I just finished the Election episode. I think they need to remind us from time to time that there’s more then 10 people in this jail. I mean, from time to time they’ll show a few people in the background, but I think they would do well to go out and hire a thousand or so extras for a day and get a season or two of B Roll. I have to admit, I was really confused with the Election trying to figure out who was voting for who until I realized that, duh, there were probably 10 black people and 10 Hispanics and 10 whites and 10 ‘others’ etc running against each other, not just the one of each that we know. They didn’t do a good job portraying that to the audience.
Anyways, even with the huge discrepancies, I’m still liking the show. I get that it’s not Oz, but for example, in one scene we see Red chopping things with the knives chained down and in the next we see Sophia cutting hair with scissors that aren’t tethered in anyway whatsoever (and not only that, no one making sure that someone doesn’t walk out with them).
The one time it did bother me was in the screwdriver episode. They should have had to return everything before their ‘break’ and not only that the girl that was working the cage should have said “I started working in the middle of a shift, I’m not responsible for the things checked out on his watch”. The fact that they didn’t even mention that almost seemed like sloppy writing. There was no reason to ignore that point other then someone not wanting to rewrite or reshoot something and hoping we didn’t catch it.
It’s not that bad. We’re told about 200 to 250 women are housed there, with an unknown additional number in the higher security facility down the hill. All told, we’ve met a good percentage of the inmates. They also read off the vote counts for what seemed to be all of the candidates.
I really enjoyed the season, but count me among the viewers annoyed by Piper. Most, if not all, of the criticisms offered by other characters are correct, yet I get the impression we’re supposed to be viewing her with a sympathetic eye.
I like the fleshing out of the characters through flashbacks, but I was somewhat troubled by Big Boo. She’s portrayed as a dangerous rival in the screwdriver episode and then basically falls in to the same group as Piper from that point forward. And was there ever an explanation for why she was allowed the dog?
Oliver Platt tends to play more sympathetic characters. The Healy character is an unmittigated creep, what with his Russian mail order bride, his obsession with lesbianism, his facilitation of Pennsatucky’s attack on Chapman, and putting Chapman in the shoe for no good reason.
I just finished Ep 10 and I think this is probably the best thing Netflix has ever done (I mean I really liked House of Cards, but this is slightly better). The drama is done very well and the comedy seems to fit nicely without feeling forced. The flashbacks and looks into the inner motivations of people who earlier seemed to be stereotypes are simply fantastic. Bravo Netflix!
A thought just occurred to me about the final episode that is pure speculation.Warning: This contains episode-spoiling informationLast chance to back out. Could the fight between Chapman and Pennsatucky at the end have simply been a dream? I don’t see how Chapman is not sent to solitary permanently if it was real, or how she’s not tried and convicted of murder and then sent to death row if Pennsatucky dies.
Agreed. I think the flashbacks are essential in elevating the show, because they get us to see where these women were prior to being locked up and are incredibly effective in seeing them as people rather than only ‘inmates’ (which is a very easy mindset to slip into).
I was shocked to find out that the guy that plays the “Pornstache” guard was Nick Sobotka on The Wire (season 2, the main dock worker guy’s son), and Nancy’s hot Israeli drug supplier in some of the later seasons of Weeds. He’s so unrecognizable playing this sleeze.
I just finished (so I’m qualified to click through the spoilers ;)) and:
Healy walks away, and there are camera everywhere, but if Chapman steps away and lets Pennsatucky bleed there and walks in, I’m not sure what the prison administration would necessarily do. If they saw the cameras, they’d know Doggett started it and actually caused Chapman to bleed first - also Doggett has been to psych. I wonder if the female prison admin would try to hush it up due to the fact Doggett was in psych and then let go and then tried to stab another inmate with a cross
[spoiler]So, with the fight…is Pennsatucky dead? Alive? How much time will be added to Piper’s sentence? My wife said, “well now she’s gonna get life.” And I thought, “well, yeah…because if she gets out of prison, the show’s over.”
kill Pennsyltucky. They certainly made it look like she is beating her to death, but I’m sure the violence of the attack was deliberately exaggerated for the sake of giving us a good cliffhanger to go out on. There wouldn’t be much of a show left if Piper spent the rest of her life in SHU.
Wasn’t she defending herself? Since Pennsatucky’s insanity and Christianity are well documented, it would be easy to link the chiseled cross to her. Everyone knows she was after Piper. The other inmates, especially Alex, can testify in Piper’s defense. I know Alex is avoiding her, but I don’t think she’ll let her go down for murder.
Two episodes in and I can’t figure out what to think. This fluffy Goldie Hawn stuff coupled with hard-R sex and nudity and Oz-like grittiness is just… weird. It’s an irritating combination, because you can’t tell how a given situation is going to come out on that scale - which is not a plus.
ETA: That doesn’t mean I can’t handle unpredictability, but when I can’t tell if a confrontation is going to end with a giggle, a titty-grab or a bloody nightsticking it’s too hard to stay engaged with the characters.
I don’t really understand this comment. I imagine most of us, if we found ourselves behind bars, would similarly not know what other inmates may do to us especially in the first few weeks. As a TV viewer, though, I think not knowing what could happen makes you more engaged as you’d really want to find out what’s going to happen.
