11/13
Some things from last week need to be improved, and some things need to be continued. With no Night Shift this week, we have a double header of OITNB and a single episode of Deadbeat that will bring all three shows to a level point going into the final two episodes of the dry run!
DEADBEAT - 3x11 "Medieval Dead"
"When Pac is hired to get rid of a ghost terrorising the basement of a museum, he is drawn more and more into the curious world of LARPing."
Another headscratcher in terms of the Danny Poker arc, and the final scene where Danny texted Pac an invitation to Las Vegas did little more than typify how the arc has stagnated over time. But for the most part, "Medieval Dead" was a much better episode than its predecessor. It returned to the actual premise of the show - helping ghosts complete their unfinished business - threw in a few good laughs for measure, smartly utilised medieval graphics to help illustrate the fantasy of LARPing (live-action role-playing) and even had Carol the necrophiliac coroner make a cameo, even if it was to do nothing more than have her continual but wastefully sporadic advances amusingly rejected by Pac.
VERDICT: Better, but doesn't push Deadbeat in a direction that wraps anything up. Carol was misused. 6.5/10
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
3x10 "Bunny, Skull, Bunny, Skull"
* "Blanca continues to take her stand, quite literally, in the cafeteria, and Piper is forced to join her when she tries to help her by smuggling her food. Sister Ingalls manages to sneak a message to Sophia in Max, but her plan to expose Sophia's treatment backfires when Caputo finds her secret phone. However, Caputo sends the picture to the press himself, rebelling against MCC. Aleida leaves the prison, and has to adapt to the outside world, her only friend is the woman Cesar was dating before he was arrested and who gave birth to his baby. Later, the ground's men discover Aydin's body in the garden."
Well, finally a cliffhanger that has to carry over dramatically. The building work in the gardens has uncovered the body of Kubra's hitman, who Alex and Lolly killed, which will no doubt be the centre of the next episode. It was a great, out-of-the-blue ending, especially when most of the attention recently has been on the guards' racism.
Speaking of which, Maritza tells Flaca about Humphrey forcing her to eat a mouse, in a heartbreaking but brilliantly acted scene, although this felt weakened by the absence of Humphrey throughout the episode. A lunatic like him I would have expected to be present to gloat.
Aleida gets out and struggles to adapt to life, which surprised no one. Hopefully she'll stay out of prison, but, unless the writers chuck her back in, Elizabeth Rodriguez will still be key to Daya's storylines next season, I'd imagine. And it was nice to see more of the outside world.
Piper tries to smooth things over after accidentally inciting race hate and ends up stuck with the same punishment Blanca incurred: to stand on a table and not move until she physically can't. Meanwhile, Red stops drugs being sold to Nicky by threatening everyone, Sister Ingalls' attempts to release images of Sophia's cruel treatment in Max lead to Caputo going rogue, and in Danny Pearson's excellent cameo, Caputo hands him the photo to leak.
VERDICT: MCC finding resistance at the same time a guard's body is discovered and racism is ramping up? Nicely-timed, Jenji. 8/10
3x11 "People Persons"
* "Following the discovery of the body in the garden, the prison goes into lockdown. While Caputo tries to get past the red tape at MCC, Piscatella defies orders to begin interrogating inmates; starting with Red. Suzanne's past, and her involvement in the tragic accidental death of a young boy, is explored, while she faces the wrath of Kukudio while holed up the guards. Humphrey takes enjoyment in their clash and forces Suzanne to fight her, causing her to explode and nearly beat Kukudio to death. The COs are spiraling out of control. Judy, Yoga Jones, and Joel have a drug fueled threesome. Healy wrestles with the idea of handing Lolly in, and nearly commits suicide, before deciding to face his problems. He hands Lolly in to Piscatella, and she is sent to Psych A."
Sadness all around. In the aftermath of the prison lockdown following Aydin's body's uprooting, we get this emotional, chaos-ridden episode that follows everyone as they all reach breaking point. Whether that be Nicky dealing with trying to quit drugs or Alex at the end of her tether for killing Aydin - or Crazy Eyes' horrifying past that led to the death of a young boy - nobody is safe. Healy is barely rescued from committing suicide by work commitments (I could've stood to see his character bid farewell), Crazy Eyes reacts to Kukudio's tormenting by nearly killing her while the guards watch on in delight and Caputo continues to hate himself for how he is being puppeteered by MCC.
Great humour (Freida was distraught she wasn't suspected of Aydin's murder, having been convicted of four murders in the past), well-written and shows every side of the situation, be it the guards', the prisoners' or the management's.
VERDICT: Still doesn't quite scale the heights it should be at this point, and the length of the episode continues to dilute some of the tension. 8/10
Final thoughts
A general uptick in quality in OITNB coincides with the season's approaching end. I understand I am to expect a shock character death (I know who it is already [yay for same-day online releases ...] I'm just trying to withhold for you guys), but unless it's to do with racism boiling over I'd say there are no clues yet how we reach this horrible point. Meanwhile, Deadbeat is struggling to burn as brightly as it did at the beginning of season 3, but at least The Night Shift will return next week.
Thank you everyone for reading and see you all next time!
Sam
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