@laceystew said:

I just finished episode 4. The first episode was good, the next 3 seemed like very silly and bad filler. Has antrel watched the whole season yet? Does it get any better?

I'm into episode 7, and I'm finding it quite good.

I like it. We're seeing less of Piper and Alex than previous seasons but that doesn't bother me at all. There are other characters that are far more interesting.

@diadara said:

I like it. We're seeing less of Piper and Alex than previous seasons but that doesn't bother me at all. There are other characters that are far more interesting.

It's fashionable/popular to hate on Piper, but I still like her and want to see her involved in plot advancement.

Piper is a symbol, a representation of privilege that ended up on the wrong side of the deal and actually had to pay the price. And, once inside, she discovers all kinds of diverse lives who otherwise would have garnered zero attention from her and her world. There's a whole lot of humanizing going on in this show - women, minorities, LGBT people, trailer folks, skinheads, Muslims - all of them have context, backgrounds, environments that are a part of how they got there.

Thing is, we're even paying attention to these stories at all because of Piper which, itself, is a statement.

*Edit: Here's some official insider statements on this idea: http://starcasm.net/archives/319044:

"You’re not going to go into a network and sell a show on really fascinating tales of black women, and Latina women, and old women and criminals. But if you take this white girl, this sort of fish out of water, and you follow her in, you can then expand your world and tell all of those other stories. But it’s a hard sell to just go in and try to sell those stories initially. The girl next door, the cool blonde, is a very easy access point, and it’s relatable for a lot of audiences and a lot of networks looking for a certain demographic. It’s useful."

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@diadara said:

I like it. We're seeing less of Piper and Alex than previous seasons but that doesn't bother me at all. There are other characters that are far more interesting.

It's fashionable/popular to hate on Piper, but I still like her and want to see her involved in plot advancement.

Piper is a symbol, a representation of privilege that ended up on the wrong side of the deal and actually had to pay the price. And, once inside, she discovers all kinds of diverse lives who otherwise would have garnered zero attention from her and her world. There's a whole lot of humanizing going on in this show - women, minorities, LGBT people, trailer folks, skinheads, Muslims - all of them have context, backgrounds, environments that are a part of how they got there.

Thing is, we're even paying attention to these stories at all because of Piper which, itself, is a statement.

I love Piper but this season she's not bringing much to the table. It's deliberate I'm sure because it centers around Washington's demise and how that affects the women in Lichfield in some way, direct or indirect. There's so much in this season I didn't see coming and so many comical moments so I'm really enjoying it!

@diadara said:

I love Piper but this season she's not bringing much to the table. It's deliberate I'm sure because it centers around Washington's demise and how that affects the women in Lichfield in some way, direct or indirect. There's so much in this season I didn't see coming and so many comical moments so I'm really enjoying it!

How far in (episodes) are you?

I haven't watched it all yet either but this season most definitely is not up to par with the others. It's just not good so far in my view and I hope it gets better.

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@diadara said:

I love Piper but this season she's not bringing much to the table. It's deliberate I'm sure because it centers around Washington's demise and how that affects the women in Lichfield in some way, direct or indirect. There's so much in this season I didn't see coming and so many comical moments so I'm really enjoying it!

How far in (episodes) are you?

It's 2am and I just finished the season, I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see what happened. The ending could have been better, I like a nice cliffhanger but some issues could have been resolved or at least hinted were taken care of before ending the season. It's always the little things that irks me.

@diadara said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@diadara said:

I love Piper but this season she's not bringing much to the table. It's deliberate I'm sure because it centers around Washington's demise and how that affects the women in Lichfield in some way, direct or indirect. There's so much in this season I didn't see coming and so many comical moments so I'm really enjoying it!

How far in (episodes) are you?

It's 2am and I just finished the season, I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see what happened. The ending could have been better, I like a nice cliffhanger but some issues could have been resolved or at least hinted were taken care of before ending the season. It's always the little things that irks me.

You're somewhere in Europe?

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@diadara said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

@diadara said:

I love Piper but this season she's not bringing much to the table. It's deliberate I'm sure because it centers around Washington's demise and how that affects the women in Lichfield in some way, direct or indirect. There's so much in this season I didn't see coming and so many comical moments so I'm really enjoying it!

How far in (episodes) are you?

It's 2am and I just finished the season, I couldn't wait until tomorrow to see what happened. The ending could have been better, I like a nice cliffhanger but some issues could have been resolved or at least hinted were taken care of before ending the season. It's always the little things that irks me.

You're somewhere in Europe?

Yes I'm in Sweden :)

@diadara said:

@DRDMovieMusings said:

You're somewhere in Europe?

Yes I'm in Sweden :)

Cool. I'm in western Canada.

@laceystew said:

I just finished episode 4. The first episode was good, the next 3 seemed like very silly and bad filler. Has antrel watched the whole season yet? Does it get any better?

I have 2 ep. left this is probably my fave season.

@laceystew said:

I just finished episode 4. The first episode was good, the next 3 seemed like very silly and bad filler. Has antrel watched the whole season yet? Does it get any better?

I was not crazy about this season, it needed some good editing. Really dragged in parts and too much time with annoying characters like the meth head and x-Amish girl that were a real waste imo. Still it did pick up bit in the last 4 and I'm glad I watched it through to the end.

I enjoyed it, but I have to agree with HoneyWest. There was far too much screen time devoted to Angie and Leeann. They are the most annoying characters on this show. It is pretty bad when I prefer the Nazis to them.

I haven't finished this season yet.........

@ch_golfer said:

I enjoyed it, but I have to agree with HoneyWest. There was far too much screen time devoted to Angie and Leeann. They are the most annoying characters on this show. It is pretty bad when I prefer the Nazis to them.

But, but...don't you see? That's partially the point! This show has done a fairly decent job of filling in the backstories for how so many of these women "ended up here," too often just by-products of a crappy system. Yeah, sure, they all made choices but, given their respective circumstances, they're not altogether unsympathetic characters - even the Nazis.

I'm glad that these two characters got some screen time; their lives and circumstances are interesting and certainly advance the story - the point - of this show.

And, the socio-politics of my comments shouldn't be lost. The several primary thrusts of this season have been quite on point, balancing the various subgroups in the prison (blacks, latinas, whites, young, old, drug addled, etc., etc.) and producing a fine melting pot subset, made up of representatives from almost all the subgroups, in the final scene - their standing arm in arm a fitting symbol of their oneness - above all their cultural, social, class, ethnic and even age differences - standing against the power structure.