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What is it about me, Piper asks, that makes people want to fuck with me?
Because when they look at you, they dont seeyou, Taystee says.
They see the shit they never had.
Money, education, opportunity.
Thats why theyre never going to stop fucking with you, because of what you represent.
Nearly everything about this scene is frustrating.
It comes unbelievably late not just in the season, but in the show more generally.
Its easy to forget the conversation ever happened.
That rapid unfurling into a mosaic of stories was fundamental to the shows greatness.
It put the spotlight on female characters who so rarely get to have their own stories.
Some episodes use it, some dont.
Their flashbacks are minor, and their additions to the story exist largely as sidebars.
Why continue to use a flashback structure at all, if it doesnt provide revelatory backstory for new characters?
The move to maximum security also provides less structure and restriction than youd think.
When that happens,OITNBcan still be magical.
It has everything it needs, but it also has way, way too much.
