Orange is the New Black (season 4)

Hardcore fans might argue that OITNB is a series that defies genre but truth be told, the team at Netflix have often struggled with finding the right balance between tragic comedy and tongue-in-cheek prison drama (just look at its list of Emmy awards and nominations for proof). Here’s to season 4 then, easily the show’s best so far and the one that finally manages to address the equilibrium.

Not many shows would put a humorous spin on a body dismemberment scene to the sound of a Papa Roach tune, but OITNB does just that in episode one. The laughable panty-smuggling storyline from season 3 gradually grows into a tense, more scarring subplot. And the bumbling guards from previous seasons are swiftly replaced with dangerously aggressive war veterans, who are responsible for the season’s darker developments.

But what OITNB excels at is fleshing out its large ensemble of vibrant characters. The show’s always been something of an equal opportunities employer, meaning that actors in walk-on roles eventually get the chance to shine in their own episode. Even Taylor Schilling’s Piper Chapman, usually the most tedious inmate of the bunch despite being the closest we get to a protagonist, goes through one hell of a narrative arc.

The latest residents at Lichfield also get a look in, especially Captain Piscatella, an imposing man-mountain that could’ve easily turned out to be a one note villain, but instead feels like a fully-rounded individual thanks to clever writing. In a rather more controversial move, the show dares us to buy into a renewed relationship between a one-time rapist and his victim – the fact that you never quite know whether you should be enamoured or disturbed by this is a testament to the creative talent involved.   

And then there’s the ending. To give away details would mean to deprive you from a viewing experience that ranges from distressing to bittersweet over the course of two impeccably paced episodes. By the time the season ends on a nail-biting cliffhanger, OITNB feels like it has finally become the complex dramedy it was always meant to be. Season 5 has a lot to live up to.

5/5