I don't know, to me all 3 seasons are very close in quality. They're all really great, but OITNB is such a sprawling show that all 3 seasons had entire subplots/characters that just didn't work at all, and yet there's so much good stuff that it's easier to brush it off then it is in most shows.

Hope this doesn't qualify as a spoiler, but I thought after a somewhat slow start, the back half of the season (and last few episodes in particular) ranked among some of the best the show has ever done.

Are you referring to Piper? I really think calling her the protagonist is a little bit of a stretch at this point.

She popped up on Veep this season! I was excited to see her in a non-OITNB role (even if it was short.)

One thing I have really liked about this season is how they're once again pulling (and succeeding at) the trick from S1 where they take a character, paint them a certain way and then turn around and make you completely change your viewpoint on that character. They did it well with Pearson during this episode and I'd…

Season 3 is definitely the loosest in terms of plotting but I think it was necessary to structure it like this after Season 2, which was excellent but ran the risk of sending the show too over-the-top with its intricate plotting and big story arcs. It worked really well but if they had tried to repeat that every year,…

Yeah I mentioned this above but much like Miss Claudette in S1, I don't think she's in for murder since I don't think it'd be classified as a federal crime. Since her husband was accused of some kind of money laundering, I assume some of that rubbed off on her.

It's weird since S1 positioned her as a pretty central character but she has basically been ignored sicne then.

This is the most likable Daya's been since early Season 1 and maybe ever.

I feel like I had the exact same discussion with Miss Claudette's flashback in S1, but did the flashback suggest that Norma is in for the murder? If so I can't imagine she'd be in a) federal prison and b) minimum security (especially since it doesn't seem like much time passed between the flashback and present day so…

Also, the scene where he opens the My Adventures book to see that his late wife filled it with pictures from their marriage was almost as good of a gutpunch as the montage.

Season 1 established that Pennsatucky was only using religion to try to save her own homicidal ass so I'm not sure how "hatred of religion" factors into it at all.

Taystee was basically comic relief for most of Season 1 (at least until she was released/re-arrested) so her story could've conceivably been true then, but after her flashback in S2 I figured it was made up, since her only real pre-prison offense seemed to be getting caught up in Vee's drug trade.

I don't know, I like Healy (as a character, not as a person) because he feels really realistic to people who actually have backwards ass views like that. Most shows would understandably paint him as a 100% rotten villain, but we get glimpses into the idea that he's a human being too and that there's reasons he behaves…

I feel like it's kind of true to life, though? Most tragic events don't have carefully plotted build-up. They just happen. Especially in prison, I assume.

I do think OITNB is particularly well-suited for the binge model. It feels like it'd be a very different show if it were released week-to-week.

Despite "binge watching culture", I still feel like television is best consumed slowly. I like the idea of watching characters grow over a long period of time. Some of the power of the medium is altered when years of content are crammed into your brain in 48 hours. I mean, I binge when I'm trying to catch up but it's…

Netflix's promotional strategy seems to be less centered around big premieres and more centered on gradual rollout. I only started seeing major Kimmy Schmidt promotion like 2-3 weeks after it was released, and it's often the same way with OITNB seasons I think.

I just get annoyed when television turns into a race. And then everyone finishes it in three days and no one talks about it again for another year. It sucks!

This is the most negative review I've seen of the season. Most critics are suggesting it's shaping up to be the best one yet.