‘Orange Is The New Black’ Season 4, Episode 10 Recap: Digging Up Secrets

The key to Orange is the New Black eschewing flashbacks in certain episodes is to replacing it with another running storyline, one that doesn’t necessarily take place within the main halls of Litchfield. It’s why the episode “Piece of Shit,” which featured glimpses of Nicky’s life down in Maximum Security, was so successful, and it’s why “Bunny, Skull, Bunny, Skull” works, too. Aleida isn’t the first inmate who has left Litchfield but she’s the first one that the series continues to follow after she exits the doors. Partly, I’m assuming, because she’s still Daya’s mother so she has strong ties to the inside (especially with her promise to help Daya’s baby) but also partly because, as the series goes on, the writers seem as if they’re becoming more and more interested in telling newer, different stories than just the ones in our main setting.

“Bunny, Skull, Bunny, Skull” begins with Aleida waking up on the morning she’s scheduled to leave, getting a not-so-peppy pep talk from a guard, and saying goodbye to Daya (who sketches Aleida a picture of them). Once out, Aleida has to catch a ride with her ex’s baby mama — and Aleida isn’t happy that she’s not remaining faithful to César — which is only the first unsettling thing on a bumpy ride. Aleida is going to have a hard time adjusting to live out of prison (as expected) and we see this in something as simple as attending a diner for a meal. It’s going to be hard for Aleida to get the prison mentality — the weirdness of always being alert and on edge — out of her system. It’s going to be hard for Aleida in general; her cousin spent all the nest-egg money Aleida had saved for her release and now Aleida is stuck crashing on a couch, holding a crying baby, and clutching a drawing from Daya. Although there are plenty of important (and terrifying) things occurring in Litchfield — and don’t worry, we’ll get there — I’m really hoping that Orange is the New Black keeps following around Aleida for a bit. The post-prison narrative is one that’s rarely explored on television (side note: watch Rectify) and I would love to see it expanded on here.

Of course, this isn’t to say that inside of Litchfield isn’t as engaging as outside — in fact, major shit is currently going down, really jumpstarting OITNB as it heads into the final episodes of season four. There are old plots coming to a head, new developments are threatening to disrupt the status quo, and the inmates vs. guards is continuing to heat up. For example, Piper has been feeling guilty about Flores’ treatment (who is going strong, standing on the table for two days (and pissing herself twice) though she’s having a hard tie staying awake) and goes to Piscatella to rant about it but her complaints fall on deaf ears. She takes matters into her own hands, trying to sneak some food to Flores, but it just lands her on top of the table, too. It’s another stand-off.

Nicky tells Red that she’s clean but it’s clear that she’s not, so Red takes matters into her own hands by blackballing Nicky across the prison — including Maria’s heroin business — leaving Nicky high and dry.  Well, not entirely; an illuminating and frustrating conversation with Luschek — in which she calls him out on the fact that he’s in love with her despite Nicky being a “card-carrying lesbian” — results in her getting at least some weed, though that’s not enough. Is she going to manage to get access to more drugs or will Red’s plan actually work?

One incredibly tense story in “Bunny, Skull, Bunny, Skull” starts innocently enough as Taystee asks Caputo if the inmates can watch The Wiz during movie night. All of the previous movies, which are from Natalie’s basement, are all white-dominated romantic-comedies and Taystee  wants a little diversity in the movie choices. Besides, who can possibly hate The Wiz? Well, as it turns out, the white supremacist inmates aren’t as stoked on watching The Wiz and begin to heckle the movie, even making increasingly racist comments. There’s been a lot of racial tension in Litchfield — like, even more than usual — and with the influx of Hispanic inmates, Piper’s accidental neo-Nazi gang, and the black inmates getting rightfully fed up with the comments, things have been slowly boiling over and it’s only a matter of time before it explodes. Some of the guards notice what’s happening and quickly nip it in the bud, shutting off the movie early to prevent a physical confrontation. But they’re not shutting down the racial tensions — they’re just putting it off, and it’s sure to come back.

In fact, this is the same thing happening with the overzealous guards who have been “freestyling” punishments. McCullough spots Maritza throwing up and is worried about the cause of it because another guard mentions that she was alone in a house with Humphrey. But it’s “too soon” for morning sickness — of course that’s the immediate assumption — and McCullough is torn. She wants to find out what happened and help Maritza but she’s also still a guard — part of a “brotherhood” — and is wary about uncovering something about a coworker. For McCullough, ignorance is bliss, even if it means the physical and emotional harm of an inmate. Maritza is plenty traumatize and so humiliated that she can barely tell her best friend what happened. Flaca wants to do something about it, to tell another guard, but Maritza doesn’t want anyone else to know.

But these things have a way of bubbling to the surface because nothing in Litchfield ever really stays a secret.

EXTRA NOTES:

• As for Sister Ingalls in SHU? Caputo actually gets the phone, takes a picture of Sophia, and hands it over to Danny. He’s sort of doing the right thing for once!
• We get a little return of Kukudio although we still don’t learn about her crimes (I need to know). Instead, she teases Suzanne in the broom closet as revenge for Suzanne leaving her in the woods.
• Ugh, Judy King, I was just starting to like you and then you abandon ship and bail as soon as tensions get high during the movie.