"Hugs Can Be Deceiving" is the third episode of Season 2 of Orange Is the New Black.
Piper returns to Litchfield in the company of a new batch of inmates, including Brook Soso. Larry meets with journalist Andrew Nance for a story about Litchfield: Nance has been chatting with Figueroa about the prison's finances, and wants Larry to use Piper to get a better look at the books. Morello finds out that Christopher is getting married to another woman. Vee starts setting up her network within the prison, starting by recruiting Crazy Eyes. Flashbacks show Suzanne's childhood, an adopted child who feels out of place not because she's black, not because she's weird, but because she can't live up to the hopes and dreams of her parents. Despite the love between her and her parents, it's Vee's encouragement that ultimately moves her. Chapman is called into Caputo's office to kiss and make up with Pennsatucky. Caputo imposes no penalties and calls it a fair fight... because, as flashbacks reveal, the last time Suzanne tried to sing, at high school graduation, she also clammed up. During the Christmas pageant, she charged out and punched Chapman across the face, declaring her independence from her (blonde, white) mother. Chapman thanks Suzanne for saving her bacon, and offers her friendship... but Suzanne, taking Vee's words to heart, moves on with her life.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: Suzanne.
- Asian Airhead: New character Brook Soso. "This isn't how I imagined prison to be at all."
- Badass Boast: Piper delivers one to Soso.Piper We are not friends. I am not your safety blanket. I am not your new Meadow. And, I definitely don't need your advice. I am a lone wolf, Brook. And a vicious one. Don't make me rip your throat out with my teeth!
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Piper calls Alex this when Nicky defends her and Nicky calls her out on it.Nicky She came running to me like an injured lamb. Yes, a lamb with great, sexy glasses and giant pillowy tits inside of my mouth.
Piper Alex Vause was never a lamb. She is the wolf that eats the lamb!
Nicky You can't blame the wolf. Lamb's delicious. That's smart eating. - Depraved Homosexual: Big Boo hits on Soso the minute she sees her and makes Soso uncomfortable.
- Did You Get a New Haircut?: Pennsatucky plays this game with Leslie. Leslie keeps saying she's acting different. Pennsatucky's response is You're Just Jealous.
- Fanservice: Nicky having sex in the prison showers and toilets with other women.
- Friends with Benefits: Nicky confesses to Piper that she and Alex are this.Nicky So, you and me, we're, like, snatch sisters now, right?
Piper Can we not talk about my ex-girlfriend's vagina? - Inelegant Blubbering: Morello, during Heroic BSoD.
- Immodest Orgasm: The woman in the prison showers with Nicky is quite loud.
- Jewish Mother: Larry's date remarking how involved his parents are in his life
- Mama Bear: Don't ever insult Suzanne's adopted mom.
- Madonna-Whore Complex: Morello refers to this as she compares herself to Christopher's new fiancée.Morello You can't go Jessica Simpson when you got Rihanna!
- Oh, Crap!: Red's reaction when she realizes Vee is back.
- Pet the Dog: Nicky comforts Morello when she cries over Christopher getting married.
- Punny Name: Brook says she was originally named for Brooke Shields, and then her parents said she was named for a brook. "The babbling kind."
- Singing in the Shower: How Red discovers Vee's return to Litchfield.
- Shower of Love: Nicky has a sexual encounter with a woman in the prison showers.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Suzanne at her sister's friend's birthday party. She's several years older and taller than the others, the only black kid, and her mother all but forced the host to let her stay.
- The Reveal: Suzanne was the one who stopped the fight between Piper and Pennsatucky.
- The Un-Hug: Piper and Pennsatucky, at Caputo's urging.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Gal: Suzanne doesn't like being this person, but she is one in the end.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Vee's opinion of Suzanne.
