I think she was applying hair oil. It helps keep twists and braids neat so they don't come out or get frizzy right away.

It's a safe bet that you are rarely supposed to cheer when Piper does something. Piper is this story's vehicle for commenting on the flaws of the upper-middle class social elite, the people who believe that they are good and caring, who vote liberal and give money to public radio, and yet turn a blind eye to actual…

Maybe she has. She could be screaming about it all the way down to max and the other shoe will fall as soon as season 4 picks up.

Given the importance of faith in this season, and the fact that this scene takes place in the chapel, I read this as a reflection of where Piper's faith is at the close of the season- namely, in herself. She sees herself as "infinite," and yet she is alone, trusting no one. Very disturbing, and ultimately misguided.

Could be a function of how long the property has been owned by the government. In MA there is a prison in a very expensive town on land that could easily be sold for millions of dollars and developed into hundreds of luxury condos. But the prison has been there, in one form or another, since the 1800s and it's not…

Piper was busy tattooing a not-cliche infinity symbol on herself. Which I think is kind of an interesting statement about where she's put her own faith this season- a faith primarily in herself as being somehow eternal in a way that will turn out to be hollow and inadequate.

I think it would be more interesting if toothpick guard was there for a different reason altogether, to force Alex- who has really made an effort to put her old criminal ways behind her this season- into running something way more illegal than prison panties out of Litchfield. We think he's there to kill Alex because…

I don't know how well a max setting lends itself to story telling, though. It's logistically difficult. It's much more isolated and confined and you can't just have people wandering around or guards ignoring them. It would be like the Chicago prison, only worse. A depressing place to spend any time. I think it more…

It depends on what was meant by the original 15 month sentence. I'm by no means an expert, but I have heard sentences described as a time range that takes into account a reduction in time for good behavior. So it could be that the original sentence was only 15 months if taking into account good behavior, with a…

They film mostly on location, partially at a former children's psychiatric institution, and other locations fairly close to NYC.

Up until she says it, I don't think Alex was suspicious of anything. She was in a pretty convincing downward spiral of self-blame. Once the words are out, though, I think Alex knows Piper so well that it will seem a little off and make her suspect that something is not being said, even if she may not know what that…

I do, too. I can identify with Alex's childhood, living in a pretty decent place but surrounded by kids who have more money and better clothing, who struggles to fit in but gets teased for the old car or the single mom or the cheap shoes. For as confident as she appears, she is very insecure and vulnerable.

And also, the black hair and glasses thing.

Yes, thank you! Boring is just the wrong word. In the context of a discussion board I think it's a little lazy and a conversation stopper to dismiss an objectively complicated set of characters and story lines as "boring." There's no response to "they're boring" other than "I don't think they are." I would rather know…

It's interesting, though, because Alex is also a flawed character, good and bad, with a story to tell, and I think she is quickly dismissed by a lot of viewers as just some sort of toxic, predatory romantic foil for a lead character. But in season 3 she is a broken, paranoid mess. She's trying to come to terms with…

Thank you for saying 35 instead of 40. I am going to pretend to be 36 for the rest of the afternoon :)

Not unless Litchfield has a shooting range rec area we just haven't seen yet.

But the fact the Gloria Vanderbilt=Anderson Cooper's mom and not Gloria Vanderbilt="designer jeans with her name scrawled across the pocket" kind of reinforces it for me. Sergio Valente. Now I do feel old.

Might make me feel better, but it depends. If I say "Gloria Vanderbilt" will you need to check Google to find the connection?

Do you really think that the people who write this show think that Piper is endearing? Aside from being a character in the show, Piper is a symbol. She represents "us" in the story, or at least the "us" that lead relatively comfortable, privileged lives and think that we would somehow be better than Piper if we were…