MovieChat Forums > Orange Is the New Black (2013) Discussion > My big quibble with the Season 4 finale ...

My big quibble with the Season 4 finale (spoilers)

posted 8 years ago by IndianaJones1981
12 replies | jump to latest

So why did the writers think it was a good idea to have Daya hold the gun? She has exhibited no taste for violence in the past and was not one of the aggrieved inmates. They laid no storyline pipe for her to have this moment - there was no scene of her being terrorized by the guards and she never exhibited an actual desire to truly break bad.

The writing staff clearly wanted to realize her mother's worst nightmare: Daya crossing a line and being fundamentally changed by prison life. But this season did nothing to show an actual change in Daya, other than her hanging out with the gang.

So when she picks up that gun, it does not feel earned. I don't understand why she is doing this or why she deserves the satisfaction. You could have put the gun in the hand of 20 other characters who would make more narrative sense and it would be more satisfying.

Dascha Polanco has done solid work on this show, but she has been completely unable to sell this underwritten character pivot. When she brandishes the gun at the guards, the moment is shockingly phony.

It just struck me as forced, like the moving of a chess piece instead of an actual character making an organic decision. 'Orange in the New Black' regularly is better than this and I thought it was a shame that it would fumble a season climax this way.

"This aggression will not stand, Man."
- Plato

[–] MissyEm 8 years ago

Well i think that they were trying to suggest that hanging out with the group did change her. However there were no other moments to suggest this, other than her laughing at Gloria and saying she wasn't scared of her.

However, when she said that "all CO's are pieces of *beep* it made me think of how she was hurt by Bennett. So perhaps she did have a reason, perhaps it was her way of getting revenge on the guards. So she has been wrong by the prison guards and she and other people of her culture have continually been sexually harassed by guards and frisked at every opportunity.

[–] moi_craxy 8 years ago

I completely agree with your point !

[–] HiMyNameIsPenny 8 years ago

I completely agree with you. The way Daya's character has been written up to this point, she never would have picked up that gun. So the scene felt very false

[–] MermaidsRreal 8 years ago

I agree, the scene was so forced. But come on, she was no angel. Season 1, some of her back story was shown. I think she screwed her moms man. She is in prison for a reason. Nice girls dont prep drugs and they dont screw their moms man.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Phuongmai87 8 years ago

She had been sexually taken advantage of by two previous guards, even to the point of carrying their baby. The father of her baby who had loved her ended up running away, no surprise that to this point she is rather pissed off by the sight of another guard abusing the system. Plus her mum was no longer in prison with her, she isn't gonna be told what to do anymore.

[–] bangel144 8 years ago

Are we watching the same show? It was absolutely believable that she would pick up the gun. She experienced rude behavior from the guards first hand, and has also witnessed it.

[–] The-Original-Pinky 8 years ago

^^This.

Life can be arbitrary and comes without a warranty.

[–] Darlinsugaree 8 years ago

Agreed. And not sure why she held it at Sankey first (or whatever her name is). Those two never had any sort of beef with each other. I get that Daya has a problem with the COs after Bennett taking off, but not enough for her to be violent towards another guard.

Not sure who else should have held it though. Who deserved revenge the most? I would say Jefferson but I just can't imagine her holding a gun and pulling a trigger. She's level headed.

[–] dm1499 8 years ago

I agree. I don't like her character to begin with, but why did she end up with the gun when she was virtually non-existent in season 4? I can understand that none of the leaders of the cliques got it or the main characters like Piper or Red, but Daya?

Ugh.

Edit: Actually, after some thought, it might have been a better idea for Piper to get the gun. I don't know where the story is going, but imagine the possibilities. Piper has to be approaching the end of her sentence (15 mos, iirc) and we've already been through two winters. If the show is going to go on another few seasons, there has to be some time added somewhere along the line.

[–] MacsDuster 8 years ago

Agreed. That was the only major disappointment in an otherwise strong season. I really like the Daya character, and I think she gets a bad rap sometimes. However, this was not the way to bring her character back to the forefront. Despite her past run-ins with CO's, season 4 does not show her take the brunt of the guards mistreatment or evil tactics. It's not in her personality to suddenly become a badass who is suddenly about to shoot another person. We'll see how it unfolds in season 5, but almost any other character would have made more sense holding the gun than Daya.

This is an environment of welcoming, and you should just get the hell out of here-Michael Scott