Starring Taylor Schilling, Michael J.
Harney, Kate Mulgrew, Laura Prepon, Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks,
Natasha Lyonne, Taryn Manning. Various Directors. (2014, 774 min).
Review by Michelle MaBelle
Orange is the New Black is good. Really, really
good, but you already knew that.
You've probably also already heard everyone losing their minds over Season One, screaming about how it deserved to win all the Emmys and such. Maybe you even got tired of
hearing that. Maybe you rolled your eyes and told people to
shut up because it was just a show, so who cares? That's
the exact boat I was in before I actually sat down and watched the
first season and spent the entire day in front of my TV, losing my
mind and screaming about how, yeah, it deserved to win everything.
Season Two is just
as good. Maybe even better, actually.
Season One focused
on Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) as she fumbled around in Litchfield trying to cope
with prison life. Season Two shows Piper as being a bit more
aggressive and a lot more selfish. This season, however, takes Piper
out of the spotlight more often and lets the supporting cast shine more brightly. This is a blessing, really, because my biggest
complaint about Season One was Piper's constant back
and forth with Alex and Larry, which was interesting for about three
minutes, then became repetitive and dull.
Orange is the New
Black is one of those shows where the main characters are
fine, but it's those in the background that really make it something special. Blending Piper in with everyone else, making her
just one part of the community instead of it's center, really pushes Season Two to new heights. Learning who the other girls were
before prison is quite often heart-wrenching. The stories of Taystee, Mendoza and
Poussey stand out in particular and really hammer home the
idea that not everyone who does a bad thing is a necessarily bad person at their
core.
 |
| "Please, God...strike thee down anyone hotter than me...especially that 'Hot Donna' bitch..." |
Actually, that's the overall theme that Season Two takes and runs with. Good people
do bad things and bad people have some good in them. The world isn't
black and white, and everyone in Litchfield is grey. It's a ideal that could have come dangerously close to becoming overused and
cheesy, but it works here. Every. Single. Time. I
was on the edge of my seat every episode, face practically against the screen as I
wondered who would be in the spotlight next. I wanted to know who
these girls were before, and at the end of the episode I was never
disappointed, although I was often a blubbering mess.
I
don't want to spoil things, but I will say this: My only
complaint about this season is they spend a ridiculous amount of
time on Larry. Nobody cares about Larry. He was
uninteresting in Season One, and now he's uninteresting and
unnecessary. He and Piper aren't
together anymore, so we don't need to spend as much time with him.
EXTRAS:
- FEATURETTES: "A Walk Around the Block"; "Orange Peeled"; "Back Before the Potato Sack"; "The Vee.I.P. Treatment"
- Audio Commentaries
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! LIKE A FRESH CAN O' TUNA!
1 comment:
Can you tell me which episodes have audio commentaries and who is giving them? Thanks!
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