There is some seriously smart, confident storytelling going on with Orange Is the New Black, and “Bunny, Skull, Bunny, Skull” might be the best example of it. I don’t necessarily mean the episode – although, yes, it is great – the title alone is indicative of the show’s balance of dark and light.For every bunny, you get a skull. And there is an equal number of both in this episode.
Bunny: the slowly reemerging humanity of Joe Caputo. I love the way Orange is using Caputo as a lens through which to view the problematic institution of privatized prisons, because there’s a part of Caputo that really, really likes working for MCC. But there’s another part of him that still reads Danny’s blog condemning the company, and it’s that part of Caputo that gets the quietest and maybe best scene of “Bunny.” After Sister Jane loses her contraband cell phone, Caputo uses it to take a proof-of-life picture of Sophia, which he then passes off to Danny (“You wrapped it in a t-shirt?” “Yeah, it was in a nun’s vagina”). It’s a small, cheer-worthy moment: Caputo is putting his whole career on the line for Sophia, and yes, it’s his fault that she’s in the SHU at all, but taking the picture shows that he hasn’t sacrificed his decency to the corporation.
Skull: I never thought I’d feel so bad for Aleida. What amazing work on the part of the show and Elizabeth Rodriguez. Director Phil Abraham, a veteran of Mad Men, is an expert at shooting and directing slow-burn, existential dramas, which Aleida finds herself in once she’s on the other side of Litchfield’s walls. How demeaning it is for her to be picked up by Cesar’s new girlfriend, only to find out that the woman isn’t being faithful to Cesar while he’s behind bars. It’s understandable, sure, but it shakes Aleida’s perception of loyalty. Rodriguez seems to disappear inside Aleida’s too-big maroon sweater, and the world seems to rise up against and around her. She has no money and no friends, and she finds herself back on the doorstep of Cesar’s girlfriend. “I didn’t know where else to go,” she says plainly. Look, I had a pretty good idea of how Aleida’s post-prison life was going to go – she’s been too upset about the prospect of leaving Litchfield for it to go swimmingly – but OITNB still pulled it off really well. Something can be expected and well-done, you semantic dick.
Bunny: Red going around the prison making sure no one is selling to Nichols. “I don’t want to buy,” she deadpans, “I want to embargo.” It shows that she’s not taking Red’s relapse well, and has lost none of her maternal instinct. Kate Mulgrew shines in her scenes opposite Natasha Lyonne, and having Nichols back has reignited a fire in Red. Mulgrew has never been bad in the role, but when she gets to take care of someone – and make up for past sins in the process – it adds even more dimension to Red. Guys, I really, really think Mulgrew has a shot an Emmy for this wonderful season.
Skull: So, there’s going to be a race war in Litchfield soon. If not a full-on riot. The COs screwed up by letting Blanca’s punishment go on as long as it has, because now it’s not a humiliation – it’s a statement. One she can’t afford to back away from. And Piper might find herself in the crosshairs of her white-pride friends, after she offers Blanca a granola bar and then finds herself standing on the table too. Orange Is the New Black excels at absurd imagery – remember last season’s “Bed Bugs and Beyond,” featuring the inmates in makeshift hospital johnnies – and Piper and Blanca standing in solidarity on the table is a great tableau. CO Dixon is right, as he tells Piscatella, “We have a situation here.” No shit. This is the best kind of slow-burn storytelling, one that takes ten episodes before it approaches resolution, and leaves the viewer desperate to see what happens next.
A Few Thoughts
- COs Stratman and McCullough bending over backwards to excuse Humphrey – when they think that he may have raped Maritza – is very fucked up. I don’t have much else to add.
- Previously I said that Nichols had 3 months’ sobriety. It was actually three years. That’s…that’s much worse.
- So, does anybody like Watson?
- I was going to include the discovery of Ian’s body as a “Skull,” but it seemed a little on the nose. The shot of the beautiful garden getting uprooted should have been too obvious by half, but in worked almost in spite of itself.
- As much as I liked this episode, I am completely over watching Muccio assume that Vinny is fucking every single woman on the planet. It’s of a piece with the character, but it’s nothing new.
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