What I’m Watching: Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: Season 2, Episode 2 “Looks Blue, Tastes Red” (B+)

After an entire episode devoted to Piper and just Piper, it’s nice to take a step back and see the world from someone else’s perspective without having to include Piper at all. She’s been almost completely forgotten about back at her old stomping grounds, though Pennsatucky managed to get herself what is sure to be some impressive dental work thanks to the beating she took from Piper at the end of last season. Not much has changed since we last saw these characters, with the exception of Red and her spiral down into depression, softened somewhat by the kind nature of several other older prisoners. It’s nice to see a bit of Taystee’s backstory since she’s always been a likeable character and here it’s hard not to be fully sympathetic towards her plight. Getting $10 instead of an actual job was an unfortunate blow, and the revelation that her adoptive mother is inside is big news. The mother-daughter dynamic isn’t working out too well for Dayanara and Aleida, though it was definitely better by the end of this hour. I enjoyed the brief snippets of each person’s mock interview and how hilariously off-base and unfiltered most of them were. Larry got some decent advice at a weird place from his father, and Polly was being awfully liberal with her wardrobe choices when Larry came over. Piper’s reintegration can’t be far out, and I’m sure it’s going to go far from smoothly, leading to some serious tension and further unpleasantness for our friend Piper.