‘Orange Is The New Black’ Recap, Season 4 Episode 2: Switching Up The Hierarchy

Orange is the New Black found another great way to promote a little drama within the walls of Litchfield: Throwing in more and more inmates. Overcrowding is a serious problem in actual prisons and it’s good to see OITNB address this, especially since it works both as social commentary and as an incubator of rising tensions, budding race wars, and all sorts of juicy conflicts. In prison, you can only focus on what’s inside those walls and you have to make it your home, so strangers coming in and disrupting the status quo that you’ve built is insulting on a deeply personal level.

See, what OITNB has always been good at is portraying how the little annoyances become impossible-to-ignore conflicts that threaten to consume you. When your world is so small and repetitive, something as small as a snoring roommate can cause you to harbor murderous fantasies. (Though maybe that’s not limited to prison; have you ever been stuck in a dorm with a roommate who snores during finals week?) That’s the issue Red is having with her new bunkmate Dwight, an apologetic little thing who can’t help but snore because of her “abnormally large uvula.” Across the tiny bunk, Piper is continuing to fail at intimidating her roommate, who sees through all of Piper’s posturing. So instead, Piper decides to use her new roomie as “security” after Red convinces Piper that someone is definitely going to be gunning for Piper’s head as she upsets the prison hierarchy. Then there is Cindy and her bunkmate, arguing over space (who gets the floor and who gets the shelves?). It’s all very college freshman of them but again: small space, high tensions.

The entire prison is on edge trying to deal with the overcrowding. Caputo holds an assembly to inform everyone of some new changes: outside portapotties (that the inmates will have to clean), cheap earplugs (that will fail to cut down on the noise), and “breathing exercises” led by Piscatella, the newly-appointed captain of the guards (how telling is it that he prefers to wear his uniform — “keeps me action ready” — rather than put on a suit?).

One actually important element that’s brought up during the assembly is the whereabouts of Sophia Burset. Last season, Sophia was the victim of transphobia in prison — both verbal and physical — and her complaints about Litchfield’s security resulted in Sophia getting sent to the SHU for her “protection.” Her name comes up during the assembly but Caputo ignores it. However, he can’t ignore a visit from Crystal Burset, Sophia’s wife, who shows up at Litchfield to interrogate Caputo about Sophia but nothing gets accomplished. But we know Sophia is going to appear this season — she’s in the trailer — so it’s just a waiting game.

Arguably the most memorable — and heartbreaking — arc from last season was Tiffany Doggett’s sexual assault at the hands of corrections officer Coates. In a frustratingly crowded television landscape of rape narratives, Orange is the New Black stood out by focusing on the survivor rather than the rapist, and by continuing to remark on the storyline after the initial rape occurred (TV tends to drop these storylines). (It’s also a good contrast to the sickeningly “sweet” storyline between Daya and Bennett in the first season, a storyline that painted the dynamics between officer and prisoner as a fairytale.) Though Doggett is no longer working alone with Coates, he’s still hung up on her (last episode, we saw him lament about his women troubles to a coworker) and Doggett is becoming increasingly worried that Coates has set his sights on her replacement, Maritza. An awkward exchange seems to assure Doggett that Coates hasn’t touched Maritza but it’s fair to say that Doggett probably isn’t going to breathe easier until he’s completely out of Litchfield and her life.

But let’s get to the flashback portion of “Power Suit.” With the addition of the new inmates, the racial balance in Litchfield has shifted so the Hispanics are now in the majority. This leads to an increased tension between the Dominicans and the whites, and the episode focuses on Maria’s own internal conflicts with regards to her ethnicity. As a child, Maria’s father put a great emphasis on their Dominican heritage, putting this pride above all else (except maybe his successful drug ring) and often putting Maria in uncomfortable situations. She eventually stands up to her father and his crimes —”If this is what it means to be Dominican, then I ain’t gonna be Dominican no more,” she tells him — prompting her father to kick her out the house, We don’t get the mystery of everything that happened in between that moment and Maria landing in prison but the flashbacks do help to explain Maria’s original hesitance at getting in the middle of the Dominicans vs. whites battle and her eventual cool and collected retaliation against the white women who pushed Flores down the stairs. Maria certainly picked up some notes from her father when it comes to climbing to the top and her quiet revenge signifies that she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with as things continue to heat up on the inside.

Extra Notes:

• Daya’s worried about her child since A) Aleida screwed her over by lying to Pornstache’s mother and B) Cesar got arrested, meaning the baby will end up in the system. Aleida is convinced Cesar will beat the charges but it turns out he’s actually getting put away this time. It’s unclear what Daya’s going to do, or how this will change her relationship with her mother but I’m sure we’ll get to it soon.
• One pairing that isn’t having roommate troubles: Judy and Yoga Jones, who share a spacious, private room complete with hot tea and Italian lessons. But Taystee spotting the two of them could put an end to this honeymoon period.
• A racist’s word of advice to another racist: “If you’re going to be racist you better be accurate or you just look dumb.”
• Poussey and Brook flirting in the cafeteria is so cute that it puts me on edge because nothing good can last in Litchfield.

[Watch the “Power Suit” episode of Orange Is The New Black on Netflix]

Pilot Viruet is yet another freelance writer in New York City who watches everything from teen dramas to wrestling, hosts monthly TV parties, and started a website solely for a .pizza domain. You can follow them @pilotbacon.