Published on February 8, 2015
When we last met, at the end of episode 2.11: Take a Break From Your Values, everything and everyone was in turmoil: 1) Superstorm Wanda was making its way up to Litchfield; 2) Taslitz plotted to murder Vee for the benefit of Red, but ended up shanking a Vee look-alike; 3) Sister Ingalls was force-fed against her will by Caputo, to end the hunger strike; 4) Poussey was going down a hole of loneliness and desperation in her losing battle against Vee; and 5) Oh yeah, Piper was notified that she is going to be transferred to another prison in Virginia, away from all the LCF inmates that she's come to know and away from Alex Vause.
|
Basically, all Hell has broken loose, and it's time to deal with the fallout.
As episode 2.12: It Was the Change opens up, we hear an ominous crash of thunder and see that LCF is caught in a torrential downpour. Me thinks Superstorm Wanda is approaching. As a result of this inclement weather, LCF is battening down the hatches in preparation. In the library, Poussey peers out an office door to make sure no one's watching, and when the coast is clear, she pulls out a small jar filled with what appears to be her homemade hooch. She takes a big gulp, and, officially, we've got a problem. Or, I guess, Poussey has a problem: dealing with her sadness with alcohol - yup, once again, she's lost another round of "Gay Ladies and Their Coping Mechanisms." Oh, Poussey, no. After taking a swig of her sad juice, Poussey gets back to work in the stacks, when she espies Watson doing another drug deal. Not leaving well enough alone, she confronts Watson, saying, "So much for learning your lesson, huh?" I could say the same thing to you, Poussey. Interfering with Vee's business has never ended well. Watson tells her to leave her alone, but Poussey persists: "You, she got you thrown in the SHU." Watson denies that it was Vee's fault and then depressingly states, "Something's gonna fuck you, you know? The system, the man, Vee. Can't do nothin' about it. At least Vee gives you back ten percent." |
Ah, like a rewards program. Vee's drug rewards card - for every ten bags of heroin you sell, you get ten cents off of gas. That wouldn't be so bad. Getting to the heart of the matter, though, Poussey says, "She took my friend." Watson: "And you gonna fight her forever? Stop making things so hard for yourself." Walking past Poussey, Watson gets back to work and I can't say I disagree with that advice.
In another room, Piper is working on a project for her electrical work detail, when Morello comes in and asks, "You all right, Chapman?" Snapping out of her daze, Piper looks over to where Morello is standing and unconvincingly assures her she is. She tells her that the transfer is going to go through and complains, "This is Fig fucking me personally. She's hated me ever since that stupid radio show." Will the negative consequences of Larry Bloom ever end? Likely, the answer is "no." Morello, though, tries to encourage her: "But you, you got connections. Now, you can fight this. You got furlough." Whiny McWhinerson laments, "I got furlough and it's biting me in the ass. Healy said that there's nothing he can do. He can't ask for any more special favors because it would look inappropriate. She buried me on that list with, like, a dozen other people. Ruiz has a new baby!" Well, at least, for once, Piper acknowledges that it sucks just as bad, if not worse, for all of the others who inadvertently got punished during the Piper take-down."
In another room, Piper is working on a project for her electrical work detail, when Morello comes in and asks, "You all right, Chapman?" Snapping out of her daze, Piper looks over to where Morello is standing and unconvincingly assures her she is. She tells her that the transfer is going to go through and complains, "This is Fig fucking me personally. She's hated me ever since that stupid radio show." Will the negative consequences of Larry Bloom ever end? Likely, the answer is "no." Morello, though, tries to encourage her: "But you, you got connections. Now, you can fight this. You got furlough." Whiny McWhinerson laments, "I got furlough and it's biting me in the ass. Healy said that there's nothing he can do. He can't ask for any more special favors because it would look inappropriate. She buried me on that list with, like, a dozen other people. Ruiz has a new baby!" Well, at least, for once, Piper acknowledges that it sucks just as bad, if not worse, for all of the others who inadvertently got punished during the Piper take-down."
Fig ruined everything! i've got nothing left to live for! No Alex! No friends! Nothing!
|
Mmhmm...so, that makes me the new editor-in-chief of the LCF newsletter, right?
|
|
Without anything else to say, Morello tells her, "Well, I'm gonna miss you...'cause you were a decent pe..." "And you know what the worst part of it is?" interrupts Piper. Uh, I'm going to guess that it's you, Piper. So rude! "Telling my family and realizing that they actually sounded kind of relieved, like they weren't gonna have to spend hours coming to visit me anymore, like they finally got their weekends back." I can't imagine why they'd be relieved to not have to deal with the constant stream of negativity. Morello gets up, saying, "All right, I got to go," and heads out the door, when Piper calls out, "Hey, Morello..." When she does an about face, Piper confides, "You know, you were the first person that was nice to me when I got here. I was really scared. You made me feel like it was gonna be okay." Awww. Looking sincerely touched by this, Morello responds, "Well, I am gonna remember that you said that...for my bad days." With an affectionate wink, Morello departs, and LORD, THE EMOTIONS ARE FLOWING. Oh, Morello, bless your crazy, precious heart!
Out in the warehouse, Poussey comes stumbling in and drunkenly begins shuffling through the boxes of supplies. Uh oh. She opens up one box, grabs a container, and proceeds to rip it open and dump the contents onto the floor. Then come the remaining containers of contraband, which she stomps on and pours bleach atop. Oh Poussey, what have you done? I don't know who can
|
save you from the wrath of Vee now...
Afterwards, said villain is trying to clean up the mess, when Taystee walks in. Seeing the disaster before her eyes, Taystee exclaims, "Oh, shit." Oh, shit is right, Taystee. Vee reminds her, "I seem to recall you saying that she wasn't going to be a problem." Taystee points out that it may not even be Poussey, but by the end of saying this, even she realizes that no one else makes sense. Taystee tells Vee she had no part in this. "But you took responsibility," asserts Vee. "You think she'd be in here trashing my shit if it wasn't for you?" Taystee doesn't answer this, only asking, "What are you gonna do to her?" Vee: "I'm a businesswoman. I'm gonna do...whatever it takes to neutralize the risk." And...I'm officially going to start writing Poussey's obituary. Taystee implores, "Don't get crazy, Vee." That's like telling a snake not to slither. It ain't happening. Vee lays out her plan: "Take away her incentive to fight me, which is you. I can't have you around here anymore." Upset by this, Taystee argues, "But I'm your girl. I've been loyal to you from day one. Ask anyone." Taystee, if she gives you a way out, that doesn't involve your |
Making it rainnnnn!
|
death, take it! Vee stands firm, offering, "I'm sure we'll see each other around." She turns around to continue sweeping, leaving a hurt Taystee to try and figure out what to do next.
The next thing we see is Officer Bennett directing all of the inmates into the cafeteria, with their mattresses, blankets, and pillows in hand. Apparently, the nearby lake is overflowing due to Superstorm Wanda, causing the ground water to come up through the LCF pipes. How lovely. LCF - prison of dreams. The women are all crowded into the cafeteria, and it's just like summer camp - with everyone setting up their beds by their own cliques. Noticeably, when Vee's posse of Black Cindy, Watson, and Suzanne come in, they ignore Taystee's invite beside her and go to another area of the room. Yikes. Is it me or did it just get cold in this room?
Beneath everyone, Piper and Nichols are wading through the heavily flooded basement, assisting Luschek with a repair on the generator pumps. The water is up to their waists and while they survey the scene before them, a drowned rat floats by. Like I said, prison of dreams. Nichols makes her way to the first pump and when she opens the top, she announces,"Uh, Luschek...there's
The next thing we see is Officer Bennett directing all of the inmates into the cafeteria, with their mattresses, blankets, and pillows in hand. Apparently, the nearby lake is overflowing due to Superstorm Wanda, causing the ground water to come up through the LCF pipes. How lovely. LCF - prison of dreams. The women are all crowded into the cafeteria, and it's just like summer camp - with everyone setting up their beds by their own cliques. Noticeably, when Vee's posse of Black Cindy, Watson, and Suzanne come in, they ignore Taystee's invite beside her and go to another area of the room. Yikes. Is it me or did it just get cold in this room?
Beneath everyone, Piper and Nichols are wading through the heavily flooded basement, assisting Luschek with a repair on the generator pumps. The water is up to their waists and while they survey the scene before them, a drowned rat floats by. Like I said, prison of dreams. Nichols makes her way to the first pump and when she opens the top, she announces,"Uh, Luschek...there's
Piper: Isn't this how Jack and Rose almost died?
Nichols: Yeah. Dibs on being Rose |
nothing in here." This is not a good thing. Luschek checks the pump by him, only to find it empty as well. As he tries to figure out what happened, Piper inserts herself: "Fig again. Am I right?" Piper, you're already being transferred. Do you want to make this worse on yourself? At this point, the electricity flickers and then completely turns off, leaving the trio in complete darkness, save their flashlights. Nichols asks, "Now what?" Predictably, Luschek offers, "Threesome?" Can't fault a man for trying.
Back upstairs, Red and her gang finally enter the cafeteria and scope out their own spot - unsurprisingly, it's far away from Vee and Co. General Red instructs, "We keep the fence between us, but we can all see each other. No surprises." Yoga Jones asks, "You think she's gonna jump you tonight, in front of five C.O.s and 200 witnesses?" Speaking from experience, Red insists, "This is not a sane person we are dealing with." Nervously, Morello admits, "Oh, man, I mean, the spirit is willing and everything like that, but we got a serious problem in terms of weight class, you know what I'm saying?" Yes, I do, Lorna. You'd all get your asses kicked, no doubts about it. Solid practical consideration. Red concedes this point and directs, "I want eyes on her all night. She doesn't move without us knowing about it." Operation: Stalk is now in place and the ladies |
begin to settle in for the night.
In Vee's camp, the women can see that Red is up to something and suspiciously discuss what she has in store for them. Watson reports, "Red's bringing all kinds of shit from the outside. I hear she got a Taser hidden away for just in case." Skeptical of this claim, Black Cindy asks, "Where exactly you think she hiding it? In her coochie?" In an unwavering voice, Suzanne remarks, "Taser would fit right in there." Hmmm...uh, yeah, I'm not even going to comment on that. Not even a bit. Similar to Red, Vee turns to her soldiers and orders, "Keep your eyes open. Don't talk to anyone that isn't us." That's the exact same thing I tell my friends when we go somewhere new. I'm kidding, of course. I don't have friends.
In Vee's camp, the women can see that Red is up to something and suspiciously discuss what she has in store for them. Watson reports, "Red's bringing all kinds of shit from the outside. I hear she got a Taser hidden away for just in case." Skeptical of this claim, Black Cindy asks, "Where exactly you think she hiding it? In her coochie?" In an unwavering voice, Suzanne remarks, "Taser would fit right in there." Hmmm...uh, yeah, I'm not even going to comment on that. Not even a bit. Similar to Red, Vee turns to her soldiers and orders, "Keep your eyes open. Don't talk to anyone that isn't us." That's the exact same thing I tell my friends when we go somewhere new. I'm kidding, of course. I don't have friends.