The third season of Netflix's breakout drama "Orange is the New Black" was released on June 12th, and if you're an avid fan you probably rapturously consumed the entire season in a matter of days, sacrificing precious hours of sleep and social interaction. The first two seasons of OITNB were amazing, thrusting the world of women's prisons into the public consciousness. By confronting issues, like prison reform, gay rights, and transgender identity, topics often ignored by mainstream culture, it challenged us to think of the questions that society had ignorantly deemed as not worthy of addressing. It gave us characters we loved to hate and backstories that gave each character a rich complexity and depth. In all, it was awesome.
But this season, without a clear villain to push the plot along, we kind of felt more like we were jogging around the Litchfield track with no particular goal in mind. And with Litchfield getting more and more lax, I started to wonder if we were watching an accurate portrayal of prison anymore. Instead of leaving us with deep, confounding questions about American culture and society, this season provoked the kind of questions that left us scratching our heads, instead of hanging on to the edge of our seats. It wasn't necessarily a bad season, but it left us with more questions than answers.
1) What ever happened to Vee?
Ok, so it's safe to conclude that Vee died when Rosa ran into her with a truck careening down the road at 60+ miles per hour, but how come we never hear anything about it afterward? I mean an escaped prisoner runs down another escaped prisoner with a vehicle stolen from the same prison and then everyone carries on as if nothing happened. How is that no C.O.s receive any repercussions? How is that this major hiccup in prison security goes completely ignored? Maybe I'm being too nit-picky, but it just doesn't make any sense. And in any case, Vee was a character we loved to despise in season two and her unceremonious departure from the plot just felt like a disservice to her villainy.
2) And what happened to Rosa?
The last we'd seen of Rosa was her prison break, but we never hear of or see her last moments. It is confirmed that Rosa died during the first few moments of the season, but much like Vee's death, it's never given much substance. Rosa was a pivotal character in the second season's arch. Her backstory was brilliant. Who couldn't help but fall in love with the young and vivacious Rosa as she brazenly robbed banks with her lover. And who couldn't fall in love with the dying, incarcerated woman who managed to still remain tough and immovable. It's a shame her death wasn't given the attention her character deserved.
3) How could Alex have forgiven Piper's treachery so easily?
At the end of the second season, Alex is home free. All she has to do is stay clear of her ex-boss and ruthless drug lord Kubra and she's in the clear. However, when Piper calls Alex's parole officer to report her illegal possession of a firearm (to protect herself from her potentially vengeful ex-boss drug lord) she ends up back where she started. And not only is she still in danger of Kubra's revenge, she's stuck in the one place where there's nowhere to run or hide. And it's all Piper's fault. So why in the world she would accept Piper back into her arms after such deceit is confounding. Yes, they do fight for two episodes, but the conflict is resolved by angry, resentful sex? What? This is a conflict that could have been carried on throughout the season, but instead writers chose to quickly dismiss it, which was just kind of lazy.
4) What is a cool, mysterious Australian woman doing in an upstate New York women's prison?
But seriously, how does she just show up and everyone's OK, we have a incredibly good-looking, suave Australian seductress here at Litchfield. That's like Black Cindy chilling in a Swedish prison. Where did Stella come from? Why is she here? We are literally given no information about Stella's backstory. We're just supposed to eat up her entrance into the plot, because she's beautiful and aloof and tattoo-covered. And while she is, I don't think that really makes up for character proper development or I don't know, logic.
5) Is Stella ever coming back?
She better be. If the writers of OITNB think it's okay to have dropped a smoldering Australian woman in the mix and write her out of the story as quickly as it took for her to make us question our sexualities, then they have another think coming.
6) Wait, is Bennet really gone for good?
Despite as hard as we tried, we couldn't help but fall in love with C.O. Bennet and his sweet and naive heart. Even though the fledgling romance between him and Daya is kind of doomed from the start, we still kept our hopes up, rooting for the underdog couple. After all, Bennet is different from all the cynical, jaded officers of Litchfield. He's a good guy. Or at least, so we thought until he decided to ditch Daya and her unborn baby to fend for themselves. As Bennet dumps the crib that Cesar bestowed upon him on the roadside and drives off into the distance, we can't truly believe what we are seeing. No, no, no. Bennet has to be good. If there is any hope for positive male representation on OITNB, Bennet is it. If he's really gone, is there any such thing as true love?
7) What will happen to Daya's baby?
It kind of feels like Daya has been pregnant forever, so when she finally gives birth this season it feels like a long time coming. But with Bennet out of the picture and Aleida's selfish conniving, Daya's birth is another event that seemed to come and go, not really given the weight it deserved. She gives birth and then the baby's gone and that's the end of that. Of course, we see what happens when DEA agents raid Cesar's apartment, confiscating his drugs and his children, but we never see a sweet moment when Daya gets to hold her baby girl in her arms and look into her little, new eyes.
8) Is Cindy really committed to Judaism?
Cindy's conversion is probably one of the most powerful and compelling storylines of the season. It starts off as a hilarious ploy to receive kosher meals and avoid the horrible pre-made meals that the prison starts serving as it shifts to corporate management. As Cindy sets out to prove she's an "authentic" Jew, she delves into the Jewish pop cultural canon, borrowing plot points from Woody Allen's Annie Hall to quoting Barbara Streisand's greatest hits. It's hilarious and fun and proves that OITNB is not afraid to poke fun at any stereotypes. But as Cindy seems to really try to embrace this new faith, her character shows a deeper side that we've never seen. Her venture into Judaism reminds us of the power of faith and renewal. But it also reminds us that there is a capacity for spirituality beyond the religion we're born and raised on. Most of us will never be exposed to anything other than what our parents taught us, but mostly because we never explore other faiths. It'll be interesting to see if the writers continue to run with this storyline during the fourth season.
9) What's up with this uber awkward relationship between Red and Healy?
Red and Healy. Really? Why on Earth would a relationship between these two - the strong and take-no-prisoners Red and the weak, pathetic, and woman-hating Healy - ever develop? The dynamic between the two throughout the show is often odd and a little uncomfortable, like watching two people with two left feet trying to tango. They just never are quite in sync. But worst of all, this is supposed to be Red's big comeback. As she regains dominion over the kitchen, we eagerly await for Red to assume her throne, but it never quite happens. Perhaps, she's all puttered out but her growing bond with Healy feels like she's slowly slipping into the kind of woman Healy has always dreamed of- a dependent who cooingly nurtures his sad ego.
10) Whatever happened to Sophia?
During the latter part of the season, Sophia is sent to solitary confinement and we can't help but feel as helpless as she must feel. Sophia's problems arise when beef with her and Mendoza spirals out of control and results in catty prison gossip about her gender identity. We're brutally reminded of the reality of transphobia and the sad fact that a lot of atrocities committed against transgendered people go largely unaddressed and simply ignored.
Even though, OITNB left us hanging a little this season, I do have faith that the fourth will be stellar. The season finale was filled with a sense of spiritual cleanse. As the prisoners escaped through the fence that being repaired, they for the first time in a while felt what it was like to be free, to be able wiggle your toes in the sand and be completely immersed in water. But the inner peace of this scene is sharply contrasted with the foreshadowing of imminent chaos as a new crop of prisoners are dropped off at the nearly defunct prison. It seems just as OITNB had us doubting our allegiance, it pulls us right back in again. So hang tight, this season might have left us wanting more, but I have a feeling season four will be one hell of a ride.
