Did you accidentally finish the entire forth season of Orange is the New Black in a weekend? Realised you have to wait an entire year before you find out what happens next at Litchfield? Did you come onto the internet instead of talking to your friends because they have self control and are only onto episode 5? Well you’ve come to the right place, this article will contain Spoilers but it’s hard to believe anyone would have the willpower to do anything other than finish the season once they’ve started so the assumption is being made that you’re done and dusted with all 13 episodes and emotionally traumatised.
It might seem almost impossible to believe that each season of this show would be better than the last, that the first season turned out not to be the best season of television you ever experienced, but here we are. Darker than ever this season somehow seamlessly tows the line between comedy and tragedy.
The season picks up exactly where we last left off, with most inmates savouring their temporary freedom in the lake beyond the fence, Caputo trying to deal with the prison guard walk out and Alex in the greenhouse, her paranoia from season 3 suddenly justified. We don’t have to wait long before the fate of Vause is revealed , mid strangulation Lolly appears, her intention to invite Alex to the lake in actuality saving her from certain death. The pair hide the body with a plan to deal with it through the night though when Alex revisits the greenhouse later that night she finds that Lolly’s attack didn’t stick forcing her to suffocate him with her bare hands. This moment matched with the almost strangely delightful montage in which the two chop up and bury the body with the help of Frieda drive Alex’s trauma and character for the rest of the season.
“It completely rattles her and it just haunts her.” Laura Prepon (Alex Vause)
Piper, walking around the prison gloating about her new found ‘Gangsta’ ways is taken down a notch by Chang after she explains that all the girls are running to the lake and that Stella’s departure down the hill was overshadowed by the hole in the fence. One of Chang’s only moments on screen this season but hilarious enough that she is still one of the standouts. Piper is a tricky one, it’s hard to lead an ensemble when the rest of the cast is as diverse and interesting as this one, subsequently her role in the show has shifted and entering the forth season most found her to be more of an annoyance than fully fledged character. The dedication of screen time shifting from Piper and Alex to Poussey and Soso. Her persona continued to escalate in the first half of the season going from pantie king pin to accidental white supremacy sympathiser, isolating herself in the process. She tipped back over into the world of the pleasant this season after her ongoing altercations with the Dominican group climaxed as they branded her arm with a Swastika. A truly heartbreaking scene, even the most outspoken of Chapman haters would have found it hard to watch.
Speaking of characters you love to hate.. If you told me a season ago that the writers would somehow redeem Healey slightly I would have laughed for hours, but alas this season saw a friendship grow between the terrible counselor and the Litchfield treasure Lolly that ended in a humbling lesson.
The only thing this season lacked was Laverne Cox, though her storyline was ongoing and we caught the occasional glimpse of her, the brief encounters we had were extremely upsetting. Placed in the SCU for her own ‘protection’ after multiple hate crimes in the past season one of the main ongoing storylines was getting her back to minimum security despite MCC’s insistence that she wasn’t being held. This storyline also opened up the opportunity for Nicki to find her way back into the story, having been held in maximum for her drug involvement with Luschek.
Judy King’s arrival to the prison provides much of the comic relief, teaming up with Cindy (Now Tovah) to sell pictures to the press, corrupting yoga Jones through material possessions and teaching a knife free cooking class.
The prominent cause of conflict through the season came from the newly hired ex veteran guards. Racial profiling, power trips and substantial abuse of status. Audience and characters reached their threshold round about the time a guard made Blanca stand on the table in disgrace and another forced Maritza to eat a baby mouse. In one of the most disturbing scenes aired it was a Freddy Krueger level of spooky. The same guard (Humps) later forcing Suzanne (Crazy eyes) and Kukudio (her love interest) to fight, taking bets on the outcome. An immense emphasis was placed on the racial tension in the prison this season, the overflow of inmates circumvented alliances that only a mutual hatred of authority could put on hold.
The second last episode in the season sees a united nations of sorts formed in order to take down the guards though friction between groups puts the plan on a back burner. After the mistreatment of Red in the cafeteria the entire prison engages in a peaceful protest, standing on the tables in solidarity until the most senior guard Piscatella resigns. Chaos reigns, guards become aggressive and one of the most unexpected and devastating plot twists in the history of such occurs. Poussey, trapped under Bayley dies and the prison changes forever. There was a remarkable amount of conflicting storylines this season that all exploded at once when the fate of this fan favourite was revealed. The poorly handed press conference the icing on the cake for Taystee who after hearing Caputo’s emphasis on Bayley’s inexperience and innocence rather than the death of her friend storms back to the dormitories in a justified frenzy.
“They didn’t even say her name”
A riot breaks out, the entire prison up in arms about their dehumanisation. Nothing screams Orange is the New Black like allocating big moments for each cast member and the final scene in which Daya holds the gun that Humps brought to work to his head doesn’t disappoint. After taking a back seat this season, the aftermath from this moment will dictate the rest of her life.
Ultimately this season was impeccable. The overall tone allowed some aspects to delve deeper into the emotional land mine because they would be met of moments of amusement. If season 2 went too deep and 3 turned itself into a comedy, season 4 found the perfect balance. It’s continued ability to address social issues still sets it apart from anything else on television.
Having already been renewed up until season 7 it’s almost impossible to imagine where the show could go next. All we know is that the final set us up for the big 5th season, 365 days is too long to have to wait and you will almost certainly have the theme song stuck in your head for at least a month.
Seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Netflix and available on Foxtel.
