This summer would not have been complete without a serious binge-watch of Orange is the New Black. Not quite a drama and not quite a comedy, this is a show that will really make you think. In fact, the night I watched the first episode, I dreamt that I myself was being driven to prison for a stay of fifteen months. Season 1 got us interested and let us start getting to know Piper Chapman. But Season 2 showed dramatic character change, more back story on supporting cast and some incredibly memorable moments. Here are a few of my favorite moments from Season 2.
1. That Moment When Piper Says She Might be a Killer (Ep. 1)
The last time we saw Piper, she was wailing on Pennsatucky. So when Season 2 begins, it’s not surprising to see Piper stuck in the SHU. We aren’t sure how long she’s been locked in there, but she certainly seems to be losing it a little. When guards arrive to take her away, we hope she’s going back to camp but quickly learn that’s not the case. Instead, she’s taken aboard a plane with other prisoners, and no one tells her where she’s going or why. She’s worried, terrified and worst of all, she really has to pee. Yet again sporting a bright orange jumpsuit, Piper easily befriends the prisoner next to her—easy-going Lolly. Piper seems relieved to finally open up to someone about Pennsatucky and breaks down in tears as she shares her story.

Lolly: “Did you kill somebody?â€
Piper: “I don’t know. I don’t know. This girl, she was coming after me and she was not gonna stop […] And I completely lost it. I just, I just went there […] that dark place. That place that let me just keep hitting her and hitting her and hitting her. I couldn’t stop.â€
Lolly seems to be both sympathetic and frightened, barely managing to respond with, “That’s some shit, man.â€
2. That Moment When Piper Returns to Litchfield (Ep. 3)
Morello is showing a new crop of inmates around, including the doe-eyed Soso, when Piper returns to Litchfield. With her head held high and her eyes cold, she carries her linens down the hallway as everyone reacts to her return. One inmate exclaims, “Oh shit! She is risen.†Sister Jane does a double-take and smiles, then scurries off in the other direction. Even Suzanne a.k.a “Crazy Eyes†seems to be afraid. But there are hugs all around when Piper is brought back to the bunks. I love this scene because Piper has changed so dramatically since Season 1. This is her second time arriving at Litchfield and it’s a stark contrast to her first arrival—which is really comparable to the doe-eyed Soso.
3. That Moment When We Realize Morello is Crazy (Ep. 4)
Morello is one of my favorite characters. She’s cute, spunky and one of the first prisoners to make Piper feel welcome at Litchfield. She talks often about her fiancé, Christopher and about planning their wedding. But early in Season 2, we realize that Christopher doesn’t exactly return Morello’s love. It’s in episode 4 that we get Morello’s backstory. While she remains likable, we learn that she only encountered Christopher once before becoming utterly obsessed with him. When she learns that Christopher is marrying another woman, Morello escapes (easily, since she drives the prison van) to Christopher’s home. She arrives to an empty house and snoops around, finding the wedding dress of the bride-to-be. But rather than stopping there, Morello shows her instability by taking a bubble bath wearing nothing but the veil. It’s such a bizarre scene, but it almost makes me love Morello a little more than I did before.

4. That Moment When Red Gets Her Family Back (Ep. 9)
Poor Red. She lost her kitchen and her prison family in Season 1 and she’s been trying her best to put the pieces back together. Red is another one of my favorites—probably because she balances being tough with being the “mother†figure for many of the other inmates. In a final effort to win her family back, Red uses her resources to put together a family feast in the garden shed for her girls. They are hesitant to forgive her but she finally does something shocking: she apologizes. This is especially significant for Red, since in season 1 she told Piper, “I can’t do shit with ‘I’m sorry.’†But for her family, this is just what they wanted. I loved seeing Red come to this realization, and even more, I loved it when everyone raised their paper cups as a gesture of forgiveness.

5. That Moment When Rosa Runs Vee Over With The Prison Van (Ep. 13)
Seriously. I wanted Vee gone from the start—though I guess that made her a fantastic villain. She was so mean, so cruel and so manipulative. After claiming a truce with Red, she sneaks up on her and nearly kills her, leaving her unconscious. And it seems like she may just get away with it when she escapes from Litchfield.

Meanwhile, poor Rosa is dying of cancer, but what’s more depressing is that she’s going to die in prison. But then comes my favorite part of this entire season. Spunky, crazy Morello is always the one who drives Rosa to chemo and this time, she leaves the keys in the van when they get back to Litchfield. She hops out of the van and tells Rosa not to die in there. Rosa is surprised and asks, “What do I do?†Morello’s answer? “Go fast!†And that’s just what Rosa does. She takes off in the van, nearly running down a group of protesting nuns and heading out on to the open road. As luck would have it, Vee is emerging from the woods and onto the road just as Rosa passes by. In a split second, Rosa swerves off the road, still driving fast and sending Vee flying into the air. “Always so rude that one,†she says, pleased with herself.
This was a really satisfying moment. If anyone should get a last adventure, it’s Rosa. And I’m not sure I’ve ever been so glad to see a character killed off than I was in this scene. I actually laughed and applauded when it happened.
I won’t lie, it was tough to pick out just a few favorite moments from this season. There were so many great ones! So tell me, which ones am I missing?
Season 3 of Orange is the New Black returns in 2015 on Netflix.
Related posts
Classics
Dennis Heaton Talks The Imperfects
Longtime readers at TV Goodness will know that Motive is one of my ride-or-die series, and as such, I am fiercely loyal to its creator, Dennis Heaton. He followed up that fantastic reverse procedural with Netflix’s The Order and is back on our streaming screens with The Imperfects, which dropped…
Kelly McCormack Talks Favorite Moments in A League of Their Own
[Warning: Mild spoilers for season 1.] Now that you’ve had a chance to watch A League of Their Own, here’s the rest of my chat with Kelly McCormack about her favorite moments of the season. Seeing the iconic Peaches uniforms for the first time wasn’t just a goosebump moment for…
John Griffin and Harold Perrineau Talk From on EPIX Season 1 Finale
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] How are we doing, #FROMily? In case you missed it this morning, the very good news is that that cliffhanger will be followed by a second season, which was gifted this morning ahead of the linear broadcast of the finale. I always legitimately appreciate when we…
Elizabeth Saunders Talks EPIX’s From
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] One of the things that makes EPIX’s From such a fun ride is the abundance of Canadian cast members. Elizabeth Saunders, who plays Donna, is a favorite from her turn on the third season of Mary Kills People [streaming on Global TV in Canada and Roku…
Corteon Moore Talks From “Broken Windows, Open Doors”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight’s episode of From had us all in our feels as we learned through flashbacks about the Sophie’s Choice Boyd had to make to save his son, and back in the present as Boyd said his piece with Ellis before heading into the woods with…
Pegah Ghafoori Talks From “All Good Things…”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode] Tonight on From, Fatima’s anniversary celebration turned into a Colony House of horrors when a misguided Kevin let his monster bae in and she promptly killed him and left the window open for her crew. While the party devolved into terror and sent everyone running,…
Shaun Majumder Talks From “Book 74”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight on EPIX’s From, Father Khatri made a bold move, kidnapping Sara instead of turning her in, and then recognizing her as a vessel for some big messages. That startling realization speaks to him on multiple levels–as a man of faith, a man trapped in…
Avery Konrad Talks About Sara’s Struggle in From “Silhouettes”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Over the course of the season so far on From, we’ve witnessed Sara’s battle against the voices telling her to to do terrible things, and tonight we saw her unravel further, threatening the Matthews and lashing out in a moment of terror with horrifying results….
Hannah Cheramy Talks From “Choosing Day”
[Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s episode.] Tonight, on EPIX’s From, the Matthews participate in the show’s version of the sorting hat, choosing where to call home–the town or Colony House. At the end of the episode, Julie makes the decision to split from her family and instead settle in with Fatima…
Ricky He Talks From “The Way Things Are Now”
[Warning: Spoilers for episode 102 of EPIX’s From.] Epix’s new series From is two episodes in and it’s already laying the groundwork for a seriously spooky season. Tonight’s episode demonstrated the careful balance of relief and horror that the show hits, with our characters’ worst fears realized, just not when…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…