Yet another bump since I take my time with shows
Anyone still following this? just finished to catch up with the whole season 5, and I agree with the comments above, that save some minor misteps, the season was great. The ensemble cast makes up for it, but I can't think of any other show where the main protagonist completely loses the spotlight after one season, and becomes just one of the many stories we follow. I still think of this as Piper's story, but especially this season Taystey has been the real protagonist.
I have to say that I find the character of Leanne the most contradictory of them all. Ok, drugs, prison and the bad company can really mess you up, but from flashbacks she's not so stupid as she acts in prison. Angie is ok, methead of a methead family, but Leanne had a family behind her and supposedly good education, but she can hardly be distinguished from Angie who was into that world her whole life.
And what a sad irony for Piscatella, being the only actual victim of the prison takeover, not counting Humps that died halfway through the riot. I wonder if all would have went well (Taystey accepting the offers and the prison surrendering peacefully) how Humps' death would have affected it all - probably the deals would have still went up the air.
Now I look forward with how much they'll commit to the inmates split up next year - a big reshuffle of the cast? they will move the main cast to another prison? they will bring them back to Litchfield after they will have gotten the prison up and running again? this is a show that potentially can go on forever thanks to the premise, and than can even survive without its "protagonist" (they gotta release Piper one day, don't they?), and I guess as long as the interest is high, they'll keep it going. We still have two seasons for sure anyway.