The title is not as cute as it might seem at first glance. There are actually a number of hugs in this episode but it is about more than just hugs. The hugs are ways to link the various plot threads together but it is more like a common language than it is a common theme.
Chapman is back in Litchfield. Everyone gives her a pretty wide berth. Some of the women are glad to see her. Nichols is one of the few who are. Suzanne is one of the many who is not. Maybe it is overstating the case to say that most aren't glad to see her back. She feels that everyone is treating her differently than before she was locked up in the SHU most recently.
Suzanne gets the backstory spotlight. She was adopted by a white couple. This part was revealed in the previous season. At the time they didn't have any children of their own. A few years later they had a girl. They seemed to think that it was best for Suzanne to tag along with her younger sister. That didn't work out so well. Suzanne had trouble socializing. She developed a tendency to hit her self when she got frustrated which continues into the present.
Vee starts to make her presence known. It isn't her first time in prison or in Litchfield. Tasty is pissed off at her. She needed Vee's help when she was released from prison but she couldn't find her. Vee apologizes but Tasty isn't satisfied. Red recognizes Vee. She acts as though she is a rival. Red gets her hair done by Burset, tells her that she wants to look fierce, but then hugs Vee when they finally meet.
Morello learns that Christopher, her boyfriend is marrying another woman. She gets the news from her sister during a telephone conversation. Nichols tries consoling her but she is completely broken up by the news, at least for now. Hopefully Morello gets the backstory spotlight soon. I'm curious to know what landed her in prison.
Suzanne does a favor for Vee, retrieves something for her. Vee talks to Suzanne. She tries talking the younger woman into standing up for herself. It seems to work to a degree but it also seems like Suzanne is just falling under Vee's sway.
Chapman gets a new bunk mate, Brook Soso. Chapman tries comforting her when she wakes up their cellmates crying on her first night in Litchfield. Soso takes it the wrong way and assumes that Chapman wants to be her friend. The next day Chapman finds Soso lying on her rack and lays in to her verbally. This is a different Chapman that the one from last season.
Larry meets with Andrew Nance, the reporter who interviewed Figueroa in the last episode. Nance has suspicions about funds getting mismanaged at Litchfield. He wants Larry to put him in touch with Piper, hoping that she can help him to expose corruption at the prison. Larry is flustered and clearly eager for the spotlight and suggests that he could help. Larry also goes on a date with a doctor who knows his parents and has done some digging into his background. She's a wants a stay at home husband. There's no indication that anything happened between Larry and Polly. I will be disappointed if nothing more comes of that moment in the previous episode.
Pensatukey has new teeth. She loves showing them off but no one seems to care. Caputo has a meeting with Chapman and Doggett. He wants them to put the past behind them. He insists that they hug. He gets a less than professional thrill from seeing them hug.
Mendoza is still running the kitchen. Everything doesn't seem to be running as smoothly as she wants it to. Maybe this is a little foreshadowing. Maybe Red will get the kitchen back. Vee bribes Mendoza with the pack of cigarettes that Suzanne retrieved for her. What she wants is a chocolate cake. She uses the cake to win over Tasty and her friends.
One interesting reveal in this episode is that Suzanne showed up when Chapman and Doggett fought in 1.13. Suzanne had just been laughed at by other prisoners for freezing up during the Christmas pageant. She blames her adoptive mother, who looks vaguely like Chapman. She punches Chapman a few times, in the face. No one sees that. It makes it look like the fight between Chapman and Doggett was a fair fight.
I'm curious to see how long Vee will stick around. I'm also curious about Chapman's change in personality. Has she truly learned and changed or will she revert to her old ways? There's a lot to like here. Solid episode all around.
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