9 Reasons We Can't Wait For Orange Is The New Black Season 2

5. The Flashbacks

One of the most notable narrative devices that defines Orange's style is the beautifully timed histories of how each inmate ended up at Litchfield which are interspersed throughout the season. This contributes to the very complex and multi-layered characterisation, as it instantly makes each inmate more relatable, contextualising them in lives outside of prison. It underlines how we come to understand them and helps us to make distinctions between each character. It also injects that extra level of humanity into the series as the show very deliberately explores their motivations and circumstances that led them to commit crimes, something which obviously needs clarifying if a law-abiding audience is to effectively relate to a prison population. Yes, we get a sense of who they are through their interactions and relationships in prison, but when we're shown the crimes they committed to end up there (each varying greatly in severity) we get a level of understanding that shows it's not always as straightforward as we may have thought. Most of the women are suffering greatly with their crimes and through the use of these flashbacks they become mothers, daughters and wives to us, rather than just prisoners. We see the humiliation Piper has to go through when explaining to her wealthy upper-middle class parents why she has to go to prison, especially when they seem more shocked that she was a lesbian than that she broke the law. Through this scene, we start to understand what she was rebelling against when she decided to smuggle a case full of drug money for her girlfriend Alex; a different but equally oppressive environment where you must abide by rigid social etiquette and live up to people's high expectations. The most poignant example of just how effective the flashbacks are is the story of prison hairstylist Sophia Burset. The scene (pictured above) in which her wife helps her decide what to wear with a breath-taking level of understanding shows how Sophia sacrificed everything to become a woman and is one of the most heart-breaking moments in the series. It is obvious that both Sophia and her wife Crystal are agonised by the consequence of her decision, but her resolve to physically become a woman €“ despite it costing her her family €“ shows how important it is. Orange confronts viewers with an uncompromising insight into the struggles these women are faced with and how these issues aren't erased by their incarceration but are in fact made a hell of a lot more difficult. There's still a few characters' backstories we have yet to see, such as Suzanne aka 'Crazy Eyes' or Sister Ingalis and some that would benefit from even more disclosure. Only time will tell what the writers plan to share with us next!