Orange is the New Black: Episodes 1 and 2 *SPOILERS*

Finally! After a year of waiting Orange is the New Black has returned!

Queereka is going to do something special for season 3! Each day for the next week a writer will post a review for two episodes. Now be warned spoilers are sure to occur, so watch out!

Before I spoil you and discuss the episodes I want to warn you of what I have been told occurs:

• Suicide tw for Episode 5
• Rape tw for Episode 10
• Violent Transmisogyny tw for Episode 13

Without further ado I will be reviewing Episodes 1 and 2, Mother’s Day and Bed Bugs and Beyond.

Two episodes in and I’m already hooked again and might finish the season today. When we last left our women Figueroa had just been fired, Vee had been killed, and Alex had been ratted on for violating her parole.

Already two episodes in there’s a ton of drama.

Now as always, so much could be avoided if people just communicated and told the truth, but that wouldn’t make for very good TV I’m sure. Regardless, be aware that like any other season of the show, if you have anxiety, it will probably be high during the episodes.

I’ll admit I haven’t had as much time to sit on these episodes as I would normally like to review them but sometimes that’s just life. I’ll do my best in discussing them though.

In Mother’s Day it’s as you would expect, children are allowed to come to the prison for the day to see their mothers. Red discovers that her restaurant has closed; Maria Ruiz learns that her boyfriend will no longer be bringing their daughter to visit her; Alex is back, and there is a new counselor named Berdie. I really enjoyed this episode, out of the two it was my favorite for sure. It’s somewhat emotional, but that’s a given because mother’s day is an emotional day for many. I loved getting more of a look into Poussey’s relationship with her mother because we had only previously been introduced to her father. It was truly heartbreaking to see Maria react to her boyfriend’s news, and to be honest it was out of the left field for me, he seemed so dedicated and while I totally understand his reasoning, he should have discussed it with her instead of making the decision for himself.

In Bed Bugs and Beyond there is an infestation of bed bugs, which leads us to learn that the prison will be shut down within two months. A lot happens in this episode, it’s kind of stressful and wild ride to be honest, but when is OITNB anything but? Piper comes clean to Alex about snitching on her parole violation after Alex has an emotional breakdown about being back at Litchfield, Aleida contacts Mendez’s mother and we learn that she would like to adopt Daya’s baby, Boo and Nicky discuss the heroin that they have hidden, Bennett proposes to Daya and then finds out that Cesar is cheating on Aleida and abusing her children/Daya’s siblings. The best part of this episode by far is Piper finally getting called out on her manipulative bullshit. Piper may always use the excuse that what she did was for good, but that doesn’t take away the problems in her actions. To hear her finally realize that she is manipulative was a beautiful moment in the show. I hope her character can grow from here on out because she was really grating on me last season.

Now the normal issues are around, mentions of transphobia, racism, and sexism. There is a discussion of abortion in the first episode and although Boo means well, it could easily be taken in a eugenics direction. I was somewhat uncomfortable by the sex scene in the end of episode two because it begins with Alex and Piper hurting each other before it dissolves into hate sex. But those are my only real complaints about the episodes at this point, I can’t wait to keep watching and hope all of you enjoy our reviews!

[Featured Image: Orange is the New Black Title Image, Photo Credit: Netflix]