What I’m Watching: Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: Season 6, Episode 2 “Sh*tstorm Coming” (B+)

Now here’s an improvement on what we saw in the season opener, showing us how things are getting back to a new normal for most of the inmates. The investigators being given a one-week deadline to wrap up their work feels a whole lot like similarly-imposed limitations on real-life investigations recently in the news, and that arbitrary limit is sure to produce unfortunate results. Maria and Gloria are really going at each other to try to get the other blamed for everything, and it looks like Gloria is winning that race, though Blanca appears to have been given a different destiny that isn’t likely to work out in her favor. Daya took a plea, and Cindy, who got her own flashback to motherhood that she wasn’t remotely interested in, had to reconsider her story and may now be looking at an uncertain future. Piper got herself a new cellmate, one who seemed harmless enough but whose crimes are going to give Piper a lot of pause as she moves forward in their friendship. I’m most excited by the focus on the guards, with Caputo shaving and cleaning up his act only to find out that Fig has taken his job, which sent him reeling. Healy’s first appearance in a very long time was well worth it, with his newfound emphasis on joy in life with secret menu smoothies. I love that Dixon was concerned about Donuts and wanted to make sure he didn’t kill himself when he was actually just hiding Pennsatucky in the trunk. The best part was his reaction to her coming into the room: declaring that he wasn’t going to go on all the rides solo.