What I’m Watching: Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: Season 4, Episode 8 “Friends in Low Places” (B+)

As promised, this new education system being put into place at Litchfield really is nothing more than a chain gang. I most enjoyed Big Boo’s brilliant plan to pretend to work all day to avoid being assigned any actual tasks, and the quick starting by an unimpressed technician put that to rest pretty quickly. It was interesting to see Pennsatucky make conversation with Doughnuts, and his attempts to befriend her again don’t seem to be going all that well even if his latest apology seemed relatively sincere. Talking about time travel to go back and kill Hitler took a dark turn with one of the neo-Nazis expressing her wish to help encourage him to be smarter so that he could have achieved world domination. Turning the swastika on Piper’s arm into a window was a clever solution, and it’s good to see Piper a bit out of her rut after pitying herself all episode before smoking crack with a spiraling Alex and a bored Nicky. Aleida thinking that she can open a nail salon was a brief high brought down by her daughter’s reality check and the unfortunate existence of a drug front so close to her impending out. Sophia’s ex-wife showing up to Caputo’s house and ending up with a gun pointed at her by Linda was a bit disturbing, and of course Caputo would let his anger go because he was so turned on by Linda’s actions. Lorna asking her sister to check into whether her new husband is cheating can’t lead anywhere good, and I sincerely hope it’s just her trying to fish for a free pass to fool around with Nicky. Judy’s solution to her latest problem and the picture idea was funny, and I think they’re going to take it very far very quickly.