Jackson Ball reviews the fourth episode Orange Is the New Black Season 2…
While the season’s opening three episodes have been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for Piper, and showcased the magnificent range Taylor Schilling has as an actress, the fourth episode continues this season’s trend of shining the spotlight on one of the shows many supporting characters; this time Lorna Morello.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead – You have been warned!
In the previous episode, Morello (Yael Stone) learned the heart-breaking news that her beloved Chris had moved on from her and was going to marry someone else (prompting one of the episode’s finest lines: ‘He doesn’t know she’s a whore. You don’t go Jessica Simpson when you’ve got Rihanna’). Episode 4 opens on a deeply solemn Morello, suggesting that she is still finding the revelation tough to get to grips with.
Morello’s flashbacks, like Taystee (Danielle Brookes) and Suzanne’s (Uza Aduba) in previous episodes, hold an unflinching magnifying glass up to her character. A large part of what has made her so endearing to audiences in the past is her friendly, if a little delusional disposition. However, through these flashback’s we learn that maybe she is a little less friendly, and a lot more delusional than previously thought.e
This level of delusion fills the flashbacks and overflows into the present day when, having been left alone in the van having dropped of another inmate for chemotherapy, Morello decides it’d be a good idea to risk the possibility of tripling her prison sentence by going AWOL. She high-tails it to Chris’ house, before cranking up the crazy even further; she breaks in, tries on his new wife-to-be’s wedding dress, and runs herself a nice bubble bath. Written down like that, it sounds like a farcical breakdown, but in the capable hands of the OITNB crew, it is both believable and devastating.
Meanwhile, back at Litchfield, Vee’s (Lorraine Toussaint) entrepreneurial side begins to shine as she sets up her contraband racket. Unfortunately, she also displays her conniving side also, choosing to ostracise Poussey (Samira Wiley) from the group after she refuses to aid her shady dealings.
On a lighter note, there’s hijinks aplenty as the prison’s lesbian double act of Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) and Big Boo (Lea Delaria), engage in a battle to accumulate the most sexual partners as possible.
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Originally published June 10, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
