The women of Litchfield Penitentiary have had enough. And in the wake of Poussey’s death, they’re standing up to the prison’s abusive staff. You can see the riot for yourself in the new trailer for Orange Is the New Black Season 5:
“The only way out is for us to come together,” Gloria tells the ladies. And from the looks of things, the inmates do come together to demand better treatment. That’s good. They deserve it. But here’s the thing about prison riots: They don’t often create positive change for the inmates involved.
Will the Litchfield prison uprising lead to better treatment for the inmates of Orange Is the New Black or will it backfire?
We’ll have to wait to find out until Orange Is the New Black Season 5 hits Netflix on June 9, and even then we might not know.
Fans shouldn’t expect to learn the answer quickly — the prison riot storyline will stretch through all 10 episodes of the season. Season 5, unlike previous seasons of Orange Is the New Black, occurs over a compressed time period. In fact, the entire season takes place over the course of three days. So, we won’t really know how things are actually going to change for the ladies of Litchfield until Season 6 of Orange Is the New Black — probably this time next year. But what then?
Will things really get better at Litchfield? Maybe. The show’s main antagonists could get what’s coming to them, for instance. Piscatella, the captain of the guards, may get taken out or sent to prison himself.
The riot could even bring many of the harsh conditions at Litchfield to light, resulting in official reforms and a better life for the inmates down the road. But it’s sure to have immediate negative consequences on those involved in the riot violence. Daya, for example, is surely going to have to pay a steep price for her actions. You can’t draw a gun on a prison guard (regardless of what happens next) without very serious repercussions.
So, while life at Litchfield Penitentiary could improve overall, expect dark days ahead for some of the Orange Is the New Black characters you love.
