Image Source: Decider
Episode Synopsis:
Ordered to hand out harsh sentences, the feds search for scapegoats. Languishing on paid suspension, Caputo tries to break out of a rut.
Getting facts straight:
Cindy-
In this episode, we got flashbacks of Cindy in high school, and found out that she had gotten pregnant and had a baby. And as a teen mother, we saw that Cindy wasn’t very good at having responsibilities and also had problems with authority, which in this case was her parents. She pretended like her baby didn’t exist and refused to tell her father, who the father of her baby was. And thus we find ourselves back at Max with Cindy being interrogated by the feds. In true Cindy fashion, she refuses to tell the truth and stick to her made of story. She denied that she helped start the riot and also to knowing what happened to Piscatella. This is when things started getting pretty dicey, because also throughout the episode, Cindy was trying to get Taystee’s attention about Suzanne, but I think there might be some tension in their future because when Cindy was getting interrogated, she let slip that Taystee had a gun and had pointed it at Piscatella. This automatically put Taystee in a bad position, and she’s in for a world of pain. We see in the end of the episode, that Taystee is potentially going to get life in the prison.
What I found interesting, was that throughout the whole episode, Cindy was being interrogated about her whereabouts throughout the riot and she did what she said she’d do, and lied about everything, but in those last moments, her interrogator knew that she had been lying the whole time. I guess he was waiting for her to tell the truth, but since she wasn’t going in that direction, he dropped the bombshell, that she had fingerprints on the gun that was near Piscatella. Then in those moments, you could sense that Cindy didn’t know what to do next and when trying to cover up that she had nothing to do with Piscatella’s death, she let slip that Taystee had the gun pointed at him. She potentially saved herself from a life sentence, but instead put her friend in jeopardy. And it broke my heart at the end, because Cindy finally got to talk to Taystee, and Taystee was happy that Cindy was ok, unknowing that Cindy had confessed something about her.
Gloria & Maria-
And while Cindy was getting interrogated about her whereabouts, Gloria and Maria were at each others throats yet again. It was a lot of he said/she said and ultimately, I don’t know if anyone really won this round of nastiness. Obviously, what I think did get accomplished, was that Maria was pinned as the starter of the riot and will probably get 10+ years in prison. What I find fascinating, is that these feds are trying to make their decisions based off of stories from inmates. In this world, these inmates lie all the time to get what they want, and even though there is a lot of truth to what Maria did during the riot, the feds better have more evidence to back up who gets life and who gets a bigger sentence.
Gif Source: Giphy
Lost:
Meanwhile, while some people are getting interrogated, Piper is having an identity crisis. She really doesn’t know who she is anymore is trying her hardest to figure that out. Inmates believe that she is a meth head now, because of her new jacked up look, and I think she’s feeling lost because Alex is gone. I didn’t know what to think at first about her getting a roommate, but I think it could become an interesting friendship. It seems like this new roomy could become like a sister or mother figure to her, but on the other hand, I don’t know if Piper will get too close to her, since apparently she killed her own children. Lastly, I was excited that Piper got to reunite with Lorna, but it seemed kind of forced. Lorna didn’t seem super happy to see her and funnily enough, Lorna knew more about what was going on with Piper, than she knew herself.
Suspension:
Caputo had quite the story arc in this episode and it definitely was a roller coaster. We found out in the beginning of the episode, that he has gotten suspended and it seems like he’s in a slump. He doesn’t know what to do with himself, besides masturbate all the time and weirdly, he confides in Healy, who we haven’t seen in forever. Last time we saw Healy, he was seeking help for his mental instability, so I don’t think he was the best choice to confide in. And yet, somehow, Caputo decided to change his ways, and pull himself together. Except, when he finds out that Figueroa took his job. That puts him over the edge and he decides to try to get his job back. I’m kind of on the fence with this, because Caputo went through a lot with the riot and I don’t know if he’s ready to go back to work. He’s going to have to be in a good head space and be ready for anything.
Roadtrip:
This storyline, I think, wasn’t necessary, but the fans do have a love/hate for Tiffany (Pennsatucky). It was nice to see that Coates and her are still together, but I want to know how Dixon got into the mix. How did this all come about that Coates was going to give Dixon a ride to his sister’s house and how did it happen that Dixon never noticed that Tiffany was in the trunk or with Coates from the beginning? There were a lot of unanswered questions and there really wasn’t a resolution in the end. Dixon looked like he didn’t know what to do about Tiffany, and instead went along with the fact that an inmate had escaped.
