take it as justification to search every single Latina inmate in the prison. Even those not connected to Maria at all are facing the consequences - including Gloria. These new guards are really insensitive. They showcase male privilege. They can just walk away and be demeaning to these women because they have all the power. And then off shift, all they do is day drink and play video games. That builds support for Maritza and the new female guard. But it also creates a problem for Piper. It's one of her own making too. She believes she can start a neighborhood watch group amongst the inmates in order to ensure that no gang activities rise. She does all of this in order to cripple Maria's business before it gets started. And yet, she instead finds herself the leader of a "White Lives Matter" movement. She has become the very problem Piscatella was trying to stop in this place. She has united the white inmates. That's not what she wanted. It could provide her with a new opportunity for employees. But it's still a horrifying sight that is a huge consequence for her selfish actions.
Some more thoughts:
- "We'll Always Have Baltimore" was written by Jordan Harrison and Tricia Brock.
- Taystee's job as Caputo's assistant largely means filing and answering the phone for him. But with him away at the conference, she is able to roam freely throughout his office. It takes her a couple of tries but she gets into his computer. She has a connection to the outside world to see how things look for Litchfield from outside. Not surprisingly, she finds a lot of stories about Judy King. Plus, her search for how much a celebrity picture sells for should lead to a fascinating story moving forward.
- It's great and amusing to see Suzanne and Morello team up for a light-hearted detective story. It's a simple setup. They are trying to find who is responsible for pooping in the showers. It's a story with some fun tangents as they become fixated on anyone who crouches in public. But it's a story with no resolution either. That's weird because it doesn't feel like a multi-episode story.
- The show recognizes that it plays into the stereotypes of Soso being good at math and Black Cindy the Jew being all about the money. But it addresses those concerns in some really amusing ways as well.
- Plus, it's an interesting character pairing to see Soso trying to tutor Aleida as she studies for the GED. That's something that Aleida needs to do in order to support her family when she is released. And yet, Soso and Poussey really aren't helpful at all. Soso just does the work for her while Poussey gets incredibly turned on by how smart Soso is.
- So, the drone flying over the garden was there taking pictures of Judy King in prison. It wasn't there spying on how Litchfield is run or seeing what Lolly is up to. That's a rewarding reveal that also makes a lot of sense and should inform story in the next episode.
- Maritza is used to using her sexuality in order to get what she wants. It's how she lured in her marks for all of her cons back in the day. And in the present, she submits herself to a body search just so Flaca can plant the panties on the van.
- Did the show introduce a Muslim character because it was interested in what that religion would be like in prison or because a phone could easily be hidden in a hijab? And yet, Alison is really the only new inmate this season whose name I actually know right now - though Piper's new right hand has been way more important.
As noted in previous reviews from this series, every episodic review was written without having seen any succeeding episodes. Similarly, it would be much appreciated if in the comments, the conversation would only revolve around the show up to this point in its run.
