1.9 F*cksgiving

'That leaves you on the outside'

I really liked the exchange between Piper and Alex over the discarded 'Tasty' banner. They're acknowledging what they have in common.

I didn't find Piper being hauled off to solitary as upsetting as the earlier manifestations of official cruelty, because this was 'hot' cruelty coming from Healy personally, not the cold passionless cruelty of the oppression machine. Even Pornstache tried to dissuade him - 'she's kinda right.'

The Red/Pornstache confrontation was interesting. I've not seen her retreat before, as she did when it wasn't clear what he intended to do with his 'weapon'.

'Are you real?' - I'm sure I've seen something like Piper's bodiless interlocutor before in something else. Maybe the X Files, or that Buffy episode Normal Again, set in an alternate universe where she's in a cell in a mental hospital. Piper keeps reminding me of Buffy actually.

Larry's sudden return of concern. I was surprised that his phone calls had any effect on the prison administration. I've clearly been over-awed by their power having seen it only from the inside perspective up to now.

Btw, it's become clear that I completely misinterpreted Alex's position when she first appeared in the cliffhanger to 1.1. I assumed from the way she subsequently challenged the food blockade that she had backing of her own, but I realise she hasn't got any, only the force of her personality. I'm concerned for her now.

One problem with not having watched any US TV* since Buffy is that my ability to understand American accents seems to have deteriorated. I keep having to rewind scenes and watch again with the subtitles on.

*Game of Thrones doesn't count, because they don't have American accents. Surprised me that did. But that's another story.