The flashbacks can be useful if the story is good, and if it's the only way for us to truly understand who one of these people was before they got to Litchfield, but we've reached the same point Lost eventually did by season 3, where they began to feel not only obligatory, but a distraction from the present-day narrative. Even with the ever-expanding cast, I'd say that's a good idea. Though the show had gone flashback-less a few times in the past, this is the first time they did it for the premiere, and the first season where multiple episodes were flashback-less. Foreshadowed but not paid off yet: whatever it is in Kukudio's file that so alarmed even Caputo when he read it. Lots of foreshadowing of later plotlines here, including O'Neil insisting that women don't riot (which they will in the finale), and a bored Cindy suggesting starting a race war for her own amusement (Piper will inadvertently do it for her). If you're inclined to like Piper at all – or, at least, don't want to constantly wish her off the show – then these early episodes were tough to get through at times, but the payoff is ultimately worth it. With all the new inmates and Desi Piscatella's appointment as captain of the guards, this season finally takes us straight in there, with the Catch-22 of corporate management layered on top of it.Īlso picking up right where she left off: Piper, still feeling insufferably gangster in the wake of getting Stella sent to max.
In the past, particularly during the Vee arc of season 2, the show has suggested that Litchfield is on the verge of going from minimum security summer camp into something resembling our usual preconceptions of prison. Given where season 3 left off, the premiere obviously had to pick up in the immediate aftermath, with Alex's life still in danger (until Lolly rescues her, kicking many of the season's plots in motion), the other inmates frolicking in the lake, and the arrival of both Judy King and a whole batch of less famous new prisoners. Now that many of you have had the weekend to watch the whole thing (and if you're not done yet, you can come back to this when you are), I have specific thoughts on each episode – and I'm writing all of these capsules assuming you've seen the whole season, so there will be spoilers for later episodes in discussion of earlier ones – coming up just as soon as I rent a bounce house in the shape of a frog… I really liked the new season of Orange Is the New Black, particularly the second half of it.