Warning: this story contains spoilers from season 4 of Orange is the New Black.

Season 4 of Orange is the New Black might be the best season yet. The Netflix dramedy delivered a plot line that broke our hearts and turned Litchfield upside down.

Before the season was released, The Hollywood Reporter released details about the #BlackLivesMatter movement being touched upon—but the question remained; how? This territory seemed too deep for a show that made a prison cult the focus of its last season.

Yet, this darker season was able to deliver.

The privatization of Litchfield set the foundation for the emergence of rage that encapsulated the inmates in the season finale. Tensions rose as the Dominicans, who were now the dominant inmate population, started flexing their power. Officer Piscatella and his puppet staff had little to no regard for inmate life. Piper’s power-hunger became the catalyst for intensified racial discrimination and the emergence of white supremacy. And somehow, in the midst of it all, we had to lose Poussey.

Poussey’s death was necessary.

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Photo: Netflix

She had a good heart. She never meant any harm. Her smile was illuminating and she was a fan favorite. When Taystee embraced Poussey’s lifeless body, we all felt as if we were standing in the crowded cafeteria. The loss of her character paralleled the choke-hold death of Eric Garner and cold-blooded murder of Michael Brown, for a diverse audience to see.

Samira Wiley, who played Poussey, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about her character’s death.

“There are people who are watching television who might not have a personal relationship with Black Lives Matter, but they know Poussey,” Samira said in reference to season 4’s story line. “What I’ve been reading online from people is just this profound sadness, something that they can’t shake away. And that is exactly what Jenji is wanting people to feel, she wants people to not be able to shake this off.”

But, this reveal of the inside of OITNB writers’ room made fans question Season 4’s motives.

Some aren’t sure that Poussey’s death was orchestrated in the name of #BlackLivesMatter.

And others think it’s only right to have a diverse writers room especially for racially sensitive topics.

Though the writers of Orange is the New Black are not black, they brought the narrative of #BlackLivesMatter to the forefront of a show with a diverse audience. They’ve used their platform to tell a story easily ignored by our non-black counterparts.

Yet, the question remains, did they do this well and for the right reasons? Share your thoughts in the comments bellow.

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