Piper (Taylor Schilling) participated in the lifting of a suitcase of drug money for her lesbian lover, Alex (Laura Prepon). As a 22 year old, Piper was head over heels for Alex, so her willingness to help in the act of drug smuggling resulted in implication in a criminal act. Cut to 10 years later and Piper just about avoids the statute of limitations, turning herself in, surrendering to a 15 month prison term. Of course, the awkwardness of going through the arrest process, following the protocols of a new inmate getting frisked, enduring two idiots who can't figure out that the computer for taking her picture was unplugged, being introduced to inmates she will be seeing a lot of (some friendly, some quirky, some insane, some rude, and plenty of whistles, crude come-ons, and dirty looks), and meeting her parole officer. The episode alternates through different points of the plot, such as Piper's sexual relationships with her fiancé (Jason Biggs) and Alex, her coming to terms with what she done and the time in prison she will have to serve, telling her family of the crime (and her lesbianism), and the surrendering process itself. Being rushed while taking a shower, insulting the food prepared by a respected (and somewhat feared) "captain of the kitchen", Red (a barely recognizable Kate Mulgrew, a far cry from her days as Captain of the Enterprise on Star Trek: Voyager), and receiving a "special meal" (bloody tampon!) as a "reward" for her vocal response to the "cuisine". Meeting her roomies and learning of the rules inside are also a part of this introduction of the show. While not as maddening as the men prison drama, "Oz", the prison populace is still very much a jungle you must survive in: Piper will need to make friends and not continue to say the wrong things if she is to get along well on the inside. "Orange is the New Black" is really a comedy intermingling with the realism of screwing up in life and paying the piper (pun intended). We see a fondling within the jungle, and to keep from being gobbled up will take bonding with ladies and making her own place within the prison. Schilling is a dynamo in the lead, equal parts sexy (see her dance tease for Prepon) and naïve (she speaks to Biggs about "getting ripped in prison", developing a toned, fit body after her "stress eating" has supposedly caused her to look not so great). She realizes the gravity of her mistake, is willing to do her time, but must learn how to behave and know what to say (and how to say it). She has spent ten years trying to escape her past, but owning up to her crime puts her in the uncomfortable spot of a confinement with a population of women she would never hang around with on the outside. Natasha Lyonne comes off nutty as a fruitcake and the show has an assortment of fascinating faces (quite a gallery of bad ass mamas with attitude, loose-lipped wackos, and even a few friendly, chatty sorts willing to befriend Piper and take her under their wing). The prison looks appropriately scary and unpredictable, as it should to someone used to suburbia, beaches, and freedom from the darkest places that harvested inmates seen in the slammer. That Alex will factor into Piper's life inside the prison leaves us wondering just what will happen onward through the series.
