Summary
Orange Is the New Black Season 7, Episode 7, “Me as Well” injects a much-needed spark into the story for the second half of the final ever instalment.
This recap of Netflix series Orange Is the New Black Season 7, Episode 7, “Me as Well” contains spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.
This is the episode we needed as we reach the halfway point. “Me as Well” gives a few characters something worth fighting for, rather than moping in the past.
Episode 7 sees Piper take Alex’s advice, and constantly masturbates to the annoyances of the friends she lives with. They recommend that she take on the problem at hand and have one-night stands. In her sexual encounters, she cannot seem to get the enjoyment she desires, making her wonder if Alex’s advice is reasonable.
“Me as Well” continues to deal with Blanca’s nightmare in the ICE Detention Centre. She needs to figure out a delay strategy for her next hearing after her lawyer bailed. She asks another inmate for advice, which leads to a commotion with one of the guards switching off the computers where they can retrieve legal case studies. Blanca uses her intuition and makes one of the guards feel “American” so he turns them back on, and she bonds with the other inmate who understands a bit about law.
The flashbacks in the episode revolved around Tiffany, who is attending science classes. She wants to attend the classes but not do the exams, which her teacher rejects. We learn in her flashbacks that she has a fragile relationship with her father, and on one occasion, she goes on a fishing trip with him. Tiffany’s father gets frustrated when it was not a success in terms of the size and number of fish they retrieved. He announced himself “cleaner” only drinking pop and beer. In the present day, her teacher notices she may have dyslexia which will give her more time on exams, which provides her with more confidence to continue attending the classes — in the flashback, it was clear her father also struggled with words and the order of letters.
Near the end of episode 7, “Me as Well” we start to understand the severity of Red’s condition as Nicky finds her in the freezer room and inconsolable. She’s been struggling to keep up in the kitchen, and the others have noticed. We may be on the journey of a sad story for Red, unfortunately.
Let’s talk about Tasha. She’s been painted as an entirely different character so far in Orange Is the New Black season 7. I’ve been eagerly waiting for a breakthrough, and we finally get that. Daya gives Tasha a mission; steal a key from the Warden’s office, and in return, she will get the drugs so she can OD. She is successful in her mission. She’s also given a book by Suzanne, which details what happened that fateful day when the riot occurred.
When Warden Tamika finds the book, she asks Tasha why she has given up — this book is the first time there are descriptions of witnesses and a moment by moment breakdown of what happened. Tasha resists the conversation initially, but there was a glint in her eye as Tamika gives a passionate speech about not giving up. Let’s hope she is back and ready to fight.
Orange Is the New Black season 7, episode 7, “Me as Well” may well be the spark to be the base for the second half of the season.
Warden’s Notes
- Joe Caputo is obsessed with the #MeToo scandal against him in episode 7, approaching the accuser directly, making it worse for himself.
- Nicky finds romance with one of the immigrants in the ICE Detention Centre.
- Artesian and Alex finally kiss — making us all wonder is this the last ever test for Piper and Alex? It seems likely.
You can read the recap of the eighth episode by clicking these words.
