Season 4 of "Orange is the New Black" was finally released on the 17th of June, and I think it's safe to say it was one hell of a ride. Much like a mellow roller coaster ride with sudden twists and turns that make your heart feel like its in your mouth. But, minus these plot twists, some might say the season went by pretty dull. So, for those of you that got tired of Judy King's accent or just stopped watching the show altogether after listening to Caputo in his somber board meetings, here is the entire season in a few short summaries.
All Natural Fertilizer
As season 3 ended, Alex Vause was trapped in the greenhouse with a guard, Aydin, an assassin sent by her former drug kingpin boss, Kubra Balik. She spent all of Season 3 thinking someone was coming after her, and she was right! Season 4 kicks off with Aydin strangling Alex in the Litchfield greenhouse but Lolly, the woman that believes various government agencies are after her, steps in and saves the day after pushing him off and stomping on his neck till he dies.
After convicted murderer Freida finds them both in the shed with a dead guard, the trio decide to chop him up and bury him in Red's trophy garden.
The Panty Party
So Piper was having the time of her life being the new 'queen' of the prison before Maria starts her own panty business to compete with Piper. This ticks Piper off, which leads her to frame Maria with a bag of stolen panties from the factory. This gives Maria an extra few years on top her sentence.
Now with the influx of inmates, Dominicans are the majority. Maria sees this as an opportunity to seek revenge so during a common room party, Maria along with her new clan, drags Piper off and brands her with the swastika. Yikes!
Mama is free!
Aleida, Dayanara's mom, has been chosen for early release! After a case worker goes through her file and realizes she hasn't gotten into any trouble during her time, she says Aleida has been model inmate and decides she's fit for early release! Daya and Aleida share a sweet moment before Aleida leaves the penitentiary, which is a rare sight!
Busted!
After Piper's expose leads to the shutdown of the panty producing business, the prison comes up with a learning class: Construction 101. Though we all probably forgot about the rotting decomposing body in the garden, when the instructor decides to plow through the garden for more construction, the limbs are now out and the guards are on a hunt for the murderer. Forget cats and dogs, it's raining hands and legs and Litchfield's newest Breakfast Club better watch their back.
Lolly was extracted.
Since the rotting body was found, the guards are on edge trying to solve the crime. Going against Caputo's instructions, head guard Piscatella starts questioning inmates, leading an investigation with various extraction techniques. After questioning Red and strip searching her bunk, the key to the tool shed was found in her possession causing all eyes to be on her.
While all this is happening, Lolly who constantly blabbers about the murder, is finally taken to the psychiatric unit. Healy finally realizes that all this time, Lolly wasn't simply hallucinating, but actually killed a man and he failed to help her. This doesn't stop Piscatella from targeting Red.
Enough is enough
Piscatella keeps a close eye on Red, depriving her of sleep and getting her to work at odd hours. Red is frail and desperate for sleep, and when Piscatella pushes her to the ground, the rest of the inmates take a stand and decide they've had enough. Flores, who was forced to stand on the dining table for days, stands on the table as a sign of retaliation, and the rest of the inmates follow demanding Piscatella's resignation.
Piscatella calls for backup and while getting all the inmates off the tables, one of the guards, Bailey gets into a scuffle trying to calm Crazy Eyes down. Poussey immediately tries to step in to calm them both down, but Bailey tackles Poussey to the ground with his knee on her while trying to get Crazy Eyes off of him. Before he realizes it, Poussey is unresponsive and lifeless on the ground.
They didn't even say her name!
After Poussey's tragic demise, MCC along with the guards try to find a cover up to avoid tabloids and publicity regarding the incident. While the entire prison is mourning, Poussey is left on the cafeteria floor for days, and Taystee realizes Caputo hasn't even contacted her dad yet. During a press conference, Caputo made Bailey seem as the victim and didn't even mention Poussey's name, which enrages Taystee and the entire prison inmates. A riot breaks out and all the inmates meet the same meeting point, where two guards are escorting Judy King out.
Of all people, the season ends with Dayanara holding a gun towards two guards. Everyone encourages Daya to shoot them both, but the 13 episode long season ends with a memory of Poussey smiling in New York.
