Orange is the New Black, Season 2, Episodes 1-5

As you may recall, I have become addicted to Orange is the New Black. Since I wrote about the characters for season one, I thought I'd write about the episodes for season two. I'm going to break this into three parts, as it's pretty lengthy. Keep in mind that there are a lot of spoilers, so wait to read the entire post until you've seen all the episodes in the group. If you want more information on any of the episodes, you can find it here.

Episode 1, "Thirsty Bird": I don't know that I liked it not being at Litchfield. I was itching to catch up with all the ladies and not be so focused on Piper. The fact that she's an ugly crier doesn't help much. When it comes down to Piper, I don't know if I should be sympathetic towards her or yell at her for being an idiot. I love that most of the episode took place in Chicago, although I was hoping for an updated version of "Cell Block Tango," focused on Pennsatucky. ("You poke me with that cross one more time...") Anyway, the Chicago cell mates were quite out there. I didn't know whether to take them seriously or not. I was hoping the horoscope girl would be nice, but she was creepier than anyone else. Even Crazy-Eyes couldn't get to that level of creepiness. The last scene is amazing. So perfectly written so that you don't know whether to be glad that Alex got out of prison and that Piper got screwed over or to feel even worse for Piper than you already did, if that's even warranted...  The other best moment of the episode was the lady by the phone asking Piper if she was famous for a certain sexual maneuver. Hilarious!

Episode 2, "Looks Blue, Tastes Red": I liked getting a background on Taystee's life growing up. It seemed like she really tried to be good, even though she came up against desperate measures that would lead her to prison later on. I love how she studied for the mock job interview in hopes of having a job when she got out. She was so dynamic up on the stage. I was so mad at Natalie for how she treated her afterward. I'm sure there's a grain of truth to what she says, but I think it's different for Taystee, who is so earnest and bright, if only she'd apply that to the right circumstances. There were a lot of funny moments, like the constipation jokes at Daya's expense. And the banter between Red and the older women prisoners. Pennsatucky's teeth were gross...Piper really did a number on her. It was cute how Morello was all supportive over her getting oral surgery. Apparently, Pennsatucky made a deal with Healy about what would be said about the fight between herself and Piper. I'm confused about that because Healy walked away before Piper unleashed her anger. I also love the scenes with the women when they're meeting with career coaches and also the modeling scene at the beginning. Sophia rocked that dress! I also love that Larry and his dad went to a gay sauna for a "schvitz." And I loved the interaction between Larry and Polly.

Episode 3, "Hugs Can be Deceiving": I loved getting background to Crazy Eyes' life before prison. What I still don't get is why she ended up in prison. I felt so bad for her when she was younger and people were being so snobby towards her. In any case, I feel like there are still a lot of loose ends and I hope they get addressed later in the season. I thought it was interesting how she fit into the fight between Piper and Pennsatucky. I didn't see that coming, but such a cool twist. I also love how Vee gave her confidence to stand up for herself. I also really want to know why Brook (Soso) got into Litchfield. She seems so sweet and innocent. She has to have a really good story...at least I hope. I didn't like how Piper was so mean to her at the end. I'm interested in the power struggle between Red and Vee. Like there's some history but I don't know what it is yet. I'm glad that the interactions between Daya and Bennett are back to normal. Pennsatucky looks much better with normal teeth, but she's so off-kilter that she seems even scarier. I like how her one friend stood up to her though. I felt so bad for Morello finding out that her fiance is marrying someone else on what was supposed to be her wedding day. I can't wait to learn more about her story soon. Overall, it was a really good episode. I don't think the date between Larry and the really confident girl was all that necessary, but maybe it will lead somewhere later.

Episode 4, "A Whole Other Hole": I loved so much about this episode, mainly that Morello's past is revealed and we realize that she never was engaged and that she's been stalking Christopher this whole time. I began to feel sorry for her on this whole other level. I did not see the stalker bit coming at all, which totally threw me. Such amazing writing. I'm still haunted by this twist in the story. The parts about women not knowing their own bodies was hilarious. And I love how Piper pimped out Soso for a blanket. I was hoping Red would sneak a mouse into the kitchen so that she could somehow work her way back in there, but it seems like she has something else planned with the shed/greenhouse. I am now thinking that Larry and Polly are going to end up making out at some point. It was funny how they were trying to fake out the old lady. I felt bad for Poussey since it's obvious that she wants to be with Taystee and Taystee seems to be turning her back on her. I don't know what Vee's agenda is now, but apparently Poussey made her mad by not going along with her idea. I can't wait to learn Poussey's back story. It was nice to see Yoga Jones back too. The best line was when the older woman who seems to have dementia called another woman a "c word" and how the teenage guy didn't get the joke that the lady with cancer was telling him.

Episode 5, "Low Self Esteem City": The episode starts off pretty gross, with poop coming up through the shower drains. It's annoying and unsafe of Figueroa to refuse to pay to get them fixed. Thirty second showers are not going to do the trick. I really hope Larry is able to expose all the money laundering going on in the prison so that it will affect her husband's campaign. I really don't want her even more in power than she already seems to be. I'm glad Healy is helping Piper get furlough after all he's put her through lately. I wonder if he's worried that she'll tell everyone about him not helping when Pennsatucky was trying to kill her. I loved the interaction between Healy and his wife. It was so revealing and intense. It was also funny how he's now trying to be buddies with Caputo after they hung out at the bar. It was fun seeing a whole other side of Caputo too. The "Bang-off" between Nicky and Big Boo is funny. I love how the one lady has all these rules and is keeping score for them. The funniest part was Nicky trying to hit on Fischer and then Fischer's reaction when she caught on. I'm glad Red and Piper are bonding more. I was worried they'd be at each other's throats at first, but they seem to have a connection now. I felt bad for Piper about her grandma, but have to admit that it was funny when she high-fived her brother after figuring out the news before realizing the impact it would have on her. I still can't stand her mother. She's just downright awful! The conversation between Piper and Larry was interesting, but did she even tell him about the furlough?  I felt bad for Gloria with the domestic violence situation. I was glad Arturo got his karma in the end. Lourdes is a great friend to look after Gloria and her kids. Some fun trivia for you....Olga Merediz was Lourdes. She played Abuela Claudia in the Original Broadway Cast of In the Heights. I met her when I saw it in 2009 and she signed my Playbook. It was fun seeing someone from one of my favorite musicals play a part on one of my favorite TV shows. Anyway, a few things I'm confused about:

Olga Merediz, 2009

*Why is it a problem that Gloria asked to move two women over to the kitchen to free up jobs for Vee's girls? Red made it sound like Gloria got played by Vee.

*How exactly was Gloria committing fraud with the food stamp money? Was she running her own food stamp service?

*Why does Fischer want to monitor the phones?

The first five episodes have been really interesting and I love the human touch provided in the back stories. I can't wait to see more!