'Orange Is The New Black' Season 7: Racism, injustice and all the other things we can expect in the hit prison drama's final season
Six years after its breakout debut, ‘Orange Is The New Black’ is all set to bid adieu in July 2019. The drama series was one of the first Netflix Originals and has been praised for its dark humor and nuanced portrayal of life in prison.
Season 7 will aim to conclude all the show’s story arcs and give this endearing cast of characters the farewell they deserve. With Piper (Taylor Schilling) finally out of prison at the end of the last season, things are bound to get interesting before the final goodbye.
Let’s take a look at all the things we are likely to see in Season 7:
The sixth season dealt with tribalism, racial discrimination and the dehumanization of prisoners, all while reiterating one of the most important themes of the show: nobody gets the justice they deserve. The season was well-received by fans, who praised it for being a refreshing change after Season 5, which has been considered one of the weakest seasons of the show.
Multiple theories are buzzing around the internet, one of the more popular (and probable) of which concerns the death of Dascha Polanco’s Daya. Last time we saw Daya, she was still stuck in the maximum-security prison. Her time behind bars has transformed Daya into a drug addict, smuggler, and a brutal and manipulative thug. Considering her current downward spiral, it’s quite understandable that a lot of fans think the last season will see Daya dying from an overdose. Whether through untimely death or a final redemption, ‘Orange Is The New Black’ couldn’t possibly say goodbye without finding a way to end Daya’s misery.
Speaking of misery, nobody knows that feeling better than Taystee (Danielle Brooks). Wrongfully convicted for a murder she did not commit, Taystee stands in as a representative for all the black women who are denied justice. Her arc is one of the most poignant stories in the show and Season 7 will show her trying to figure out a way to get justice (and ice cream).
Perhaps the most hard-hitting moment of Season 6's finale was seeing Blanca released from prison, only to be taken by ICE agents and transported to an immigrant detention center. Blanca's story is one of the most powerful parts of the show and will be explored further in the new season. Like Taystee, her struggle is extremely timely, especially in the present political climate, and Laura Gomez, who plays the part, knows it all too well.
“The fact that we are dealing with a situation so intense in our current political climate — it felt almost dangerous, to me. So I decided I was going to embrace that and use it for this character," Laura Gomez told The Hollywood Reporter.
The new season will also have to deal with the continued prison life of Laura Prepon’s Alex. In the last season, Alex made a deal that got her working for C-Block leader Carol (Ashley Jordyn) in exchange for Piper’s safety. But now that Carol is dead in the aftermath of the Season 6 finale, a power vacuum is bound to form and Alex might just step up and take her place. There’s also the fact that Piper, Alex’s new prison wife, has been released, which is bound to further complicate Alex’s life as Piper would definitely not approve of her return to crime.
From what we’ve seen in trailers for the new season, Piper will have some difficulty adjusting to civilian life. The trailer suggests that her separation from Alex coupled with the trauma of life in prison sends her into a deep depression. Whether that leads to her attempting something incredibly stupid in order to get back into prison is something we will just have to wait and see.
‘Orange Is The New Black’ Season 7 will premiere on July 26.