Favorite Characters: Poussey Washington (Orange is the New Black)

Don’t ask me how, but in watching season 2 of Orange is the New Black, I managed to restrain myself to a single episode a day.  In the grand scheme of things, I realize that spreading it out over 13 days in lieu of binge-watching doesn’t dramatically shorten the wait until season 3, but it’s something.  Expect plenty of Orange is the New Black meditations in the coming days; naturally, though, I have to start with Poussey.  (Note:  while I won’t get into major spoilers, I will be including season 2 stuff, so read at your own discretion.)

 

When I finished season 1, I waxed on Poussey’s relationship with Taystee, but today is all about Ms. Washington herself.  Her exuberant personality won me over in season 1 – the inmates at Litchfield deal with their situation in different ways, and the Poussey we first meet is one who rolls pretty well with the punches.  She’s excellent at finding things to laugh about (even in prison,) she’s tirelessly supportive, and though she’s not afraid to get serious and speak her mind, she’s most content just shooting the breeze with her friends.

 

The new crop of episodes delve much deeper into Poussey, and while what we get isn’t as all-out fun, it draws a picture of this woman that’s a lot more detailed.  We still see Poussey’s capacity for joy and humor, especially early in the season – the Stand and Deliver cracks me up – but she goes through a serious trial by fire that tests her limits on all sides.  When Vee, someone from Taystee’s past, shows up in prison and tries to get Taystee back under her thumb, she quickly recognizes the importance of driving a wedge between Poussey and Taystee, and Poussey’s fight to keep her friend is grueling.

 

So what’s revealed about Poussey over the course of this storyline?  First, we see that she’s a good judge of character – she makes a piercing, spot-on observation about Vee that pinpoints her better than any other line in the series – and she isn’t easily swayed by flattery or manipulations.  She’s a born extrovert who craves companionship and values her relationships above all else, and the surest way to press her berserk button is to try and take away the people she cares about.  When push comes to shove, however, she won’t play nice with people she doesn’t respect just to keep her place at the table.  She’s fiercely loyal even when people don’t always deserve it, and she has an inner strength that drives her to face off against those who are bigger and more powerful than her.

 

She also gets her very own flashback episode to her pre-Litchfield days, which provides further insight.  Unlike some of the inmates we’ve met, she comes from a loving middle-class family with a wonderfully supportive father.  She was an army brat who moved around a lot, living in other countries and forming close attachments that were severed every time her dad was inevitably transferred again.  Though it’s obvious that she feels incredibly deeply, she’s developed the skill of pretending she doesn’t – it’s easier to cut ties with someone when you insist that you never really loved them.  It’s an interesting shade when you look at her frequent wisecracking and occasional tough-girl posturing:  a lot of it is genuine, I’m sure, but at least some of it must be rooted in this same defense mechanism.

 

Oh, and did I mention she’s a QPoC who’s both traditionally unfeminine and gorgeous?  Poussey for the win, people!

Relationship Spotlight: Poussey Washington & Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson (Orange is the New Black)

(Wish I had a picture that let you see more of Taystee than her hair, but I had a hard time finding a good cap with both of them in the same shot, and I think this one captures what they're about, so here we are.)

I just finished the first season of Netflix’s original series Orange is the New Black – in addition to joining the series late, I resisted the siren-song temptation to binge-watch, so it took me a little while.  At any rate, I really enjoyed the prison dramedy and am excited for season 2, coming this summer.  It’s fantastic to see a show with so many female characters in major roles, including characters of different races, orientations, and national origins, as well as characters with disabilities (mental illness in this case.)

 

With a large ensemble, there are a ton of characters to get invested in and plenty of interpersonal relationships to follow.  My favorite wound up being, far and away, the tight, loveable friendship between Taystee and Poussey (for the uninitiated, pronounced “Pu-SAY.”)  It was a little surprising to me, since neither character made a huge impact on me at first.  I was more interested in sarcastic Nicky, resolute Sophia, and unhinged Crazy Eyes.  Taystee was mainly the woman who brawled over ice cream, and Poussey was just sort of anonymous.

 

Things started to change for me in episode 6, “WAC Pack,” in which Taystee joins the campaign race for the Women’s Advisory Council, a representative group for inmates to liaise with the administration.  The pair is on fire in this episode, from Poussey serving as the hype man for Taystee’s campaign speech, to facing off against another candidate in a freestyle-rap battle.  Oh, and there’s their hilarious yuppie impressions as well, putting on white-people accents and yammering about NPR, veganism, and really quiet sex.

 

From there, Taystee and Poussey just get more and more fun to watch.  Stuck in a setting that can be pretty bleak, both characters exude life and joy.  It turns out both are fantastic on their own (I think of Taystee explaining why Ulysses is a better book to use as a step-stool than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, or Poussey awkwardly trying to scare a girl in a wheelchair straight,) but they’re definitely best as a team.  They seem to have a genuine good time together, whether they’re working in the library or hanging out in the cafeteria, and I get the sense that they’re each other’s lifelines to keep their heads up.  They have an effortless, delightful banter, and they balance each other out; Poussey can keep the more outrageous Taystee grounded, and Taystee can inject a little levity when Poussey gets too intense.

 

They’re clearly supporting players, and they’re often used as comic relief, but as the season goes on, they get some meatier material to work with.  While Taystee works on an appeal, Poussey is her rock, cheerleader, and reality check as needed.  Even though Taystee is her family on the inside, Poussey still roots for her to succeed in getting out.  Late in the season, Poussey opens up to Taystee about some of the struggles hidden behind her antics, and the two share a beautiful heart-to-heart about their prison experiences and how much they mean to each other.

 

Orange is the New Black’s first season was released all at once, when the whole thing was in the can.  I hope that, in the year since then, the creators have seen how great these two are together and how much fan support they have, so we can get even more of this relationship in the second season.