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| Morello, portrayed by Yael Stone, commits credit card fraud in a flashback in "A Whole Other Hole," the second season's fourth episode of "Orange Is The New Black." PHOTO PROVIDED BY JESSICA MIGLIO FOR NETFLIX |
This is part of a weekly series of "Orange Is the New Black" recaps and reviews for the second season. Check back each week for two more episodes. To read about the previous episode, click here.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
“A Whole Other Hole” finally answers the many questions of Morello from what landed her in Litchfield to her darling, Christopher.
Morello’s flashback opens with her committing fraud in order to get high-end clothing, and a lot of it, in the sanctuary of her room. Her wall is full of cutouts from magazines, including an attractive man in a sweater. It’s clear that Morello is playing dress up with the clothing and her daydream life is located in the pictures of the rich and the pretty.
And then she meets Christopher at the post office as he bumps into her and asks her out. For Morello, it’s a romantic start to a budding relationship, played out like a movie.
That’s why at Litchfield, she wants to plan their wedding to hold on to her sanity during her sentence. So in present day when she reads that he’s getting married, on their planned date, it tears her apart. And as a viewer, it hurts, but it just doesn’t feel right.
Finally, her emotions got the best of her while waiting on Rosa’s chemotherapy, and she calculates how far his house is. The entire following present-day scene and flashback gave me so much anxiety as I pleaded with her to not go.
Still, the misdirection in this episode is brilliant. Instead of finding a spare key under the porch statue, Morello smashes into the house. And as she looks around, her heart breaking more with each step, we find out the ugly truth.
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| Morello, played by Yael Stone, wears the veil of Christopher's fiancée after she breaks into the house.PHOTO PROVIDED BY JESSICA MIGLIO FOR NETFLIX |
After the first date, Christopher decided not to pursue her. Morello then invented their lives together and stalked him, complete with threats.
Yael Stone portrays Morello flawlessly as she sits and smiles in the courtroom, listening to Christopher talk. Morello assures her lawyer that it’s all blown out of proportion. It’s painful to see her twist and turn in that room.
Luckily in present day, Morello manages to get out of the tub at Christopher’s house, stealing a stuffed animal, and make it back to pick up Rosa from chemotherapy.
But she’s not fine. She needs help, and I’m afraid she’s not going to get it if, or when, they find out about the break-in.
Now there’s a whole different story in Morello, a nearly invisible mental illness that none of the others know about. I used to think Morello was just obsessive about the wedding because she needed some form of escape, but it’s much bigger than that.
Additionally, the show continues showing that these women are people and not just defined by one visible aspect. Instead of using Rosa as a device to get Morello some time, we get to sit in on her chemotherapy and learn briefly about her bank robbing past.
Elsewhere in Litchfield, Vee digs in deep to separate Taystee from Poussey. I really hate her for it. While it’s clear Poussey loves Taystee — and that breaks my heart because we’ve all been there — their relationship is still one of the strongest in Litchfield. Taystee cares about Poussey, but Vee wants to tear that down to gain power.
Luckily, “A Whole Other Hole” isn’t completely painful. Comedic relief comes from a hilarious moment when Poussey talks about using her invention, the “Shewee,” and the others didn’t realize pee comes from the urethra.
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| Poussey, portrayed by Samira Wiley, shows off her invention to Vee, played by Lorraine Toussaint, and Suzanne, played by Uzo Aduba. Poussey planned on using the tube and funnel for peeing while standing up in the prison bathrooms. PHOTO PROVIDED BY JESSICA MIGLIO FOR NETFLIX |
The discussion becomes the talk of the prison, and Sophia takes to using a diagram to teach the other inmates about their vaginas.
Aside from how funny it is, the story also speaks to the health education in America. How can fully grown women not know their anatomy?
Also, Larry. I wish the writers had decided to focus on the Litchfield women instead of the sexual tension between Larry and Polly. I get that this will set something up to break Piper, but I just don’t care enough about Larry’s story. Hopefully, it doesn’t break her too much because the new Piper is amusing and powerful.
| Ashley Dye is a senior journalism and telecommunications major and writes ‘The Dyessertation’ for the Daily News. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper or The Daily. Write to Ashley at acdye@bsu.edu |
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