WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
It was a season that presented some of the most nuanced character development ever seen on modern TV.
Nestled among the shocking murder of Poussey and the slow-moving train wreck of Nicky’s return to drug use in season four of Orange is the New Black was the follow-on story of inmate Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett and prison guard Charlie Coates.
Raped by Coates, her prison guard turned boyfriend in season three, Doggett returned to our screens to grapple with something that most of us can only consider in our worst nightmares, and then figure out how she was going to make it through to the other side.
And the show’s telling exploration of this was powerfully on point.
Here’s why. Listen to Rosie Waterland, Laura Brodnik and Katy Hall discuss this heartbreaking scene on The Binge:
Sometimes there is the presumption that rape is only committed by evil men lurking in alleyways late at night, but when we actually look at the facts and figures we know it’s not.
Statistic after statistic tells us that.
So what does happen when you’re raped by someone you’re in a relationship with?
What happens when the person attacking you is someone that you feel you love?
What happens when you’ve been raped so many times that you don’t fight back anymore?
On top of that, what happens when the rapist themselves doesn’t understand that their actions even constituted as rape?
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I also loved the way they handled this. It was so real. Doggett was so confused and even defended him after it all happened but you could tell she was still upset about it and weary around Coates. And good ol Boo, getting in there and telling her NO it was not okay. OITNB writers need a huge pat on the back!