It speaks to how much Orange Is the New Black has grown since its early days that an episode taking place on Piper’s birthday doesn’t focus on her character. Once the show’s de facto protagonist, OITNB’s mosaic of personal stories and tragic characters quickly eclipsed the singular story of Piper Chapman – to the point that “Finger in the Dyke” only makes passing reference to her birthday, and focuses instead on building yet another emotional bridge between the past and present with Big Boo, weaving her deeply personal story with another collage of powerful scenes from other characters, struggling with their own elusive truths.
For many (like Gloria), those truths aren’t really ‘elusive’, just easily ignored: “Finger in the Dyke” spends a lot of time observing the coping mechanisms of its characters in the face of personal struggle, framing the episode around Big Boo’s back story and Suzanne’s growing acceptance of Vee’s death. Bouncing back and forth between characters like this would be easy for “Finger” to quickly lose its way; however, each story continues to revolve around this same idea, only growing more and more emotional as the episode moves from the conflict of its first half, to the cathartic moments in the last twenty minutes.
That transition is important; Orange is ultimately, a story about accepting and forgiving ourselves, and how that opens the world up to other people. It’s an idea that exists on a much larger scale than just Big Boo and Pennsatucky bonding; watching characters like Suzanne and Daya accept the truth of their situations are moments that propel all the stories around them, centered on Big Boo (and a knockout performance from Lea DeLaria) and heightened by the women’s allegiance to the myth of synced-up menstrual cycles, which puts everyone in a cranky mood. After all, what’s the only thing that frustrates us more than the things in life we can’t control? The things we can; and watching characters fight to regain control over their lives (or in Caputo’s case, his career) makes for a very powerful episode.
Beginning with Suzanne’s nightmares, “Finger” is a juggling act that requires a very careful touch in creating thematic parallels between its stories. In fact, Orange may be the only show on television able to do this; with such a massive collection of nuanced characters and rich back stories, Orange seems able to pick a half dozen stories at random and feed them through a singular idea, without ever feeling like its overtly constructed to be that way: never pausing for too long on a moment, “Finger” moves from awkward moments between Red and Healy (who is putting on a very weird smile around Red right now; she better look out) to emotional, rewarding ones between Piper and Alex; and yet, it can do all this without ever losing sight of the impact of its central story, which gives great voice to difficult, abrasive person that Big Boo can be, as well as showing just how large her big lesbian heart really is.
Really, it’s when characters begin accepting – or inversely, pushing back – against assumptions that “Finger” really comes to life; propelled by Soso’s speech to her oft-mentioned friend Meadow, “Finger” slowly rises from the ugliness of Caputo is trying to hide, and gives reason to why Big Boo and the others should continue “fighting the world,” no matter how crappy the hand that’s dealt may be. In Litchfield, the larger issues these characters have struggled with are removed from the equation (including what Big Boo is in prison for; there’s suggestion she was a bookie, but we don’t know what comes of it), which puts characters in a place to delve into the deeply personal problems they face, problems only brought to light by the ugly realities of the women (excuse me, Mr. Caputo: the other “inmates”) around them.
Grounded by Big Boo’s flashbacks, “Finger in the Dyke” is another moment of growth for Orange, moving away from the larger, serialized conflicts that defined the first two seasons, into more resonant, connective character stories – and yet, doing so without creating the feeling that it’s isolating its characters in their own worlds. And the connections between characters remains ever-important as Orange shifts to smaller dramatic rises (perhaps as it prepares for a major dramatic overhaul at the end of the season when MCC takes over?); “Finger” smartly spends a lot of time focused on these bridges between characters fighting to accept their own truths (and the freedom that comes with finally being able to define our own truths in the process), and by doing so, delivers another knockout hour of television in the process.
Other thoughts/observations:
– Other pairings that lead to great moments: Boo/Lorna (the latter of which who makes a disturbing The Swan reference); Daya/Gloria (who share a cigarette); and of course, Piper/Alex (“Love-f***? That just made my nipples invert”).
– Boo flipping out on that horrible priest is a fantastic moment, as broad and predictable as it may be.
– Poussey’s growing frustration with Suzanne is arguably the most superficial element of the episode, and its only disappointing one; I’m still surprised to see Poussey survive Vee’s wrath, and want to spend more time with the emotional aftermath she’s still struggling with.
– This episode was penned by Lauren Morelli, who also wrote a fantastic piece about her own sexual discovery while working on the show.
– Of course Pennsatucky doesn’t know she needs to brush her fake teeth.
– Red smelling Nicky’s hairbrush is such a heartbreaking image, topped only by Big Boo’s disappointed look at her father when he sends her away from her sick mother’s hospital room.
– Suzanne wakes up, talking about how she needed to tell Vee about “the dragon that’s coming.” Potential bread crumb here?
– Big Boo: “I love gray… black and white is for zebras and Michael Jackson.”
– Does MCC stand for the Misogynists C***s Council?
– Penn: “Boo, you look f***ing weird.” “I look like my mother.”
– Black Cindy, to the MCC folks: “Hello white people… and Other.”
– Miguel’s “P**** Is Mine” is a fantastic song, by the way.
– “Do this for your father, who has to spend time with your mother.” How… caring?
[Photo via Netflix]
Follow Us
