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Orange is the New Black S5 |OT| New blood. New rules - Netflix June 9th

Sunster

Member
Not all the guards are bad people tho, I don't recall the lady or the black dude in particular doing anything wrong, much less on the level of the other guards. I mean,
none of them deserve all this outside of Humps and Coates really imo

Yea, I don't even remember the black guy being in last season.
 

SaintZ

Member
Episode 2 and 3 spoilers:
I should not be giggling about a man having a stroke.
I just finished the second episode and lord
when Maritza and Flaca were taping his face I lost it. I'm glad Kukudio messed with his IV because I was afraid he was going to get into Crazy Eye's head again and Humps is just the worst. I'm never going to be over what he did to Maritza.
LOVED the flashback in episode 2. I've been enjoying Frieda since she helped Alex and Lolly get rid of the body last season.

I've enjoying it so far and I doesn't feel that different from last season, at least not to me. The only thing I miss from other seasons are the old guards. The new guards have meh personalities and I can't tell them apart except Humps because he's crazy and the lady guard. Oh and now the bald one because he's soooo hot, lord. Oh yeah and the one that abused Pensatucky.
 

Linkura

Member
Man Ep 3
trying to make the corporate lady look like a young college student...
what a shitty job they did. Plus giving her a backstory in the first place was just dumb.
 

SDCowboy

Member
I'm on episode 4 now, and I'm enjoying the season for what it is, but
I can't shake how absurd it is that the entire situation has been allowed to continue.

It seems like law enforcement doesn't even care that it's happening. lol
 

Linkura

Member
I'm on episode 4 now, and I'm enjoying the season for what it is, but
I can't shake how absurd it is that the entire situation has been allowed to continue.

It seems like law enforcement doesn't even care that it's happening. lol

Mid-Ep 4
Not even the governor apparently lol

Late episode 4:
tumblr_n2q7szQyWw1qci23co1_250.gif
 

SDCowboy

Member
At episode 6...
I feel like the prison lockdown should have only lasted for 2-3 episodes, then moved on.
It's starting to drag.

The prison guards and their interactions with the women is a major part of the show, but they're almost written out of it this season, so far. The prisoners running wild is only interesting for so many episodes.
 

tbm24

Member
Binged watched the season with my wife today. Very conflicted in whether I'm ok with it or outright hate it.
They dragged the riot out for way too long imo. I lost interest in it and wished it didn't take up the entirety of the season. Will have more to say when I've had more time to digest it all.
 

Breads

Banned
The ADR has been bugging me in some places but episode 12 at 12:30, the scene right after Caputo hugs Tracy, I swear Oija's mouth isn't even moving as she is talking in her first two lines.

No real commentary for this season besides that. It's kind of fun but otherwise it's pretty dumb. Not bad like Season 3.. just dragging out the riot premise to a ridiculous degree in ways what will ultimately be forgettable.

Kind of reminds me of how Weeds fell apart.
 

WetWaffle

Member
Fucking hate how
Taystee is the one that fucks up everything, the negotiations were practically finished and would have made litchfield a better prison for everyone so even an incident like Pousseys would never happen again. Instead she just throws it all away
 

Shandy

Member
This season was really rough around the edges. Some good moments surrounded by plodding, trying narratives and ham-fisted conflicts. It became apparent that they not only had little idea of what to do with the riot, but no idea how to conclude it and progress from it. The best they could do was
a convenient, Taystee-shaped reset button
.

But maybe that's what the show needs, its contrivances are beyond absurd, at this point. And that cliffhanger? Give me a break.
 
Which is ...

And also ... does this season even work

Real time.

Season is the most solid I think since S1.

Fucking hate how
Taystee is the one that fucks up everything, the negotiations were practically finished and would have made litchfield a better prison for everyone so even an incident like Pousseys would never happen again. Instead she just throws it all away

Yup, the finale was bleak as fuck for a reason.
 

Sunster

Member
so
Suzanne is going down for murder right?

edit: nvm
I thought for sure the girl with infection would die.
 

SDCowboy

Member
I'm getting ready to start episode 7 and
, again, the riot is just stretching out way too long. It feels like what should have been 1-2 episodes stretched out across the season so far.

The worse part is the amount of ridiculous plot holes that are needed to make it happen.
 

SDCowboy

Member
Binged watched the season with my wife today. Very conflicted in whether I'm ok with it or outright hate it.
They dragged the riot out for way too long imo. I lost interest in it and wished it didn't take up the entirety of the season. Will have more to say when I've had more time to digest it all.

Exactly!
It lasted to the point where it was hard to keep caring about it after a few episodes. A major part to the show is the dynamic between the prisoners and the guards, but the guards were essentially written out of the damn season, outside of small parts.

The prisoners on their own, IMO, aren't enough to fill the show out.
 
I started the new season and I lasted 10 minutes? Everyone acting like dumbasses because it's in their character? No. It was in the script.
 

Sunster

Member
I started the new season and I lasted 10 minutes? Everyone acting like dumbasses because it's in their character? No. It was in the script.

Don't read this spoiler because you're only on episode 1. This is for others to give an example of bolded.
There was no reason for Taystee to be that dumb during the negotiation. Like, no one would have been that dumb in that situation. They explained to her clearly why they can't just arrest Bayley and she's just like, "nope. derp, deals off" this is the woman who spent hours researching budget reports and finding ways to save programs and make all the demands realistic. No WAY she'd be that stupid. Writers really did her an injustice with that.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Which is ...

And also ... does this season even work

I'm on Episode 6 and while I appreciate the risk, I don't think it is working. It actually exasperates one of the issues I've had with recent seasons, where the show is clearly being written with binge watching in mind, to the detriment of the writing. Previous seasons really didn't have that much go on over the course of 13 episodes when you break it down. This is taking that to the nth degree. The storytelling is more reliant on quick hooks to carry people from episode to episode, rather than satisfying stories being told in those episodes themselves.

The flashbacks, which were my favorite part of the show, feel way more haphazardly thrown in here. The character getting the flashback isn't getting that major focus in the present, so it falls flat.

Someone mentioned Looney Tunes, and that's exactly how some of the characters act now. Just absolutely ridiculous even given the situation. And the show has actually made me care about some characters less over time because they get saddled with dog shit storylines and that's all they get for entire seasons.
 

Sunster

Member
I'm on Episode 6 and while I appreciate the risk, I don't think it is working. It actually exasperates one of the issues I've had with recent seasons, where the show is clearly being written with binge watching in mind, to the detriment of the writing. Previous seasons really didn't have that much go on over the course of 13 episodes when you break it down. This is taking that to the nth degree. The storytelling is more reliant on quick hooks to carry people from episode to episode, rather than satisfying stories being told in those episodes themselves.

The flashbacks, which were my favorite part of the show, feel way more haphazardly thrown in here. The character getting the flashback isn't getting that major focus in the present, so it falls flat.

Someone mentioned Looney Tunes, and that's exactly how some of the characters act now. Just absolutely ridiculous even given the situation. And the show has actually made me care about some characters less over time because they get saddled with dog shit storylines and that's all they get for entire seasons.

they have just nuked Daya, Soso and Poussey's stories. and those are my favorite characters. I add Soso there because it's clear to me that this show is just going to keep punching her in the stomach repeatedly until she kills herself.
 

kirblar

Member
I jumped ahead to the end cause I lost interest and they pull the exact same crap at the end they've done w/ prior seasons (ending spoilers)
They put the head guard in a position where he overhears stuff he shouldn't overhear and where they clearly need to kill him. Then the show wimps out on doing it, they have the characters let him go for no reason, and then they have him randomly killed by the guards, just like they had the S2 villain get mowed over by a dying character and the bubble blown in the guy's line this season to avoid any main character getting actual blood on their hands.

They're not willing to push the show and characters as dark as they need to go to pay off their storylines.
 

Sunster

Member
I jumped ahead to the end cause I lost interest and they pull the exact same crap at the end they've done w/ prior seasons (ending spoilers)
They put the head guard in a position where he overhears stuff he shouldn't overhear and where they clearly need to kill him. Then the show wimps out on doing it, they have the characters let him go for no reason, and then they have him randomly killed by the guards, just like they had the S2 villain get mowed over by a dying character and the bubble blown in the guy's line this season to avoid any main character getting actual blood on their hands.

They're not willing to push the show and characters as dark as they need to go to pay off their storylines.

It's a minimum security prison. If anything they've already gone way too dark. Throwing shit stories at good characters and killing others just for some unrealistic breaking point.
 

Tall4Life

Member
Finished the first episode... this is dumb as fuck so far. At least from this episode they took all the tension and drama from season 4 and turned it into a cartoon. Not to mention the "comedy" is just fucking gross, juvenile, and idiotic.
The girl slipping on the pool of blood, the other smearing period blood on her face....like what the fuck?
. If the rest of the season is like this, this show fell off a massive cliff.
 

shira

Member
Finished the first episode... this is dumb as fuck so far. At least from this episode they took all the tension and drama from season 4 and turned it into a cartoon. Not to mention the "comedy" is just fucking gross, juvenile, and idiotic.
The girl slipping on the pool of blood, the other smearing period blood on her face....like what the fuck?
. If the rest of the season is like this, this show fell off a massive cliff.

Agree, but
meh I'll watch it.

This story gots to be going somewhere.
charm_smile.gif
 

HeeHo

Member
Finished the first episode... this is dumb as fuck so far. At least from this episode they took all the tension and drama from season 4 and turned it into a cartoon. Not to mention the "comedy" is just fucking gross, juvenile, and idiotic.
The girl slipping on the pool of blood, the other smearing period blood on her face....like what the fuck?
. If the rest of the season is like this, this show fell off a massive cliff.

Feeling similarly. Maybe I'm being over sensitive (or just don't get it?) but I wasn't really appreciating the "Sandy Hook" and "San Bernardino" jokes that were made in the first episode. Seems too soon and also in bad taste.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
Feeling similarly. Maybe I'm being over sensitive (or just don't get it?) but I wasn't really appreciating the "Sandy Hook" and "San Bernardino" jokes that were made in the first episode. Seems too soon and also in bad taste.

Episode 1 Spoilers:
I might be WAY off base but I think they were trying to send a message about how prevalent mass shootings are by having each character be able to name a different shooting. At least that's how I read it.
 

Breads

Banned
Feeling similarly. Maybe I'm being over sensitive (or just don't get it?) but I wasn't really appreciating the "Sandy Hook" and "San Bernardino" jokes that were made in the first episode. Seems too soon and also in bad taste.

They put a ton of mass shooting/ police brutality/ murder jokes/ references in this season.

I won't spoil it but a specifically horrible one was reference material as another character's backstory.
 

Breads

Banned
Episode 12
Has Piper always had the fish tattoo or is that a retcon?

I thought it was a Joestar birthmark-like retcon and was cool with it seeing as how that would have been one of the lesser ridiculous parts of this season.

A quick google search tells me that other people did notice it in earlier seasons. It's always been there.
 

Linkura

Member
Frieda is the best character this season.

Looney Tunes is a great way to describe a lot of the shit going down. Completely ridiculous stupidity. And I agree, many things out of character and characters just doing shit because the script said so.
 

clearestblue

Neo Member
I just started episode 4 and things that happened last season are slowly coming back to me, I forgot about the white supremacist storyline in s4

Spoilers for episodes 1-beginning of 4
I forgot about Bayley who killed Poussey and I'm mad about how that was handled by the writers all over again. I mainly tuned in to see who Daya shot at the end of the season and then I figured I'd keep going. What was the point of Linda's back story? To show that she's self-centered? I don't even know. I liked Frieda's back story though.

Also why is the rapist CO still skulking around? I was really grossed out by the masturbation scene with Pennsatucky for multiple reasons but that was so unsettling.

I really really hate the meth heads and at the beginning of e4 I continue to hate them.
 

jrush64

Banned
I'm on Episode 12 and while I enjoyed the season, it's not as good as Season 4 was. The idea of
basing the whole season of the riot
doesn't work that well.
 

clearestblue

Neo Member
Feeling similarly. Maybe I'm being over sensitive (or just don't get it?) but I wasn't really appreciating the "Sandy Hook" and "San Bernardino" jokes that were made in the first episode. Seems too soon and also in bad taste.

Yeah that felt really shoehorned in. They mentioned Charleston too and the delivery of it was so stiff and sounded forced.
 

Karu

Member
three or four episodes in.

I love Season 1, 3 (It's great!) and 4 (10/10) - Orange is imo Netflix' best show, but so far this season feels like a train wreck in the making. Not enjoying it at all, which is a huge bummer. Ugh.
 
Whole season spoilers

I hate how everything ends on a cliffhanger now. This is as good of a conclusion as any but given the popularity of the series it probably won't be.

Dividing the prisoners gives them the opportunity to write off a significant portion of the cast and the show will just follow whatever prison Piper gets transferred to.

It was kinda weird to see Laverne Cox's character written off so anti-climatically. But it's preferrable over something horrible happening to her

The decision to (full season "spoilers")
make the riot the entire season seems incredibly ill-advised

It allowed the characters to do things that being prisoners wouldn't normally allow them to do, but at the same time it feels like they didn't do enough with that.
 

SpaceWolf

Banned
Five episodes in.

I am so goddamn tired of Piper and Alex, I swear to god. I don't find them cute, I don't find them charming...the writers either need to start giving them something more interesting to do than nothing at all or write them off the show entirely.
 

Linkura

Member
Five episodes in.

I am so goddamn tired of Piper and Alex, I swear to god. I don't find them cute, I don't find them charming...the writers either need to start giving them something more interesting to do than nothing at all or write them off the show entirely.

tenor.gif
 

Sunster

Member
Finished the first episode... this is dumb as fuck so far. At least from this episode they took all the tension and drama from season 4 and turned it into a cartoon. Not to mention the "comedy" is just fucking gross, juvenile, and idiotic.
The girl slipping on the pool of blood, the other smearing period blood on her face....like what the fuck?
. If the rest of the season is like this, this show fell off a massive cliff.

Yea that was wild. I feel like they have an *insert period joke* moment with every episode.
Episode 1 Spoilers:
I might be WAY off base but I think they were trying to send a message about how prevalent mass shootings are by having each character be able to name a different shooting. At least that's how I read it.
I also saw it this way.
I just started episode 4 and things that happened last season are slowly coming back to me, I forgot about the white supremacist storyline in s4

Spoilers for episodes 1-beginning of 4
I forgot about Bayley who killed Poussey and I'm mad about how that was handled by the writers all over again. I mainly tuned in to see who Daya shot at the end of the season and then I figured I'd keep going. What was the point of Linda's back story? To show that she's self-centered? I don't even know. I liked Frieda's back story though.

Also why is the rapist CO still skulking around? I was really grossed out by the masturbation scene with Pennsatucky for multiple reasons but that was so unsettling.

I really really hate the meth heads and at the beginning of e4 I continue to hate them.

I went through several phases of feelings over CO Bayley.
First I was mad about them giving him an empathetic subplot. Then I was like, Ok they are trying to show that the system is so messed up that a guilty white cop couldn't be punished even if he tried. Then I was like, No. Fuck this. They're sending him on vacation now!??

As for the rapist,
wow. I cannot believe they went the Pennsatucky x Rapist route.

Whole season spoilers

I hate how everything ends on a cliffhanger now. This is as good of a conclusion as any but given the popularity of the series it probably won't be.

Dividing the prisoners gives them the opportunity to write off a significant portion of the cast and the show will just follow whatever prison Piper gets transferred to.

It was kinda weird to see Laverne Cox's character written off so anti-climatically. But it's preferrable over something horrible happening to her



It allowed the characters to do things that being prisoners wouldn't normally allow them to do, but at the same time it feels like they didn't do enough with that.

This season has just been about gutting a show that they severely wounded last season by killing Poussey. If we go Piper centric again next season I'm done. She is just not interesting enough. I praised this show seasons in 2-4 by giving the other women equal spotlight to Piper. I particularly became fond of several of them. Then in s4 they began a process of breaking down, killing off, and carting away those great characters. And for what? The story doesn't justify it. This is a minimum security prison in Litchfield, not Rikers Island. Assassins?
Guards being killed?
Violent uprisings? All this character destroying drama is ham fisted and clearly just to leave us in shock after the inevitable cliff hanger finale. It's destroying the show.
 

SaintZ

Member
Just finished this season. SPOILERS.

I didn't mind the riot lasting all season tbh,however Tasteee being dumb by rejecting the deal and being "POUSSEY POUSSEY" all season was a bit grating. Also, I was glad to see them mixing the groups up a bit, at least with the riot, all the inmates were affected in some way unlike previous seasons where the plots kept some cliques isolated from the rest. I didn't find Piper annoying this season (although I've never hated her tbh) but why was Alex soooo stressed out about her murdering the hit man in self defense? And IIRC it was Lolly who killed the guy in the first place, no? Either way, that plot point dragged for too long.

I liked the most of the flashbacks. Frieda's, Allison's and Janae's were my favorites. I liked Linda as a character but her flashback felt unnecesary. Same with Daya. We get it, Aleida was an awful mom, we've known that since s1. I didn't care for Red's flashback either.

And I just don't see how the scenes this time are more disturbing than last season. Maritza eating the mouse, Pensa getting raped and Piper being branded were waaaaay worse and dark in my book than anything this season (ok, Red's torture scene was up there too).

And that's the end of Piscatella huh? NGL I wanted him to suffer a bit more. I hope we lose some of the worst inmates during the split. The methheads (Leanne specially), the nazis, the newer group of latinas were all annoying. I liked the cameos of Pornstache, Larry and Piper's mom but come on, no Cal? He and his crazy wife were the best part of Piper's story. No idea what's gonna happen with Coates and Pensatucky but nothing good can come out of it.

I'm guessing Daya and Sophia are now out of the picture as well? I was hoping to see something happen with Sophia and the cute doctor.

Overall I liked the season. My final ranking would be.
S3 > S2 = S5 > S4 > S1 (although I have enjoyed them all).

I'm excited to see what happens next season and how they shake things up.
 
Five episodes in.

I am so goddamn tired of Piper and Alex, I swear to god. I don't find them cute, I don't find them charming...the writers either need to start giving them something more interesting to do than nothing at all or write them off the show entirely.
They barely have any scenes.
 

LotusHD

Banned
Five episodes in.

I am so goddamn tired of Piper and Alex, I swear to god. I don't find them cute, I don't find them charming...the writers either need to start giving them something more interesting to do than nothing at all or write them off the show entirely.

Amen, I cannot stand them anymore. Also fuck those Nazi characters and the meth heads too while I'm at it.

They barely have any scenes.

And yet they're still insufferable. That said, Alex admittedly was slightly less awful this season due to the lowered focus, but as usual, Piper makes me groan in virtually every scene she's in.

----

Finished the season. Despite my initial apprehension, it was alright, I wasn't so bothered by the plot
focusing entirely on the riot for the entire season. Was stil very bingeable. That said, I'm irked that Taystee basically ruined everything in the end due to her pride. Like I get that Poussey meant a lot to you, but you pushed your luck too far. Now everyone's fucked.

Also fuck Piscatella, dude was a one-note character to the very end. Very disappointing considering we got characters like Vee who were villainous yet well-rounded. I have no idea why he was so vengeful towards Red, I truly don't. His flashback did absolutely nothing to clarify that either. He's gay, and his lover got punished for the relationship the two of them had, so he punishes the inmates that targeted said lover. So... what the fuck does that have to do with Red and the gang? At the end of the day, he's just a violent misogynist that apparently can't let a slight from an inmate go. Then they make light of him torturing women by first making it a nod to classic horror movie tropes. Worst character by far this season.

Also the hell was up with that doctor? Dude was just chilling by himself nearly the entire season lol

Truthfully, I dunno if I want to bother with next season. The group dynamics I enjoy seeing keep getting repeatedly destroyed/altered. The guards suck. The new inmates suck. (Can we please get rid of the Nazis?) Also, and this has been a gradually growing concern, but there is a lot of dumb inmates. Which is a weird criticism/nitpick I guess 5 seasons in, but I'm getting really tired of how dumb some of the dialogue is. So many times an inmate, especially the newer ones, will just say something absurd and completely random/idiotic for basically no reason. And I guess the show wants me to see it as being funny or something? Like "Hey, look at how stupid some of these inmates are!" And it just feels so demeaning that they'd think I'd actually find it funny, and for some of the characters, that's all they have; they're the (bad) comic relief and that's basically it. And I get it, that it may not be surprising for a prison to have a few inmates that aren't exactly bright, but they just keep adding to the list, and I'm honestly tired of it.
 
More than halfway through and I'm really bored. The riot shouldn't have lasted this many episodes.

If we're being really real, I think this show has run its course and should wrap things up soon.

I'd be fine with a sequel series, "After Orange" or something that follows the women once they've left, but my suspension of disbelief can only last so long. The show is just absurd now.
 
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