Orange Is The New Black 15 Reasons Why Season 5 Was The WORST Yet

You've had more than enough time to watch the new season of Orange Is The New Black, and you're honestly unsure about how you feel about the popular Netflix drama. Of course it's still a gripping show. Between the political commentary, the nearly all-female cast, and the tough topics it covers, this is a show that the world seriously needs. However, it's easy to see how and why it's going downhill. Between debatable story lines and questionable comedy, this isn't the show we remember from years past. Jamming this season into a three day arc was pretty ambitious, but it's clear where it all began to fall apart for the audience. We have a full year to discuss where the show went right and wrong before it has a chance to redeem itself, so why not shine the spotlight on all the glaring faults? Here are 15 reasons why season five is the worst yet, and the reasons are painfully true!

15 No Bennett

While the writers on OITNB have never shied away from the cruel realities of life, we're still totally bitter about John Bennett still not returning to the show. While it's unclear if he will ever return, many fans have hoped the hunk won't leave Daya forever. Now that Daya's future is hanging precariously by a thread, it would be the perfect time to revive the story of their love. Seriously. Season four was painful enough without him, and it was pretty heartbreaking to binge the episodes hoping to see him and being disappointed . While Season five isn't the only season that has been miserably absent of John, it is still one of the reasons this is the worst season of the popular drama yet. We understand that the show is proving a point that people in your life leave without explanation, but we're totally not okay with it.

14 Too Much Focus On Leanne And Angie

To be blunt, these addicts are super annoying. They are literally no one's favorite, and while they emphasize the brutality of addiction, their stupid antics are focused on way too much. Watching them kidnap the only remaining nurse so Leanne could have a finger transplant was stupid, not funny, and it went downhill even further when they began to violate one of the prison guards in order to "test his finger out." The fans are pretty indifferent to these characters and no one really wants to watch them. They're nonchalant about finding the corpse of one of the guards while they sniff bleach wasn't entertaining either. In future seasons, fans would appreciate less screen time for this obnoxious duo. They're bad comic reliefs at best. The writers are making poor decisions for the future of the show when they're focusing on characters that the audience has no emotional attachment to, so if they were smart, Leanne and Angie would be kicked to the curb.

13 Pennsatucky Forgetting Her Trauma

While the writers shone a light on the awful truth that romantic relationships can wrongfully develop from trauma, it doesn't mean it made these scenes any easier to watch. Integrating the forgiveness and romanticism into the relationship between Pennsatucky and the correctional officer Coates, who violently violated her in seasons past, is one of the reasons this is a terrible season for OITNB. Watching Pennsatucky save the officer from Leanne and Angie, as well as Coates watching her pleasure herself, was enough to make anyone's skin crawl. The worst, however, was in the finale when they were seen cuddling and watching television together. It was triggering to see such a dangerous, creepy relationship. The tone of the series isn't serious enough to do this type of trauma justice, because it truly is heartbreaking and a grim reality for many women. It's one of the reasons this is the worst season yet.

12 Suzanne Forgot The Beating

In the fourth season, the guards forced Suzanne to beat up her ex-girlfriend Maureen. It was a savage beating that left Suzanne an emotional mess and completely unstable, which we saw in season four when she threw a bookshelf on herself as a form of punishment. This landed her in the infirmary with Maureen, and that was the end of the emotional turmoil that Suzanne faced. After breaking down and having a severe episode, it was as if the beginning of the new season washed all of those wounds away, even though very little time had passed since that moment. Suzanne helped Maureen throughout most of season five while Maureen was dealing with debilitating contusions from the beating, but there was no mention of the actual incident. It is totally unrealistic how these characters deal with trauma and other facets of their life, which is why this season marks a serious decline in the show.

11 The Riot Became A Comedy

There is no hilarity when it comes to prison riots. These usually end in casualties, deadly scenarios between prisoners and their rival factions, and overt violence. While the prison is low security, the truth is that the riot was super unrealistic. Red was running around on drugs, the prisoners made a joke of the guards, and the women were snorting coffee grinds. The writers must have figured there was some sort of comedy within the dismal state of the shot guard being thrown around like a rag doll, Piscatella's questionable photo book, and the strange homage to the slasher films. The usual jarring shifts between drama and comedy are totally in poor taste this season. While many characters are struggling with dramatic life decisions, there were random intervals of Alex and Piper's comedic banter while they pretended to build a life together. There were a lot of bad things about this season, and this was a big part of it.

10 The Season Lasts Three Days

It was an ambitious plan for the writers to attempt to make the season last only three days, but it didn't succeed. Since the season only encompassed three days, the writers struggled to add comedy into a bleak situation, and this is why so many people are upset with the latest season. On top of that, it felt like this storyline was dragged on for way too long. Ultimately, the show will probably end once Piper is done her 13 month sentence, right? It feels like the writers are trying to stretch that time out as long as possible. And what better way to do that than to drag three days out into thirteen episodes? While it goes to show how much can happen in a short amount of time, it didn't result in a fan favorite of a season. Definitely not. No show has tried to do this before, and we can see why no show would try to do it again.

9 No Closure With Sophia

Way back in the third season, Sophia was unfairly thrown into the SHU for her “own protection.” While her story continued to pan out in season four when we saw glimpses of how she was coping, it was as if the writers forgot all about her in season five. We saw her sparingly in the salon when she was trying to help the injured guard, and then she left the prison and was sent to max. That was literally it. There was no mention about her time in the SHU, her attempt to end her life, or the transphobic abuse that landed her in the SHU to begin with. This is yet another example of how unrealistic the writers have made some of the characters and how they handle their lives and stories. We begun to get some closure with the brutality she faced in season three a year ago, but season five essentially offered us nothing. It was as if the writers wrote the season without Sophia, and then remembered they had to add her in.

8 The Talent Show

The talent show was obviously an attempt to bring in some comedy and lighter moments to the show, but it didn't really work. The writers asked the question, “Can the prisoners really run the prison?" and the answer is a firm no. It's pretty unlikely that this would actually ever happen. The completely unrealistic parts of the show are what is ruining it, and forcing guards to sing or do a strip tease is included in the fantasy. While the talent show was particularly bad, many of the scenes involving the guards being held hostage were poorly executed and made little to no sense at all. They were portrayed as a bunch of idiots, and while in reality there are many poor officers in prisons, it was impossible to believe the likelihood of the scenario the show was trying to sell us. There have been many powerful story arcs involving guards, but this was the worst one yet and a massively failed attempt at comedy… once again.

7 Piper's Minimal Role

Piper played such a minor role in season five that it was easy to forget that she was even there. Before, it was frustrating when she would randomly become a part of stories that she didn't belong in, and it seemed like there was too much of a focus on her. But now, the opposite problem is true. Instead of having any gritty involvement in this season, she was cast aside to joke around with Alex and eventually even propose to her. The flashback about what it was like for her and Alex before they landed in prison was interesting, but that was honestly all that happened for them this season. Ever since Piper ran the panty ring, it feels like she isn't a huge part of the overall prison story, and while this isn't a bad thing, she was the original main character on the show. If Piper would have been given more screen time, maybe this season would have been better.

6 Daya's Story Arc

The decline of Daya has been painful to watch. She lost John, then her baby, and then her mother, and it was easy to see how she was alone in the prison. When Gloria promised Aleida she would look after Daya in season four, it was obvious that something bad was on the horizon. When Daya shot the guard, that was totally unlike her, but it made some sort of sense since she often caves under the pressure of others. However, her story arc contributed to how bad this season was because she's a fan favorite, and everyone can see the murder charge around the corner in season six. There's very little hope that Daya will get out of this. It's more than likely she'll leave the show for good while she's taken to a high security prison and court, which is a heartbreaking revelation for the many fans that love her.

5 No Lolly Or Healy

Since this season only lasted for three days, it makes sense that there wasn't much time to mention other people who weren't part of the riot. But the fact that no one talked about Lolly or Healy seems pretty suspicious. In season four, we saw Lolly deal with her guilt, and we watched Healy experience it right along with her. We also witnessed why Healy felt so connected to Lolly: because his mother was mentally ill and delusional. Healy was heartbroken when he had to check Lolly into the psych ward, and by the end of season four, Healy almost ended his life. After fans felt a tremendous amount of sympathy for both Lolly and Healy, the two characters were nowhere to be seen in season five. Lolly was mentioned in passing, but that was it. Leaving those story lines open ended or never to be finished is another reason this season was truly terrible, and we can only hope season six makes up for it.

4 Poussey's Death Was Ignored

We witnessed brief moments of how Bayley is dealing with the murder of Poussey, and all of them were heartbreaking. We also saw how torn up her friends, particularly Taystee, and Soso were while attempting to cope with the recent tragedy. However, everyone else in the prison acted like it never even happened. While the riot itself was a direct result of the murder, only Taystee had a clear idea of what could stop the riot. Everyone else has shown very little remorse or interest in the actual reason that they have been rebelling. Essentially, this season really missed the mark. It feels like the majority of the characters forgot about Poussey and moved on. It felt unrealistic that everyone would lose interest in a prison murder that quickly, and it's why this season felt very disjointed. There was no connection between what happened last season and what's going on this season. It's almost easy to forget why they were rioting in the first place.

3 Another Cheap Cliffhanger

While the final episodes of this season were definitely the best of the bunch, the show ended on yet another cheap cliffhanger. Alex almost died in one, a guard almost died in the next, and now all our favorite characters are at risk of retribution for the riot. Will the prison staff shoot them as they all hold hands together and await their fate? Probably not, but the writers couldn't resist planting that idea in our heads. While the show has taken a few unexpected turns, it isn't known for its ruthless dismissal of characters. It's understandable that the writers have to use cliffhangers to keep us interested, especially since most of us will forget about what happened in season five by the time season six comes out one year later. It's still frustrating and the fans are totally over it. The cliffhanger was cheap, which is why this is the worst season yet. The show is far from unwatchable, but it feels like it's losing steam.

2 The Focus On Linda

Did anything else scream “unrealistic” more than the show focusing so much on Linda? A visitor getting trapped in the prison during a riot, and then successfully pretending to be a prisoner in order to avoid becoming a hostage? Nope, no one is buying it. Thanks to the flashbacks to her sorority days, she was not a likeable character, and her attitude in the prison didn't win over the fans, either. Even Boo eventually came to her senses and turned on Linda. While it is amusing to see the writers explore the idea of karma through Linda, loyal fans didn't deserve a season focused more on her than Piper or Alex. In every other season, she was cold and uncaring, and she became even more deplorable and unlikeable this season. She made life difficult for all the characters in the prison by not viewing them as humans. The irony that the writers tried to force down our throats was just way too much.

1 The Unrealistic Pool Bunker

The show's sketchy explanation is that Frieda is the only one who knows about the abandoned pool because she's been there so long. It's super hard to believe. How was she able to smuggle all that food and furniture in there? It doesn't make sense that no member of the prison staff would have been in there over a series of decades. She supposedly had enough time to get a computer to work in there and it just makes no sense. It can't be explained because it's impossible. This is the cherry on top of everything that makes absolutely no sense when it comes to this season. While it was nice to see Frieda and the gang enjoying their peace and quiet, it felt awkward and fake, and the flashbacks of Frieda's childhood used to try and explain how she was so talented at building the bunker wasn't enough to make the audience believe this one. This isn't the show we remember, and the forced comedy that is embodied in the pool bunker exemplifies that. Here's hoping season six is better!