Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Orange is the New Black (Season 2 Review)

Netflix is quickly becoming another great place to watch original TV programming. Never thought that an online movie website could create their own shows, but Netflix has at least two that are garnering well deserved attention. First would be House of Cards (Season review coming soon!), a political drama that stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright. The other is Orange is the New Black.

Now since I didn’t give a first season review for this show, I will give a brief synopsis of the show. Orange is loosely based on the memoirs of Piper Kerman and her short time in a Woman’s Correctional facility. The show follows the lives of not only Piper Chapman (last name changed from real person), but also many of the other ladies and Correctional Officers that live/work at Litchfield Prison.

The first season is mainly about Piper’s initial shock of being locked up and how she must cope with life on the outside changing without her. The second season picks up right here season one ends because Piper is only sentenced to 15 months so the seasons aren’t going to have much space, time wise, in between. This season starts to focus more on the other inmates and their struggles within the walls of Litchfield.

I liked this season, but not as much as the first. The story arc of this season, as mentioned, is more about the other ladies and the power struggle that occurs with two inmates Red (Kate Mulgrew Star Trek: Voyager) and Vee (newcomer this season Lorraine Toussaint The Soloist). We also get a glimpse into other backstories like Lorna Morello (Australian Yael Stone) and Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley). I enjoyed getting to know the other ladies more, but it sometimes took away from Piper’s story, which in retrospect, didn’t really evolve this season.

The acting in this season was just as superb as the first season. Of course Taylor Schilling’s (Argo) Piper is great to watch, but there were a couple other stand outs this season. First would be Dascha Polanco who plays Dayanara "Daya" Diaz. Daya is an inmate that has fallen in love with a guard and has become pregnant. Polanco does a great job going through the hormonal changes of being pregnant and it is fun watch her turn the tables on her lover/guard at times. The other stand out is Uzo Aduba who portrays Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren.  They don’t call her “Crazy Eyes” for nothing and Aduba shows use the extent of her crazy. Aduba’s performance is so great, at one point I really thought, “This actress really has to be a little off; no one sane can pull of this crazy”.  Just a prediction for you all, Aduba receives an Emmy award in the upcoming ceremony.

Orange is a great show with an amazing cast that doesn’t look to be slowing down. I thought that Piper would have grown a little in this season, but she seems to be staying put emotionally. This is both good and bad to me because we get to see more of the other characters, but on the same token, we still have to see Piper making the same mistakes.

The Verdict: If you haven’t already, get Netflix and watch the first two seasons. Worth Y