When the first season of Orange Is The New Black (OITNB) ended, I was furious. What were the writers thinking? Piper wouldn’t do that! She was supposed to keep her head down, get ripped and read her entire Amazon wish list. I was enjoying the friendships she was making, and relishing her shift in perspective as she came to understand their diverse back stories.
In all of my indignation, I almost forgot that OITNB is loosely based on a true story, and the prison life it depicts is real. So, maybe someone whose edges were frayed by the perils of prison would explode like that.
Taylor Schilling (left) playing Piper and Laura Prepon (right) playing Alex in “Orange Is The New Black”
Before I started season 2, I rewatched that season 1 finale. Maybe it was the effect of a few months away, or maybe I had simply digested the shock, but this time I paid more attention to creator Jenji Kohen’s expertly crafted interpersonal dynamics. That is what this show does best: it creates impossibly complex, intimate relationships, but keeps us just outside enough that we can see all sides. It makes for an engaging viewing experience, baiting many hooks into the larger story. From this view, Piper’s actions made sense.
OITNB has received much praise – and rightfully so – for its nuanced and diverse portrayals of women. Women of all ages, creeds, races, sexualities, gender expressions and abilities are treated equally. Every woman’s story matters. Red (Kate Mulgrew) is acrid and at times downright cruel, but there’s a reason for that. And, it turns out, she’s actually quite sensitive. Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) has a complex past that informs her present-day fundamentalist preoccupations. Everyone has a story, and OITNB’s greatest strength is its assertion that all stories have value.
Orange Is The New Black Season 2 preview:
Before I started season 2, I rewatched that season 1 finale. Maybe it was the effect of a few months away, or maybe I had simply digested the shock, but this time I paid more attention to creator Jenji Kohen’s expertly crafted interpersonal dynamics. That is what this show does best: it creates impossibly complex, intimate relationships, but keeps us just outside enough that we can see all sides. It makes for an engaging viewing experience, baiting many hooks into the larger story. From this view, Piper’s actions made sense.
OITNB has received much praise – and rightfully so – for its nuanced and diverse portrayals of women. Women of all ages, creeds, races, sexualities, gender expressions and abilities are treated equally. Every woman’s story matters. Red (Kate Mulgrew) is acrid and at times downright cruel, but there’s a reason for that. And, it turns out, she’s actually quite sensitive. Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) has a complex past that informs her present-day fundamentalist preoccupations. Everyone has a story, and OITNB’s greatest strength is its assertion that all stories have value.
Orange Is The New Black Season 2 preview:
