Orange Is the New Black 2.08

Appropriately Sized Pots

Miss Rosa Cisneros gets the backstory spotlight. She was part of a gang that robbed banks. It was her and three men. Two of them die before she winds up in prison. The first one gets shot in the back by a bank security guard. The other dies of a heart attack. They were all young like her. She abandoned the last one to impulsively try to rob a bank. That's what landed her prison.

Cisneros, in the present, learns that her doctor has recommended surgery but that the Department of Corrections (DOC) won't pay for it. She goes to chemotherapy treatment. The scenes in the present are mixed in with the scenes in the past. She meets the young man she met the last time she was in the hospital for chemotherapy.

Chapman experiences an emotional roller coaster. She finds out that her request for furlough has been approved. That lifts her emotions until she sees how the other inmates hate her for it. She goes to Healy to tell him that she can't go. He doesn't take that lying down. He insists that she needs to go. She accepts his reasons and agrees to go.

Caputo gets flack from Figueroa. He goes on the rampage trying to figure out who has been smuggling contraband into Litchfield. He questions a number of inmates without success. He tears apart the plants in the greenhouse. Red was worried and had already moved all the contraband she had stored in the pots.

Mendoza is tired of getting caught between Vee and Red. Vee tries to bribe her with a freshly rolled cigarette but she continues to side with Red, for now.

Soso hasn't bathed in quite some time. She starts getting heat about it from other prisoners. It isn't too much longer before correctional officers and administrators also notice her odor. She tries resisting but in the end she is forced to take a shower. I was surprised at how emotional a moment I found the shower scene to be.

Chapman finally gets through to her mother on the phone, after numerous attempts. She needs to make arrangements for her furlough. Her mother lets her know that her grandmother passed away less than 24 hours ago.

Fischer stands up to Caputo. She's sick of the way he has been treating her and the other CO's. She sees all sorts of flaws in the logic of the way he is running things. Caputo fires her.

The episode ends with the return of Mendez. Caputo usually takes care of the hiring but it was Figueroa's decision to bring him back.

This was a solid episode. I like how the flashbacks were intermingled with the present. It was also nice to see a side character get such a prominent role.