Orange Is the New Black: 40oz of Furlough

June 11, 2014 2:52 PM - Season 2, Episode 9

Piper's relationship with Larry faces a real-world test; Red's effort to redeem herself is finally rewarded. A familiar figure returns to Litchfield.
posted by mathowie (14 comments total)

as much as the "Champagne or a 40!" thing was a thing I feel like I should point out you can't buy wine in NYC Delis, only beer.
posted by The Whelk at 8:23 PM on June 11, 2014

I wonder if people still love Vee as a character at this point? I feel like she's becoming more and more one dimensionally evil. It's weird to me how Taystee is so super loyal. I'm thinking we must miss some backstory. We saw that even when she was 10 or so she knew exactly what Vee was doing. I get that years in the foster system got to her and were terrible and that Vee was better than the alternative, but still, Taystee is so smart and knew exactly what kind of deal she was getting from Vee, was justifiably angry that Vee abandoned her when she got out, and all of a sudden there's nothing but loyalty? I would understand it more if she were mostly scared of Vee, she certainly knows that Vee is not someone to challenge, but towards Poussey, she seemed not scared, but really loyal, really feeling she owed Vee. I do like that Poussey sees right through that and mentioned (in a previous episode) how Vee is this terrible person who grooms vulnerable children to sell drugs for her and than dumps them as soon as they are no longer useful.
posted by blub at 12:46 AM on June 13, 2014

She's family. Even if you hate them yourself you may well defend them from others.
posted by Iteki at 3:01 PM on June 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

It was weird to see Piper in makeup.

Cal's co-opting of the funeral for his wedding was painful to watch, even if it did end up looking like everyone was having a good time dancing to Tom Waits.
posted by liet at 8:41 PM on June 13, 2014 [4 favorites]

Red's restaurant being shut was heartbreaking, albeit not exactly surprising. They shot that scene at the Ditmars stop on the N/Q- I've been there a million times. First time I recognized a shooting location!

I don't mind Vee as a character. But I miss Taystee. I hope she gets back to her old self at some point, cause this shit is depressing.
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:35 PM on June 13, 2014

I think the show needed a bad guy, and given that it's a prison show, having one manipulative sociopath who's completely out for herself seems a tad below quota, if anything. Everybody likes the camera dearie among the prisoners, but having it be such a love fest all the time was probably the most unrealistic part of the show. Vee's a cat among the pigeons.
posted by Diablevert at 9:06 AM on June 15, 2014 [2 favorites]

And she's bringing out the meanness in others, like Boo. And to some extent that's reflected in the Mendez/Bennet storyline as well.
posted by tofu_crouton at 9:11 AM on June 15, 2014 [2 favorites]

camera dearie

Oof. Between me and my iPhone, one of us can't spell "camaraderie".
posted by Diablevert at 9:56 AM on June 15, 2014 [3 favorites]

Oof. Between me and my iPhone, one of us can't spell "camaraderie".

I assumed it was some sort of insider-y filmmaker's term!
posted by showbiz_liz at 10:48 AM on June 15, 2014 [6 favorites]

The wedding surprised me. It seemed to show that Cal is potentially just as narcissistic as his sister. Who co-opts a funeral for their wedding? Then again, maybe his grandmother would have loved it - although he did say she might be a bit judgmental about it.

Overall it seems like a win since I really like the woman who plays Neri (Cal's wife) and their relationship seems very healthy and lovely from the little bit we've seen. But it still seems a bit of a self-centered move, staging a surprise wedding during your dad's mother's funeral.
posted by sockermom at 9:16 PM on June 20, 2014

This seems like a term paper: Hair Styles in Orange is the New Black, and maybe it's been discussed before but who was doing Suzanne's Bantu knots that is not doing them anymore and who is doing Taystee's more severe coif? Is Sophia staying out of this poisonous maelstrom and how? I've got two more episodes to go so we'll see.
posted by Morrigan at 5:49 PM on June 21, 2014

I don't get why Tastee is so loyal to Vee either. When she got released in season one, didn't she immediately break parole because no one would let her stay or help her? Implication being Vee didn't do anything for her either.
posted by sfkiddo at 1:33 AM on June 23, 2014

"who was doing Suzanne's Bantu knots that is not doing them anymore"

At some point Vee told her, and this is not verbatim, "We've got to get you a new hairstyle, Suzanne."
posted by komara at 9:31 PM on June 25, 2014

I think the show needed a bad guy, and given that it's a prison show, having one manipulative sociopath who's completely out for herself seems a tad below quota, if anything.

I really kind of like the new dynamic though, where there's this obvious jockeying between three headstrong leaders--Vee, Gloria, and Red--who all have strengths & power bases but are all stuck within the same system ...and people like Boo, Poussey, and even Bennett, who are nominally associated with one faction but can go wildcard unexpectedly.
posted by psoas at 7:58 PM on July 6, 2014 [1 favorite]