History Fridge / OrangeIsTheNewBlack

* During the Mother's Day Fair in season 3, Boo eases Pennsatucky's guilt about aborting her five babies by explaining what (statistically) miserable lives they would possibly have lived and how their horrible upbringing would have probably impacted society... while wearing a clown costume. While her costume is for the fair, the writers' decision to dress her so for that scene takes on greater symbolic and historical significance when one realizes [[Creator|WilliamShakespeare]] himself often wrote court jesters and clowns as the [[OnlySaneMan only sane men]] in a world gone crazy; deeply insightful and great tellers of truth masked [[ObfuscatingStupidity behind humor]]. Even historically, court jesters were known for using {{brutal honesty}} as part of their humor, and were the only ones who could be honest in {{deadly decadent court}}s, and the only ones who could insult the king (or queen) without retribution. Whether or not one agrees with Boo regarding abortion, she does offer a [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped much-needed]] [[BothSidesHaveAPoint alternate perspective]] to ease Pennsatucky's guilt and help her slip away from the religious mask she'd been hiding behind most of the series. Plus, Boo looked like the Angel of Death.

* During the Mother's Day Fair in season 3, Boo eases Pennsatucky's guilt about aborting her five babies by explaining what (statistically) miserable lives they would possibly have lived and how their horrible upbringing would have probably impacted society... while wearing a clown costume. While her costume is for the fair, the writers' decision to dress her so for that scene takes on greater symbolic and historical significance when one realizes [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare]] himself often wrote court jesters and clowns as the [[OnlySaneMan only sane men]] in a world gone crazy; deeply insightful and great tellers of truth masked [[ObfuscatingStupidity behind humor]]. Even historically, court jesters were known for using {{brutal honesty}} as part of their humor, and were the only ones who could be honest in {{deadly decadent court}}s, and the only ones who could insult the king (or queen) without retribution. Whether or not one agrees with Boo regarding abortion, she does offer a [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped much-needed]] [[BothSidesHaveAPoint alternate perspective]] to ease Pennsatucky's guilt and help her slip away from the religious mask she'd been hiding behind most of the series. Plus, Boo looked like the Angel of Death.

* Two instances from the same dialogue. When Red confronts Boo for being a snitch and suggests she should join Vee, Boo says that maybe she will and sarcastically remarks that this might make her a race traitor. When Red dismisses her for good, Boo only says "Boo has Boo". Within the same episode, Vee shoots down Boo too for being a snitch, thus Boo unexpectedly is on her own for real and Healy reveals to Pensatucky that Boo's last name is Black, making the race traitor remark ironic in hindsight.

* Early in Season 3 when Caputo dons a track suit and it appears that he is going to train the new C.O.s in combat, this looks like a setup for an embarrassing joke on his part. However, he [[HiddenDepths takes down a guard much larger than him with ease]]. This makes a lot more sense later on in the season when it is revealed [[spoiler:that, not only did Caputo start off as a guard in Litchfield, but that he used to wrestle as a kid.]]

* During the Mother's Day Fair in season 3, Boo eases Pennsatucky's guilt about aborting her five babies by explaining what (statistically) miserable lives they would possibly have lived and how their horrible upbringing would have probably impacted society... while wearing a clown costume. While her costume is for the fair, the writers' decision to dress her so for that scene takes on greater symbolic and historical significance when one realizes [[Shakespeare the Bard]] himself often wrote court jesters and clowns as the [[OnlySaneMan only sane men]] in a world gone crazy; deeply insightful and great tellers of truth masked [[ObfuscatingStupidity behind humor]]. Even historically, court jesters were known for using {{brutal honesty}} as part of their humor, and were the only ones who could be honest in {{deadly decadent court}}s, and the only ones who could insult the king (or queen) without retribution. Whether or not one agrees with Boo regarding abortion, she does offer a [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped much-needed]] [[BothSidesHaveAPoint alternate perspective]] to ease Pennsatucky's guilt and help her slip away from the religious mask she'd been hiding behind most of the series. Plus, Boo looked like the Angel of Death.

* Early in Season 3 when Caputo dons a track suit and it appears that he is going to train the new COs in combat, this looks like a setup for an embarrassing joke on his part. However, he [[HiddenDepths takes down a guard much larger than him with ease]]. This makes a lot more sense later on in the season when it is revealed [[spoiler:that, not only did Caputo start off as a guard in Litchfield, but that he used to wrestle as a kid]].

** The scene where Bennett is told to kick the grenade away is set up to make us believe this could be how he truly lost his leg, and was lying about losing it in a hot tub incident. Instead, he ducks for cover, proving what was shown about his character throughout: by the end of the day, even when he has the perfect setup to be a hero, he's a coward. Maybe in another lifetime he would've lost his leg doing the right thing.
* During the Mother's Day Fair in Season 3, Boo eases Pennsatucky's guilt about aborting her five babies by explaining what (statistically) miserable lives they would possibly have lived and how their horrible upbringing would have probably impacted society... while wearing a clown costume. While her costume is for the fair, the writers' decision to dress her so for that scene takes on greater symbolic and historical significance when one realizes [[Shakespeare the Bard]] himself often wrote court jesters and clowns as the [[OnlySaneMan only sane men]] in a world gone crazy; deeply insightful and great tellers of truth masked [[ObfuscatingStupidity behind humor]]. Even historically, court jesters were known for using {{brutal honesty}} as part of their humor, and were the only ones who could be honest in {{deadly decadent court}}s, and the only ones who could insult the king (or queen) without retribution. Whether or not one agrees with Boo regarding abortion, she does offer a [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped much-needed]] [[BothSidesHaveAPoint alternate perspective]] to ease Pennsatucky's guilt and help her slip away from the religious mask she'd been hiding behind most of the series. Plus, Boo looked like the Angel of Death.

* In season 3, Sophia has to watch her son become more and more of a criminal without being able to do anything about it, has to deal with constant bullying, misgendering and eventually transphobic violence at the hands of fellow prisoners (that leaves her all but mutilated) and is ultimately PUNSIHED FOR THE HATE CRIMES COMITTED AGAINST HER by being sent to solitary confinement. Not only that, but when she is in confinement she tries to get out and get back at Caputo by both attempting to drown herself in her cell by clogging the toilet and starting a fire with a towel on a lightbulb. If the guards and Caputo had not come in time on both occasions she very well may have drowned or been burned to death and she wasn't terrified at all! Consider how broken the poor woman must be after all the abuse she has suffered...

* From "Fucksgiving" we still don't know if the voice Piper heard talking to her in Shu is real. Solitary confinement can have profound psychological effects on a person, especially on someone like Piper who is not accustomed to long periods of solitude. Solitary confinement beyond 15 days leads directly to severe and in some cases irreversible psychological harm. But for some, it can manifest in even less time. Hallucinations, for example-hearing voices when nobody is speaking could be a sort of coping mechanism for Chapman, so it's very likely that she could be hallucinating and talking to her subconscious mind.

* So, do the higher-ups at litchfield do everything in their power to lengthen shorter sentences so that no prisoner ever makes it out alive, or do they not understand that prison is supposed to be temporary apart from life sentences? What do these guys plan to do when Piper eventually walks and writes her book a la Literature/MommieDearest or Literature/TheOutsiders? Good job keeping up appearances, guys.
* This Troper was put off by all the in-universe animosity towards Bayley after [[spoiler: Poussey's death]] for what was a tragic accident. Especially when Taystee and crew started talking about how it was cold-blooded murder (especially since nothing was cold-blooded in that circumstance). Then it hit me, while we the viewers saw exactly what happened, nobody else did. Guards were scrambling to clear the cafeteria and the inmates were fighting to protest peacefully over the insane conditions (i.e. fighting the guards). The ''only'' person other than C.O.s Bayley, Mc Collough, and [[spoiler: Poussey]] that had any clear shot of what was happening was Suzanne, and she was freaking out. All any of the inmates saw until it hit that [[spoiler: Poussey died]] was C.O. Bayley kneeling on her. Coupled with all the C.O.s claiming afterwards that she had a weapon, and it starts to sound like a classic killing of a black "thug" by a racist cop and the system scrambling to cover it up.

* A small one, but in the season 5 finale, the guards tally the prisoners and keep coming up 10 short. At first it seems like a writing oversight, as there are 11 missing[[spoiler:(Chang and Pennsatucky escaped through the fence and the other nine are in the bunker), but then you remember that Linda from MCC is being counted as a prisoner, due to Big Boo and others ruining her chance at getting out of her situation.]]

* Near the end of "Storm-y Weather", [[spoiler: the captain of the SWAT team reports to Caputo and all that there are still ten missing inmates. Let's count them up: Tucky, Chang, Cindy, Suzanne, Taystee, Gloria, Flores, Freida, Red, Piper, and Alex. There's 11 missing inmates. They counted ten missing, because they didn't know that Linda wasn't an inmate. Let's go further: The SWAT team will count the nine in the pool, leaving a single missing inmate (by their count). They'll either catch Chang escaping or Coates will convince Tucky to turn herself in leaving the other free and clear to escape. Eventually, it'll be realized that Linda isn't in fact an inmate, but by that time, how long will have passed? Chang/Tucky could be miles away by that point.]]

* So, do the higher-ups at litchfield do everything in their power to lengthen shorter sentences so that no prisoner ever makes it out alive, or do they not understand that prison is supposed to be temporary apart from life sentences? What do these guys plan to do when Piper eventually walks and writes her book a la Literature/MommieDearest or Literature/TheOutsiders? Good job keeping up appearances, guys.

* From "Thucksgiving" we still don't know if the voice Piper heard talking to her in Shu is real. Solitary confinemnt can have profound psychological effects on a person, especially on someone like Piper who is not accustomed to long periods of solitude. Solitary confinement beyond 15 days leads directly to severe and in some cases irreversible psychological harm. But for some, it can manifest in even less time. Hallucinations, for example-hearing voices when nobody is speaking could be a sort of coping mechanism for Chapman, so it's very likely that she could be hallucinating and talking to her subconscious mind.

* In season 3, Sophia has to watch her son become more and more of a criminal without being able to do anything about it, has to deal with constant bullying, misgendering and eventually transphobic violence at the hands of fellow prisoners (that leaves her all but mutilated) and is ultimately PUNSIHED FOR THE HATE CRIMES COMITTED AGAINST HER by being sent to solitary confinement. Not only that, but when she is in confinement she tries to get out and get back at Caputo by both attempting to drown herself in her cell by clogging the toilet and starting a fire with a towel on a lightbulb. If the guards and Caputo had not come in time on both occasions she very well may have drowned or been burned to death!

* So, do the higher-ups at litchfield do everything in their power to lengthen shorter sentences so that no prisoner ever makes it out alive, or do they not understand that prison is supposed to be temporary apart from life sentences? What do these guys plan to do when Piper eventually walks and writes her book a la Literature/MommieDearest or Literature/TheOutsiders? [[SarcasmMode Good job keeping up appearances, guys.]]

* Speaking of said guards, how will Mendez react to them when he inevitably returns? The guy who will happily admit to being a rapist and deliver harsh punishments to inmates based on his own hunches. Will he be delighted that he no longer has to lie about or hide his own criminal activity because the others all follow PayEvilOntoEvil? Or will be up his game to reclaim his position as the scary one?

* So, do the higher-ups at litchfield do everything in their power to lengthen shorter sentences so that no prisoner ever makes it out alive, or do they not understand that prison is supposed to be temporary apart from life sentences? What do these guys plan to do when Piper eventually walks and writes her book a la Literature/MommieDeariest or Literature/TheOutsiders? [[SarcasmMode Good job keeping up appearances, guys.]]

* So, do the higher-ups at litchfield do everything in their power to lengthen shorter sentences so that no prisoner ever makes it out alive, or do they not understand that prison is supposed to be temporary apart from life sentences? What do these guys plan to do when Piper eventually walks and writes her book a la [[Literature/MommieDeariest]] or [[Literature/TheOutsiders]]? [[SarcasmMode Good job keeping up appearances, guys.]]

* One of the new, harsher guards in season four raped and killed what are implied to have been civilians overseas. The guy is literally a war criminal. This guy is far more deserving of prison than half of those girls and not only is he allowed to roam free, he gets payed to essentially beat them daily, the corporation all but openly nurturing those psychotic tendencies.

* From ''what'' age exactly had [[spoiler:Doggett]] prostituted herself and been occasionally raped, believing it was normal? And since she learned this philosophy from her mother -- what was the story of the conception of her and her siblings? And her later pregnancies?

* Knowing what we know about [[spoiler: Lorna's actual relationship with Christopher makes one wonder if Nicky is entirely safe maintaining an on-again, off-again romance with her. Well, until Nicky goes to the Max, anyway.]]

* Red’s nickname makes sense on three levels: as a shorthand for her last name (Reznikov), as a reference to her red hair, and, since ''red'' is [[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/red#Spanish Spanish for ‘net’]], a reference to her many connections (and possibly her hairnet, since she runs the kitchen).

** That was Maritza, not Boo.