The ladies of Litchfield Penitentiary are back! Netflix surprised us all and dropped all 14 episodes of Orange is the New Black Season 3 at 10 p.m. EST Thursday, June 11, instead of at 3 a.m. June 12 Eastern Standard Time, as originally advertised.
Fans have been counting the days since last summer, and some super fans are probably already halfway through or have even finished the new season by now. (14 episodes at approximately an hour each, you do the math.) Sadly, most of us have to wait until our lives let us dive into our favorite binge. But sooner or later, we will find out and until then let’s reminisce, predict and hope.
So, where were some of the people of Litchfield when we left off? (Spoiler alert and shame on you if you aren’t up to date yet.)
Piper (Taylor Schilling) selfishly and true to character ratted out love and now out on parole Alex (Laura Prepon), with the help of her former fiancé Larry (Jason Biggs) and best friend Polly (Maria Dizzia), as Alex was preparing to skip town worried about being tracked down by the drug lord she herself ratted out. Piper was once again scared of being alone.
Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) finds friendship in Big Boo (Lea DeLaria), hoping the lesbians will give her safety and camaraderie, and cuts her hair off for acceptance.
Caputo (Nick Sandow) is appointed as interim deputy warden after the despicable Figueroa (Alysia Reiner) is caught embezzling. After Bennett (Matt McGorry) is pressured by Daya (Dascha Polanco) — calling him a “pussy” to be exact — he confesses to Caputo that Daya’s unborn baby is actually his, not Pornstache’s (Pablo Schreiber). Caputo makes his first important decision of his career, and tells Bennett to keep quiet.
Taystee (Danielle Brooks), Pouseey (Samira Wiley), Cindy (Adrienne C. Moore) and Janae (Vicky Jeudy) reinstall their friendship and unify to take down their former ringmaster the evil, drug dealing, backstabbing Vee (Lorraine Toussaint.) Thanks mainly to self-pitying inmate counselor Healy (Michael Harney), Vee is soon implicated in the beatdown of Red (Kate Mulgrew), then immediately escapes through the greenhouse tunnel. Sadly, Vee’s last ally, the lovable but gullible Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba) is left hysterical and alone with only the pack of Uno cards Vee gifted her.
After learning of her doomed prognosis, Rosa (Barbara Rosenblat) takes the wheel of Morello’s (Yael Stone) work van and drives away fast while dreaming of her younger self being chased by the police after a bank robbery, all to the appropriate sounds of “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” It is here that Rosa becomes the most important and heroic person of Season 2 and purposely runs over fugitive Vee.
In the real world, since last season, accolades and awards have showered the cast and the show including SAG Award wins for both Aduba and the cast as a whole. Laverne Cox, playing character Sophia, has become a icon for the Transgender community, was the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy in an acting category and is on the cover of the first LGBT concentrated issue of Entertainment Weekly in fifteen years. (The issue hits newsstands today.)
What we do know, thanks to online rumors, previews and interviews: Larry while not be returning for Season 3. Not sure if his new love Polly will be either. A few new characters are shown in the latest trailer including a few new guards and the stunning Ruby Rose as inmate Stella Carlin. Returning from the beginning of Season 2, Lori “She’ll always be Tank Girl” Petty somehow shows up at Litchfield from Chicago where we first met her.
What do we think, want or hope will happen? CL approached some local fans to see what they think.
“Vee is not killed in the crash and returns to cause more problems," says Jay Salyers, 33, Client Care, The Cat Doctor. "Ruby Rose’s character and Piper hook up. Alex returns and is hated by all. Piper runs the show and partners with Red who gets her kitchen back.”
“Vee is a ghost, there’s a prison wedding, some deaths, and Daya gets out to live happily ever after,” says Tina Contes, General Manager, Datz Dough.
“The show is going to be less about Piper because there’s nothing left for her character to say," according to Alec Shurtz, 31, Sous Chef, Wine Exchange/my surprisingly opinionated on the matter husband.
"Last season was about her making her final transition to full-on hardened convict," he continues. "Now that’s done there’s nothing more interesting about her character other than her struggle with selfishness, which will probably be addressed at some point this season. On top of that, the creator said in previous interviews that Piper was an “in” to find a network to give her money to tell a story about women of color. I expect that’s what the show will continue to do and I’m happy for it. Also, I hope to Christ they avoid making another “Vee” character, which was totally out of tune with the rest of the show. She was a one-dimensional bad guy mad for everyone to hate at first and then to enjoy the total fan service of running her over with a truck. It was ridiculous. You could tell Red's character was based on actual person because she was a tough villain a first but, like most people, once you got to know her she was great and had specific reasons for acting the way she did.”
Personally, I hope Morello finds love and continues to summarize movies. (Watch her recap of Toy Story in the last episode of Season 2.) I hope Caputo succeeds as deputy warden but still has time to spend time rocking out in his band Sideboob.
I would love to see the back-story of lovable loser Litchfield electrician Joel Luschek (Matt Peters). I think everyone wants more Sophia. I want less Piper and Alex and more stories on the other more stimulating characters.
I also hope I can figure out how to fast-forward the Roku remote perfectly to end right after the theme song. Don't get me wrong, Regina Spektor's "You've Got Time" isn't a bad theme song, it's just the only song I've ever wanted to listen to 14 times in one day is Jay Z's "99 Problems."
Whatever happens in Season 3, we will find out soon. Don’t wait too long to jump in because if you don’t find out what happens on Netflix, you are sure to be spoiled on social media. And that’s just your own damn fault.
This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2015.