"The Big House" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the seventh season of Orange Is the New Black. It is the ninetieth and penultimate episode of the series overall. It premiered on July 26, 2019.
Synopsis[]
Taystee meets with a lawyer. As the GED exam looms, Suzanne gives Pennsatucky a pep talk. Gloria faces a dilemma. Alex confronts Piper.
Plot[]
Present[]
Taystee nervously waits in her cell for her meeting with her lawyer, CO Blake advises that her lawyer has arrived and is waiting for her. On her way to her meeting she runs into Zirconia and Munoz who inform her that it is GED test day. They show off their “power pose” and even get CO Alvarez to join them despite him wanting them to move along.
In her meeting with her lawyer, Sylvia Guillen, Taystee is informed that Suzanne's book was compelling, but wouldn't be enough evidence for her to submit a habeas petition for her case. Her lawyer admits that even after reading it she believes it isn't enough. Hey lawyer tells her that because of Suzanne's mental state she is not a credible witness. Taystee asks if it is possible for Cindy Hayes to recant her testimony. The lawyer advises that they tried contacting Cindy, but that she has cut ties with her family. Taystee is upset and asks that her lawyer leave.
Suzanne is helping Doggett study for the GED test that is in an hour. Doggett is struggling and having doubts that she'll be able to pass, telling Suzanne a story from when she was in tenth grade when Travis Kimball who told her, “You're dumb as a Dog-gett.” Suzanne tries to encourage her by telling her that she just has a special brain and that she can't listen to people who don't know her.
Alvarez and Ginger are nervous about speaking with Tamika Ward about the phone found in the kitchen at the ICE detention center. Ward tells them that she will reach out to the center and try to smooth things out, without getting Polycon involved and tells Alvarez and Ginger to send the inmate to her so she can file charges. When they tell her they don't know who the phone belongs to she tells them to figure it out, giving them permission to interrogate the inmates if necessary.
Joe Caputo is on the phone trying to reach Danny Pearson, to talk about the microloan project. When he tells the person on the other end his name he is informed that Danny is in a meeting. He believes this has something to do with Susan Fisher's story against him. Fig comes into the room and advises him to give up and that she is calling out of work, “I'm calling in sick because, technically, I'm sick of their shit.” She then asks Joe why he is so dressed up and he tells her that he is going to the end-of-semester party for the programs at Litchfield. He wants to be the one to hand out the certificates for the inmates in his restorative justice program. Fig tells him he shouldn't go, but he tells her that Ward invited him to come.
Alex is waiting for McCullough in their usual place, where she informs McCullough that she hasn't changed her mind about being in a relationship with her. McCullough tells her that the reason she doesn't want to be with her is because she won't let herself be happy and that she has to feel the same way because of how she looks at her. Alex reminds her she has a wife, to which McCullough informs her that she is seeing someone else and of what she saw the night before outside Piper's apartment. Alex pushes her against the shelves and tells McCullough to stay away from her wife.
Piper wakes up in Zelda's bed and thinks about sleeping with her the night before. She wraps herself in the comforter and makes her way downstairs. She stares at the view while Zelda brings her something warm to drink. Piper spills the drink when she hears her phone vibrating and notices she misses a call from Alex. Alex immediately calls back and they talk about each others infidelity. Alex refuses to have a conversation over the phone and tells Piper she needs to visit.
Aleida Diaz stares angrily at Daya and her crew from across the room. Vazquez blocks her view and informs her that she has a new work assignment, working for the cleaning crew in the SHU. Aleida reminds her that the SHU closed down, but Vazquez she's just handing out the orders from Hopper.
Nicky and Lorna Morello Muccio as eating lunch, Lorna is describing what she wants to do to her husband, Vincent. Nicky tells her that she can't keep blaming him, but Lorna is still in denial and says he took her baby away. Nicky tries to reason with her and tells her she knows the only reason she doesn't want to accept what happened is that it would make it real. Lorna gets mad at Nicky for trying to tell her that her son died in the hospital and that she needs to let him go. Young comes over to see if everything is alright and Nicky comes up with an excuse at the food to save Lorna from being taken to 'Florida'
Cindy is working at her job as a care giver and banters around with an older resident. She pushes him back to his room, where his roommate appears to be in masturbating. She helps the resident in to bed and checks to make sure he's okay with his roommate. She asks if he likes Sam Cooke and takes a seat next to his bed, where they listen to “It's All Right” together.
After the meeting with her lawyer, Taystee once again contemplates taking her own life. She stares at the picture on the wall where she hid the drugs and ends up grabbing them only for Ward to come up behind her. Ward asks how the meeting went, Taystee lies and tells Ward that her lawyer wants to talk to a few more experts before moving forward. Ward asks Taystee if she's going to the party and she says she's not going. Ward reminds her that she was part of the program with her tutoring and makes Taystee promise she'll be there. Taystee convinces Ward to get Storky's instead of bringing in donuts for the party.
The inmates show up for the GED test, the examiner explains the process. When Doggett asks about her extra time she is informed that her instructor, Luschek didn't put in a request for any of the students so no extra time could be given.
Ginger and Alvarez start their interrogating with Marisol Gonzales. They tell her that if she doesn't tell them who brought the phone in that all three of them, Gloria Mendoza and Maria Ruiz would all get five extra years added to their sentences. Gonzales tells them that she doesn't know who the phone belongs to, just that it isn't hers. In the hallway Maria tells Gloria that she can't get anymore time and begs her to confess that the phone is hers.
As the inmates set up for the party, Hopper and Hellman complain about the party, while Dixon finds the experience invigorating. Vazquez approaches Hopper and gives him a note, saying it's from Aleida. He takes the note and reads it off to the side away from the other Cos. He then tells them he has some paperwork to do and leaves.
Ward is in her office doing paperwork when a note is slid under her door. She gets up to investigate and find no one outside, she reads the note.
Aleida and Hopper are in the abandoned SHU, having sex when they are interrupted by Ward, Young and Blake. Hopper admits that he and Aleida are in a relationship and that he is watching her kids. She says the same but that doesn't stop Ward from firing Hopper. Blake escorts Aleida back to her cell, while Young escorts Hopper off the property.
While all that is going on, Daya uses this time to break into the contraband room again with Adeola and Vazquez watching guard. She steals some confiscated pills and a dildo.
Worried about the chickens safety, Suzanne places all the chickens in 'chicken SHU'. Lolly asks if it's cruel or unusal and Suzanne is convinced that they need to stop the chicken violence. Lolly tells Suzanne that they are social creatures and that they need more socialization. Suzanne finds an egg on the ground and says she can now make breakfast for dinner, something she mentioned she would do for Doggett after the GED test.
The test is nearly complete and Doggett is panicking trying to finish up with the minute they have left. Once the administrator announces the test is finished she quickly fills in the remaining bubbles and leaves before the administrator can pick her test up from her desk.
The party starts with Deitland reading her spoken word poem. Young gets on the stage after to heckling from the inmates about the food. He assures them that the Storky's is coming. Tawney goes up to Joe and claims it looks like he just wrote their names in magic markers on their certificates, to which he says he did. She walks away annoyed, when she's gone Beth comes up to Joe to thank him. She tells him that before no one would look at her and now some of the girls from the program look her way and even smile. She tells him she knows about the allegations made by Fisher and tells him that the stigma doesn't last forever.
Doggett confronts Luschek about not requesting her extra time and blames him for her failing her test. Dixon escorts her away.
Nicky finds Red in a common room sitting against the wall. She sits with her and they talk about Lorna, who Nicky says she has been chasing around trying to keep her out of trouble. Red asks Nicky if she has always loved Lorna, to which Nicky claims it is platonic, because there could have been someone else. Nicky asks Red how she got to be so good at being a prison mom, to which Red claims she was her own teacher. Red says that sometimes you get busy and you just do it, until you hit a wall and try not to hit the same wall again. Red then asks Nicky to get Norma, Gina and Tricia so they can start dinner.
Taystee comes to the party just as the Storky's arrives. She asks a of the lady from Florida if she knew if Suzanne is coming, but she was blown off. Ward comes up to her and tells her she wishes she could stay. Taystee tells her that she appreciates her trying to make things better and that she hopes she keeps it up. After Ward leaves Joe comes up to Taystee and apologizes for not being able to find help for the microloan idea. He advises that she tries reaching out to people herself. He apologizes again and she tells him he did everything he could. He tells her he might not see her for a while and as he leaves she tells him he's a good man.
Interrogations continue with Gloria. Ginger encourages Gloria to blame the phone on Maria. Ginger asks Alvarez to tell Gloria what her file says and when he asks what she is referring to she gets snippy. Gloria tells them that she has nine days until she's released. Ginger asks Alvarez to tell her what happens to her release date if more time gets added to her sentence. When he remains silent they have a quite moment in the corner where Ginger apologizes. They come back and tell her five years will be added and if she wants to avoid extra time she should tell them who the phone belongs to. Gloria admits that the phone was hers.
Taystee picks up her Storky's and asks a few table with more Florida ladies if they'd seen Suzanne. She ends up sitting with the girls she tutored and Daya's crew. Munzo is very confident about her test, but Adeola and Daya are both negative about the subject. Daya recommends take the party up a notch and she and her girls get up to leave. Before they do Daya approaches Taystee, recalling their previous conversation about last means. She tells that she probably shouldn't say I'll see you later, before walking off. Taystee asks Doggett what's up with her and she says she failed the test. Zirconia says she didn't get her extra time and Taystee tells Doggett she can take it again in a couple months. Doggett gets up and walks away from the table.
Piper visits Alex to talk about their relationship. Piper arrives late due to bus issues, leaving them with only a few minutes to talk. Alex asks how many times Piper slept with Zelda, Piper tells her only once after she learned about her and McCullough. Piper then starts to ask how many times Alex and McCullough had had sex, but decides she doesn't want to know. Piper tells Alex she wants them both to be honest with each other before asking Alex if she has feeling for McCullough. Alex doesn't and explains she did it because she was trying to protect herself. She tells her that she's scared she's going to leave her. Piper asks how she can reassure Alex that she isn't going to leave her. Alex tells her the best way to do that is to tell her she doesn't have feelings for Zelda. Piper tells her she can't lie to her and is about to say something when visitation ends.
McCullough goes to talk to Ward about avoiding another incident like what happened with Hopper. She admits to being in love with an inmate and lies about acting on it. She tells Ward that the best way to avoid another incident is to transfer the inmate in question. Ward tells her another way to avoid an incident is to fire her. McCullough tells her she can't afford to lose another CO and places the transfer papers on her desk.
Nicky and Lorna are eating dinner with Damiva. Lorna keeps going on and on about her son, which angers Damiva. She provokes Lorna by saying “Fuck your baby.” She gets very graphic with her description. Nicky tells Lorna that she's going to miss her before getting up to get the help of Young. Lorna attacks Damiva and is dragged off to by Young.
Alex is sitting in her cell when McCullough comes in, Alex tells her she made it clear that she wanted her to stay away and McCullough says she did her a favor. She hands Alex her transfer papers, when Alex stands up to confront her McCullough pulls out her baton. Alex looks down and sees that she is being transferred to Ohio.
Piper is sitting at a bus stop where she begins to cry. Someone else at the bus stop notices and asks if she's okay and if she knows what bus route she needs to take. Piper says shes fine as the bus pulls up and they both get on.
Fig is still sitting on the couch in her PJ's watching TV when Joe gets home. She tosses him a bag of popcorn as they talk about his day. Joe says that he was touched by some of the things the woman at the prison told him, specifically what Beth told him.
Cindy is walking down a dark road in the middle of the night, she comes across the homeless camp she's been sleeping in. She gets in her tent and is settling down when when she hears men yelling outside. She turns off her lantern and puts her headphones in to listen to “It's All Right” again.
In the laundry room Daya and her crew are snorting drugs. Daya says she's going to get “Thug Life” tattooed on her back which makes the room laugh. She offers the drugs to Adeola when declines saying there is a history of addiction on her father's side. Vazquez wants a bump and as Daya is setting it up Doggett walks in. They ask if she's a narc, she says no and that she's just interested in what they're up to. The girl makes fun of her. Doggett says she sick of people pretending that they're not in prison and asks what they're snorting. Vazquez does a line and then they all leave to go get soda from the party. Tali stays behind with Doggett to finish off the drugs. Tali does a line before Doggett asks her how she plans on finishing the bag herself.
Taystee wraps up her trash and throws it away before leaving the party and heading down a hallway with a flickering light...
Flashback[]
Taystee is just passing a flickering light she hits to try and fix as she is getting home from her job at KFC. As she walks in she's informed by Laniece living in the home that they all had to be out of the lady renting the place would be evicted. Laniece asks Taystee if she has a place to go and tells her she has a cousin in East New York who would take them in, but they'd have to sell drugs to earn their keep. Taystee says she doesn't want to get picked up again. As Taystee contemplates her options the phone rings. It's Poussey calling to check up on her. Taystee tells her things are going okay and she got a job offer, but tells her that she's also tired of struggling. She tells Poussey that she wishes she was back in prison because at least they'd be together. Poussey tries to comfort her by telling her she doesn't know the future and then tells her about how much it hurt when her mom passed. But that the sharp pain didn't last forever, it eventually was eventually dull. Because of all the good things in her life, to which she says she's talking about Taystee. They get off the phone and Taystee leaves the apartment, she decides to go with Laniece to her cousins.
Present[]
Taystee continues past the light, holding the drugs in her hand. As she's passing the laundry room Tali walks out and tells her to get out of there. Taystee goes into the laundry room and finds Doggett dead on the floor from an apparent overdose. She screams for help.
Memorable Quotes[]
TBA.
Galleries[]
Present[]
TBA.
Flashback[]
TBA.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman
- Natasha Lyonne as Nicky Nichols
- Uzo Aduba as Suzanne Warren
- Danielle Brooks as Tasha Jefferson
- Jackie Cruz as Marisol Gonzales
- Laura Gómez as Blanca Flores (credit only)
- Selenis Leyva as Gloria Mendoza
- Taryn Manning as Tiffany Doggett
- Adrienne C. Moore as Cindy Hayes
- Matt Peters as Joel Luschek
- Jessica Pimentel as Maria Ruiz
- Dascha Polanco as Dayanara Diaz
- Alysia Reiner as Natalie Figueroa
- Elizabeth Rodriguez as Aleida Diaz
- Nick Sandow as Joe Caputo
- Dale Soules as Frieda Berlin (credit only)
- Yael Stone as Lorna Morello
- Kate Mulgrew as Galina Reznikov
- Laura Prepon as Alex Vause
Supporting Stars[]
- Nick Dillenburg as Ryder Blake
- Daniella De Jesus as Irene Cabrera
- Besanya Santiago as Raquel Munoz
- Nicholas Webber as J. Alvarez
- Alice Kremelberg as Nicole Eckelcamp
- Susan Heyward as Tamika Ward
- Emily Tarver as Artesian McCullough
- Shirley Roeca as Vazquez
- Hunter Emery as Rick Hopper
- Greg Vrotsos as Greg Hellman
- Mike Houston as Lee Dixon
- Sipiwe Moyo as Adeola Chinede
- Branden Wellington as Jarod Young
- Lori Petty as Lolly Whitehill
- Rebecca Knox as Tina Swope
- Christina Toth as Annalisa Damiva
- Samira Wiley as Poussey Washington
Co-Stars[]
- Nedra McClyde as Sylvia Guillen
- Mandela Bellamy as Rosalie Deitland
- Dana Berger as Crystal Tawney
- Finnerty Steeves as Beth Hoefler
- Alicia Witt as Zelda
Music[]
TBA.
Trivia[]
- Last appearance of Tiffany Doggett (Alive).
- Last appearance of Poussey Washington (Flashback)
- Last appearance of Rick Hopper
- Last appearance of Raquel Munoz
- Last appearance of Beth Hoefler
- This episode is dedicated to the loving memory of make up artist Karen Reuter, who passed away on January 24, about a month before production of the final season, and the series, wrapped up.
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Taystee's Flashbacks
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Poussey's Flashbacks
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