The Miracle in Orange Is the New Black's Season 3 Finale

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Has any phrase been quite so harmed by overuse as “It’s a miracle” has been? The first time I watched Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren say those three supposedly wonder-filled words, about 11 minutes before the conclusion of Orange Is the New Black’s third season, it seemed like the kind of casual exaggeration that greeted the news of Taco Bell offering late-night delivery.

But after sitting through the rest of the episode, I’ve seen the light. Suzanne was speaking factually. The show’s finale gave its characters a real miracle, and in some ways, it gave viewers one, too—one of the best TV scenes in recent memory, or maybe ever.

The setup is as implausible as any biblical phenomenon. After a season’s worth of squabbles, the prison’s veteran guards go on strike the same day that major renovations are planned. The inmates, banned from the dorms while new beds are being installed, congregate in the yard, where contractors just happen to be scheduled to replace a portion of the fence. With a few innocent snips, a portal to the outside world opens up, and there’s not a correctional officer in sight.

The ever-silent supposed miracle worker “Norma Christ,” glum about the dark turn that her kindness cult has recently taken, is the first to notice. Her face, used to express so many different emotions over these three seasons, is overtaken by joy, and she doesn’t hesitate before bolting. The other prisoners need a second before deciding to follow. Is this really happening? Won’t they be caught? Gloria, stressed this season like she’s never been before, is the first to make up her mind. “Maybe they’re expanding the yard,” she says, feigning naïveté. “How are we supposed to know any better”? Elsewhere, Taystee tsks tsks at all the prisoners about to end up in solitary. But Poussey tells her to lighten up—no one has illusions of permanent escape: “Let’s just be free for a second. It’s going to be the last time in a long time.” C.O. Luschek sees the flood of running inmates and just goes back inside; the newbie guard Bayley panics, totally unequipped to stop what’s happening.

www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/07/orange-is-the-new-blacks-season-3-finale-lake-scene-miracle/398555/?UTM_SOURCE=yahoo