Thankfully with Orange is the New Black's fourth to sixth episode in season three, things step up just a tad. Not as much as we'd like, but there's at least finally an overriding storyline despite the dismissal of Nikki and Boo's drug storyline at least for now.
The standout of the third season so far comes in Lea Delaria's performance as Boo, her past revealed in an incredible flashback sequence which shows just how her family reacted to her sexuality and some of the prejudice she's faced because of the way she looks and dresses. It's a harrowing, distressing and eye-opening look at the sort of abuse members of the LGBT community still face today. Orange is at its best when it's using social issues to push realism into its sometimes kooky storylines.
We've seen Delaria in her real life verbally take down those who oppose the LGBT community and now her character has been given the opportunity to do the same. The passion in her voice is thick as she tells a potential lover to go f**k herself for being a "prissy, homophobic, self-hating bitch".
Fast forward to episode six and we see Morello continuing on her with her tirade of living a fake life. We saw it a little earlier on in the season in the first episode where she pretended to have children, but now things have gone to another level. She's written to a bunch of potential pen pals and with every different visitor she gets, she creates a fake persona, story and look in an attempt to impress them. Yael Stone shines and even though we saw what she was capable of with her season two flashbacks, we can't help but empathise for the woman who just wants the life with the white picket fence.
There's also the exploration of Chang's past, and it's a lot darker than anyone could ever have imagined. Ridiculed for the way she looked, she ends up ordering for a man's gall bladder to be sliced out after his emotional and verbal abuse.
We're here introduced to Ruby Rose's new character Stella, who's immediately brilliant if not for the sole purpose of irritating Piper. An intense love triangle is on the way, and it's one that's going to have to be done perfectly if it's to pique audience interest.
What is interesting now however is Red's return to the kitchen. The fight is on, Gloria is ready to battle it out for the job she's already fought hard for, but who will come out on top? It's a nicer subplot for Red given that she had a big part in season two, culminating in a slock to the eye.
The main plot of the overarching unknown prison threat is intriguing but again, is it really living up to what Vee could provide last year? I'm not yet sure. One thing I am super excited about is seeing how they take on the celebrity TV chef Judy King storyline. That should be interesting...
What has happened is a definite increase in my attention span. These three episodes are far more interesting than those that came before them - season three wise. Hopefully this trend will continue, the standard will rise up further and we'll finish things off on a stellar note as we have done twice in the past.
Orange is the New Black seasons 1-3 are available to stream in all territories where Netflix is available.
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