‘Orange is the New Black’ season 4, episode 3 review: Soso far, Soso good; The Redhead Rivalry; Piper’s escalating problem

When we start “Orange is the New Black” season after season, we notice it consumes us. It seems to happen to everyone. Tonight it occurred to us that the opening song and images shown of parts of many different faces might be symbolic of how we will meet so many people, little bits at a time. We’ve got time.

The third episode in season 4 has us cleaning floors alongside Taystee, Crazy Eyes, and newlywed Morello. They are frustrated that nothing stays clean with so many new feet walking around. Chit chat about celebrity promiscuity segues into Morello’s assertion that her Vinny would never cheat. Taystee teases her and you can see the doubt creep into Morello’s face, even while she protests with boasts of constant phone sex. Taystee is called to Warden Caputo’s office and offered the prestigious position of being his personal assistant, answering phones and scheduling appointments. Given that she’s on janitorial staff, a job she loathes, she jumps at the chance. In a clever nod to the job fair episode of seasons past, she believes she was chosen because she won. Caputo lets her believe it.

Lolly is freaking out in the yard about Healy strolling the garden with Judy King. She has always been rather eccentric, but she is going off the deep end with paranoia about being caught murdering the hitman, and burying his remains scattered under the produce. Alex tries to reassure her that she is just as freaked, but she is choosing to stay calm. She recommends that Lolly repeat to herself that he was a bad guy and they had no choice, and then come talk to her every time she starts to worry. Healy is hanging out in the garden with Judy, soaking up the attention she is getting from the other inmates, many of whom stand around and look at her without saying anything. The cult of celebrity. She marvels at the stalks of corn with ripe ears waiting to be plucked, and Healy tells her to help herself. Cue Red, who does NOT enjoy being upstaged by the new red-headed chief in town. Healy attempts to introduce the women, Red cuts him off and says she knows who she is. He lets Red know Judy will be joining the garden club, and her mouth drops. They size each other up, two strong women used to getting their way. We expect this rivalry to create some funny moments, but we don’t foresee any harm coming of it. We feel like that will happen elsewhere this season.

Piper still has her minion standing guard, and is treating her like a dog. We know the point is that Piper is not necessarily lovable, but she’s getting more and more self-absorbed as time goes on, and we wonder if she will leave prison eventually with any redeeming qualities left. We love to dislike her though, so we hope this character trait trend continues, and we expect that it will. Yoga and Anita approach Piper when her guard has the audacity to momentarily sit down, and they inform her that they are done with the panty-sniffing business. She tries to get them to change their minds, but they’re out. They feel it’s becoming dangerous. She commands they return the unused underwear.

Poussey is attempting to show off for Soso, but she jokes that her basketball skills are not on point. Boo gives Soso crap about her sexual fluidity. Soso tries to have the relationship talk with Poussey, who thinks the best label for them is just “happy”. These sweet moments of innocent new love with a backdrop of barbed wire and inmates are brilliant. Poussey spots Judy King and tries to talk to her, but ends up so starstruck she acts ridiculous and tongue-tied. Soso wants her to feel confident enough to talk to anyone, and it’s time for the back story of Brooke Soso. We see a fresh faced late teenage Soso in a role-play exercise on how to approach people to sign the petition she is working on for environmental action — in this case, turning the proposed Walmart into a park. This is sort of how we imagined her before Litchfield. A sex offender lives in the neighborhood she is canvassing, but she is told by the coordinator that nobody is required to approach that house. One of the other volunteers is her recent ex-boyfriend, who lets it slip she dumped him because she likes the more handsome friend, who hears all of it. She bets the ex 50 dollars that she can get more signatures than he can, and he says no, but if she gets the pedophile to sign not only will he give her the money, but the friend must go on a date with her. He tries to protest being put in the middle, but before he can the bet is sealed.

Taystee accompanies Caputo to meet Piscitella, who is overseeing construction on the abandoned houses in the woods. She wonders what she is required to do exactly, he tells her to just take notes. It’s shaping up nicely, and the inmates are the ones doing all the work. Inside, Piscitella lists what is completed, and what is still waiting, but stops himself to tell Taystee to stop writing. She makes a good point that since Caputo wants notes, a checklist of work completed makes sense and she is just trying to do her job like he is. This sets him over the edge and he comes at her letting her know they are in no way equals. Caputo diffuses the situation by sending her off to check on the internet, and Piscitella asks him why he chose her. He tells him because Taystee is the only semi-intelligent inmate that he’s semi-attracted to.

Morello calls her husband, who is in no mood for phone sex today. He finally admits to her that he still lives with his parents and shares a room with his little brother, who needs help with homework. Morello is disappointed by reality once again. Red is lamenting the presence of Judy King pulling things in the garden, not realizing that Alex is even more invested in what is happening there than she is. Soso approaches Judy about Poussey and why she is acting so strange around her. Judy thinks she is mentally disabled, but Soso assures her she isn’t and it’s just a case of being starstruck. Soso makes the assumption that Poussey is reacting this way as a result of being raised by a crack-whore in an underprivileged life. Judy tells Soso to send Poussey over at lunch to chat. Back to Soso’s past, where we find her approaching the registered sex offender. He assumes she is there to harass him, but she is kind and accepting so he invites her in after making sure she is not a minor. She launches into her speech, and every curve he throws her she bounces back from up until the part where he suggests he might have possessed kiddie porn. She stumbles, but finds a way to continue being supportive to get the signature. He gets up to give her the newspaper article detailing his crime, and it turns out all he did was have consenting adult sex on a beach, which was recorded by some voyeur and turned into the police. She is empathetic to the judgment he faces, and he signs her petition.

Taystee is struggling in her role as Caputo’s assistant. The phone system is confusing, and she keeps forgetting who called or how to contact them. She tells Caputo a woman called to ask him to get together, and she thinks it might have been a date. She teases him, and he warns her. She thinks it’s Linda, the woman on the board who loved Caputo’s housing idea. He calls Linda back. It wasn’t her, but they make a date for that night anyway to celebrate. Red sees Healy in the hall and confronts him about his pampering Judy. She wants her to earn her respect in Litchfield, but Healy blows her off. He implies she has this coming and she tells him if this is about their relationship that never was, that he needs to get over it. Judy exits the bathroom, magazine in hand, a fact that is noted angrily by Red as she storms off.

The new group of Dominican ladies, led by Maria, approach Piper and Maria offers their services for her panty business. Piper pulls Maria aside and tells her if she needs their help she will ask for it, and to be quiet about her business before there isn’t one. Maria calls her out for being too big for her britches, and Piper has managed to talk herself into the wrong side of a battle once again. We forecast dark clouds ahead. Taystee gets grief for her new role as Caputo’s secretary. The others wonder what perks come with the job, and she tells them shes getting a watch for Christmas. Poussey notices Judy waving to her and Judy beckons her over. Soso lets her know she offered to have them speak at lunch. Poussey is excited and nervous, but tries to explain why she’s been tongue-tied. Judy stops her from rambling by letting it drop that she’s amazed Poussey can be so cultured as the child of a crack-whore. Poussey thinks she is racist, but she explains that she learned this information from Soso. You can see the hurt wash over Poussey’s face and it is heartbreaking. In the last of the flashback scenes this episode, Soso is bragging about winning the bet. Her ex blows it off as not impressive, as the guy is probably one of many who got busted on a technicality and has been ruined in the process. Soso needs to be seen as impressive and be liked, so she paints a portrait of a monster without skipping a beat. She claims he made a pass at her when she went inside, and that she was in danger. In great detail, she explains her bravery was all to impress the boy on whom she crushes. It works. Lying to manipulate situations is a skill to her. Later, she tries to apologize to Poussey, but she is beyond hurt that Soso would make assumptions like that knowing how well educated and intelligent she is. Soso doesn’t want them to break up, but Poussey is silent.

Caputo meets up with Linda, and she’s excited about the new guards and how Litchfield is running. Caputo notices one of the fired guards working at the restaurant. Caputo is sympathetic, but Linda sees it as noble and the guards walking out put his job at risk. Caputo hands the waiter an extra twenty to pass on to the former guard Donaldson privately after they leave. He chases Caputo out to try to give him back the money and tells him he can drown his guilt in a bottle of booze instead. He explains the fired guards are all in dire straits now, and storms off. Caputo calls him back, and tells him he’s sorry to hear all of this but that he doesn’t regret it for a minute. He says they abandoned ship when he needed them most, gives him back the twenty and walks off head high, knowing he has just impressed Linda.

Gloria’s son shows up at visitation to let her know Michael was told about Sophia, and that he has started a Kickstarter campaign. At another table, Morello is visited by Vinny. She tries to reassure him that it’s ok with her that he still lives at home. She tries to lead him into another sexytime situation, and he is receptive this time. As if nobody else is in the room, they have a hilarious prison virtual sex session to the shock and amusement of everyone else present. We like these two together. They belong. Piper and her guard greet Maritza and Flaca in the yard to collect panties. She gives them a bonus in the form of Ovaltine, because she senses trouble ahead for her business. Maritza notices the Dominicans staring at them and they realize it’s Piper they’re trailing.

Gloria notices eye drops near the food, and laughingly realizes that Red has put it in Judy King’s food to give her the runs. It doesn’t take long before she is literally running to the porta-potties. Game on, reds. Poussey hears music outside the library, and walks out to Soso standing just like John Cusack in “Say Anything,” arms upstretched holding a boom box. She admits all of her flaws, and the mistakes she made. She bares her heart and says she would like to tell each other about their real stories, and that maybe when they finish they can quiz each other. Poussey, she of the heart of gold, is touched by the gesture. She tells her where her great-grandmother was born. They have a lot to cover. The ladies in the courtyard hear buzzing and notice a drone flying ahead. Lolly starts repeating the mantra Alex told her, but she’s coming apart. Something will happen soon. Piper is at work stealing panties, and notices one of Maria’s crew doing the same. Alex spots Lolly running to the garden with a shovel starting to dig and losing it. She wants to move the body, but Alex says no. Once again Frieda hears what’s going on, and lies that she moved the body to calm Lolly down for the moment. Lolly walks off and Frieda tells her that she didn’t actually move it, but that Lolly is going to need to die.

As always, this show is so rich with characters and storylines, and they are equally interesting and exciting for us. We can’t wait to see what will happen with Lolly; will they need to kill her to buy her silence? Piper is in her deepest trouble yet, and she appears to realize it. How will she handle being challenged by Maria? We are really enjoying the Redhead Rivalry and look forward to what is next. We also really love the comic moments that offset the dark material, and this season is shaping up to be our favorite to date. Grade: A+

What did you about this episode of “Orange is the New Black”? Leave us a comment below and share your thoughts on the season so far. If you want some further news and reviews on “Orange is the New Black” then head on over to the link here. Also, if you want more great TV news sent your way then be sure to sign up for our weekly CarterMatt newsletter.

This review was written by Michelle Wilmot and if you’re not already following her on Twitter, you can do so at the link here. (Photo: Netflix)