The fifth season of Orange Is the New Black is a mixed bag. If you’re not already invested in it, don’t bother. The first eight episodes are each a full hour long and a slog to get through, while the last five are series highlights that don’t quite make up for how slow more than half the season played out. I would rate the first eight episodes a 0/10, since I would have stopped watching if I didn’t volunteer. The rest of the season, however, earns a 9/10. It’s the part that deserves to be binge watched.
The writers took a risk with this season, but it didn’t pay off. By having the season take place in their version of real time, we saw an incredible amount of filler. The show uses the filler to develop minor characters’ backstories and prison activities and to show more unnecessary scenes of inmates torturing guards.
It would be interesting if there were a pay off, but the minor characters are not compelling and torturing guards is pointless because everyone knows riots never end well. Alison Abdullah (Amanda Stephen) has the potential to be an interesting character. She even had an episode with flashbacks dedicated to her backstory. Unfortunately, we only get half of it and still don’t know why she is at Litchfield. We also get to know Brandy Epps (Asia Kate Dillon), Skinhead Helen (Francesca Curran), and Kasey Sankey (Kelly Karbacz) better, but did we really want to? They join forces with the Latinas toward the end of the riot, but we don’t know if that is the result of the circumstances or because they are slowly becoming less racist.
As for the main characters, they struggle with the new conditions the riot has caused. Some handle the riot better than others. Alex Vause (Laura Prepon) and Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) are pushed to the background because they just want to stay out of trouble. Their relationship moves away from love-hate to functioning, which always destroys a show. Red (Kate Mulgrew) and Piscatella (Brad William Henke) constantly try to get revenge on the other person, which indirectly leads to one person’s death. Taystee (Danielle Brooks) is so hung up on getting justice for her friend that she blows a deal, which would have given the inmates everything they wanted, with MCC and the government.
One thing Orange Is the New Black makes very clear is that the women’s lives have permanently changed. There is no going back to the merely terrible conditions of Litchfield. The season ends in the only way it could: all the woman are taken away with the very real possibility that they will all go to max or a high security prison for the rest of their lives. Friends are separated. Lives are destroyed. No one knows what will happen next, but it isn’t going to be pleasant.
This season finale could serve as the series finale, but the show has already been renewed for two more seasons. Considering Litchfield has been evacuated, the writers appear to have written themselves into a box. Hopefully, the writers don’t cop out and press the restart button, putting everyone back in Litchfield almost like nothing happened. Orange Is the New Black has never been big on realism, but that would go too far for a show that lost its comedic undertone to drama.
Rating: 9 out of 10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzJATbm8U98
