I just finished my first rewatch since it originally came out. What a wonderful, loving, and important piece of television.

I started watching when it first came out, so watched every season on release. I hadn’t watched it since the finale.

Have just spent the last month or so rewatching, and had forgotten just how special OITNB is. You can see how much care was put into crafting the characters and stories. The times of joy are so huge and overwhelming, and the moments of sadness are absolutely devastating.

I was so overjoyed for the women who got their happy ending, devastated for the ones who didn’t. There was the perfect bittersweet balance for some. I really appreciated the use certain story arcs to highlight real world issues, as painful as it was to watch.

On this rewatch Penn stood out to me so much more than the first time. I was rooting for her so hard despite knowing how her story ended. I loved her development and how she wasn’t perfect - she would make mistakes and trip up with inappropriate language but she really cared about people and had let go of hate. On this rewatch her story and ending crushed me, but was another important cycle to demonstrate through the show I think.

OITNB is one of the best examples of depicting redemption that I have seen in media - it feels realistic and imperfect, but shows how people can change. That’s my main takeaway. I really hope it made some audiences view the world differently and challenge their perspectives.