We have reached the end of Orange Is The New Black (SPOILERS AHEAD) with season 7 being the last of the seasons. It was the definition of bittersweet, with both ends of the spectrum being pretty extreme. Not only was this season a whirlwind of questions answered, but it also contained some cliffhanger-type endings for some beloved characters, where their ends were left up to our imaginations. We see some characters now in ICE detention centers, some leaving prison, and the rest finding new spots in their life after Litchfield. 

This season starts with our main character, Piper, living her life outside of Litchfield, but you definitely wouldn’t call it free. She’s on parole, unable to keep jobs that don’t allow her to check in randomly and that don’t sell alcohol. She also struggles to live with her brother and his family and get back on her feet in general. Just like with Piper’s case, much of this season exhibits harsh truth behind what many people deal with when the justice system is against you. We are shown a new facility: the ICE detention center. Blanca and Maritza are sent here and we meet some new characters as well. The writers did a fantastic job researching this process, just like they did with prisons, and it was gut-wrenching to see everything these people go through just to try and get a tiny bit of help. It was obvious that this was worse than prison.

Season 7 was very political and it was very smart of them to end it this way. We have examined the prison system time and again through the seasons, questioning the humanity and rules of the injustice in the justice system. I really felt like we experienced this in a wide array this season, top to bottom, from people “free” of prison, with those who have it rough and those who supposedly don’t, and with the workers trying to make things better. Tasha “Tastee” Jefferson’s case was one specifically that highlighted this occurrence, mostly through Suzanne’s POV. We see the effects of being found guilty when she was actually innocent take a toll on her. It was rough watching one of our favorites go through this, but this is a reality, unfortunately, and many innocent people are sitting in prison right now. Luckily her story ended on a hopeful note but for many, it does not.

In the final episode, “Here’s Where We Get Off”, we see a final glimpse of many of the favorites we lost in the switch after the riot and the happy endings for characters like Blanca, Gloria, and Tastee. These were my favorite parts of the last season. I didn’t like, however, how it felt rushed to end. This isn’t unusual for a series finale season to feel quickened to its end, especially a drama, but it’s almost never as enjoyable if it feels hurried to answer question after question instead of arriving to all the character’s resolutions naturally. It wasn’t the worst I’ve seen, but it could have honestly gone another season simply delving into issues of the last three episodes. Another issue I had with the final season is that there were dramatic moments that felt forced and seemed to be placed there just due to it being the last season. For example, Piper’s narrative about distrusting Alex was odd. Of course she wasn’t going to have an easy marriage to her after getting released with Alex still in prison for years, but their new “lust” interests didn’t feel like they were organic. It felt like the writers just said “they need to have an affair so who can it be with? Let’s choose a random woman already in the show for one of them.” And they landed on CO McCullough. This switch also quickly broke their entire story of fighting to be with each other (unless you consider them getting past infidelity as more of their fight, which felt like a weak issue compared to everything else they’ve been through). Mostly, there was a lack of chemistry with their new interests. Another forced moment was Pennsatucky’s death. Sure, that was supposed to feel random, but she was one of the toughest characters on the whole show. It didn’t feel true to her character to be broken down so arbitrarily. I love this show so much and the characters from it, that it was still so worth having the final answers shoved down my throat. Even though I would change some things about this final season, as a whole, this series was almost perfect, so I can look past it. 

I loved almost everything about this show. The first season was the raunchiest because it was a new and they wanted to shock people. Some people were turned off by all of the sex of the first season but that would have been their mistake. Orange Is The New Black is raw and real. The writers did extensive research into real women’s prison experiences (and ICE centers too) and they did a great job illustrating this. There was a fair amount of focus on everything with a good spectrum of the micros of prison, from the cliques to the COs and even the warden. 

If I had to choose a favorite part of the whole show it would be the unity and turn that Poussey’s death caused leading to the riot. That was a momentous time for the show and I think they took such a big change and ran with it. It worked amazingly. My least favorite moment would also revolve around Piper (sorry Pipes!). It was right at the beginning of season 6 when she was transferred (unbeknownst to her, temporarily) to the maximum security prison and she was worried about Alex the whole time, even though she was potentially in there because of her. However, any weakness to Piper’s story was part of her plot as it does exhibit that even “innocent” seeming, middle-class, boring women can still go to prison. Anyone can end up in there. I think that was an overall theme of the show.

Now, if I had to choose a favorite character, that would be hard to say. Poussey was amazing, which is why they chose to kill her off. She was one character that everyone could say didn’t deserve to die at all, didn’t deserve her treatment in prison, and possibly not even her sentence. “Crazy Eyes” AKA Suzanne is a clear fan favorite. She’s definitely smart and a good lens to see really problematic scenes through such as the guard fight ring, the riot ending, and Tastee’s sentencing because she’s so logical and analytical. Gloria, Pennsatucky, Butch, Red, Nicky, Adelaida, Dixon, Tastee, Caputo, Alex… there were just so many lovable and outstanding characters that stick in your mind and make you feel real emotions for them. This was why this show was such a hit. Orange Is The New Black made you feel something. It happened every episode, for almost every character, in every way possible. I’d grade this last season an 8, due to it feeling rushed and, at times, inorganic, but this whole show gets a 10 from me. I absolutely loved it.

Season 7=

Orange Is The New Black Series Review