"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Orange is the New Black Wish List

 
With nearly a year to wait until season 3, it’s time to look towards the future and muse about what I’d like to see when the good ship Orange is the New Black returns.  In many ways, the sophomore season improves upon the show’s first outing, but there’s always room for tinkering.  These are my season 3 wishes.  (Once again, I’ll disclaim the possibility of spoilers; some very specific season 2 mentions here.)
 
·    More stories for the Latina inmates – We’ve now seen flashbacks for eight of the white characters (including multiple Piper- and Red-centric episodes) and all eight black characters (thanks largely to the Vee arc in season 2,) but only three Latina characters – four if you stretch to count Aleida’s involvement in Daya’s flashback.  I’d love to learn more about Maria, Flaca, and Maritza, and I’d definitely like more Flores.  That said…
 
·    Less Daya/Bennett – These two bore me; what can I say?  They had sweet interactions in the beginning, but now, they both seem so dumb, and their plots tend to feel a little rinse-and-repeat.  Either shake up their storyline or put less focus on it.
 
·    Someone to help Nicky – I’ll admit it – I’m very worried for Nicky.  I was on pins and needles when she was given heroin, and I had to reassure myself that it’d be too repetitive for the show to kill off a white gay junkie via overdose in the second half of both seasons.  She’s been okay so far, but I don’t like the way she looks at that stash in the finale.  Show, make sure she has someone to help her be strong.
 
·    Overall plot balance – Piper/Alex are interesting to me, so I’m glad it looks like Alex will be back for season 3.  However, I also love the more true-ensemble feel of season 2, with different characters coming to the fore.  When the show returns, I’d like to see it strike a nice balance between Piper’s story and everyone else.
 
·    More humor – Season 2 has terrific drama, but sometimes it gets a bit too heavy.  Orange is the New Black is a dramedy at its core, and means, again, balance – this time between serious and funny.  Let’s be sure to keep plenty of laughs moving forward.
 
·    More of the Sophia-Sister friendship – Sophia felt really sidelined this season, and I love her unlikely friendship with Sister Jones.  More, please!
 
·    More interracial queer interaction – Despite Suzanne’s initial interest in Piper, the LGBTQ stuff has been pretty segregated.  I get that Litchfield is pretty segregated in general, and it wouldn’t bother me so much if the QPoCs didn’t seem so separated from one another.  There’s no sense of solidarity between Suzanne, Poussey, and Sophia, nothing like the tight-knit subculture between the white queer inmates.  I’d like to see more between them, and more cross-cultural interactions.  There are some great, brief interactions this season (Nicky and Poussey, Suzanne and Morello,) but there’s a lot of room for more.  And along those lines…
 
·    A girlfriend for Poussey – Seriously, she’s a catch.  She deserves better than a crush on her best friend.  A new character seems like the best bet right now, although, of the existing characters, I’m a little intrigued by the possibility of Poussey/Nicky.  I can’t quite picture it, but it’s probably the healthiest of all their current options.  Either way, I’d love to see how Taystee reacts to Poussey being with someone.
 
·    Something good for Suzanne – Anything, really.  Season 2 was hard on her; she went down a bad road and was used by a despicable person.  Let’s see some redemption for her actions as well as something that allows her to be genuinely happy for a little while.

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