Can't Miss Moments From Season 1 Of 'Orange Is The New Black'

Season two of Orange is the New Black is almost here! And like many fans, I’m canceling my Friday dinner plans and preparing to go into hermit mode to get my dose of Orange. Since the new season is right around the corner, why don’t we take a look at some of the best moments and most interesting scenes from season one that were truly thought provoking. It goes without saying that spoilers are up ahead.

Meeting Piper

You know when I knew this show was going to be good? When we learned a lot about the protagonist from the first few minutes of the series. The curious “show don’t tell” notion applies here. When we met Piper (Taylor Schilling) for the first time, all we were told was that she was about to serve a 15-month prison sentence. But we actually learned a lot more about her character in the first few moments of the first episode, especially during the scene when Larry (Jason Biggs), drives her to the woman’s federal prison. Because Piper is turning herself in, we know she’s honest and responsible about her actions. Probably the best quote from that episode is when Piper tells Larry, “Oh my God, Larry. By the time I get out, there’ll have been, like, three new generations of iPhone.” Right there, we know that Piper was a child of privilege, and she gets one hell of a wake up call.

Claudette Pelage's Crime

This lady is ice cold, and we couldn’t wait to see how Claudette (Michelle Hurst) would make Piper’s life more miserable. I don’t know about you, but I’ve developed a soft spot for her take-none-of-your-sass personality. There's no doubt Claudette is dangerous, after all she did committ a gruesome crime against one of her cleaning company's clients. But after realizing that she did what she did to protect her own workers, we had to consider that maybe she wasn't the hardened criminal we all thought she was.

Janae Watson’s Backstory

Nothing was more heart wrenching than seeing how Janae (Vicky Jeudy) ended up in prison. The former gifted high school track star was arrested when she got involved in criminal activity with her boyfriend and was caught robbing a convenience store. How she got to that point illustrated one of the feminist themes of the show: women who achieve success are often greeted by loneliness in society because they do not fit into a male dominated social construct. She had a scholarship going for her, but threw it all away to fit into the rest of her school and get a boyfriend.

Pennsatucky carries the Crucifix

Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning) is no doubt the craziest gal of the bunch. The biblical verse spitting, psychopath’s best scene has to be the one where she carries that humongous crucifix on her back like Jesus with terrible teeth. Wait, do I see a bit of foreshadowing here? Will she die for the other inmates’ sins in the new season?

Daya Reads Manga

This was a quick scene, in which we see Daya (Dascha Polanco) curled up in bed reading some manga that hit close to home for me. (I too was an anime-loving, angsty teen who wanted to ignore everyone and everything else to read and draw manga.) More importantly, this scene reveals how apathetic Daya is to what’s going on around her. Her character hasn't really been fleshed out all that much this season, so I hope we get to see more in season 2.

Alex In The Dryer

Alex (Laura Prepon) is a great character because we sometimes hate her, and other times we love her. Every time she does something unforgivable, she pulls us back with her devilish charms. But when Alex gets trapped in a dryer, we finally get to see her vulnerable side.

Alex yelling, “Don’t leave me!” was one of her character’s most defining moments. It was the first time we saw her so vulnerable and proves that she really does have genuine feeling for Piper.

Season 2 of Orange Is The New Black will be available for streaming on Netflix Friday, June 5.