Warning — spoiler alert! Do not read on unless you’ve seen Orange Is the New Black season 4.
The ladies of Litchfield are back and in full force, too!
Thanks to a fresh batch of prisoners — delivered in the final scene of season 3 — Orange Is the New Black returned for its fourth season with an expanded ensemble and more brutal storylines. Since June 2013, viewers have become accustomed to a yearly dose of darkly funny but heart-wrenching plots riddled with surprising sexual exploits — and season 4 is no exception.
More drama than comedy at this point, Orange Is the New Black’s newest season dove headfirst into the national conversation about racial tensions, the meaning of privilege and mental illness. The series also continued its exploration of drug use and addiction.
After binge-watching all 13 episodes of OITNB’s fourth season, Us Weekly rounded up the 10 most shocking moments including a drug-fueled threesome, cold-blooded murder and the loss of a beloved character.
The Ultimate Fertilizer
As season 3 ended, Alex Vause (Laura Prepon) was trapped in the Litchfield greenhouse with an assassin sent by her former drug lord boss, Kubra. She spent most of season 3 convinced that someone was coming for her, and she was right! Luckily, Lolly (Lori Petty) busted in as he was strangling Alex at the start of season 4 and stomped his ass before smashing his face with her boot.
With the help of convicted murderer Frieda, the trio hacked his body apart and buried his limbs in the vegetable garden. Body count: 1.
Talk Super Dirty to Me
After Lorna Morello (Yael Stone) and her new husband got hitched in last season’s finale, we were left to wonder how the newlyweds would keep their marriage alive. It seems the answer is dirty talk. A lot of it. In a table-shaking sequence, the pair loudly climaxed — without touching each other — in the visitation room while surrounded by other prisoners and their visitors.
Lolly’s Past
In one of the most poignant inmate flashbacks, we saw how troubled Lolly Whitehill ended up in prison. She started as a tenacious journalist, became a coffee-peddling homeless person and was arrested because her erratic actions around suspicion. After she admitted to killing the guard buried in the garden, Lolly was carted off to the psychiatric ward of the prison in one of the most heartbreaking moments of OITNB.
Hateful Burn
Piper (Taylor Schilling) got in everyone’s business — and got burned! She framed Maria for the entire dirty panty trade (which thankfully ended this season) and accidentally started a white supremacist group. Oops. In retaliation for her thuggish ways, she was betrayed by her bunkmate/bodyguard and dragged off to the kitchen where Maria and her Dominican crew brutally branded her forearm with a swastika.
Shower Poop
While on janitorial duty, Suzanne Warren (Uzo Aduba) and Morello discovered a large pile of poop in the shower, and (surprise!) it’s happened before. Suzanne then discussed the poop’s density, color and shape in painful detail. Cue a universal cringe. The pooper’s identity: resident druggie Angie Rice. Why poop in the public shower? Well, she’d swallowed bags of drugs and then dug them out of her own feces.
Cracked Out in the Corn
While hiding out in the extremely small corn patch, Nicky Nichols (Natasha Lyonne), Alex and Piper took turns smoking crack out of a light bulb. The trio then spilled all of their deep, dark secrets and Piper finally admitted she’s the absolute worst: “I’ve destroyed people’s lives.” It’s about time, Piper.
Stand and Pee
Blanca Flores, known for her infamous unibrow, took her rebellion to new heights. As punishment for defying one of the new guards, she was ordered to stand on a cafeteria table until her legs gave out. But Flores is all about that rebel life and stood on the table for days, even repeatedly peeing herself so as not to give in. Your move, Litchfield!
Molly-Fueled Threesome
First, the Martha Stewart of Litchfield, Judy King (Blair Brown), blackmailed CO Luschek into having sex with her. Ugh. Then she offered him and her roommate, Yoga Jones, molly, which led to a bizarre, drug-fueled threesome.
RIP Poussey
The world is unjust. In the penultimate episode of season 4, Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley), one of the most-loved characters on OITNB, was murdered by a CO. During an inmate protest, the guards got physical and CO Bailey — the most sympathetic guard on the show — tackled Poussey, pinned her to the ground with his knee and crushed her. Her body remained in the cafeteria for days, inciting rage among the inmates. Body count: 2.
Daya’s Got Your Gun
In the final moments of the season, Litchfield’s inmates stormed toward the prison’s exit after Warden Caputo dismissed Poussey’s murderer during a press conference that Taystee (Danielle Brooks) overheard. As the women converged in the middle, a guard pulled out a smuggled gun, which was then knocked from his hand as he was shoved to the ground. Daya Diaz (Dascha Polanco) snatched up the gun and pointed it — at everyone!
But did she shoot? Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait a year to find out!
Orange Is the New Black is currently streaming on Netflix.
