Orange is the New Black – Riot Fomo

By: Gladys Luna

Season Five of “Orange Is the New Black” opens with Daya (Dasha Polanco) faced with the question of either shooting or letting the CO Humphrey (Michael Torpey) live. The inmates have gathered together around them and keep encouraging the girl to take the next step and kill him. In the meantime, Piper (Taylor Schilling) and Alex (Laura Prepon) have decided they don’t want to be part of that and have moved in the other way trying to find a safe place to stay until everything is finally over. Red (Kate Mulgrew) and Frieda (Dale Soules) also have opted for running away from the scene and find better ways to seize the opportunity they have now since everyone seems to be quite entertained with such “show.” Nicky (Natasha Lyonne) is determined to break into the med store, but Morello (Yael Stone) doesn’t seem to think is the wise move to do given Nicky´s prior problems with drugs. Unfortunately, two other inmates have thought the same way and are not giving up until they manage to enter the room as well.

Back to the hallway where the riot is still in full swing, CO Humphrey decided to hold onto the last piece of hope he has and attempts to convince Daya to let him go and starts to tell her a story of when he was a kid, as a way to reach for her. He switches from speaking English to Spanish, but the girl tells him she doesn’t speak the language and shoots him on the femur making him bend and fall on the floor in pain. A moment later, Gloria (Selenis Leyva) makes an appearance asking them to stop the torture. And is not after Maritza (Diane Guerrero) and other inmate start to beat him that Gloria manages to stop the riot.

Caputo (Nick Sandow), on the other hand, has just wrapped his announcement where he denied that Baxter (Alan Aisenberg) killed Poussey (Samira Wiley), something his PR Consultant (Josh Palladino) does not agree with. Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) and Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) have locked themselves in the grocery stor,e but still help the other inmates to get what they need for free.

Among the mess and the tension, the funny and lighter side of this crusade is brought to us by Maritza and “Flaca” (Jackie Cruz) when the latter is mad since Maritza didn’t go with her to the riot. She claims to be her “riot partner” so Flaca felt completely dismissed. Maritza apologizes to her saying that she got a last minute call into it, but it won’t happen again.

Back to the mess that have been created in the Litchfield prison, the alarms have been set off and that´s when Gloria and Zirconia (Daniella De Jesús) bring CO Humphrey to Sophia (Laverne Cox) and ask for her help to heal the man’s wound. She agrees, but he refuses to be helped by her so she steps back. Gloria begs her to help them anyway because if he dies, they will be charged on murder so the woman asks Sophia to do it for her and she finally agrees.

Tastyee (Danielle Brooks) and Cindy (Adrienne C. Moore) arrive at Caputo´s office wanting to make things right and announce that Baxter killed Poussey. When Caputo and his PR Consultant does not seem to cooperate with them, both get beaten by the inmates. Red breaks into Mr. Healy´s office (Michael Harney) and steals a badge from one of his drawers. When another inmate attempts to enter the room, Red takes an object and tries to punch her, but the girl begs her not to do it. She just wants to recover her carved soaps, the one that were taken from her by Mr. Healy. When they are looking for the soaps, they find an embarrassing photo album of CO Piscatella (Brad William Henke) that Red plans to keep just in case she needs it. In another room, six inmates are held face on the floor including Alex and Piper by CO Dixon (Mike Houston) who refuses to let them go.

Soso (Kimiko Glenn) arrives to a place where she finds Judy King (Blair Brown). The young girl confesses how she feels and how she had chased everyone away with her sadness. Judy shares some heart to heart chat with her and encourages her to move on. Gina (Abigail Savage) goes looking for Luschek (Matt Peters) in order to help her to turn the alarm off. In the meantime, Blanca (Laura Gómez) is trying to secure the place. Luschek refuses to open the door so, using desperate measures, Gina (who is currently on her period) takes some blood and puts it all over her left cheek and clothes to trick Luschek into letting her in. Once inside, she threatens him. If he won’t help her, she will let Blanca to hurt him.

Nicky and Morello make a plan to take the prison keys away from CO Dixon; the blonde proposes Morello to go and show him her breasts and distract him. When they get into the room where he is in, they see the six inmates on the floor and tell them should not be the hostage since the inmates are taking the prison. So, three of them tie the CO up with a carpet and a VCR cable to take him as hostage now. Taystee, Cindy, Alison (Amanda Stephen) and Watson (Vicky Jeudy) have written a full speech for Caputo that he is supposed to say while he is recorded by them. He begins to do it, but is not able to finish it so Taystee does for him. Alex and Piper are on the bathroom while discussing what may happen to them once the riot is over when they hear a distant buzzing. They go up on one of the toilets and take a look at the bathroom next door when they see Linda Ferguson (Beth Dover) hiding in there.

The video is finally up and seen by everyone out there, especially by CO Piscatella who seems to be aware that this will happen sooner or later. Sophia is still trying to sew the wound on CO Humphrey, but since the needle she is using is for sewing hair wigs she can´t do it. She is about giving up, but Gloria asks her again to help her so both of them carry the CO and lead him to the infirmary where they are received by a nurse whom, with the help of Sophia, will heal the CO´s wound. When Gloria sees that Sophia has it all covered, she walks away from there to see where else she can be of help, leaving the girl behind.

Piper and Alex have taken Linda with them as an attempt to free her. Meanwhile, Taystee is trying to upload the video they just recorded. She and the other inmates are discussing possible ways to make the video be seen, but don’t seem to find a good one. Josh, the PR Consultant that is also tied up on the floor, helps them with some ideas. It seems the inmates are doing exactly what he intended to do since the beginning. So, they agree to post the video on Twitter and then spread through Facebook and other social media. Also, right there Caputo acknowledges that the prison has been taken by the inmates and they are under a riot. In the C Room, Maritza and Flaca indirectly make Daya aware that once the riot is over so she might be taken to Max-C for starting the mess. They praise her bravery and the fact that she was willing to sacrifice herself for the other, which makes Daya stop for a moment to process everything they just said and she begins to panic.

Nicky and Morello go to the med store and try to trick Leanne (Emma Myles) and Angie (Julie Lake) into letting them in. They show them the keys and start to create a plan about the drugs they would take once they are inside. Finally, Angie and Leanne open the door for them out of the excitement of what they may be getting in exchange.

CO Dixon and McCullough (Emily Tarver) are discussing how Daya is now falling apart. They are caught by Maria (Jessica Pimentel) who yells at them from the other side of the glass to break apart and stop talking to each other. She goes to Daya and asks her to either pull herself together or hand her the gun. Daya can´t stand it anymore so she stands up and yells at them to leave her alone. She then walks away from the room. CO Humphrey is now safe and asleep in an infirmary bed where Sophia ties up his hands. She and the nurse leave the room and a few minutes after the man wakes up and is met by the intense gaze of Maureen (Emily Althaus) who is at his right and Suzanne (Uzo Aduba) who is at his left. He gets immediately uncomfortable by the two and tries to move his hands, but then he realizes that he has been tied up.

Piper and Alex set Linda free but the woman follows them wherever they go. So, they discuss whether or not to take her with them. Alex is not convinced to do it but Piper tells her she doesn’t wants to lose her humanity. So, they ask Linda to get some of the clothes that are discarded on the floor and change her outfit, if they find her to be a threat, they´ll let her be on her own.

On the other hand, Daya enters Healey´s office and asks Red and the other inmate to leave but they refuse. Then, she points her gun to Red´s head and asks again, making the two woman get rapidly out of the room. Daya decides to call her mother, but it goes to voicemail. Suddenly, she is hit on the head and falls to the floor, releasing the gun that now is taken by another inmate who puts her foot on the gun and takes it for herself.