[CRITICAL SERIES] ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK – SEASON 1,2 and 3

S‘it was necessary to find a proof that Netflix has all the potential to become the new benchmark for the creation of the series in the face of HBO, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK may well be a favorite. Launched in the summer of 2013, season after season, the series continues to convince (which is more obvious in the face of the overexertion ofHouse Of Cards), and the main characters many more kept us entertained. The series is inspired by the experience of incarceration of Piper Kerman, beautifully interpreted by Taylor Schilling. It all starts with a brief introduction on the situation of Piper Chapman and the events that will lead directly to Litchfield, a prison with a woman who then becomes the main setting of the series during the three seasons. The excellent generic (“You’ve got time” ) which run looks and smiles of the various held, interspersed with the most emblematic places of the prison, which summarizes to her only the atmosphere and ambition of the series: a series of characters, beyond prejudices and appearances. And this is a real success ! Each protagonist of the prison has its importance, and Piper that follows almost exclusively at the start end up losing this status as main pivot. The writers succeed incredibly well to tell the story of these girls sometimes dangerous, often endearing characters that we discover them all one by one by means of episodes dedicated to us experiencing the heart of their personal stories through flashback perfectly dosed.

During the first season, Taylor Chilling interpreter perfectly a Piper naive and far from his comfort zone and we can only cleave to her character. After an affluent background, canon, naive and smart, Piper is far from being the typical profile of women ending up behind bars. But a love story lived with a dealeuse 10 years ago is catching up and this last is condemned due to the treachery of his ex-lovers: Alex Vause (the lovely Laura Prepon). The two young women found side-by-side in detention and their detailed knowledge of juggling between love and hate will be one of the red wires on the main series. Jenji Kohan manages admirably to combine the plots dramatic and exciting scenes (or even episodes, such as that of the hen) comedy hilarious. The more the series progresses, the more one hesitates to classify ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK in one of these two categories, without ever reaching a final choice.

During the first 13 episodes, so you find a part of the members of the prison each for their turn. In these groups of characters, some girls stand out all the same that it was due to the delivery of the actresses or simply due to their proximity with Piper. We can in particular quote the mad “Crazy Eyes” (Uzo Aduba) and “Pennsatucky” (Taryn Manning), the terrifying and hard-to-cook “Red” (Kate Mulgrew). The staff of the remand home also offers very good role as the troubled Healy (Michael Harney), the manic “Pornstache” (Pablo Schreiber) or the attractive John Bennett (Matt McGorry).

“A dramédie hilarious where all the characters have their importance, with a storyline and a flawless realization.”

After a season final of the most thrilling leaving us with a Piper collapsed and turned into [spoiler mode=”inline”] after his hard violent on Pennsatucky[/spoiler], we find this last after a few weeks spent in solitary confinement. During this second season at Litchfield, the young woman leaves her role of perfect naive to become, if not sarcastic, nasty. The arrival of Lauraine Toussain, terrifying and brilliant in perfect sociopath that everyone loves to hate, allows a renewal of the “intrigues” and created a faster pace and even more eye-catching ! If one adds to this a final act of ingenious and thrilling, 13-episode look at themselves very quickly and always with the same enthusiasm. But this second season has also been the opportunity for the writer to introduce us to still more of the ancient life of the inmates, each of us reserving still and always a lot of surprises.

In June 2015, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK returns again to our screens with a third season of the highly anticipated, particularly thanks to the many teasers Netflix. So it is with joy that one finds Piper Chapman and his co-inmates in a prison in shambles and the guardians at the edge of the crisis of nerve after the events of season 2. Quickly, we note that the pace (very) quick the second season gives way to an atmosphere more raised which allows the return of the criticism of society, as in the first season. The genius of the writers is to know clearly display their reviews in alternating between dramatic scenes and heavy meaning, and scenes of comedy and hilarious (which we had missed in season 2).

And even if this last season has received much less praise (some speaking even shortness of breath similar to that ofHouse Of Cards) it has the merit of returning to substantive topics (racism, religion, spirituality, etc.) that are in my opinion very interesting, even more interesting than the rivalry between the detained and the drugs in prisons. This season relays this time Piper in the same rank as the other inmates, even if the latter has radically changed, and behaves as a true badass, in a way very similar to the transformation of Walter White in Breaking Bad. The return ofAlex Vause and the arrival of a new inmate (the beautiful and excellent Ruby Pink) will allow to renew the amorous adventures of Piper. For the rest, the lightness is always present, and some of the detainees (especially Mud and Pennsatucky) become really endearing, thanks to the new day vision that we offer the writers to their subject.

The only catch is that, in my opinion ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK shows for the first time the limits of the construction series Netflix, where a backstory is developed more slowly by installing best of the protagonists and the plot, thanks to the simultaneous release of all the episodes. In fact, this model is very nice during the first seasons to install a universe full and rich, but dries up and has more trouble convincing when the viewer is already permeated this universe, making it the first episodes (and the installation of the new storyline) too long and much too slow. It is therefore to be hoped that Netflix, which have received similar criticisms for his other series which mature, to react and to adapt its system of output throughout the life of these flagship series.