Season four of "Orange is the New Black" (OITNB) came out June 17. If you’re like me and 95 percent of "OITNB’s" other fans, you’ve already binge-watched the entire new season. So, to last us the year until season five, I’ve taken it upon myself to list the best characters. If you haven’t watched the current season, though, reader beware: there are spoilers.
9. Maritza Ramos
Maritza is one of those girls who gives the “dumb” stereotype to pretty girls. But in reality, she’s pretty smart – which is something we see from our perspective in the show. She loves makeup and acting ditzy, but she knows what she’s doing and how to play the game.
8. Sophia Burset
Sophia is the only transgender person on the show. She’s gone through a lot of problems due to her transformation. She gets called he-she, she has a complicated relationship with her son, and her wife is dating another man – which isn’t directly related to her transformation; it’s more due to the fact that she’s in prison. Sophia was in “the shoe” for the majority of this last season but she’s still one of our favorite characters because of her sassy attitude.
7. Lorna Morello
Morello had a hard time when her fiancé Chris stopped making visits, but then we learned the full story. She went on one date with him, stalked him, and created her own fantasy. She’s a little psycho when it comes to love; even when it is going great she shows her crazy and ruins it, as seen in this current season. Despite her shortcomings, Lorna has a heart of gold.
6. Suzanne Warren (“Crazy Eyes”)
Suzanne is one of those characters who was largely misunderstood for awhile. During the beginning of the series she’s called “Crazy Eyes” by her fellow prisoners. She has some minor issues when it comes to making relationships. In the beginning she tried to make Piper her prison wife. She has since made friends with some of the other girls and even had a love connection this past season. The story we have learned about Suzanne even makes the fans feel bad for her.
5. Poussey Washington (“P”)
Poussey had a sense of reality as compared to some of the other characters. She kept her friends on a straight path even if she strayed a little. She had a hard time when it came to love, because her father was in the military so she had to move every time she fell in love. Then, in prison, she fell in love with her straight best friend, that is, until SoSo came around. This season it seemed like everything was coming together for Poussey until her life tragically came to an end in the second to last episode.
4. Galina Reznikov (“Red”)
Red is in prison because of her involvement with the Russian mob. She used to run the black market in Litchfield, until one of the officers busted her because she wouldn’t run pills through her kitchen. She also has a “family” in the prison, comprised of Norma, Nicky, Morello, and a couple of others. Red’s a feisty character who seems to be in the middle of many problems in the prison. She also gives us a lot of valuable life lessons, though.
3. Dayanara Diaz (“Daya”)/Aleida Diaz
So, I know I said nine characters, but this mother-daughter duo had to make the list. We’ve seen their relationship go from nonexistent to an almost good mother-daughter relationship. They may not have the best relationship and they still have many issues to work out, but they’re getting there. You can actually tell that Aleida really cares for her daughter – even though she shows it in her own way – and Daya is trying and wants a relationship with her mother.
2. Mr. Healy
It seems as though almost every character on the show hates Mr. Healy, which is probably why he was about to try to commit suicide this season. He has trouble talking to women and keeping them around, so every chance he gets he tries to keep the women in his life around and make a connection. This often creates problems for him in the long run, though. This season we learned that this is such a large issue in his life because his mom ran away from home when he was young. Since then he has been looking for a real connection with a female in his life. Healy is really one of those softies with a lot of emotions, even though he doesn’t seem like it to the prisoners.
1. Lolly Whitehill
Lolly is a relatively new character. She’s only truly been around for the passed two seasons. We first met Lolly when Piper was transferred to Chicago for the trial of Vause’s boss. At first, she seemed normal. But after awhile, we found out that she had deeper issues. She hears voices and believes that “they” (every organization, ever) are watching and listening to everything that’s going on (think big brother, "1984," George Orwell). Her story is sad, but her character on the show provides some much-needed comic relief at times.
