The central theme that runs through the entire first season of Orange is most certainly the effect of incarceration on Piper and the other women at Litchfield. Piper is constantly struggling with adjustment to a lot of things when she enters prison, but none more than being confronted with her real self. This is what gives Orange its emotional punch and elevates it above just an ordinary prison dramedy. Initially it's just superficial observations that assert her difficulty to adjust, such as Piper saying she still has a few seconds when she wakes up every morning where she forgets she's in prison. She cries when she gets her hair cut just because she's grateful for the human touch. But it's a much deeper realisation that comes to her a lot more explicitly in the latter half of the season. Piper slowly begins to understand her innate flaws and what makes her who she is. As she shares with an at-risk teen visiting the prison to be scared straight, there are no distractions in prison. In a powerful monologue that probably landed her the Golden Globe nomination, she goes on to say how on the outside you can convince yourself you're something you're not but in prison there's nothing to stop you coming face to face with who you really are and 'it's the truth that's going to make you her bitch'. Slowly but surely as she's stripped of her relationships both with Alex and Larry and she manages to offend other inmates she valued via Larry's radio interview, Piper has nothing left to lose but her life and even that might not last long with Tiffany deciding the world would be a better place without Piper in it. In a brutal final scene that's made all the more effective through juxtaposition with the joyous Christmas pageant, Piper warns Tiffany out in the courtyard that she best not f**k with her given Piper's mood. Viewers can see the revelation in Piper's face as she realises what she must do and it is clear that she is more than defending herself when she unleashes the excessive blows. Piper is finally coming to terms with her situation and, having fought it for all thirteen episodes (she was still insistent she could reason with Tiffany), it comes to a destructive and jaw-dropping end. The overarching theme that ties all these points together is that the writers of Orange is the New Black have delivered an exceptionally authentic and humanistic programme that honours every issue the show takes on. We can't wait for season two because season one was so undeniably entertaining. It had something for everyone and every mood and thirteen episodes just weren't enough. What are your thoughts? What stories can't you wait to see continue when the show returns? Let us know in the comments section below!
Born in Yorkshire, Katie is a freelance journalist currently based in Essex. As a keen sports writer, Katie has a diploma in Multimedia Journalism from the Press Association and has worked on the busy Newcastle Chronicle sports desk. She has also written for Gateshead FC and contributed to various websites including Give Me Sport.
When she's not watching sports, films or playing music, she's gaming. 8 hours and eventually reaching wave 80 on Modern Warfare 3′s Resistance is a productive day!
