Orange is The New Black Season 6 Divulges Little of its June Premiere

Written Awaiting House Arrest of Binging by Bridger Cunningham

Filming for Orange is the New Black's upcoming 6th season concluded in mid February, and no premiere date has been announced for the Netflix series.  Seasons 2-5 all held premiere dates between June 6-17, with the original season debuting in July.  Per Digital Spy, the series' stars began tweeting of wrapping production between February 8-12, leaving ample time to finalize and edit episodes for release.  Showrunner Jenji Kohan has stated only two of the staff writers will be returning after several of the prior seasons' writers were either promoted or moved on.  This left an uneven tone during the series' penultimate Season 5, which Litchfield Prison experienced an intense 72-hour riot ending in bitter proportions.

Critical reception was diminished, albeit high.  Prior seasons received universal acclaim, while Season 5 dropped drastically in Rotten Tomatoes scoring from unstoppable 90's to 74% fresh.  The cast and crew remain coy regarding plot details aside from hype.  Danielle Brooks (Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson) only described the season as "a facelift," or as she told Variety, "different."  Brooks further added:

"There's no up from here.  There's nowhere you can go which is positive. So you're definitely going to see all of the girls trying to figure out how to get out of this rabbit hole they've created. Who is loyal to whom? Who is standing alone? Who is motivated by their own personal will to get out of prison? Who lies and who tells the truth? All of that stuff will come out this season."

Season 5 ended with two deaths and majority of the bloated cast holed up in a makeshift bunker in the prison's abandoned pool as SWAT team members stormed the room.  Netflix' Season 6 promo clips were recycled from the last installment, leaving no current visuals or indicators of the next installment's direction.  Kohan and Netflix appear to be withholding further information to reengage viewers who felt underfed with the hyped Season 5.  Watch the teaser trailer below, which only confirms viewers will enjoy a June premiere, likely for June 8th, 15th, 22nd or 29th....

Why is Nobody Discussing Orange is the New Black in 2018?

Written Imprisoned to a Lack of Spoilers by Bridger Cunningham

Try researching the latest on Orange is the New Black's 6th season, due in 2018, and a five-month void without articles on OITNB latest season is present.  This may be due to less-than favorable reviews of the much-hyped Season 5 prison riots, which received mixed-to-favorable reviews vs. the critical acclaim the first four seasons received in unison.  Outside of the OITNB world, 2017 was an impactful year for Netflix.  Not only was it the first year the online platform doled out dozens of cancellations, but was also scarred by the sexual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey (which damaged Netflix' prized series, House of Cards).  Perhaps the lack of information regarding OITNB's 6th season is Netflix's way of guarding its other major asset, which is renewed through 2019. 

Although the debut date is oft called out by the New Year, it has yet to be declared by Netflix.  It is presumed for June as Seasons 2-5 have all made their debuts this month (Season 1 debuted in July 2013), several Netflix series such as Stranger Things have pushed their season debuts beyond the 12-month expectancy.  Netflix has yet to confirm a date, though seems to enjoy the spike in viewership the anticipation OITNB gives the service in June.  

What is to Come in 2018 

Regardless of when S6 of OITNB debuts, changes are coming for the creative tone.  Whether the setting will remain in Litchfield Prison has yet to be confirmed, as S5 entailed a disastrous riot which would take weeks/months to restore.  Given the timeline is anchored to Piper Chapman's (Taylor Schilling) declared three-month sentence, the series will need to pick up immediately to capitalize and potentially keep Schilling on board through S7.  The closing moments of the S5 finale had the female prisoners lined up like cattle ready to be divided to various prisons, with 11 outliers unaccounted for on the grounds (people forget Taryn Manning's Tiffany was holed up in the guard house and Beth Dover's civilian Linda stood in her place).  That means the bloated cast will receive some welcome culling.  

As capable and strong as majority of the cast is, there are too many characters cluttering the spaces for the contract performers.  Likely out is Diane Guerrero's Maritza, as Guerrero is now entrenched in a contract role on CBS' Superior Donuts.  Save for a few contract characters not included in the bunker's last moment, it is evident (most) of the characters in that room were the core ensemble needed to move forward.  And most in the last scenes, particularly Danielle Brooks (Taystee), Adrienne C. Moore (Cindy) and Uzo Adubo (Suzanne) anchored realistic roles in S5's outlandish premise.  

Also discussed is abandoning the timeline for the series, which technically is still in 2014.  Series creator Jenji Kohan has expressed desires to bring the series current into the post-Trump era.  Do audience members really need that reminder woven into this show!?  Like the post-Trump era, the 2014 timeline in OITNB already grapples with the same issues such as sexual misconduct, bigotry and economic depravity dividing the classes.  Leave Trump out of this series, as we already know Orange is the New President.

Why Season 5 Misfired.
And How the Showrunners Can Fix This.

Season 5 was not a terrible one, but rather uneven.  Following the brilliant, slow-boining tension os S4, the 2017 entry had big shoes to fill as the prison went on lockdown due to the riots.  The 72-hour compressed timeline was a bold and welcome stroke, as it helped depict this dramatic event as a gripping disaster vs. a plot-driven twist.  Where the series lost its grip was the departure from reality.  While the core black characters brought forth the welcome harshness of the prison system, the white populous threw caution to the wind with outlandish twists such as Red (Kate Mulgrew) jumping on couches and the trashy methheads running talent shows and attempting to chop off guards' fingers.  As entertaining as episode 9 was featuring a thriller/horror theme, it undermined Red as she openly exposed her prison family to danger.

The series needs to get back to its core characters and develop a realistic arc/umbrella.  S1 was about Piper entering prison, and S2 held uber-villainess Vee unleashing a vice crime reign.  S3 gave the floor to expanding the minor characters' backstories, and S4 brilliantly tackled prison overcrowding and brutality.  S6 needs a relevant arc to get back on track.  In order to do so, they need to fine-tune the flashbacks to compelling reveals vs. plot fillers.  Creator Jenji Kohan admits S5 was not its best as several powerful writers who crafted the tone moved up the ladder, and newfound writers filled their voids and attempted to deviate into sitcom laughs.  What they failed to recognize is the performers bring the laughs, not sloppy plot twists like Blanca (Laura Gomez) reenacting Home Alone. 

Many suspect the series will end after its 7th, as it will likely coincide with Taylor Schilling exiting the series.  However, if they want to keep the series rolling long after 2019, they need to get the series back on track.  Focus on the powerful, well-constructed black tribe.  Explore Red's family with greater detail, as they are capable of carrying their own show.  Place the spotlight on the show's other strong mother, Gloria (Selenis Leyva), who seems capable of carrying the Latina tribes.  TVRG will report on further developments as the year progresses in anticipation of OITNB's triumphant return.

A Bridger Cunningham Exclusive -- ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, Season 5 Review

Written on Netflix Furlough by Bridger Cunningham

WARNING -- This article contains spoilers, as highlighted in orange below.  Black text is spoiler-free, while orange text gives you the meat of what went on during the season.  Read at your own level of knowledge and discretion, as this show is not for the faint of heart and will leave all unsettled.

Wow.

Those three letters best describe what happened when Netflix unveiled the fifth season on June 9.  The gravitational pull was felt inside the show, as well as the outside in writing and views.  Season 4 bashed the gas valve, boiling temperatures to all-time highs.  With a time-released gas-soaked rag, the finale exploded on our screens as Daya (Dascha Polanco) pointed sadistic Humphreys' gun at his head. And now, the flames singed everything in its path.

Without divulging too much of the culminating season-opener and allowing viewers to enjoy at their own pace, this much can be stated.  Choices led to consequences, and the prisoners seized the prison.  Netflix disclosed the hostage situation throughout the previews, yet omitted the grimy, masochistic nature of the season.  Season 5 followed the rhythm of the movie Blow.  The first three episodes featured an adrenaline spike which should have acted as the compelling hook to keep viewers engrossed.  However, the tone and momentum of season 5 was uneven.  Invested viewers will watch all the way through, while trendy/fickle viewers run the risk of turning their backs and throwing this series in solitaire.

Season 5 was not a terrible entry, yet left several potholes in its uneven rhythm.  Jenji Kohan delivered several rewarding twists to angered viewers thirsting for revenge against the guards and bureaucracy who exploited the vulnerability of the inmates.  This was among many bold risks taken, including compressing the timeline to 3 days of events.  The spoils resulted in an enhanced view of the heavy ensemble's Black-American community, who proved to be the stable line of common sense among the chaotic, aggressive savagery exhibited by the remaining inmates.  Unfortunately, the results also tarnished the show's masterfully-scored, character-enriching flashbacks we yearned for like an on-going annual event.

The prison riot forced viewers to suspend disbelief, as it proved an effective disaster for the first three episodes.  What started as an aggressive, compelling arc lost its punch when the ever-grating, putrid meth-head characters, Angie (Julie Lake) and Leanne (Emma Myles) stole the gun and downgraded the poignant uprising to an asinine talent show among the guards.  Lake and Myles are wonderful performers, yet their alter egos have escalated beyond the guards' villainy, sinking to an all-time low turning a vulnerable black inmate's face white and turning her into a clown.  Every time something terrible happens every season, these two parasites antagonize every plot from Nichols' wrongful punishment in maximum security to slurring insults.  Their vile actions almost resulted in a cliche prison fire, a twist the writers quickly extinguished as it would have jumped the shark of outlandish.

The problem with the pace and tone was the danger came and went like a guest checking in and out of a hotel.  Two characters died, yet no one will care when the dust settles.  What could have been orchestrated as the perfect Greek tragedy became as mild as an ABC Afterschool Special telling kiddies not to make bad choices.  The season was peppered with preachy tones of Norma Rae and social justice, diverting a tragic disaster to a soapbox piece for social issues.  1995's Up Close and Personal, the Robert Redford/Michelle Pfeiffer movie about an upcoming TV reporter, held more tension when Pfeiffer's Tally is trapped inside a prison riot during an exclusive.  The 15-minutes of tension packed more threat, and ended in tragedy as reforming prisoner/interviewee Fernando (Raymond Cruz) perished in the riot.  It ripped open the scabs on society as prison bureaucracy's budget cuts led to the uprising and tragedy.  OITNB failed to capture this escalating tension, perhaps because it had to populate 700 minutes of material vs. Up Close and Personal's impacting 15 minutes.

Still, the season delivered a landmine of greatness.  Episodes 9 and 10 delivered two frightful evenings resembling a mystery/horror film, followed by an intense crime thriller at the hands of villain and sadist Desi Piscitella (Brad William Henke).  In spite of the flashbacks being lackluster this season, the historic nods to the Cold War via Frieda (early 50's bomb scares) and Red (1977, showing the black market of communism leading to her escape).  There is still a story to tell, albeit the cast will need to be reorganized and

SPOILERS BELOW

WHAT WORKED -- Save for the extreme sadism exhibited, the vengeance against the guards exhibited some humor initially.  Luschek's capture is in character, having thrown a pair of scissors at a converging inmate's head.  Luschek is as boyish as Bayley Baxter (Alan Aisenberg), yet more of a scoundrel viewers enjoyed watching being made a fool of.  Non-inmates rose to character development and prominence as they endured the same dehumanizing treatment inflicted on the ladies.  The first to be expanded upon was Thomas Humphreys (Michael Torpey), who received welcome doses of the same sadism he exhibited on so many.  After a feeble attempt to get Daya to not shoot him by speaking in Spanish, his cowardly attempt was met with a bullet in his upper-inner thigh, hitting an artery.  After being critically wounded, Maritza (Diane Guerrero) savagely kicked him, joined by several.  Retract that word, as Humphreys forced her to eat a live mouse at gunpoint during the last season.

Out of the heightened shooting, Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox) reached a pinnacle of need as her backstory as an EMT became a valued resource during the disaster.  She saved Humphreys, who faced another trying look at his soul as he was strapped to a bed juxtaposed between Maureen Kukudio (Emily Althaus) and Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren (Uzo Adubo).  After attempting to befriend the very women he ruined, he suffered a massive stroke, as Kukudio blew an air bubble into his IV line.  This led to a slow, agonizing, degrading death, suitable for such a vile stain on this show's legacy.

The black ladies of Litchfield shined, exhibiting a welcome lack of violence.  This hook left enough space to explore the backstory of Janae Watson (Vicky Jeudy), a background presence never explored in the show's 5 seasons.  The inner-city tale was trite and weak, paling compared to Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson's layered, tragic tale.  Taystee became the center of the show this season, having rightfully usurped the role from the hot-to-not love story of Piper (Taylor Schilling) and Alex (Laura Prepon).  While her grammar needs a little polish, she exhibited the greatest critical thinking and processing among the masses, making her ideal to lead negotiations and keep this outlandish tale grounded.  Such measures included releasing narcissist Judy King (Blair Brown), declaring she was not a hostage and not welcome in their prison.

Amanda Stephen shined as Allison Abdullah, receiving the proper time to explore her backstory as she debuted as a side-player the previous season.  Her backstory was disappointing, yet her front story kept viewers captivated as she made the perfect compliment to Taystee in assembling the demands with an educated, tactical approach.  Adrienne C. Moore completed the trifecta of leading, rational ladies with a dash of sarcasm and force as "Black Cindy" Hayes.  Previously a stereotypical sidekick spitting out wisecracks, Black Cindy became the wise trio's bodyguard against the chaos.

Selenis Leyva continued to take the "den mother" role of Gloria Mendoza from slop to sugar in a two-fold tale.  Initially the voice of reason who helped save the sadistic Humphreys, Gloria towed the line of risk by stealing "the gun" which somehow kept the inmates in charge of a large prison (again, suspend disbelief to keep this tale going).  All changed mid-season as Gloria received a devastating phone call revealing her son was in critical condition.  Realizing her only chance at furlough was to release the guards, she plotted over two episodes to free the guards by locking them all in the outhouses.  Her efforts are voided as she is taken prisoner within the prisoners, yet received a welcome shine of luck when her son survived his critical injuries.

Dale Soules has always provided side fodder as survivalist Freida Berlin.  Her spotlight derived at the proper time of chaos, as she built a bunker out of a pool abandoned since the 1970's.  Her backstory as a pre-teen in post-Korean Cold War stood as the greatest initial flashback to deepen a character this season, tugging at our heartstrings as it appeared as though she was abandoned in the woods by her impoverished father (a sadly common practice during the Great Depression).  However, this was her father preparing her for "The Apocalypse," testing her survival skills as she made her way back to her bunker-style apartment.  Viewers learned Frieda has spent 40+ years behind bars, explained as she revealed the story of the abandoned swimming pool which none of the regimes bothered to fill in.  Frieda eyed the masses and gave select invitations to seasoned prisoners and providing asylum for the calm inmates.

Frieda's bunker became a welcome and remote departure from the bleak surroundings viewers have known during the show's 5-year run.  Suspending disbelief (as a SWAT team would have overtaken the yard as it was merely secured by a barbed-wire fence), the yard also made a nice change of scenery as one-third of the population decided to form a non-violent subculture and lay around outside.  Outlandish, yes, but it provided another non-violent, calm departure from the viciousness inside the building.  Beauty also  became a balancing force, as social warrior Piper decided to round up the prisoners with art projects to create a positive movement.  It inspired a new library-inspired tribute to Poussey, as well as allowing in-limbo Daya to express herself with art in the yard.

Beauty queens Flaca (Jackie Cruz) and Maritza (Diane Guerrero) used the opportunity to exhibit their style and skills, delivering regular blog videos to the public to depict prison-style.  After the art initiative launched, the girls delivered their own brand -- makeovers.  Their first target project was the unkempt Blanca, who wowed her peers.  Viewers echoed Blanca's sarcasm as she said "All they did was comb my hair and give me two eyebrows."  Ha!  Next, the weathered Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) received similar treatment as she sported a new hairdo which Alex comically described as "Heroin Barbie."  And finally, a softer look for Alex as she played house with Piper.  These twists are not what highlighted the show, but rather led to a future for the beauty queens, who realized how much they loved blogging.  That is rehabilitation as both felons have foreshadowed potential careers outside the prison walls.

The same rehabilitation cannot be stated for Judy King (Blair Brown), who never redeemed her narcissistic soul in spite of a disaster breaking out around her.  Disasters such as prison riots provide the perfect opportunity for people to set their preferences and differences aside to survive.  Judy was given a golden opportunity to champion for the ladies as a frail Soso (Kimiko Glenn) begged her to save Poussey's library.  Judy could care less and fled, leading to nearly every book being burned.  The savagery exhibited this season was appalling, yet viewers could not help but cheer when Yoga Jones (Constance Schulman) tackled and captured her, stringing her to a cross and handing her over to the general population to be auctioned off for goods.  Laughter was appropriate as Brook Soso bid on her with a 20-pack in vengeance as Judy was auctioned as prison slavery.  Though it appeared Judy received mercy when she was released, she capitalized on the situation by going on live TV and betraying her former inmates.  Lest hope Judy King stays away from insider trading, as no one wants her back on our screens again.

Carrie "Big Boo" Black (Lea DeLaria) and Tiffany "Pennsatucket" Doggett (the ever bristly Taryn Manning) experienced a stronger presence where laughter and anguish were needed.  During the first three episodes, the two ran the commissary like two backwoods yokels running a country store.  After the prison brass is disrobed in shame, Boo grabs Caputo's suit. which the white trash dwellers dubbed her "CaBOOto".  "Why thank you!" sniped back Boo, who fit the suit perfectly.  Boo of course stirred the pot, and shined as the MC of Litchfield Idol.  She even experienced a brief reprieve of love, as rogue prisoner "Amelia Von Barlow" (Beth Dover) sought her initial protection then blurred the lines of sexuality as she fell for her protector.  Boo and Pennsatucky sadly endured abuse this season, as Pennsatucky set her beau Charlie Coates (Michael McNenemin) free, earning her the vicious wrath of prison scourges Angie and Leanne.  

The level of disgust Pennsatucky earned being locked in "The Poo" (the prisoners' version of "The Shoe" in the stank outhouses) is indescribable.  But she finally felt the brutal bullying she inflicted on Alex and Piper in season one.  It made a sound departure as Pennsatucky's final moments of the season featured her relaxing in the DO's cottage.  Suspended disbelief, yet again, but viewers welcome a few moments of peace.  Boo's violent kidnapping in the horror/mystery arc was disgusting, yet kept her entwined in the action after being taken captive by sociopath Piscatella.  Even more heartbreaking, her newfound love was a fraud, and Boo fed her to the general population in a welcome dose of vengeance.

The horror/mystery episode was well executed.  It began with the return of uber-villain Piscatella cornering and taking Blanca hostage, similar to the opening act of a slasher flick.  Next came the disappearances of Nicky and Boo,   heightening the terror and danger.  And finally, paying great tribute to horror cliches, Alex and Piper were assaulted in a shower scene.  Laced between, Black Cindy received "ominous" phone calls asking "have you checked the children?"  Her response?  "How about you check yourself!"  She was then spooked  by beauty girls Flaca and Maritza at the end of the corridor resembling the twins in The Shining.  "Oh hell no!" she appropriately snapped.  Most frightening of all, Red experienced the horror while coming down off of a Speed high, revealing a stronger flashback to Russia in 1977 when her friend involved in a bluejeans smuggling scheme went missing.  All great homages to Friday the 13th, When a Stranger Calls and The Shining.

The final praise is a prickly love/hate relationship with the villainy of Piscatella.  A masochist and sociopath, he was one of OITNB's most complex villains.  Openly gay, he revealed his warped perception of women in episode 10 when he lectured the ladies about not respecting violence.  After unceremoniously being dismissed in Season 4, he was called back to the fold as he was the only freed prison employee.  Galina "Red" Reznikov (Kate Mulgrew) had a less-than-stellar end product this season, yet Red and Pish's jarring adversarial game of cat and mouse left another tense threat.  Red initially sought to smear and defame Pish, posting flamboyant pictures of him all over the prison walls and posting to the internet.

The spoils and overdose of sadism were not in vain, as the ladies finally had a video of the system's brutality as he snapped Alex's arm.  After the video went viral, the public finally took the ladies' cause serious.  Though his backstory fit the fizzled category this season, it demonstrated where much of Pish's damaged psyche emerged as he murdered the man who savagely violated his lover.  Pish's reign of terror ended with a bullet in the forehead, ending one of the greatest villains' runs on OITNB

WHAT DIDN'T WORK -- Extreme levels of sadism ran rampant, making even the strongest cringe and most will not be displayed in imagery.  The sleaze factor escalated this season with higher levels of gross humor, excessive bondage in every episode, and extreme dehumanizing behaviors peppered every 10 minutes of an episode.  Dehumanizing is a large issue in the prison system, and OITNB depicted it brutally accurate to the point it deserves criticism.  Menstruation blood, graphic cavity searches, scalping a lady's hair with a knife, characters soiling themselves and prisoners toying with their hostages' arousal heightened levels of disgust to the point that images of such will not be displayed in this review.

Blanca Flores (Laura Gomez) became washed out in a parade of silliness which made even Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren seem lucid.  Blanca unveiled a rich layer as her spite led to her protest, leading to the events which launched season 5.  So how did the latest activist spend the season?  High on speed and dulling the performance of Red to beige nonsense.  On paper, the pairing of Blanca and Red may have seemed fitting, right down to their color-hued names.  The problem is Gomez and Kate Mulgrew lacked chemistry with each other despite resonating so well with others.  Red jumping up and down on couches was out of character, even if she was on speed.  The problem with Blanca's material this season is it undid the scarlet beauty Red had carried in her character.

The Red we knew from season 2 would never knowingly bait trouble into her home, even for the fruitful product of overthrowing a villain.  These actions placed her girls in danger, out of character for a cold-war refugee.  Blanca paying homage to Home Alone was meant as comic relief, yet voided itself to a puerile degree.  Speaking of immature, Lorna (Yael Stone) became a uneven mess for even an unhinged woman.  She's pining for Nicky.  Wait, she's pregnant.  Wait, she's a makeshift doctor.  Wait, she's a mess.  ENOUGH!  Chemical imbalance is in the mind of the beholder, or from a pesky addiction.  Option number two left every episode with two mosquitoes named Angie and Leanne, who sucked the joy and blood out of the scenes they touched, like true meth-heads.  

They followed Pennsatucky in persecuting Alex and Piper in Season 1.  They led to Nichols' imprisonment in maximum security.  Every time something negative or contrived occurs, Angie and Leanne are always involved.  The problem with their haughty wrath is it is fueled by stupidity.  Calling these two ignorant does not suffice, as it would imply they can be redeemed.  The ladies exhibit the same sadistic nature as the guards, as they painted black Suzanne's face like a clown, and attempted to cut off CO Stratman's (Evan Arthur Hall) finger to replace Leanne's missing digit to complete her hateful hoof. Either the writers need to give these poisonous, putrid characters a comeuppance or get rid of them.

Jessica Pimental smashed the alarms as aggressive leader Maria Ruiz in Season 4.  The material she played during the first half of the season was compelling, as Maria softened some of her militant edges in the wake of the disaster.  However, she voided out her powerful delivery by impulsively handing over he hostages and nullifying the prisoners' grounds.  Viewers were supposed to feel some sense of reward or joy when she held her baby for five minutes.  The problem is we could care less about yet another selfish inmate throwing her fellow prisoner's needs out the window with little thought.  Maria's choice lacked the dramatic punch and buildup Gloria's tough betrayal exhibited, and perhaps worsened the plight of the inmates.

Beth Dover's Linda Ferguson proved a lost opportunity as a hostage blending in with the general population, thanks to a less than flattering flashback depicting her opportunistic nature.  OITNB has dozens of characters worthy of that space wasted on Linda.  The rogue inmate tale could have opened the door on may plots, including ongoing advocacy having experienced the injustice herself.  Instead, she was thrust into one cartoonish plot farce after another, including a fauxmance with butch Boo.  How are viewers supposed to care about a character whose role in her sorority sister's accidental death only resulted in her rise to ascension after throwing her under the bus?

Given the large ensemble, balance is a difficult task to undertake, even in a compressed timeline.  Michael Harney was absent from all episodes of the seasons as CO Sam Healy has been committed to a psychiatric facility.  This was a poor decision by the writers, as his mental break would have provided the prickling dramatic effect if he was detained with the hostages.  Regardless of choices in displaying characters, Harney's name should have been omitted from the opening credits.  Elizabeth Rodriguez provided a limited performance as recently-released Aleida Diaz, and the writers dropped the ball, centering her on Daya's forgettable floundering through the season.  With the array of reporters surrounding the prison, the writers missed a golden opportunity to have Aleida advocating about the conditions in the crowd.

Alan Aisenberg delivered a tragic performance as Baxter Bayley, yet should have been left out of the season for dramatic impact in absence.  Finding out Baxter has been bumbling around attempting suicide with non-toxic green dye and getting himself arrested produced little impact on stories and would have made an excellent backstory had the character returned in the future.  The two contract spaces offered to Harney and Rodriguez would have better suited Diane Guerrero, Amanda Stephen or Brad William Henke, all of which were present driving plots this season.

Given the ominous ending which it is implied no one will return to Litchfield next season, some cast paring is necessary.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES  --  Critical acclaim does not discriminate or take on the form of equal representation, as nearly every Black American cast member stood out with critical acclaim.  The previously mentioned performances of Brooks, Moore and Stephen have been highlighted, and Uzo Aduba (Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren) and Laverne Cox (Sophia Burset) deserve to join their elite league as the power hitters in season 5.  Aduba gave an uneasy, unsettling performance as mentally fragile Suzanne who was given the worst threads among the blinged out prisoners.  Crazy Eyes endured the horrors of not being able to process what was going on around her, still viewing the world as a 6-year old would.  Added her medications were tampered with, she was hazed, tortured and treated as an animal.

After the same inhuman treatment during Seasons 3-4, Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox) only graced the first half of the season, yet experienced welcome character development as her medical expertise was utilized.  Realizing Sister Mary Ingalls (Beth Fowler) was nowhere to be found, Sophia made the (not-so) difficult decision to go to max to find the woman who saved her, only to sigh relief as she realized the nun flew away from the hellhole due to compassionate release.

Other demographics who shined including Brad William Henke's sadistic run as Pish, and Matt Peters' immature delivery as bumbling CO Joel Luschek.  Rosal Colon played stereotypical jailer Ouija for the run of the season, yet had us in stitches as she impersonated all of the inmates, including Red's impeccable Russian accent.  Her comic delivery was fractional compared to DeLaria's Big Boo, yet made a welcome dose of joy in the savage tone.

TIME TO GO -- The list of characters who need to exit the series expands by the season.  Starting with the contract members, Nick Sandow's Joe Caputo has been a welcome delivery in the male demographic, yet storylines dictate Caputo should lose his job.  He lost several prisoners, experienced a massive walkout of skilled CO's, hired poorly vetted replacements, botched the investigation into Poussey's accidental death and now the riot which claimed two CO's lives.  If Caputo is kept running the zoo, the show will drift further into disbelief.  The riot story showed little impact in the loss of Sam Healy (Michael Harney), perhaps dictating the show can survive without the character.

Previous contract entries into this list included the privileged inmate Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), unhinged Lorna (Yael Stone), caustically floating Daya (Dascha Polanco) and her recently-released mother Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez).  It was revealed Piper has three months to serve out, foreshadowing the character will exit in two seasons.  Though Piper's role delivered pleasant results this season, her story purpose is limited.  Plot developments appeared to have pushed Rodriguez and Polanco off the canvas with limited futures, while Stone's Lorna now has a wrinkle in her tale as she is pregnant.  If OITNB plans on keeping Lorna, deeper exploration into her background and growth are needed.

Rest assured Blair Brown will likely not return as Judy King, yet have the unpleasantness of Angie and Leanne stirring up trouble via Julie Lake and Emma Myles.  While both lovely performers, their exit would be a sigh of relief.  OITNB needs to figure out where to center when it returns next season, as it will have another bloated mess on our screens if they do not retool the cast.

WHAT'S NEXT -- The fate of Litchfield Prison was left ambiguous as prisoners were loaded onto various buses and divided.  10 inmates stood in the makeshift bunker, holding hands and anticipating what will happen when the door breaks down, similar to doomsday.  The direction for the next season has yet to be declared, and perhaps some reveals and PR may get viewers invested again as there are two more seasons ordered by Netflix.

A Bridger Cunningham Exclusive -- A (PROPER) Peek at Orange is the New Black, Season 5

Written in Solitary Awaiting a June 9 Release by Bridger Cunningham

Behold, viewers are 10 1/2 days away from the official release of Orange is the New Black, which has amplified its game following last year's titular last moments of Season 4.  Leaked footage has been slurring throughout the internet over the last month as an internet hacker released the footage as Netflix refused to pay the ransom.  This site will not feed these troubled soul's attempts at attention and monetary gains at others' downfalls.  Internet hackers are the terrorists of the 21st century, waging a passive aggressive war on society's simple pleasures.  What these embattled individuals forget is Netflix encourages people to view at their own pace.  Whether eager viewers take the day off of work and binge on June 9, or wait until next February, paid subscriptions to the streaming service will not falter.

The only developments for this season which will be discussed are that of OFFICIAL trailer releases from Netflix.  This site respects the entertainment industry's production costs and the standards it needs to survive and deliver us entertainment.  TV Ratings Guide chooses to encourage folks to follow the entertainment schedules in order to assure favorites upon official releases, not pirated or sneaking a speak to fulfill selfish pleasures.  This is no different than a child sneaking cookies before eating dinner.  It is immediately satisfying, yet spoils what could be a wonderful dining experience.  Let's eat our OITNB desserts after a proper banquet and experience.  Dinner has not been served, yet the chefs at Netflix have given a taste of dessert by allowing eager viewers to lick the bowl before the cookies come out of the oven via this official trailer: https://youtu.be/NzJATbm8U98



Viewers still have those final moments of the last season featuring Daya (Dascha Polanco) pointing a gun at corrupt Detention Officer Humphreys' (Michael Torpey) head.  It is time to retire that image, as it has played out.  The trailers appear to dissuade from Daya shooting Humphreys, a wise choice by writers to further creative fuel.  What has emerged, however, is the prisoners "are on strike".  Comical, as their rights were stripped at incarceration.  Great dynamics are emerging, as the prisoners appear to be poised to shine light on the ugliness of the system.  The shining stars from the trailer are Danielle Brooks (Tasha 'Taystee" Jefferson) and Amanda Stephen (Allison Abdullah).  Taystee cleverly declared "We are stuffed four of us in bunks like chickens", paying homage to why Joe Caputo (Nick Sandow) declared he picked her as his secretary as "she has half of a brain."

Taystee has developed nicely from her boisterous demeanor from Season 1, having deliberately returned to jail.  Season 2 featured a dual development as she not only labored to create an image/life for herself outside of prison, but became emotionally entangled in prison vice boss Yvonne "Vee" Parker's (Lorraine Touissant) deadly web.  Having lain tow the last two seasons, it is time to catapult Taystee onto the front burner again.  Given Maria (Jessice Piemental) used aggressive force to further prisoners' rights in Season 4, Taystee's non-felonious approach may help deviate the tone from a cliche prison right and lockdown.



Taystee's tone is warranted at shining light on the sewage-filled conditions in the prison.  OITNB, however, appears to be veering into Norma Rae territory as depicted by that trailer.  Playing a refreshingly prominent role is Allison rallying prisoners for collective grievances.  Given she is the only (known) Muslim inmate by her visible burka, Allison is visually prominent in advertisements and appearance.  Allison was used as side fodder in Season 4 as she was one of the unwelcome transfers in the prison overcrowding arc.  She of course engaged in a superficial feud with recent Jewish convert "Black" Cindy Hayes (Adrienne C. Moore), and upped her prison capital as she hides contraband cellphones in the toilet tank.  Others marinate toilet wine for dinner; she harvests much-desired communication.  Given the controversial association the Muslim culture has with extremist groups in the world, it is refreshing to see perhaps a criminal show such as OITNB can depict a peacemaker from this demographic.

The black subculture took a backseat following the prison vice arc in season 2 and deserves shelf space in a juicy arc.  From the trailer, it appears Maria softened her crime lord status, calling prisoners from all groups to unite.  The black-centric focus is also prevalent in showing an infirmary-bound Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren (Uzo Aduba) digests the after-effects of being forced to chicken fight spurned lover Maureen Kukudi (Emily Althaus).  These women experienced the greatest injustice as the guards forced them to fight like chickens to the death.  In a refreshing twist, increasingly diminished Piper (Taylor Schilling) noticed the ensuing trouble and turns the other way.  It's about time, as Alex (Laura Prepon) keeps warning her to "Stay out of other people's s--t."

But of course, Piper appears to be returning to her social injustice reporting, videographing the developments via phone.  The longer the show exists, it moves further into a rabbit hole of darkness, and it appears the comedy may be sacrificed.  This change may be warranted for the show's continuation or overall creative arc to wrap the show up at masterpiece standards.  So what can viewers expect from Season 5?  A compressed, compelling arc added to the storytelling.  Season 5 is a game-changing bold stroke, which will either re-ignite the creative fire or stifle it with the ashes of past seasons burned over.

Given plotting or exploration can fade with any great series, minor reboots are needed to inject life into tired premises.  Desperate Housewives did this in 2008 with a much-hyped 5-year time jump in the story.  Grey's Anatomy went big and broke our hearts in 2012 by killing off Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) and Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) in the heartbreaking season 8.  Over in the comedy arena, 2 Broke Girls departed bleak poverty tones mid-season 5 in 2016 and sent the girls on a lavish Hollywood adventure.  And Cheers faced the loss of Shelley Long in 1987, scrambling to reinvent the tone the following season 6 with Kirstie Alley's entrance as the show burned nuclear in the ratings.

The results?  DH enjoyed the initial kindle of speculation and a rewarding season 5.  Season 6 stifled the thunder with two forgettable mysteries, gradually hastening the show's departure in Season 8.  The time jump may have suited Season 6 for longevity, as the show was firing on all creative cylinders in season 4 and emerged fairly unscathed from the devastating 2007-08 Writer's Strike.  Grey's Anatomy set up the rebranding of Seattle Grace to Grey-Sloan Memorial, ensuring the show's continuation if Ellen Pompeo (Dr. Meredith Grey) chose to exit the series.  The move paid off, as the show has continued to deliver powerhouse ratings and a valid premise 5 years later.  2 Broke Girls finished season 5 with creative finesse, then burned off their newfound energy the following season, ending in cancellation.  And Cheers created its second arc, centering around the will-they/won't-they of equally vapid counterparts Sam and Rebecca.  The series rode the Nielsen current through the top 10 into 1993, making their reboot a success.

In order for OITNB to become a success with this reboot, it will need a dramatic, impacting event to close season 5 and leave us wanting to return next summer.  If the ladies break down the wall and take another swim in the pond, it will further disbelief similar to DH's plane crash on the street or 2BG's forgettable adventure in Season 6.  Both events left viewers tiring of the premise, and ratings tanked shortly after.  OITNB's reboot has promise, so let's eagerly serve out our 10 1/2 day sentence until it is officially released on June 9.

Bridger Cunningham's Look at Orange Is The New Black, Season 4

Written Restrained by Bridger Cunningham

Orange is the New Black returns with a crackle for Season 5 on June 9.  Taking a retrospective look, let's examine the unsettling effect Season 4 delivered with slow-boiling tension culminating in the last moments of episode 52, featuring an increasingly flawed inmate pointing a gun at corrupt detention officer Humphrey's head.  The cliffhanger set up the following season beautifully for a departure of timeline, focusing the season's 13 episodes over a 72-hour period inside the embattled prison's walls.  Such an approach is a necessary bold stroke as we are at the fifth season and have apparently processed about 12 months in the show's timeline over five years.  

Had this abbreviated approach been used in Season 4, the rhythm of the show would have collapsed.  Season 3 slowed down the pace after the "Prison Vice" theme Yvonne "Vee" Parker's (Lorraine Touissant) character engulfed the show with during Season 2 in favor of "Prison Nice".  Season 3 was uneventful, adding more character explorations.  The season languished and left us with a season finale resembling an outlandish farce with the prison gates breaking down and the incarcerated ladies took a holiday in a sewage-filled pond.  As touching as those moments were, OITNB stood in threat of losing its gritty realism which launched its show, and Netflix into prominence.  Season 4 restored the balance in an arc exploring overcrowding and continued political corruption.  

It utilized slow-boiling tension in the race conflict to drive the plots vs. farcical plot driven developments.  The silliness of the prison panties arc stifled out through a vice business war as Dominican leader Maria Ruiz (Jessica Pimental) not only threw the soiled story into the washer, but took the lead this season as she vengefully crusaded for her fellow Dominican inmates to fight for their place inside the walls of Litchfield.  Maria's ruthless rise to prominence was welcome as OITNB explored prison overpopulation and the effects on the community.

Prior to the overcrowding story, the large ensemble was divided by the whites, blacks and Latinas, who all seemed to coincide with little conflict.  Enter a rash of Dominican transplants, dividing the Latinas as the dynamic shifted to Puerto Ricans vs. Dominicans.  The Dominicans managed to divide the Latina demographic, intertwine and create divides among the whites within themselves and against the other ethnic prisoners.  And most potently, it boiled over creating a writhing divide between the enforcers and the prisoners.

Season 3 lacked polarizing writing and tension, leaving Season 4 to restore the rhythm.  New characters emerged, and established characters either came to full circle or are overstaying their welcome.  And thankfully, caricatures like Judy King (Blair Brown) existed solely for plot fuel/comic relief and will burn off fast.  Without divulging too many dirty twists and ruining the experience for new viewers, let's take a look at what worked and fizzled this season --

What Worked in Season 4

The overcrowding arc is the standalone MVP in OITNB tales.  Season 1 set up the launchpad for us to invest in our detail-rich characters.  Season 2 added a crime thriller perils of Vee and her drug empire with mixed-to-positive results.  And Season 3's arc involved the silly exploits of prison panties.  Season 4's Overcrowding arc utilized its 13 episodes like stair steps escalating to a full-blown conflict.  

Pimental's ruthless portrayal of Maria managed to command and upstage several characters who outlived their plot purposes, including increasingly irritating Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling).  While Schilling's performance is not to blame, she has been written into a corner as a narcissistic WASP whose caustic choices land her in hot water.  Her brutal attack was cringe-worthy, yet leveled the karma route for Piper's haughty antics.  Several viewers cheered as the Dominican baddies belted a white supremacist in comically rewarding fashion.

Outside the overcrowding arc, Judy created some laughable distractions which manipulatively tackled the class issues.  A shameless and passive aggressive narcissist, Judy was inappropriately placed with organic minimalist Erica "Yoga" Jones (Constance Shulman).  She also degraded passive Poussey (Samara Wiley), as she depicted her as a stereotypical product of a black crack fiend vs. an upper-middle class black lady fell on bad decisions.  Judy used her feminine wiles to turn the karma meter on fairweather Joel Luschek (Matt Peters) via a drug-hazed threesome.  Judy is a cartoon character against the gritty, character-rich, dirty ensemble, and gratefully will vacate OITNB's house after her purpose expires like a gracious and phony houseguest.

Luschek was not the only DO who experienced an about-faced comeuppance, as Charlie Coates (James McMenemin) demonstrated his remorse for raping Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett (Taryn Manning).  The DO house was a plot hindrance this season, yet Coates standing his ground and defending a prisoner redeemed much of his tarnished presence.  Director of Human Activities Joe Caputo (Nick Sandow) fell victim to the toxicity of the system, yet eloquently towed the line between heroic and shady in the prison's ultimate antihero.  Caputo lost his underdog rooting by allowing Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox) to be placed in solitary confinement after enduring a hate crime.  He returned to our beloved hero when he slyly allowed Sophia's image in confinement to be leaked under the radar, facilitating her return to the general population.  Caputo ominously and earnestly warned lovable Baxter Bayley (Allen Aisenberg) to get out of the prison and save his soul, yet threw the DO under the bus after Poussey's senseless death.  Caputo is tarnished, yet has created a standalone status as the most enriched male character in a female-dominated cast.

Speaking of Poussey's death, Samara Wiley was an iconic and peaceful presence in core original cast.  Her purpose came full-circle to our dismay, yet her last season delivered a rewarding bite.  She and her two true-loves, Brook Soso (Kimiko Glenn) and Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson (Danielle Brooks) delivered lighthearted fuel minus outlandish antics, devastating us as their trio is down to two.  After saving a despondent Soso from a suicide attempt and psych, Poussey cemented Soso as an asset to the cast vs. a nuisance via their slow-built romance.  And Poussey's tragic last moments burned the best tearjerker in the show's history into our viewing memories as Taystee somberly unleashed that cry of grief at realizing her spiritual soulmate met a tragic end.

Taystee delighted us as she earned a well-deserved promotion from janitorial duties as Caputo wisely promoted her to his assistant.  She has steadfastly progressed from the moments she returned to prison, making efforts to polish her tacky demeanor in hopes of a promising life upon release.  Taystee's community neighbors also enjoyed some lighthearted endeavors, albeit they rooted from initial hatred dating millenniums beyond origin.  Newfound Jewish convert "Black" Cindy Hayes (Adrienne Moore) channeled an immediate hatred toward fellow Muslim inmate Allison Abdullah (Amanda Stephen), poetically over territory and space.  Both sparred over the first half of the season, then bonded over a disdain over Scientology.  This site does not have any faith preference and does not condone lambasting any religion, yet it was touching to see two women switching their pawns from adversaries to alliances.

Galina "Red" Reznikov (Kate Mulgrew) continued to command as the mother of the Litchfield ladies.  She took a backseat this season to her younger counterparts, yet retained the sage wisdom needed from the over-45 demographic.  She played the central force in the show's undercurrent to the overcrowding tale, remedying several conflicts like a a beloved mother to the displaced inmates.  She mediated the murder of Alex's would-be killer by recommending turning him into tomato fertilizer.  Red also repaired Piper's injured hoof after Maria punished her with a swastika brand for leading to profiling the ethnic prisoners.  Red branded her "an open window" and righted a remorseful Piper.  

Red faced her "conviction" in one of the finalepisode as viewers learned precisely what landed her in prison -- a murdered mobster found dismembered in her restaurant's freezer, similar to the DO found chopped into a mixed green salad in her garden.  The "Between Heaven and Hell" plot hook helped us reinvest in a character who was sidelined by younger, brassier inmates.  Just as she did to protect her nuclear family, Red stood fiercely cold and silent to protect her prison community.  Kate Mulgrew's appropriately stoic performance tugged at our heartstrings as we feared our beloved prison mother would wrongfully endure another conviction in spite of never committing a felony by her cold hands.  

The murder enriched three performances beyond Red's den-mother role.  Laura Prepon entered OITNB red-hot as Piper's heron of sexuality, yet waned into a plot device in Season 3.  After Lolly defensively murdered her assailant in the season's opening hook, Alex Vause upped the ante and suffocated her would-be-assassin.  Prepon flourishes in dramatic tones on OITNB, wise to leave her comic abilities behind with her persona on That 70's Show.  Tragically, mentally unhinged Lolly Whitehill (Lori Petty) fell victim to her insecure psyche.  

After Alex wrongfully pegged her as her stalker and attacked her the previous season, she inadvertently led to Lolly's downward spiral as she dutifully dispensed Kubra's enforcer with her steadfast, defensive heels.  Said plot twists unhinged Lolly's last screws, leaving her in death's clutches as Freida Berlin (Dale Soules) had her marked for death.  Tragic foreshadowing painted a souring portrait of Lolly's descent into prison life via backstory , as she was an intelligent soul gone sour via conspiracy theories in the 90's.  After wandering too far into the rabbit hole, she downgraded to a rambling vagrant pushing a shopping cart and lost her freedom.  Tragically, the clutches of sanity slipped, and she fell victim to the psych unit late in the season.

Sam Healy (Michael Harney) made valiant efforts to save Lolly, as he projected his mother's loss of mental clarity into keeping her in clarity.  He spared her life, yet lost the battle as she was confined.  We learned Healy's mother suffered the same tragedy as Lolly, and his mother's loss left him with power complexes over controlling women, as depicted by Judy, leading to his convex, damaged psyche.  Healy's committal is appropriate as he his a layered, flawed and valiant soul.

In a welcoming comic foil, Sister Mary Ingalls (Beth Fowler) deliberately invokes the wrath of the guards by smoking like a frisky teenager, then slapping a guard.  Comic farce?  None of the above.  She smuggles in a cell-phone in solitary confinement to do reconnaissance on Sophia.  Sophia's wrongful isolation ripped the scab off of the system's cruelty as she was isolated "for her protection".  Sophia's sickening suicide attempt was sour at best, yet upped the dramatic ante.  It also magnified the root of the conflict with Gloria, who shined as she used her resources to keep Sophia's family abreast (no pun intended) of her latest tragedy.  Thankfully, the sour plot dissolved mid-season with Gloria polishing a wounded Sophia's image with her wig, narrowly repairing their fragmented friendship.

What Failed in Season 4

As triumphant as Season 4 delivered, several plot holes emerged in lieu of writing, characters and delivery.  Elizabeth Rodriguez is a talented performer as depicted by her guest-spot on The Big Bang Theory  as Raj's Cuban date who schools him on profiling.  She is a beauty and a capable performer.  Yet her being a mere 2 years older than on-screen daughter Daya (Dasha Polanco) retired the use of her character Aleida as she outlived her purpose of guarding Daya during her pregnancy.  Whilst Aleida's reemergence into the free world made a nice arc, it left unease as we were left to wonder if Aleida would return to Litchfield.  Rodriguez is a great actress, but lest pray Aleida decides to adopt stability over familiarity.

The DO house was an eyesore to OITNB viewers this season.  Initially Suzanne and Maureen's love nest, it morphed into the misogyny playhouse for the corrupt male DO's.  Most disturbing was Humphrey pointing his loaded weapon at Maritza's (Diane Guerrero) head and forcing her to pick between ingesting dead roaches or a live baby mouse.  Maritza's backstory painted her as a vile opportunist, and this tragic twist moved the sympathy pendulum too far.  Even beyond Coates raping Pennsatucky or Pornstache facilitating an inmate's overdose death.



Apologies are in place for that visual, yet it was necessary to depict the graphic flaws committed this season.  The DO's exhibited minimal redeeming qualities this season outside of Coates' redemption and Bayley's innocent nature.  In order to depict an effective villain, writers must establish some rooting qualities to make us invest in their dastardly deeds.  Luschek has yet to pay for his role in Nikki's downfall and loss of sobriety.  Piscatella barely grazed sympathy when he disclosed he was sent to a deprogramming camp.  And the image above left little rooting qualities for Humphrey.  

George "Pornstache" Mendez was a despicable presence we hoped to fall, yet his vulnerability made us care when he was sent to prison for "raping" a scheming Daya.  And John Bennett (Matthew McGorry) plunged to cowardice as he abandoned his pregnant mistress.  Yet his PTSD from the Iraqi conflict was carefully painted to justify his flaws.  If OITNB wants us to care about Humphrey taking a bullet, they best fill in the blanks as to why we should care if he dies.  Luschek exhibited mild guilt over his wrongful actions against Nicky Nichols (Natasha Lyonne), yet her lapse into her addiction lacked punch.  Instead of being a heartbreaking downfall, it was glossed over like an ABC After School special or self-contained sitcom conflict.

Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) and Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) were criminally underused (no pun intended), and Lorna (Yael Stone) lost her credibility as she satirically attempted to depict a jealous spiral like a laughable tantrum from a 5-year old.  Worst of all, Daya (Dascha Polanco) languished after her heralded birth last season, depicting regression as she had not learned from her tragic consequences which landed her inside the walls of Litchfield.

Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren (Uzo Aduba) finally explored the root of her incarceration to souring results.  Audiences knew Crazy Eyes is developmentally delayed, yet they took it to far as she accidentally murdered a young boy.  Her boundaries backstory would have sufficed in an accidental kidnapping, yet OITNB upped the ante and took it too far when he fell to his death in a graphic visual.  Yoga committed a similar offense, yet OITNB restrained itself and avoided a graphic visual of the boy's death.  Worse yet, Suzanne and Maureen Kukudio (Emily Althaus) were used as pawns in the guards' twisted fight club.

Movie night delivered disastrous results.  Not because Taystee played critically lambasted "The Wiz".  Or the racial tensions.  But rather, that nasty slur we shall not speak of poisoned an already effective scene.  OITNB attempts to carefully depict the sour, toxic environment inside the prison.  Yet using that nasty slur which is a boil on the sagging behind of American society and is a cheap way out in depicting racial divides.  Nothing good comes out of that word, even in prison; just don't use it!

Breakout Performances

Laura Gomez created the best scene-stealing performance of Season 4 as Blanca Flores, an unkempt, intriguing addition to the cast.  Viewers first notice Blanca's rough entrance as she sports a surprisingly sensual tribute to Frida Kahlo's prominent eyebrows.  OITNB writers promptly (and wisely) explored part of Blanca's backstory as a put-upon servant of a nasty shrew who desired a roll-back on civil rights.  Saged viewers may recognize Mary Wilson Brown's  Millie in a contrasting cameo to her One Day at a Time role as free-loving Ginny, the key ingredient to igniting Blanca's vengeance.  

Blanca put up with the nasty curmudgeon renaming her "Bianca" as it fit her spelling and culture.  Yet she stood her ground when Millie fired her paramour to prevent distractions from "Bianca" inheriting her figurative paradise.  Gomez sympathetically delivered a factual declaration when she stated "he is a person" vs. the distraction Millie fired him for.  Dangling the carrot of "you may inherit my estate," Blanca stands her ground, declaring she will not live her life waiting for her inheritance via speculation.  

Blanca wistfully (and vengefully) takes a lover on her cantankerous employers' antique furniture, displaying one of the few artistic nude scenes an actress desires as it was deemed necessary.  Gomez has evidently invested in the role with dulling her natural beauty and doubling down with nudity, grit and vulnerability,  deserving praise for rebelling against the easy route of being a Hollywood starlet.  She displayed her distinguished beauty and subtle prowess as she will likely enjoy three-plus seasons of material.

Most rewarding, Blanca takes vengeance on the ethnic profiling via frisk by making herself undesirable and filthy.  She revels in her vile reputation, albeit she enjoys a refreshing shower and applies sardines and noxious scents along with her "Secret" deodorant.  Fellow
Dominicans are furious as they abhor their homeland's occupants being viewed as the trash of the Latin culture, but Blanca revels in the disdain she brings the brutish guards.

After a fiendish standoff, Blanca is forced to stand on the tables as punishment.  She revels in her durability, urinating on the table to avoid losing ground in protest.  And most poetic, she gives Piper her first redeeming scene at the season's close, as Piper's social justice trend lands her standing on the table as she attempts to feed protesting Blanca.  Both crusade against issues, yet Blanca holds grit.  Most fitting, Blanca's smelly stance led to the series' greatest tragedies.  The writer better reward Laura Gomez with a contractual upgrade, or their proper crafting of an iconic figure was all in vein....



Time To Go...

OITNB's fittingly bloated cast necessitates trimming like a refreshing makeover from Sophia's boutique salon.  Though she helped launch the show's premise, Piper Chapman has withered into a grating nuisance.  Still drama-prone from placing herself in harm's way, she has demonstrated limited growth as her child-like desire for social justice leaves her the perennial dramatic punching bag.  Even social activist Soso has learned her social cause antics had consequences, so why can't Piper grow up?  Piper lost her signature naivety when she led to penalties for Stella and Maria.

A vicious branding appears to be an attempt to swing the sympathy pendulum ack toward our "heroine", yet we do not care anymore.  Alex keeps advising Piper to "Stay out of other people's [business]," yet her choices continually lead her to drama.  Not even feeding a protesting Blanca made us care for Piper, so release her and let us explore the plethora of rich, damaged characters.  Just like Piper, Lorna Morello (Yael Stone) lost her edge this season.  The ultra perky, ultra friendly beauty had rooting qualities laced with femme fatale until Season 4.  Her disturbing backstory painted a tale of an obsessed and dangerous lover imprisoned as she was a threat to society through her unbridled love.

Season 4 scraped the dangerous beauty of Lorna to the bone via a silly jealousy twist.  Lorna previously possessed the dangers of Jessica Walters' chilling and unhinged performance in Play Misty for Me.  This twist downgraded her to an annoyingly jealous twit men shrug off or run away from out of cliche.  We've seen enough of Lorna's Fatal Attraction, ruined like an insipid and dismissive twit.  Much like Lorna's diminished presence, Daya (Dascha Polanco) floated through the system like a carefree teenager.  The new mother should have exhibited growth and maturity via childbirth as majority of women do, yet Daya could care less about formulating a plan of release from the prison walls.



Losing her mother to release left Daya carousing with the drug-dealing Dominicans, foreshadowing more trouble coming her way.  The question is whether we care if she pulls the trigger in Season 5.  Her invested purpose of her unplanned pregnancy has served its purpose, and viewers can do without another embattled trainwreck stealing the spotlight.  In a flattering demand for removal, it is time for Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez) to stay out of prison.  Earning an early release, Aleida's purpose as Daya's mother also played out after her child's birth.  OITNB beautifully depicted her struggles with returning to mainstreamed society as we learned why she landed in prison to protect the man she loved.  Let's hope she does not return to prison to protect her insipid daughter.  Elizabeth Rodriguez is a lovely performer and enriched the show's legacy, but her character has come full circle.

So What's Coming?

Little has been disclosed about plot developments or cast changes from Season 5, and it should stay that way.  Publicity stills and teasers have been released, yet viewers need not spoil on early plot details as needed with Season 4.  Much of the season was leaked as interest waned after an underwhelming previous season.  Such leaks proved necessary to get fans to invest again.  Now as we peer forward, we know we are primed for a Greek Tragedy with Season 5.  Tune in starting June 9, as Netflix unveils its show pony's epic 72-hour arc story.