What I’m Watching: Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: Season 5, Episode 12 “Tattoo You” (B+)

The riot’s just about over, and it’s not ending the way anyone wanted it to. The governor agreeing to give in to all of the demands because of the leaked Piscatella video was a real victory, but Taystee, who was the one who started the riot, still hasn’t achieved the recognition for Poussey that has always been most important to her. She has no idea, of course, that Bailey actually paid a visit to Poussey’s father to apologize for killing her, and he’s racked by so much guilt that he would be fine turning himself over and being punished for his crime. But the hostages made it out, much to everyone’s confusion, and now the army with the riot gear is ready to go in. Maria, who helped the guards escape, isn’t going to get what she was promised, and Gloria is in particularly bad shape inside the prison, now confined to the cell with Luschek. Nicky was pretty surprised when she found out that Lorna was indeed pregnant, and calling Vinnie was a great show of formidable friendship. Linda’s secret is out, and Big Boo knew exactly how to punish her for lying. The former star of this show took center stage again in this episode as Piper was treated to some flashbacks of her going through a rough patch with Alex and then calling her drunk when she was with Larry. Proposing to Alex was quite the about-face from her poorly-received curiosity earlier in the episode, and let’s hope their happiness can continue once reality sets back in as the riot ends.