Orange Is the New Black episode 1: Murder-math, Bill Cosby dead girl porn, overpopulation and lead poisoning
Warning: Mad spoilers ahead
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Your support makes all the difference.The women of Litchfield are finally back on the small screen after their regular one year hiatus. “Work That Body For Me” kicks off the show's fourth season highlighting the issues we've come to know and loathe found within America's prison industrial complex, save the grim but amusing metaphor for the title, it has much more to do with chopping a corpse into pieces than a sensual Diana Ross track.
Season 4 of the Netflix favorite picks up right where the inmates left us, the fence separating the prison to the nearby lake where the majority of the prison population enjoys their temporary freedom, with the exception of Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), who's more delusional than ever, too busy turning up her nose as she enjoys being the new inmate to run the show.
Before the inmates are rounded up by a military grade task force, —sporting long guns and tactical gear reminiscent of Ferguson or whichever city unarmed black children are killed sparking unrest across the states— Alex Vause (Laura Prepon) is still being choked out by her ex boss's hitman disguised as a prison guard. Lolly Whitehill (Lori Petty) eventually notices the struggle inside the greenhouse and saves Alex by killing her attacker. After finding the faux guard's cellphone, both inmates realize Alex needs to play dead with her breasts out and send a photo to her old boss to prove the homicide mission was completed. This provides us with a sick, scathing “Bill Cosby is an alleged rapist” joke that will surely make noise on Facebook and Twitter.
“Shirt up. Bra down. Floobies out. Face slack. Dead girl porn. Bill Cosby dream shot!”
Following is an over stressed Joe Caputo who is way too conveniently named the prison warden moments before he learns several inmates are missing—this is also the same afternoon an additional 200 new inmates are being transferred to the prison, along with Judy King (Blair Brown), a charming, former television cook modeled off Martha Stewart.
We soon realize the two missing inmates are Susan “Crazy Eyes” Warren (Uzo Abadu) and her new dandelion Maureen Kukudio (Emily Althaus), who eventually reveals she's more unhinged than anyone would have guessed, why she's in prison hasn't been revealed, yet. Anyways, Crazy Eyez licks paint while pretending an abandoned shed was a ginger bread house and is reminded of all the wonderful slop and bread that comes with a prison meal. She quickly dumps her girlfriend who refuses to head back to the detention center.
When she returns, Crazy Eyes complains to Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson (Danielle Brooks) about the abundance of lead found in her diet. “Girl we've all eaten lead, that's probably why half of us are in here,” Taystee says unimpressed.
The season opener also foreshadows inevitable confrontations between Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett (Taryn Manning) and her rapist; and between Piper and a new inmate looking to takeover as the boss among inmates.
Even if the opener is slightly hokey and predictable at times, superb acting and charm of the characters sets precedent for an exciting season to come. One of the final phrases, alluding to the episode's title, makes it well worth the wait. “You gotta start cutting along the joint lines, and whatever you do, don't cut along the intestines.”