On July 27 the new season of "Orange is the New Black" was released, taking place after the prison riot that took a sour turn when we find out that CO Piscatella was killed.
Maybe he did deserve it, but now the cast is dealing with the aftermath in season 6, taking place in the maximum prison instead of camp at Litchfield. Taystee Jones, who was found holding the gun at Piscatella decides to go on trial in order to seek justice for Poussey and to prove she is not guilty.
We meet some new prisoners this season, such as rivaling sisters Carol and Barb, who have been in max since their teenage years, for killing their younger sister. The two are the bosses of their assigned blocks, creating a rivalry between the C and D blocks. Carol's sidekick Badison, is a tough cookie who will not give the main character Piper Chapman, a break, even trying to add extra time to her sentence.
Daddy, who is Barb's right-hand woman, also adds another stem to the plot when she brings in the drug cartel to the prison. Even recruiting Daya, who is getting extra time for killing CO "Humps." The two come up with an interesting way to bring heroin into the prison.
We have a return of many characters from previous seasons, including Pennsatucky, who managed to escape Litchfield during the riot, with the help of her lover and former guard Coates. He brings her along a road trip that is crashed by former CO Dixon, after he discovers Coates' list of places he wanted to take Pennsatucky, including Hershey Park. Coates keeps her in the trunk until she cannot handle it anymore, revealing herself to Dixon and the three end up having fun at the amusement park. However once Pennsatucky is discovered missing, she ditches the two and turns herself in.
Meanwhile, the inmates from Litchfield are dealing with a lot of adjusting to the new prison, including Frieda whose bunker was found during the riot. She had history with the two sisters from C and D block, and despite their attempts to kill her, she still lives in Florida (the block you want to be in). Red, who has a vendetta against Frieda, joins Carol's side but ends up in the SHU because of losing her control when seeing Frieda in the hallway.
There are small plots with Flaca and Cindy getting a radio show and Ruiz and Mendoza's rivalry, but the main idea for the season is the war that develops between C and D block. Piper tries to get the blocks to coexist through kickball, but Carol and Barb have other plans. They try to carry out a killing war, but all the girls are interested in are kickball.
Piper ends up getting an early release date as a favor from the top CO, Hopper, leaving behind Alex who later joined the cast in later episodes of the season. They get "prison married" before she leaves.
The ending shows the verdict of Taystee's trial, as well as the result of inmates who are release being sent to a new immigration headquarters that MCC's newly renamed company created. Two inmates are also killed, and Lorna goes into labor. It is bittersweet in the sense that there is a lot of sadness from the trial and other inmate's situation, but the blocks are actually working as a team and Piper is released.
Who knows what season 7 will hold, hopefully, viewers will be able to keep up with Piper's newfound freedom and how the blocks act after the big kickball game. I was overall impressed with the season, it kept me on my toes and was filled with a lot of drama. I look forward to seeing how Piper adjusts to the outside world, and how everyone else handles working together.
