Massive spoilers ahead for this season of Orange is the New Black. If you haven't watched the new season, you may want to check out another one of our other stories.
Orange is the New Black's fourth season was released over a week ago, and fans of the black comedy are reeling from the massive plot twist that rocked the world of Litchfield forever. After a season which largely revolved around the growing animosity and violence between the Correctional Officers and inmates, tragedy struck during a silent protest. While attempting to calm down Crazy Eyes, everyone's favorite hooch maker, Poussey Washington, was accidentally killed by CO Bayley.
Now Poussey herself, actress Samira Wiley has spoken up about her character's death, and why she wants viewers to be angry. The actress recently spoke to E! News, where she said the following about the tragic accident:
I think it says that people are often unaware of what's going on right under their noses. They're so upset, which is great. People are so upset, but at the end of the day, it is a TV show. It's fiction, but we are trying our best to reflect what happens in the world every day and the fact that people are up in arms is great. I hope it can translate to them being up in arms about what's going on in the real world.
This is a pretty classy response to being suddenly killed off of one of the most successful and highly watched television shows on the air. Rather than being concerned for her own career (she already booked another show- FXX's You're The Worst), she's taking the opportunity to bring awareness to the issue of violence and corruption in prison. While we know and love Poussey, she otherwise would just be a statistic in the system.
The fourth season of _Orange is the New Black _paralleled a ton of real-life issues that are covering newspapers and online sources. This season was arguably the most racially-charged, with issues of racism and privilege being addressed through the various prison families and dorms. Additionally, you could feel the Black Lives Matter movement shaping the way that inmates of color were treated by the COs. Poussey's death became the last straw in this conflict. Her body was left in the cafeteria while the assholes at the MCC attempted to finagle their way out of trouble, and her father wasn't even contacted and informed of the tragedy. And when Caputo's press conference made no mention of Poussey and he stood beside CO Bayley, Taystee started the prison riot that would end the season.
It was certainly a crazypants season of OITNB, and I can't imagine where the series will continue after the riot. And what the hell was Daya thinking with that gun? I guess we'll have to wait until next June to find out.
