Orange is the New Black

SPOILERS - Episode 2

Watched the first two episodes, and so far I'm liking it a lot. I love what everybody's already said about it (the whole dichotomy of how it takes it self just seriously enough without going overboard and while still grasping the severity of the situation at hand). Yes, the first episode was loaded with lesbian sex, but it never felt gratuitous, and it's an essential plot point to the series (something that 99% of tv shows who do depict it can't really say), so it didn't really bother me, especially with the restraint it showed in using it so far. The balancing of tones have been a little to shaky for me (to be honest, as much as I was enjoying Red's flashbacks in episode 2, I did not care for the scene with her popping the other woman's breast implants, for that seemed a little too cartoonish in the universe the series takes place in), but it's doing a wonderful job so far at keeping all of the tones separated, but not disjointed. Just a wonderful blend of different emotions, in an unpredictable rhythm and pacing. I also love the way it actively tries to subvert your expectations on when certain emotions you think should be taking place actually aren't. Specifically, the scene that follows the flashback between her and Jason Biggs' character (forgot his name, whoops) where she appears to be crying, but is actually chewing up the hot peppers, hence the tears. That was a clever little switch that actually sheds light on just how far she's come in the short time she's been in the prison (a realistic amount of progress too, not some miracle transformation). She's slowly getting accustomed to her surroundings, and I'm interested in seeing the choices she'll make as she gets even more comfortable in this habitat.

Yeah, the parts about the husband/Jason Biggs always feel a little more snide or strident. I don't think it's Biggs' fault...but the point about How much should he carry on with his own life and how much should he worry about his wife could be a lot more substantial if he and the extended friends and family were treated less like a parody at times.

SPOILERS through Episode 9

Man, I'm burning through these eps. It's such an entertaining show. I'd probably be finished now if not for the Gold Cup soccer tournament.

Maybe the coolest part of OITNB is that it does ultimately score some points of social criticism in the way one might expect, and it's humor does get a little cheeky in the way Weeds did, and the central arc does ultimately hinge on a romantic triangle in the way one could see coming from the beginning...but it does such a good job of taking it's time developing the Piper-centric plots, and weaving all the supporting stories around her so naturally, and letting everything accumulate so it's impact comes at exactly the right time, that all these things which could potentially have derailed the show actually enhance it.

I mean, right from episode 1 I got the vibe that Piper might slowly fall back under Alex's sway in prison, and that Piper's husband might try his best to stand by her but ultimately not be up to the task (though I underestimated just how shallow their upper class NY world would be portrayed compared to prison life), and that the story might peak with Piper getting back together with Alex. But somehow, it all worked. They took enough time that I wanted them to get together in a way that shows can rarely pull off with their central "ship" or will they/won't they, in that it seems to grow right out of the drama. By the same token, the story has left open the potential end-of-season drama (I haven't watched that far so I'm speculating now) where Piper finds out Alex actually did rat on her, and her husband is alienated from her when he finds out Piper's been sleeping with her ex-lover.

Like I said, all this potentially mawkish stuff works because of how everything accumulates. We're allowed to take the stories of all the other women in prison seriously, so the fact that Piper going a little mad in prison actually empowers her in a way, cuts her off from the world that forced her to repress her strongest emotions, isn't cliche. We see through all the LOST-style flashbacks the intense cruelty of the world towards the women that wound up in prison, strongly and clearly enough that even all the ironic twists don't dilute the central idea. It all kind of comes together when Piper's thrown into isolation, probably the most moving prisoner-in-the-hole scenes outside of the V For Vendetta comic book, IMO. That's the episode, the one I just watched, where I fully understood the premise that all women are in a prison that men keep them in...and I mean I understood it because it worked, I felt it, it didn't make me roll my eyes or turn away. The show proved it to me.

Of course, with 4 episodes left in s1, there's still a lot of room to develop in other directions.

Maybe one of the reasons I relate so little to Jason Biggs' character's career aspirations is because the NY Times and NPR seem like such status objects, not like real achievements. I might respect his enthusiasm for publishing a borderline exploitative article about Piper's time in prison if it WASN'T for the Times. Though I guess that might be the point, too. I wish the friends/family didn't fail so completely to express support for Piper...maybe that's what that type of family is really like, I don't know. But like Piper's brother could be a lot more sympathetic towards her given his own lifestyle. I dunno, maybe we'll see more flashbacks where Piper earned their apathy later on.

6 episodes in. Episode 5 was my least favorite. The flashbacks weren't very strong and I could really see the string being pulled in the Biggs/Chapman/Alex storyline.

When I grade the episodes on AVC I think I'll go:
1/2 B+
3/4 A-
5/6 B

All of the episodes have been at or close to a B+, but 3 gets a bump for having the best flashback of the series so far.

This is actually how we drove Justin Bieber to pee in that mop bucket. He's really into OITNB now, you guys.

Just finished episode 9. This is almost definitely going to my favorite new show of 2013.