"Little Mustachioed Shit"
Written By: Sian Heder
Directed By: Jennifer Getzinger
Flashback Of: Piper & Alex
GRADE: B-
Brief Description: For an episode that should have worked so well on paper, both from the prominent story line of Vee vs. Poussey to having acclaimed director Jennifer Getzinger on board (she directed some of the best Mad Men episodes including "The Suitcase" and "For Immediate Release"), this episode was by far and away the worst of the season so far. A big part of this was that the prominent story lines should have happened at least three episodes sooner (which really makes me re-think the high grades I gave episodes like Episode 5's "A Whole Other Hole" and Episode 6's "You Also Have A Pizza") as well as the fact that little moments for minor characters like Morello and Sophia (plus an unnecessary flashback involving Alex) should not exist this late in the season.
But let's discuss the big moment that happened this episode, because that's all people are going to remember "Little Mustachioed Shit" for- Poussey gets drunk on her hooch, tries to attack Vee in the shower, and Suzanne intervenes and kicks the ever loving shit out of Poussey. It's actually a great moment that I disliked, but I disliked in the way The Office would create humor out of the most uncomfortable situations imaginable. I didn't dislike it because it was bad, quite the opposite, I disliked it because I want Vee to get her comeuppance, and having Poussey be the "executor", and be drunk on top of that, was the worst possible plan imaginable. We saw from Poussey's flashback just how horrible she reacts to being separated from her girlfriends (but that being said, it still doesn't justify Poussey's weak flashback because we could still see this type of reaction during her time in Litchfield, and the powerfulness of those scenes would still be there) and she clearly hasn't changed since her time in Germany.
Another flashback that was more successful was the Red vs. Vee last "week" where we see what happens when Vee wants a part of a successful business that she doesn't have control of, and this "week" we see Red catch Vee spying on her greenhouse. I expect Vee will try to use physicality to force Red to give her a cut, and I imagine Red will be much more prepared this time around. As a viewer of this show, Red needs to be the one who takes down Vee, and I not only hope that happens soon, but that I'm correct in this assumption.
EXTRA NOTES:
* Christopher visits Morello in prison to call her out on breaking into his house and Sophia's son visits her in prison for the first time. Both were great moments on their own, but again, they should not have come up in Episode 10 where the war between Vee and everyone else is heating up so drastically.
* We're still spending so much damn time with Soso. Jenji Kohan, please stop. We're not at the same level of dislike for spending so much time with Healy and Pennsatucky this season, but it's getting close.
* Piper finds out that the person Larry slept with is Polly. While I would not have a problem if this entire story line never existed, at least we're getting somewhere with it and there's a clear defining arc from those earlier scenes. That's more than I can say about Soso and Healy.
* Having a Piper-centric flashback, and one that includes Alex, shouldn't exist at all anymore when we have so many other characters that we could be spending time with. What made it even worse was that the parallel between the flashbacks and current day was solely a flaming bag of poop. There wasn't even a thematic tie-in.
* I still don't regret saying the Daya/Bennett scenes were as bad as they were earlier in the season, but even so, this is one story line I'm glad Jenji Kohan and company is keeping up with, because the moment where Mendez is being hauled out of the prison by U.S. Marshalls with the Figueroa voice over was superb.
* PORNSTACHE UPDATE: In an episode that's entitled "Little Mustachioed Shit" and one that occurred immediately after Bennett told Caputo that Daya is pregnant, I knew Mendes was getting arrested this episode. In terms of the overall story this makes sense, but in terms of my own selfish viewership, this really freaking sucks. I'll still probably keep up this update as the show certainly seems to be bringing back Mendes for at least one more episode, but at least Mendes' departure from Litchfield this time around is definite and concrete. He'll never be a Litchfield Correctional Officer again, whereas there was a chance he could still be one after the events in Season 1.
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 1 - "Thirsty Bird"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 2 - "Looks Blue, Tastes Red"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 3 - "Hugs Can Be Deceiving"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 4 - "A Whole Other Hole"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 5 - "Low Self Esteem City"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 6 - "You Also Have A Pizza"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 7 - "Comic Sans"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 8 - "Appropriately Sized Pots"
Click here for my thoughts on Episode 9 - "40oz of Furlough"
NOW THAT YOU'VE SEEN THE EPISODE, WHAT DID YOU THINK OF IT? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON "LITTLE MUSTACHIOED SHIT"? LET US KNOW ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE!
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