An awful lot came in the finale after a season of relationships and drama. It ended with a staff walkout, a celebrity self surrender, a possible assassination. Piper establishes that no one should mess with her, the prison’s new godfather, or she will ruin their lives (of course, this means her girlfriend will be around next season for the repercussions, plus emphasizes Piper as the one who will betray her friends to keep them close.) Caputo has tried selling out—possibly to change the system from within. Of course, his experienced staff won’t have it, and the prison is only help by helpless young people and one donut-selling rapist. When the celebrity chef (obviously a Martha Stewart parallel though Martha didn’t actually end up in the real Litchfield) arrives, there’s no guard there to meet her.
All seemed settled with Daya’s baby, but now she’s likely headed for foster care, with neither parent in sight. Pornstache or Bennett certainly might return next season to complicate Daya’s life. No sign of Larry this season — one wonders if we’ll see Piper finally get out and be stuck interacting with him and Polly.
Flashbacks this episode were a momentary glimpse of many backgrounds. They were charming and a nice parallel with the multi-flashbacks of the first episode, though they lacked a strong thematic connection,
There were severs signs of hope from Lorna’s sweet wedding to Healy’s wife bringing him the Olive Garden food he likes. Finally, season ends with Norma leading all the inmates in a mass exodus.. it’s an uplifting moment, a true miracle far beyond a chicken for the hopeless of the prison. Brave heedless Suzanne is the first to leap into the promised land, Freedom Lake as Poussey calls it. The others follow, celebrating with her in a moment of pure abandon and joy. In the water, Soso finds friendship,Cindy finds religion, Suzanne finds a turtle (and a girlfriend). This moment prepares them for the pitfalls of the upcoming season….for it’s certain there will be one.
Remember All Their Faces: A Deeper Look at Character, Gender and the Prison World of Orange is the New Black is on sale now on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Remember-All-Their-Faces-Character-ebook/dp/B00VLMBDR0 … There’s also a free giveaway going: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/135701-remember-all-their-faces-a-deeper-look-at-character-gender-and-the-pri …