Season three left viewers with a plethora of unanswered questions. Where did Bennett go? Who will take care of Daya’s baby? Will Nicky ever return to Litchfield? Are Piper and Alex done for good? The final episode of season three was definitely a cliff hanger, and with season four still a year away from reaching Netflix, our only option is to recap the highlights of the latest season.
In the first episode, the inmates celebrate Mother’s Day by hosting all of their children for an outdoor party with homemade carnival games. We immediately get thrown back into the harsh reality of prison life, as Litchfield goes into a lockdown when a child goes missing. But just like in the previous seasons, the use of flashbacks through out the episode gives us some insight into the inmates’ pasts. In this particular episode we learn about Doggett’s six abortions, and the day that Sophia’s son, Michael was born. Furthermore, we see Poussey struggle with her emotions on Mother’s Day because she is still mourning the loss of her mom. We find out that they had a very special relationship and the other inmates are unable to sympathize with her because most of them do not have positive relationships with their family members. This opening episode reminds us of why we’ve fallen in love with Litchfield penitentiary, and everyone in it.
As we progress through the rest of season three, a lot of shocking events take place. For starters, Alex landed herself back in Litchfield after Piper told authorities that she was violating her parole. It is evident early on that Piper has returned to her manipulative ways and it only gets worse when she decides to create her own “dirty panty” business from behind bars. The new job sewing lingerie for Whispers allows Piper to sell panties made out of scrap fabric to perverts on the internet.
I found this entire scenario to be quite odd. Whispers seems a lot like slave labor and Piper becomes completely consumed by the thought of making a profit to the point where she takes advantage of her employees and cheats on Alex with the new, hot convict Ruby Rose. Ruby immediately grabbed viewers attention because of her striking features and cool accent. But in my opinion, something seemed off with her from the beginning. That’s why it was no surprise when she screwed over Piper and stole all of her profits. I give Piper props for being sick and twisted enough to plant illegal contraband in Ruby’s room the day before she was supposed to get out.
Another huge plot line involves Daya and Bennett’s relationship. After Pornstache’s mom offers to adopt their child in order to give her a life of luxury, their love quickly starts to disintegrate. I’m sure you all were just as disappointed as I was when Bennett failed to return to Litchfield after seeing a traumatizing scene at Cesar’s house. Making a child eat french fries by holding them at gunpoint was surely a reason to scare Bennett out of wanting to be a parent, but the lack of answers about his whereabouts was extremely disappointing. He was one of the best looking and most loved characters and I am hopeful that he will make a return in season four.
Another person that left Litchfield in an unfortunate way was Nicky. Her drug problem got her transferred to a maximum security prison, but I’m holding out hope that she will reappear in future episodes. The last huge plot twist that occurred at the end of season three was when a man from Alex’s past appears as a prison guard and leaves her in a very dangerous situation. I can’t wait to see what happens next at Litchfield Penitentiary. It’s a bummer that us "Orange is the New Black" fans have to wait until June 2016 to have all of our questions answered.
