Mack "Guru Mack" Romano was a spiritual guru and cult leader in 1975, and the husband of Norma Romano. He is portrayed by David Newsom.
Personality
Although he appears charming and gentle, Mack is manipulative and cold-hearted, seeking only what he can gain from relationships with other people. By forming a spiritual cult, he took advantage of many people who admired him and used them for his own personal gain; materialistically, emotionally and (it is presumed) sexually.
Physical Appearance
Mack is hippyish is his appearance, sporting long hair and a beard and wearing loose, patterned clothes.
Biography
Before Norma's incarceration
In the 70s, Mack regularly held Transformation Workshops for Body, Mind & Spirit at a library called "Yonder Hill Books", and quickly became the leader of a spiritual group.
He was in the middle of a sermon when a young Norma walked into his class for the first time.
- "Well, I want everything to be better. I want everything to be happier.
And I keep doing the same thing over and over again, which, to me, is the definition of insanity. Right? As I was saying, you're all here because you're interested in transformation. And you're asking yourself:
"Do I feel happy? Do I feel good enough? Do I feel out of control?
Lonely? Afraid? Why do I hate myself?"
Well, this self that you speak of... it's not a fixed object. It's a story that we're telling, right? And if you wanna change the self, you gotta change the story. Because the desire to transform, the thing that brought you here today, means you've already begun to change. I'm not here to save you, children. I'm just a bearded guy in white pants. They call me Guru Mack because I'm a teacher. And I can teach you how to change your story. " - — Guru Mack, during his sermon
Norma was awkward and shy, but listened and agreed with what Mack was saying. Mack asked Norma, calling her "Sister Sad Eyes", why she was there. She shrugged, but Mack encouraged her. When Norma attempted to speak, it became apparent that she had a severe stutter. Mack comforted her and told her that she didn't need to speak, because he could hear her through her spirit, using a calming technique (Norma eventually uses this technique in her sermons at Litchfield herself.)
Some time later, in a meadow, Norma and Mack are marrying, surrounded by his followers, who have by now signed over a lot of their property to him. A chant is spoken through the group: "Guru Mack is our teacher. Our teacher is our father. Our father is our God. Our God is our light, the sky, the sun, the heart."
Mack addresses the group and says his vows to Norma, whereupon the two kiss and Mack presses his thumb to her forehead in a symbolistic manner. Norma looks deleriously happy, but it then becomes apparent that she is just one woman in a queue to perform the same ceremony. One of the male followers remarks to another that "this is getting weird" and that he never should have given Mack his car, whereupon Norma glares at him. Mack then "marries" two other young girls named Kirsa Rain and Silver Tree and repeats his words to them. At the end, he kisses Silver Tree more passionately then he has Norma and Kirsa, whereupon Norma seems unhappy.
Many years later, Norma is seen travelling with Mack in a van. Norma is creating a flyer for the group Mack started off with. But it transpires that the group has fallen apart and no one comes to their sermons anymore. Mack treats Norma with nothing but contempt in his voice. He takes Norma's flyer and disposes of it, stating that there are no more followers and that they have nowhere to gather. Norma suggests everywhere around them. Mack refuses and reveals that all of his wives have left him except for Norma, his one true believer. Mack has been charged with kidnapping and Norma and Mack are currently fleeing. Mack suggests they go into hiding and Norma agrees. But the car breaks down on the middle of a highway. Norma takes her flyer back and straightens it out.
Later, Mack and Norma are on a mountainside and Mack wishes he could change his life. Mack coldly asks Norma why she is still with him and commands Norma to leave him, saying that he is a fraud. Norma tries to disagree. Mack says he isn't a god and that Norma has wasted her life which upsets Norma. He says that she will never leave. When Mack calls Norma a slave, it angers Norma. Mack commands Norma to speak. She doesn't, and Mack says the reason being is that she has nothing to say. Norma has had enough and pushes Mack off a cliff to his death. She speaks, most probably for the first time in years, brokenly calling him a "son of a bitch". She then bursts into tears.
Relationships
Romantic
- Norma Romano (wife) - who stayed by his side until no-one else was left, but eventually murdered him after he was abusive towards her.
- Silver Tree (ex-wife) - unknown when she left him.
- Kirsa Rain (ex-wife) - unknown when she left him.
Appearances
| Orange Is the New Black: Season Three | ||||||||||
| "Mother's Day": | "Bed Bugs and Beyond": | "Empathy Is a Boner Killer": | "Finger in the Dyke": | "Fake It Till You Fake It Some More": | "Ching Chong Chang": | "Tongue-Tied": | ||||
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Appears | ||||
| "Fear, and Other Smells": | "Where My Dreidel At": | "A Tittin' and a Hairin'": | "We Can Be Heroes": | "Don't Make Me Come Back There": | "Trust No Bitch": | |||||
| Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent | |||||