Orange is the New Black - Stop making things so hard for yourself.

Orange is the New Black: 2x12 It Was the Change.

In a classical theatrical mise-en-scène, a storm over Litchfield provides the atmosphere for everything falling into place for the great finale. Conflicts come to a head. Unforgivable deeds are done. It’s all about love and betrayal, and the things characters are willing to do to get ahead. 

Vee is the mother who eats her own children. RJ, one of them, wanted to be a grown-up and do his own thing, but in Vee’s world, any measure is justified to prevent competition and to grow your own business. Having you children killed by a corrupt cop is justified. Selling out someone who thought you were her friend. Beating someone half to death

Piper knows that she will be sent away and uses the storm as a cover to finally get her hands on all those files that the journalist wanted, but she is interrupted by Caputo. 

We see how Fig’s marriage works, that her husband is asking her to keep supplying his campaign with prison funds in exchange for a child. And while she has to keep up a smile to please gross men, he kisses his campaign adviser. 

A friendship – which is perhaps the emotional centre of this whole season, when it comes to it – comes dangerously close to destroying both people involved, but then love wins out. 

Janae: Something’s gonna fuck you, you know, the system, the man, Vee, can’t do nothing about it. At least Vee gives you back 10 per cent.
Poussey: She took my friend.
Janae: And you’re gonna fight her forever? Stop making things so hard for yourself.

She will make things this hard for herself, because Poussey is the emotional and moral compass of this season: she despises Vee for what she is willing to do to people to stay ahead, and she hates her even more for taking the one person away from her that Poussey needs to stay alive in Litchfield. Taking away, in that case, means so many things: corrupting Taystee, involving her in a business that Poussey cannot support. For Poussey, what Vee is doing is turning Taystee into a different person. So Poussey destroys Vee’s stock, and Vee, forever able to play everyone like a fiddle, casts out Taystee in response, knowing this will lead to a confrontation between the two that might end her issues with Poussey for good. But in her cynicism and calculation, she’s forgotten that sometimes, friendship and love win over capitalism, even in an utterly unbearable environment like Litchfield. 

Taystee: You ruined everything. You couldn’t just be my friend. You gotta go turn it round and wanna take off my clothes
Poussey: When did I ever say a word…
Taystee: You said plenty of words. You couldn’t let me have one damn thing to myself.
Poussey: She’s not a good person Taystee.
Taystee: I don’t care. You fucked up my life.
Poussey: I’m done.
Taystee: You’re gonna just walk away now too?

The pushing. The violence. The fact that they both realize in the same moment how far they’ve gone from where they need to be. And the fact that it doesn’t escalate, that they win, that they will get out of this situation intact. 

Taystee: I’m sorry P. I’m sorry.
Poussey: I know.

Random notes: 

Red: You want to assassinate someone, vision is a basic requirement. It’s like step one, pick a person to kill. Step two, kill that person.

Piper: Hey, Morello. You know you were the first person that was nice to me when I got here. I was really scared. You made me feel like it was going to be okay. 

Morello: I’m gonna remember that you said that for my bad days.  

This is a very good scene, because Piper is very busy to list the things that are unfair about her situation, and doesn’t realize that Morello is there to say a genuine and heartfelt goodbye. But she’s learnt. 

More heartbreaking, and in the background – “TALK TO HER. Sing to her. You gotta promise me you’ll read to her while I’m in Virginia. I  know you don’t like to talk, but you gotta do it for her.”

Brook: We’re all just women having a shared experience of deprivation. We should totally have a sing-along. 

The entire exchange between Pennsatucky, Healy (and by extension, Big Boo) is hilarious. Healy thinks that now he’s found a connection with Pennsatucky, he can let her in on his conspiracy theory that lesbians are trying to get rid of all men (good old meninist than he is). “That’s how they get you, being cool, doing cool things, before you know it you’re part of their agenda. “

Pennsatucky: No offence, but men being in charge has never done me any good. 

Pennsatucky then goes off to enquire in more detail about said agenda, and Big Boo, cast out from everyone, sees an opportunity to make her day a bit brighter. 

Pennsatucky: The gay agenda. To take over the world?
Big Boo: Okay. First of all, keep your voice down, this shit is top secret.
Pennsatucky: Say I wanna join, right
Big Boo: Okay, let’s say that.
Pennsatucky: Would I have to do anything disgusting against the word of god? You know, I’m talking about eating pussy if you catch my drift.
Big Boo: Yeah, I hear you, and that is a big part of it, I’m not gonna lie. Let’s say you have all these religious convictions, we’ll give you an exemption, we’re not unreasonable. Of course you’ll still have to go through the initiation. 

Rosa: It’s not the dying that’s the bad part, it’s that I gotta do it here.

Foreshadowing