DISCLAIMER: Possible spoilers, but I am trying not to spoil anything, so bear with me.
Stage 1: Straight-up excitement.
I have waited an entire year for this new season. I needed to know what happened when they go into the lake. Do they get in trouble? Was Alex going to die? What is going on? Where are the guards? Also… Does Ruby Rose come back? Many questions hung over in my head for an entire year. Now that it is out for the whole Netflix world to see, I am free to get answers to such questions. I think it is pretty close to the excitement of Christmas morning (but do not tell Santa).
Stage 2: Addiction.
Yes. I admit it. It became a problem. Anytime I had some spare time, I was watching Orange Is The New Black . And do I have any regrets? Not at all. The season got me hooked the second I started getting my answers from last season. And those flashbacks to different people’s lives kept me so intrigued. I could not help myself. I became so invested into the show it was almost like I was Piper (not really, but one can dream, right?). Trust me when I say, that you can never just watch ONE episode. It was kind of like a "potato-chip" thing. You cannot just have one.
Stage 3: Exhaustion.
Although I was happy pretty much through the entirety of watching the new season, the amount of episodes I was watching in one sitting got to an embarrassing amount. This was exhausting, but I was willing to prevail through the pain. Every episode ended with a cliff hanger, so I couldn’t not watch it, ya know? Also, by the middle of the season, I was so over the opening title. I get it... "You've got time". By the fourth time hearing it, I walked away nearly every time the intro played. Now, all I hear when I am in room full of silence is that awkwardly long intro. I swear I could sing it to you by heart.
Stage 4: Sadness.
There is sadness that the season is coming to a close, but there is so much sadness within the season also. You know how all the interesting, yet sad stuff happens at the end? Yeah, well this phase of sadness just hit me like a wave and I cried close to three times. I was too invested in something that was not real, but at the same time, you know that is kind of accurate regarding our correctional facilities. I will not spoil what happened (although Facebook ruined it for me before I got to the episode), there was an episode where I cried through the end of it. Trust me… you will know what I am talking about when you get there.
Stage 5: Anger.
Now that I have completed the only series that I set aside time to binge watch, I have nothing to live for for another year. I AM SO ANGRY. But the series was so good. Now my questions are endless again and I will probably think about this season until the next one comes out. Then, in a year, these stages will restart.
