Orange Is The New Black Season 3 | TV Review

The time has come again. 13 hours of my life in the past 36 hours has been dedicated to this breakthrough Netflix series. And what a return to Litchfield it was. Orange Is The New Black has come leaps and bounds above any other series in breaking the boundaries set by TV. Without a doubt, this season has topped Season 2, maybe not quite Season 1.

The ever-changing dynamics within the series are pivotal in its quality. The Litchfield we see in episode 1 of the series is completely unparalleled to the same place at the end of episode 13. As has been the case in all 3 seasons. Not only that, but the characters development through these changes are incredible. Although in some particular characters, it makes them worse.

Take Piper for example. Although she's considered the main protagonist she is one of the most annoying. So she's her usual self in the first half of the season, but the second half, she just becomes a mighty asshole for zero reason, and this adds absolutely nothing to her character. She's been demoted to a side character which has been a long time coming. It makes Orange Is the New Black feel more like an ensemble than it did before. Most of the characters put on some real stellar performances, queen Laverne Cox as Sophia and Kate Mulgrew as Red. With all the side characters, theres a danger with overshadowing some of the ones with potential, which somehow they've managed to avoid. Before now. 

One of the most hyped characters before the show, Stella, played by Ruby Rose is somehow slipped into the series halfway through to provide some kind of friction between Piper and Alex. But there's literally no explanation as to why she's there, and she's gone before you know it. And Alex just disappears for some reason to allow all this to happen although her and Piper are stuck together by some special lesbian glue in the first few episodes.

*faints*

Laura Prepon made a sparkling return though. She put on one of the best performances in the series as she was jailed again. What's most notable is her pure chemistry with Piper whether they're at each others throats or doing it in a bin bag. However, her showing of her spiral down into paranoia and fear of the unknown after ratting out her drug lord boss is in stark contrast to anything on the series beforehand. Their exploration of this and depression in the prison is very comparable to the real world which is a strange thing to achieve in a prison show.

The thing this season lacked, was the extremely dramatic end that the other two seasons had. In the final hour and a half episode, it fizzled out like some flat orangeade. It was incredibly anti-climatic compared to some of the other moments earlier in season 3. This was always a danger since their wasn't a Disney-style villain like Vee in season 2 who was bound to get their comeuppance at some point. Their were a number of different inconveniences for a lot of the characters, which never really added up to much at the end. Or at least, you don't see the resolutions of these, which is once again, unsatisfying. In other words, meh.

What really packed a punch was the ability to go from all jokes around to complete heartbreak in the click of their fingers. That's always been something OITNB has held in high regards, and they certainly haven't lost that in their third outing. exploring back stories of Norma, the mute and Chang, the old Chinese lady who brushes her teeth with salt, gives even more insight into the lesser-known characters of the series. In particular, the back stories of Flaca and Daya really hit home. The story of Pennsatucky takes a very upsetting turn that is definitely out of the blue, and one of the most heartbreaking in this series.

OITNB has lost some of its charm in season 3 compared to previous series, mainly because of some severe lacking qualities, and making Piper an unnecessary asshole who needs a punch in the face. Other than that, its freedom to explore issues that are rarely touched upon elsewhere, and the ever-diverse cast's adaptability to their cause and emotions along with the fluctuating mood throughout each episode is what makes Orange Is The New Black.

8/10