#she's gonna corrupt u cindy

[avo-kat]

its so strange…. this game didnt change me. it was like…. normal. natural. i was able to kinda play myself. be silly and crazy and stupid and pathetic. and kim stood by. and ppl were a bit weirded out or thought i was stupid or even made fun of me, but? it was still fine! i still solved the case. i still connected to people. i even laughed w ppl i thought were jerks. i managed to befriend ppl who wanted to beat me up. this game allowed me to be my pathetic self and still do my thing. its so awesome i wanna cry. nothing is gonna compare now no other rpg can do that. damn. im not a hero… not a saviour of the world…. nope, just a pathetic, sad guy who gets high and drunk and threatens to kill himself but who can also help people. in small ways. its so…. real. i really like how they did the characters.

even compl jerks. you cant hate all of them completely. they are people. some of them are stupid fucking racist people. some of them are very nice and v lowkey racist people. some of them are huge jerks but justified cuz they care about one thing a lot. this game is a love letter to humanity

spoilery below

and i LOVE how basically EVERYTHING i did mattered. every thing! every single thing! even if it seemed stupid and pointless and like a waste of time! talking to those two old guys playing boule? it mattered!

and i loved how.... real the people were. all of them. they really were. i think a lot of people would have written a lot of these characters very, very, very differently. i was mad that evrart was that way. but he was real. and that made... everything, every conversation, every decision more real, because everything was complicated, just like in real life. theres ideology and political theory and theres reality. theres a really, REALLY nice old lady. but shes racist. lowkey. but she is. and thats.... its disappointing, but its real, you know? what are you gonna do? stop talking to her? but shes so nice. and theres an interesting quest. these conflicting feelings - so real! just like in real life. do you stop talking to your nice neighbour because she made a racist comment? its messy. and then you meet complete jerks and you already write them off, you are basically waiting for your chance to "pay them back", but hey, look, they are actually decent.

the secret is like.... getting to know them and learning about the one thing they care about the most.

and you can go and try to build communism (wooo, 0.0002%!!) and you meet these young guys, its just. yeah. thats exactly how it is. fucking beans.

and the thing is: you gotta work with them. all of them. even the jerks. even the corrupt assholes.

because you cant burn bridges with every bad person. because they are all part of society, whether we like it or not. and its not like you are without fault. ur a fucking pig, as some love to point out. thats done. cant change that, no matter how much u want to, lol. the past is the past and u gotta move on.

and u can talk all u want all day long. what matters is what u do.

i keep thinking about cindy. standing on the outside hallway, looking at the city, at the people - people she hates. right below the radical youth hangout. thinking about the perfect, perfect slogan. and the two communist students, judging her for not being educated. in the end, shes the one who does something.

anyway. its nice to play a game where u are the literal incarnation of karl marx. (its canon, okay?)

[helihi]

Farewell OITNB - The Good, the Bad, and the Dirty

So... Orange is the New Black ended. I binge watched the last season in 2 days, and I’ve got some thoughts. The last season was def better than we had ben getting for the past couple of years.

Beware spoilers ahead:

The Good

This season was definitely better than... IDK everything after season 5? One of the main issues of OITNB had, as the show progressed, was the writers addiction with throwing new characters into the mix, and although that makes sense in context, it’s a bad practice for a show.

I watched Chernobyl after it came out, and one of the characters, Ulana Khomyukl, is not based on a real person, but a group of people that actually existed and helped Valery Alekseyevich Legasov. Though being mentioned by named would have honored the real people, her character worked perfectly for a show. You can’t have a huge cast, not only because you don’t have enough screen time to showcase all of them and present them as 3D characters, but also because it will detract from the show’s substance.

Well, rest assured that the writers of OITNB didn’t make that mistake, they dialed back to the most of the OG cast to properly give them a send off (Taystee, Crazy Eyes, Piper, Alex, Nicky, Red, Lorna, Cindy, Daya, Aleida, Gloria, Flaca, María, Dogget, Caputo, and Figeroa), while also giving the better of the newest addition a coherent plot line ( Artesian McCullough, Tamika Ward, Karla, and Joel Luschek to some extent).

Though I have a section at the end for how I personally feel about each character’s story lines, I have to say Taystee’s, Caputo’s, and Nicky’s storylines are the best of the season. T and Mr. Caputo’s stories are interlinked, specially with Ward’s, but they retained the original message of the show: the penitentiary system is broken, fucked up, and it hurts people (+ it makes corporations money, thanks to season 4 onward).

I AM SO HAPPY THEY GOT RID OF BADDISON SO EARLY, I HATED HER GUTS. Part of the biggest clean up efforts from the writers, was getting rid of people who would interfere with a clean and tight end, which included killing Daddy off (I’m so sorry for her), beating the shit out of the most unanimously hated additions of season 6 and throwing her off, and giving most of Max’s characters a secondary role or a background role (let’s be honest Adeola should running the gang).

Huge thanks to Larry for doing something right in his life: he is correct about Piper, it’s almost as if the writers were aware of how the audience views Piper.

Though some storylines hit you in the gut, they do stay believable. A happy ending for everyone was not only impossible, but incoherent with the type of story they were telling. I do have to say I’m not happy about a couple, but we’ll get to that later. (See The Bad and The Dirty section).

You got 3 main story lines:

Ice: This includes the storylines for most of the Latin American characters (Gloria, Flaca, Maritza, Blanca), Fig, n Nicky. You can find my thoughts in The Dirty Section.

The broken penitentiary system: which includes Caputo, Taystee, Dogget, Suzzane, Piper, Ward, and Lorna. I believe this is the overall main theme of the show and the one which was developed the best and most believable. On one hand you have the people who have their hands tied and still try to do the best: Caputo (who gets some small victories, but loses everything because of #MeToo), Ward (who did her best, but wasn’t enough against the corrupt system and the capitalist philosophy that runs the company), Tayste (who got life even though she’s innocent, and never got justice for her friend, but found a way to move forward), Dogget (who was part of the circle of poverty and abuse, never got rehabilitated [which should be the purpose of prison] and killed herself after being berated again), Suzzane (who got locked in prison, though she didn’t belong there), Piper (through her parole experience), and Lorna (who never got the help she needed.

The Diaz Family: Daya, Aleida, Taystee, and Dogget to some extent.

I am so happy about the Poussey fund, and that it exist in real life. One of the things this show has done is show light on a lot of issues in the penitentiary system to people who really don’t care about it, or are ignorant about it. I hope this show has more impact than the fund. I hope it actually gives purpose to new activists, but that’s just wishful thinking.

This show peaked in season 2, but I feel comfortable, and satisfied with the overall ending of the show. Also, the cast is amazing. I hope they do great things in the future.

The Bad

Hey, u know what could really be fucked up? Yo-yoing with Taystee’s life for an entire season. I hated how the show painfully elongated her decision regarding suicide. It felt like the show was purposefully hoping to tug at your heart, and during her 2nd round of goodbyes I was like ‘either kill her already or let her be’, it really pissed me off. I understand that she was put in a horrible spot, but narratively, it felt like a cheap writing ploy to get you hooked.

Here I am, still hoping the most disgusting guards get fucking sent to prison, but of course that never happens. I didn’t like Pornstache little moment at the end, I don’t care if he’s not harassing more women any more, he is just like Barney from HIMYM in a way: hey I have a daughter now! I get it! WOMEN ARE PEOPLE. It just sends a bad message, and it actually doesn’t show them viewing women as people, because they are probably one of those hyper protective fathers who are just a residue of the ‘women are property’ ideology that men have with their daughters. They will assume every man is like they were, and they will hate when some guy ‘takes their princess away from them’. Also, Hellman can fuck off. I hated him.

McCullough and Daya are the top tier worst decision makers. I don’t like where the story took these characters, and I hate the writers trying to justify it. McCullough had the chance to make the right call and she didn’t why? Hey, have a flashback that actually connects with reality but feels like a justification. Daya’s life has always been a fuck up, but boi did they need a villain this season.

Why did they completely dropped Maritza like that? People have been saying it’s because the actress is super busy, but man. Give me 1 epilogue scene. Hell, even that lady that help Blanca in the ICE detention center got one!

Also, I watched some moments of season 1 and 2, and boy was this season not funny at all. RIP to the casting as well, the flashbacks weren’t that impactful when the character is supposed to be younger but it’s played by the same actor. Remember the earlier seasons?

The Dirty

Okay, I’m gonna say, I’m not 100% into the ICE storyline. It’s brutal, it has things directly taken from real life, but it also feels like a writer’s shock value wet dream. Instead of showing the horrible and unsanitary way women, men, and children are kept, apparently PolyCon, or whatever the company’s name is, actually has more ‘humane’ concentration camps. And yeah I’m calling them for what they are.

One one hand, the stories are realistic: Blanca, who gets fucked over, but it’s able to get a happy ending thanks for the help of her old and new friends; Shani, who get’s fucked over and sent back to a place where they will kill her; Karla who gets separated from her children, even though they have nobody in the US; Maritza, who didn’t know she wasn’t a citizen; the lady who got fucking raped entering this country. 

The whole ICE won’t let you get an abortion because they ‘care about life’ it’s like poetry, and real. The abortion debate is one the show kinda low key tackled, but nothing was better than that line.

FUCK ICE AND EVERYTHING IT STANDS FOR. FUCK EVERY EMPLOYEE AND PERSON WHO LETS THAT HAPPEN.

The #MeToo movement. Hey, do you remember when they killed Poussey, and how that was supposed to be a Black Lives Matters reference? But remember how the guard that killed her didn't actually represent any of the people who really present a threat to actual black people in real life? Boi, did they fuck up there.

Here it’s the same, well kind of, this is why this is in The Dirty section and not The Bad section: Caputo learned from it, and realized he did wrong. However, isn’t it kind of ridiculous how we’ve been shown actual monsters: rapists, abusers and people who harass in other staff members, but the one who got hit was the one the audience is more empathic towards? Couldn’t you have picked Hellsman, Pornstache, McCullough, or some of the previous guards?

‘I mean, he fucked up, but he’s not one of the bad ones.’

I know it was one of the final rectifying moments for Caputo, but are all the #MeToo jokes a little daft at times, specially considering what Dogget had to go through.

Character focused thoughts:

Piper - Imma be honest with you. I never liked Piper. However, her storyline for the season is completely in character and relevant. It shows the hardships of life after prison (though we've seen that before), and how fucking selfish and idiotic Piper is. Bless her parole officer, she told her how much of an idiot she is. Forgive me, but I don’t like her ending up with Alex. Zelda was the healthier choice, but it makes sense for Piper to choose Alex. God, I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with her ever again.  Though it’s true that her family was all repression and that conditioned her, after 6 seasons, you’d think she’d have learned her lesson how fucking privileged she is, but no. She’s still an idiot, I don’t care if she ‘got better’, she still choose Alex.

Alex - I feel bad for her. She’s got a lot of insecurities, issues, and she never learned how to deal with them. She fucked an officer the first chance she had. Her relationship with Piper will always be toxic, I’m sorry guys, but they are both deeply unstable. I’m happy she didn’t become Hellman’s victim, that was awful. I’m happy she's in Ohio. It’s safer for her that way, and she has friends.

Nicky - My girl, did they do you dirty. Though on one side I’m happy she took the mantle of ‘Mother Hen’, taking Red’s old role and showing how much she developed as a person and a character, I’m so sad that she lost her mother, her best friend, and her new love all in one season. She’s strong, the ending proves that, but I’m so sad she’s alone. I’m so sad that she believe she had done wrong to her family, but I’m happy she took Red’s advice, Lorna was too much. Regarding her plot line with Shani. I’m devastated. It was so cute, so honest, and caring. They deserved to be happy. This storyline shows you (in case you didn't know) how much of a good person Nicky is. I love you girl, I wish you the best.

Red - Another person that got fucked over. I am angry that this ‘dementia’ ending came out of nowhere. Am I dumb? Was it foreshadowed??? One one hand, there’s some people prefer this since it gives Red a peaceful ending. Her anger and bitterness will be gone, and she will have a peaceful death. On the other hand, Red will die not Red. She will disappear, and that’s just fucking dirty. I think this type of illness is tragic, and so painful to the person and to the people that love them. Thanks, I hate it.

Lorna - Is anyone else angry that her racism and her islamophobia gets a hard pass this season for some cheap laughs?  Lorna loses her son, her marriage, and we get a flashback of her disassociating and some of a background story of why she’s so hyper-fixated in marriage and children, but still that doesn’t change how sad it is to see her this far gone. From the moment you see Vinnie, you know that’s not going to end up well, or at least it’s what I thought. Lorna is unstable, and she never got or will get the psychological help she needed. But worse than that, they took everything from her, and left her like a shell of who she was. Her racism doesn’t get a pass though. It’s shameful that a child of immigrants would act that way, specially knowing the shit situation Shani is going through. Though the show tries to pass it off as ‘jealousy’ it was completely dehumanizing, and it never gets addressed. Nicky never stands up for Shani and puts Lorna in her place. Shame on the writers.

Daya - Ok, Daya has been ‘how to fuck up 101′, but originally, her story was sad, and you rooted for her. Her family was fucked up, the cycle of poverty, the toxic environment, her abusive mother and stepfather explained a lot about her. However, Daya’s only good choice in the show was give her baby over to Pornstache’s mom, other than that it has been bad choice after bad choice. If you thought getting addicted to drugs was a bad look for her, becoming a drug lord is worse. I still think Adeola was a better pick for gang leader, but the show runners had to do something for Daya. I thought they were gonna set up a new Carol and Barb relationship with Daya and her mother, but that was not the case (actually, Carol and Barb never get mentioned, which is weird). I really hope Aleida killed her in the end. She spent her whole life complaining about her mother, and she became someone worse than her. Pulling your younger sister into the shithole with you? Low. VERY LOW.

Aleida - We all hated you. In fact, despite some good deeds, you’re still trash. Aleida is an abuser, a cheater, and a liar. She can use the whole ‘providing for the family’ bullshit excuse like Walter White all she likes, but you can’t dismiss her pathological need to do illegal things and get it on with the worse men she could possibly find. Her flashback regarding her mother explains a lot about her childhood, and how an abusive and toxic environment can create more toxic and abusive people, but Aleida didn’t get better, Aleida continued the path she hated. She may have told her other to ‘fuck off’, but she became her. No, she never became the pimp of her children, you got to give her credit for that, but Aleida realized she was a bad mother, and still chose the easy road. I really hope she killed Daya. It’s not going to fix things, but GOD I NEED THAT.

Flaca - I’m happy were she ended. Though her character was always comedy relief, her relationship with Gloria and her time in ICE gave her a purpose. I hope she continues helping those woman, and becomes the new Gloria of her generation. I’m sad she didn’t truly get reunited with her best friend. Show Clitvak hell, girl.

Maritza - I’m so sorry, baby. You deserved better, but your storyline is realistic, and there was no other way it could’ve ended. I wish we could’ve seen an epilogue scene with her. After all, she got sent to Colombia, where she knows no one. All because of a fucking piece of paper and a lying mother. ICE is so fucked up.

Gloria - I’m so happy she got released. Luschek can suck a huge dick, the least she could’ve done for her was let her have her happy ending. I feel a little cheated about her two elder daughters reveal, but I’m happy that after all she went through, she gets to be with her family. Of course Gloria would help the women in the ICE facilities, of course she would risk her freedom and happiness for other mothers. She made naive and bad choices in men, in economic tactics, but in the end, she redeemed herself and became a different person. I will forever be happy about the ending she got.

María - She’s a mixed bag. At first she’s like Daya, her love story with Yadriel made us all cry, and we all felt sad when he took Peppa away. However, turn’s out María is a cheater, Yadriel is high likely not Peppa’s bio dad and she never had the courage to tell him. I didn’t like her ‘bad girl’ phase, but I’m happy in this season she actually get rehabilitated. Caputo’s program made her realize she’s not just a victim, but rather a perpetrator as well. I know she’s not the best person, but she’s making a try. I hope she gets to be with Peppa when she gets out. I’m happy that she let Yadriel be happy, but then again, she was kinda a dick to Gloria until the last minute, sot here’s that bitter realistic flavor in your mouth.

Blanca - Honey, you are the person who deserved a happy ending the most. Though Season 6 fucked you over, you were blessed with Karla and things went your way for once. I can’t believe she got sent to prison for covering up for that fucking old lady. Blanca is a model, she went through hell when in ICE, she almost lost Diablo for good, and was in a very dark place before Maritza showed up. Though Maritza gave her her heart back, she was dumb enough to get a high over the phone number. SIGH. You deserved to be with Diablo, and though we don’t know how he got released, I’m happy she’s happy.

Taystee - I hated the yo-yoing regarding her suicidal thoughts. She wasn't going to get a happy ending. The system is broken and she’s another victim of it, but I’m happy she has an end goal, and she’s doing what she does best: finances, advice, and teaching. She got the best believable ending she could’ve gotten, and I love the fact that she’s there with Suzzane. She’s one of my favorite characters, and I’m happy she didn’t die.

Suzzane - I’m kinda mad they veered into Suzzane’s trial and conviction at the beginning, how they set up this conflict with justice and the system though her eyes, and then dropped it off for some comedic chickens. She doesn’t belong were she is, and her parents should do something about that, but that’s never going to happen. She has matured, and though she’s lost a lot, chicken therapy actually helped her, and she has a very good friend who will stay by her side till the end. I’m happy where she ended, and I hope she is still as bright in the future.

Cindy - Boy, Cindy. I kinda hated you after what you did yo Taystee, and though I have to say, she was put in a tight spot, I’m actually happy for her. From being comedic relief, to finding herself and her religion, to actually owning up to her mistakes. Cindy has grown a lot. I’m happy she will try to make her up to her mom and her daughter, I’m kind of sad she’s homeless. Wouldn’t that break her parole?

Dogget - She deserved better. We can all agree on that. Dogget was abused her whole life, by her mother, by her father, by her peers, by the men she liked. She killed people, became violent, and delved into drugs, but after 6 seasons she had sown so much development. I miss her moments with Boo, though I enjoyed her relationship with Suzzane. Nothing makes me sadder than Crazy Eyes placing and egg on her pillow after she has passed away. Like many inmates, Dogged could’ve been rehabilitated, and the system failed her. She never got her justice, and her rapist is still out there, free. She was made feel like shit by everyone, always, and though having her relapse is cheap, especially after all this time, it’s not unrealistic. That doesn’t change the fact that she deserved better.

Ward - She was too good for this world. From not being emphatic to the inmates to re-establishing her friendship with Taytee, Ward changed a lot. I hope she continues doing good for inmates as an activist. I’m sorry you never had a real chance.

Caputo - And the big bad man, became a ray of hope, a bastion of a redemption arc. He found a calling, love, and now a family. Joe, the ‘nice guy’ who got fucked by life and began to reset it, actually found the light after connecting with the inmates he was supposed to help. Caputo ay be the best written character in the show. I’m not a 100% happy with the #MeToo aspect, but that was the last learning chapter for him. I hope he finds a job, and he’s able to continue growing as a person. He’s going to be a great father.

Figeroa - Who could’ve guessed we’d stan the devil? It’s amazing how all it took was ICE for Figeroa to realize how fucked up the world is. I’m happy she’s deciding to adopt, and though I’m not sure if she’s going to be the best mother, she has grown a lot. I hope she helps people like she helped that woman at ICE. Thank you for not brining another kid to this fucked up world. You’re doing great Natalie.

Shani - She deserved better. Though a FGM storyline for a muslim is kinda stereotypical and awful. I’m glad the show actually tackled it through her relationship with Nicky. I’m so saddened by her ending, but then again, it was obvious from the begging. I’m so fucking angry and sad.

Karla - What was that epilogue for? Do you want me to hate life more? Karla might have the most realistic story out of everyone in ICE. Shit’s so fucked up, that ending scene was not needed. She deserves to reunite with her children, they couldn’t have ask for a better and smarter mother.

Luschek - Fuck him. His last act towards Gloria doesn’t redeem him. He fucked over every inmate who ever trusted him. His selfish, destructive, and toxic. He can rot in hell.

Anyways, I’m too typed out.

I overall give OITNB as a series a 5/10.

You have a very interesting concept with an amazing cast and characters that falls short to cheap writing and some terrible decisions from the producers.

I hope everyone in the cast continues to be amazing, and I hope more stories like this one are actually written.

I hope Netflix cancels 13 reasons why. Goodbye.