What I’m Watching: Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: Season 6, Episode 7 “Changing Winds” (B+)

Could it be that, after this show has reduced Piper’s role to that of a member of the supporting cast, it’s trying to promote her back to the lead by having her start writing a memoir? The real Piper didn’t spend nearly this long in prison, but I guess they’re going for some form of self-actualization of this story. Explaining Badison’s past in the episode after Daddy’s made some sense, though I still prefer the latter character. Daya is spiraling down, and now Daddy may be in trouble too because she touched Barb’s stash. Badison better hope that she can win back Carol’s trust since she’s getting the cold shoulder in a big way right now, and that stab wound looks pretty bad. Though she’s now involved in a way she didn’t want to be, Alex was smart to suggest Luschek as the most corruptible guard for Badison to try to get to help her with the smuggling operation, which makes sense since he may be depraved but he doesn’t have bad intentions. I like that Pennsatucky recognized Linda and used some information about the recently absent Boo to blackmail her way into staying in Florida, where she gets to be friends with Frieda and Crazy Eyes, who seems to be expressing her individual nature after getting some confusing messages over the radio. Cindy and Flaca are a fun pair, though their partnership is far from perfect. It’s good to see that Maria isn’t dead, though her situation hasn’t gotten much better since she got herself released from psych and is now quietly serving as an emissary of the lord.