Orange Is the New Black is now over for another year. I suppose it would last longer if I spaced the episodes out a bit more but binge watching over the space of two nights as soon as it's released is definitely more fun! The year long wait however for the next season, not so fun.
Season 5 was a little bit different compared to previous seasons but I honestly really enjoyed the show this year. It's taken me quite some time to compile my thoughts on this as I honestly have so much to say about it but I have finally managed to summarise both my strong and weak points and this post is a still little long! There will also be spoilers (nothing too huge) from this point on.
Season 5 revolved around the inmates taking control of Litchfield as a result of a riot in response to Poussey's death at the end of last season. The whole situation was pretty mental if I'm honest but I loved how as a result of the riot, the inmates had access to items within Litchfield which they never had before. I thought this added a dynamic to the show that we had never seen before as the inmates set up their own businesses in the hallways and even had Litchfield's answer to Starbucks on the go. This season was also packed full of up to date references now that the inmates were up to speed with all things internet. I particularly loved Flaca and Maritza's venture into vlogging!
The character focus shifted a lot this season giving more screen time to Taystee and Black Cindy in particular which I enjoyed as I love their characters. There was a lot of focus on characters I'm not so keen on such as the meth heads but I did really laugh when Leanne lost her favourite finger though, that was rather unfortunate yet a laugh out loud moment! I felt Alex and Piper took a bit of a backseat this season which I was a little disappointed by as they have been favourites of mine since season 1. I thought their plot lines were almost a little gimmicky at times and I would have liked to have seen more of them. I understand the show has a massive ensemble cast and it's good that the focus shifts between the different character groups but I do miss the earlier seasons when the show was more Alex and Piper centric. However, I did love the addition of Linda as a new inmate, that was both a very unlucky situation for her but absolutely hilarious at the same time. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to her in Season 6.
As for that end scene, oh my god that didn't half tug on your heartstrings. I watch a lot of TV and I'm not the kind to really get emotional over a show but I was really moved by the final scene. The last four episodes or so built up to what I thought was a very satisfying finale (apart from the huge cliffhanger that we all probably saw coming). I also really enjoyed episode 10 in particular which Laura Prepon directed. She deserves all the praise for directing whilst being kidnapped for most of the episode!
Even though I really enjoyed Season 5, I found that due to the season panning out over three days made it quite a slow burner. I did like how each episode seemed to be continuous almost as if we were watching 'a day in the life of Litchfield' but it still felt slightly dragged out at points for me. The back stories were also a little bit of a weak point for me this season. They are one of my favourite parts of the show as I love learning more about the inmates and especially finding out the crimes they committed to end up in Litchfield. I honestly didn't think much of the back stories this time and there were only a few that I could say I was really interested in. Now I do have to rewatch it at some point (as you do miss some details binge watching) but I felt many of them didn't really go anywhere!
What did you think of the newest season of Orange Is the New Black? Let me know!
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