‘Orange Is The New Black’ Season 3 Episode 8 Recap: ‘Fear And Other Smells’

Orange is the New Black “Fear And Other Smells” dealt with Alex’s ongoing paranoia about Kubra sending someone to kill her, and Piper’s mission to get her prison panty business off the ground.

Orange Is The New Black Recap

Red (Kate Mulgrew) couldn’t be more depressed with the situation in the kitchen, as she’s now forced to serve the pre-made boil-in-bag meals. It’s inedible. “I guess this is the new way of things. That’s too bad. I really liked eating,” says Morello. “It was part of my daily routine.” Meanwhile, Cindy (Adrienne C. Moore), Poussey (Samira Wiley), Taystee (Danielle Brooks) and Janae (Vicky Jeudy) are enjoying their kosher meals even more. As for DeMarco, she’s found a way of making the best out of the bad situation with the flavor packets that come with the ramen packages.

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Piper (Taylor Schilling), who was sitting at DeMarco’s table, realizes that the flavor packets could be used as a bribe to get more inmates to willingly wear  – and then turn over – their panties. “You are one clever a–hole,” Alex (Laura Prepon) tells Piper when she sees that she’s cleaned the commissary out of ramen packages. Piper is less impressed with what Alex is bringing to the table, as she’s yet to woo the guard who will take their “product” outside the prison walls. When Alex tries to talk to Piper about her fears over Kubra seeking retribution, Piper thinks she’s blowing things out of proportion.

After Piper left Alex in Europe, refusing to go with her to her mother’s funeral, Alex had gone by herself. There to pick her up was Fari, who roped her right back into the drug smuggling business.  Out at a club, Fari tells Alex and his other associates that their new smuggler is at the airport. Alex suggests that they leave the new recruit to figure out how to meet them as her first test, instead of going to pick her up. When the girl ends up getting arrested, they’re all scared that Kubra is going to come after them. The fears prove correct, as Kubra has one of his men kill Fari.

Alex’s fears in the present increase when she catches Lolly (Lori Petty) snooping in her cube. Later in the day, while Alex is doing work as part of the grounds crew, Lolly approaches her with a branch of poison ivy, swinging it near her face. Though she claims she’s not going to do Alex any harm, Alex is still unsure. When Lolly goes to bed that night, in her cube across the aisle from Alex, she writes down the time she goes to bed. She’s tracked all of Alex’s movements throughout the day.

While Alex was fearing for her life, Piper was full steam ahead with her new business. Out in the yard, she recruits Big Boo (Lea DeLaria), Morello (Yael Stone), Gina (Abigail Savage), and Yoga Jones (Constance Shulman) with a rousing speech. Her dramatic pitch includes allusions to feminism and sticking it to the patriarchy with the selling of their dirty underwear. “We may be incarcerated, but our panties will travel the world!” she tells them. “Make a reek, make a reek my sisters! Make a reek to last 10,000 years!” They were all onboard after she mentioned the flavor packets – before the lengthy speech.

Daya, who Piper unsuccessfully hit up for her pregnancy underwear, meets once again with Pornstache’s mother Delia (Mary Steenburgen). This time around, she’s more confident about giving the baby over to her, despite the fact that she won’t actually be the baby’s grandmother. All she asks is for one thing; that Delia will write to her about her child. Delia had thought that the “one thing” was more money. Little did she know that Daya had no idea about the monetary arrangement Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez) had made with her. Daya, her conscience taking over, tells Delia that she can’t go through with any of it, and confesses that her son is not the baby’s father. Delia is understandably crushed.

Having a bit more fun was Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning), who had to help the new C.O. Coates (James McMenamin) learn how to do his job, as he, along with the rest of the new guards, didn’t receive proper training. He’s stunned to learn that they let the inmates drive, but Doggett safely delivers him to his donut shop to pick up a check. The two end up bonding over their love of donuts and head out to a park where they feed the geese. Things look they’re about to take a less platonic turn, but they stop before they go too far.

Back at the prison, Crazy Eyes a.k.a S.R. Warren (Uzo Adubo) has become Litchfield’s most popular writer with her Time Hump Chronicles erotica. Poussey starts to get on her about churning out the next chapter, as do a few other of her devoted fans.  It’s all in good fun, though Poussey, who’s still in her depressive spiral, gets a bit too invested. Taystee ends up finding her drunk in the stairwell on the verge of tears talking about the characters.

Season 3 Episode 8 Odds & Ends

Healy recommends that Soso go on depressants, which Berdie doesn’t agree with.

Sophia’s son Michael continues to grow closer to Mendoza’s son Benny, and, to his mother’s dismay, took Sophia’s advice about girls.

Norma’s cult is going full-steam ahead and is gaining followers by the day.

Caputo and Pearson’s working relationship begins to deteriorate over the Kosher meals and Caputo’s short Thursday workdays.

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