“Thirteen hours of television later, and season five’s cliffhanger ends nearly exactly as season four: with women, many of whom are queer, many of whom are of color, in peril and facing an unknown future. Instead of grounding this season in a fight for social justice, they gleefully reveled in unnecessary violence and humiliation.”

The SWAT team approaches and Larry returns. LARRY.

After an episode of literal torture, OITNB focuses on the stories it tells best: the ones about family.

Spectacles rely on spectators, and I for one am not going to be pulled into this show anymore just to watch violence for the sake of violence. I can watch the news and do that, thanks.

“This was the point in this episode, and there were points like this in almost every episode, where I went cold and just thought ‘Why am I still watching this fucking show?'”

“Tied To The Tracks” is a slow burn compared to the season’s first six episodes of Orange Is the New Black that mostly boasted a crowded ensemble acting out cruelly in the name of justice for Poussey.

This is the show that I fell in love with. Women, helping each other through their pain. Women, finding family. Women, finding support from one another while in the pits of the darkest places they can imagine.

I’m not going to lie, there was something oddly cathartic about seeing a pile of Cheetos burst into flames.

After four episodes of chaos and lack of direction both within Litchfield and the overall arc of the season, Orange Is the New Black finally managed to pull it together enough to produce an episode worth watching (save for one MAJOR issue).