'Orange is the New Black': Where everyone left off
How do you keep track of a show with as many characters and backstories as Orange is the New Black? It's 2017 -- you don't have to leave it to memory. To gear up for Season 5, we run down the core characters of Netflix's addictive prison dramedy, so get ready to play catch up and then binge away your weekend.
Piper and Alex
They may have killed a man, but they rekindled their romance! The show has seen Piper and Alex driven mad by power and paranoia (not at the same time), and now they've finally decided to live clean -- just before the prison begins to riot.
Flaca and Maritza
Flaca had her glory in knocking down Piper's panty business, and Maritza enjoyed some secret power in Season 4 by helping Maria smuggle drugs. Unfortunately (SO unfortunately), C.O. Humphrey got wind of it, and forced her at gun point to eat a live baby mouse. By the way, that's the guy Daya's currently pointing a gun at -- and Maritza is the one who pushed him in front of it.
Taystee, Cindy, Janae, and Alison
Shaken and devastated by the loss of Poussey, her friends are enraged by Caputo's failure to name C.O. Bailey in describing the incidents of the protest. Taystee is particularly broken by the loss of her best friend, and the others rally to support her, even when they aren't sure what to do. Without Poussey to connect her to the group, Brook Soso is unmoored, grieving all alone.
Suzanne Warren
After their romantic and sexual rollercoaster (broom closets! Running away into the woods!), Suzanne and Maureen were taking some space before the sadistic C.O.s had them fight each other and Suzanne beat her ex to a pulp. Suzanne was part of the protest that ended in Poussey's death and she's coping with her guilt and pain in the infirmary -- far away from everyone else and two beds away from Maureen.
Dayanara Diaz
Daya had surprisingly little to do in Season 4, which makes sense when you remember that she gave birth, lost Bennett, dealt with the agonizing altruism of Pornstache's mother, and eventually lost her daughter to Child Protective Services -- all in the course of Season 3. Numb with those events, Daya has been moving mechanically through life at Litchfield, including her mother's release, but everything changes when she lays hands on that gun in the final moments of Season 4.
Nicky and Lorna
She may have been married last season, but Lorna's paranoia torpedoed her relationship, and the return of old flame Nicky to Litchfield is a constant exercise in resisting temptation (and we know how good she is at that). Nicky, meanwhile, started Season 4 sober, but at her lowest used sex to get heroin. Now she's trying to quit drugs cold turkey, but Litchfield isn't exactly a stress-free rehab clinic.
Sophia Burset
Sophia spent most of Season 4 in the SHU, attempting to flood her cell and light it on fire before trying to commit suicide. Back from the SHU, she just wants to keep her head down and survive, now with the tacit camaraderie of Gloria, who feels guilty about her role in Sophia being sent to solitary.
Big Boo and Pennsatucky
Boo always has a sister's back, evidenced more than ever by her friendship with Tiffany Doggett and their violent revenge plan after Coates raped Doggett in Season 3. They decided not to strike back at him, but to keep an eye on Coates and the new van driver (Maritza) in case he tried the same thing. Coates is still around, and Doggett's still struggling with her feelings for him.
Caputo and the guards
Caputo was strong-armed into hiring new guards in Season 4, and even though he's the new warden he's pretty miffed by the staffing shakeup. After being manipulated by Piscatella, he sent the new captain home and gave a press conference about Poussey's death which didn't even mention C.O. Bayley. So far as we know, Caputo is at Litchfield when Daya gets the gun, and Piscatella is nowhere near it.
Orange is the New Black Season 5 begins streaming on Netflix June 9.
Topics Netflix
Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup.
