Picking up one week after the emergency response team stormed Litchfield Penitentiary, the ladies of Litch have been torn apart, literally and figuratively, as they enter a new facility in the sixth season of “Orange Is The New Black.” Now newbies starting at the bottom, they must navigate new rules and power dynamics while getting hazed by inmates and tortured by guards. Friendships will be tested and new allegiances formed – some by choice, others by circumstance – as the women face a slew of charges from the riot. Will they take plea deals and turn on each other or band together and keep their bonds intact?
Season Six of “Orange Is the New Black,” which was created by Jenji Kohan, is a deftly incriminating look at the criminal justice system through the eyes of its closest inhabitants. In the aftermath of the Litchfield Penitentiary riot, the ladies who lunch are sent to a maximum security prison and sisters Barbara (Mackenzie Phillips) and Carol (Henny Russell) have divided themselves into teams declaring Block C and Block D as battlefields. The two are at each other’s throats for the majority of the season and near the end attempt a truce in order to work against a more powerful system. From the prison staff to the representing attorneys, as well as the prisoners themselves, everyone has an agenda that they are trying to fulfill. The domino-effect of retaliation sets the bar and trickles down to subpar relationships between the haves and the have-nots. The thirteen subtitles which include “Who Knows Better Than I,” “Mischief Mischief,” “State Of the Uterus,” and finally, “Be Free,” set the pace to deliver the scapegoats from extended prison sentences and cruel & unusual punishment.
In the opening episodes, Suzanne (Uzo Aduba) seems to be in a transformative state as she hallucinates to variations of television shows that prompt her to revisit situations in her life that have caused pain and confusion or simple joy and pleasure. Prompted by her lack of meds, she seems to find comfort in her new surroundings by hanging on to a past that she could control or at least flip in and out of. Caputo (Nick Sandow), who is on suspension and feeling useless, appears to be at the mercy of the feds who have been pressured to give harsher sentences as a means of using scare tactics to promote cooperation among the weakest links in the prisoner’s chain of hierarchy. Caputo also delves into a relationship with Figueroa and finds himself having to balance between emotions and a chance to boost his career. Things get further complicated when Taystee (Danielle Brooks) gets afforded a one-time favor with the opportunity to ask for Caputo to save her from being framed.
As it gets deeper into the season, Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez), a previous Public Relations Executive, is trying her best to live a better life outside of the prison walls but is having a difficult time securing honest employment. When she happens to chance upon an opportunity to be a successful salesperson, she tries to convince herself it isn’t for her, but can’t turn it down because of her financial situation. Flaca (Jackie Cruz), finds peace as an in-house deejay and expresses all her feelings via the radio and uses it as an outlet to lay down the law of the land. Daya (Dascha Polanco) continues to find ways to expand her oxy business within the prison walls while Piper gets special treatment to keep her out of trouble. The Prison PR video becomes the latest attraction that brings out the best and worst in the internal competition to be the baddest Bitch on the block.
By the end of the season, Piper (Taylor Schilling) gets the best news ever and continues to gain support from her unlikely allies in her fight for freedom. Lorna is trying her best to prove that she’s got Barb’s back and the transplants seem to be finally settling into their new roles, with their old secrets, at their new living quarters. This series, based on Piper Kerman’s 2010 memoir, ‘Orange Is The New Black, My Year In A Woman’s Prison,’ takes a deep look into how female prisoners survive in a system that is just as corrupt as its population. It examines the survival tactics and forged relationships of the same and opposite sex that prove to be stepping stones in socialization and how reform isn’t easily accomplished inside a world that has its own set of rules.
Available on Digital June 10th and on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) and DVD June 11th from Lionsgate
