With the widely acclaimed first season of the prison dramedy Orange is the New Black, Netflix once again proved itself capable of competing with the best of cable TV for riveting storytelling. And I’m pretty sure Season 2 is going to be even more extreme and uncompromising. (Spoiler alert for anybody who hasn’t finished Season 1 yet.) It looks as if main character Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) is ready to go, as evidenced by her duct tape boxing gloves in the first of many character posters that Netflix released in anticipation of the show’s return.
As you might remember, the season ended with Piper on top of Pennsatucky (Taryn Manning), beating the shit out of her for trying to shiv Piper with a sharpened crucifix, amongst other heinous acts. Expect to find Piper paying for her crimes at the beginning of Season 2 with a stint in solitary confinement. There’s no possible way that can go poorly for her, right?
Things will also be strained between Piper and her former fuck buddy Alex, played by Laura Prepon, who won’t be around for all of Season 2. Their relationship spun out of control when Piper chose to stick with her boyfriend Larry (Jason Biggs), to whom Alex subsequently revealed the two women’s ongoing sexual trysts. I hope the Orange is the New Black writers keep pairing Alex with Nicky, who is played with subdued wickedness by Natasha Lyonne.
Since nearly everyone is at some kind of a crossroads in their lives at this point, we might as well jump to Daya’s (Dascha Polanco) poster, in which the inmate is doing some pencil knitting as she awaits the baby growing inside of her. It’s not easy to get pregnant in prison, but it helps when you’re sleeping with a guard, Bennett (Matt McGorry) in Daya’s case.
There are plenty more character posters over at TV Line for your perusal, including Lorna (Yael Stone) wearing toilet paper bridal gear, Big Boo (Lea DeLaria) scrubbing herself with a toilet brush, and Pornstache (Pablo Schreiber) just being generally grody. Let's end this visually splendid look at Season 2 with the transgender Sophia (Laverne Cox) getting her hair did with some plastic silverware.
Get yourself a visitor’s pass and get ready for Orange is the New Black to return to Netflix on June 6.
