Orange Is The New Black SEASON 2 REVIEW.

Okay so I know I'm posting this super late but I decided to write up a quick review anyway.
Firstly, I love that Netflix put up all of the episodes at once thus allowing for an epic binge fest. I devoured season 2 in 3 days around my work schedule. The show has already been piling up the Emmy nominations as testament to how much of a hit season two was.

Piper felt a little less like the central character as we begin to focus on other characters and story arcs. The characters of Vee, Poussey and Taystee became crucial to the season two storyline. Vee creates a wonderful, sociopathis villain who stirs things up perfectly and manages to shock and offend at every turn. She is the thing you find in prison that really scares you. Everyone's character is tested a little in this season and this allows for such wonderful plot and character development across the board. I'm glad to see my suspicions about Morello were correct but it pains me that I still don't know why a sweetheart like Suzanne (Crazy Eyes) is in prison. By the first episode  of season two we see how Piper has been truly hardened by prison life. She understands and passively accepts her lack of privacy or control and, although she still contests the powers that be, has learned to deal with her circumstances with a 'zero fucks given' attitude. The show is darkly optimistic as it shows how people find ways to cope with incarceration. The show, though constantly adding characters and exploring their story-lines, still feels like an intimate viewing experience. It has a lot of things to subtly say about the treatment of women in the prison system and how the government and parole officers treat their inmates.

This show goes from strength to strength and is still pulling in new viewers every day. What I love about it is that it offers a multitude of different women with different stories. I'm sure every episode passes the Bechdel test. We see women of different strengths, backgrounds, lifestyles and we see how they interact. This feels like the show television has been waiting for.

Orange Is The New Black review

So I recently sat down with Netflix to take a look at Orange Is The New Black...
...and devoured all of season one in under two days.

I have to say I really loved this show when I didn't even expect to. Fans of Girl, Interupted will probably appreciate this intense but quirky prison drama. It focuses primarily on protagonist Piper Chapman who is called in to serve a 15 month prison sentence for a minor crime she committed ten years ago. Then as each episode goes by we get flashbacks and stories of the other inmates. We learn how each of them came to be arrested, what their crime was, who they are. If anything it reminds us that criminals are people too; we're all human.

Taryn Manning serves as an excellent villain, Christian meth-head Tiffany. The show is based on the real life story of Piper Kerman and her memoirs of her time in prison. Kerman even works as a producer on the show. Taylor Schilling and Laura Prepon serve up an excellent portrayal of ex lovers and business partners. Laverne Cox also gives a beautiful and emotional performance as Sophia and the love story between Baptiste and Ms Claudette, as played by Michelle Hurst, is utterly heart breaking. What I love about this show is that it features a diverse cast of characters. There are characters from different cultural and economic backgrounds, characters with different sexualities, characters who have committed different crimes. Every character manages to stand out in their own way because they are so candid, so vividly real and so excellently written. I honestly recommend this show to everyone. It's actually worth getting Netflix, or signing up for a free month of Netflix services, just to watch this show. Do it. Do it now.
 Orange Is The New Black is battling Masters of Sex for the title of Best Show of 2013 in my heart right now. I honestly cannot choose.

Season 2 is set to air in 2014 and I'm telling you now, I cannot wait.