What I’m Watching: Orange is the New Black

Orange is the New Black: Season 6, Episode 9 “Break the String” (B+)

Piper is definitely living in a different world than most of her fellow inmates, and her excitement about kickball has now been corrupted with Carol jumping at the chance to find a new, slightly sanctioned arena to get back at D-block. It was nice to see Piper make peace with Maria after watching the latter experience misfortune this season, and now it’s just a matter of the new characters and the threats that they pose. Gloria didn’t even have a chance to take advantage of the unexpected appeal she had to Luschek before Badison threatened her with extreme bodily harm. Red has forged a strong bond with Carol, while Nicky is getting close to Barb while she’s detoxing in medical. I don’t know how things will shape up when those former family members realize that they’ve cozied up to mortal enemies, and that’s not even putting Frieda into the equation. Cindy’s back pain seems to have stemmed mostly from her own regret, and sharing her secret with Taystee might have helped a bit. Caputo testifying on behalf of Taystee was sweet, and just as his relationship with Fig really seems to be warming, Linda showed up to remind him of where his allegiances should be, prompting him to quit, an intriguing development. Aleida rejected Daya’s proposal to work with her as a smuggler, but just one date with Hopper showed her that the new life she’s getting into is even more claustrophobic and dead-end than what she currently has. That mother-daughter partnership is going to be risky but it should be extremely interesting to watch.