The Worst Thing Each Main Character From Orange Is The New Black Has Done

Orange is the New Black was perhaps the greatest and most popular prison drama of the 2010s, and its finale signaled an end to a Netflix era. Like any prison drama, the protagonists aren’t exactly the most moral of people. Sure, some characters are obviously more moral than others, but they’re all in prison for a reason. And some even get worse once they’re inside…

No matter how much you may love these characters, there’s no denying that some of them are shady people. But then again, isn’t that what makes them so exciting to watch?

These are the worst things each main character from Orange is the New Black has done.

10 Morello – Manslaughter

Season 1 portrays Lorna Morello as one of Piper’s closest allies and one of the most stable inmates of Litchfield. But through flashback, we come to learn that Morello has her issues. In Season 7, we discover that Morello has committed manslaughter in the past after hurling a rock at an approaching car. The car crashes, killing the couple inside, and Morello realizes that it is her recently-engaged friends. Rather than phoning the police, she runs from the area.

9 Daya – Manslaughter

Much like Morello, Daya is portrayed in a rather sympathetic light at the beginning of the series. However, by Season 7, she becomes a full-on antagonist as a violent drug dealer who doesn’t seem to care about her family or who she harms in the process of earning cred. She grows jealous of her girlfriend Daddy and spikes her drink out of revenge, leading to her unintentional death. Not only does Daya commit manslaughter, but she quickly gets over the death and replaces Daddy as head honcho of D-Block. Even though the death was accidental, Daya used it to her advantage, and we can never forgive that.

8 Doggett – Murder

Let’s just say that Tiffany Doggett did not have a good life. While serving as a primary antagonist in Season 1, we learn about Tiffany’s unfortunate past, which included a blatant act of murder. While addicted to meth, Doggett often slept around, resulting in numerous unwanted pregnancies. After an orderly at the abortion clinic makes a comment about her constant appearances, a frustrated Doggett grabs a gun and shoots the orderly, resulting in her prison sentence. It was also this moment that she became a religious zealot, as devout pro-life supporters praised her and paid for her defense.

7 Maria – Burning A Swastika Into Piper’s Arm

Maria played a recurring role throughout the first three seasons of the show but became a primary antagonist in Season 4. However, she was not without her humanity and motives, as she is subjected to racism and is led to believe that her sentence will be increased due to Piper’s snitching. This in turn means that Maria would miss her daughter’s formative years as a toddler and young child. In retaliation, Maria kidnaps Piper and brands her arm with a swastika. Depraved though it may be, it certainly taught Piper a valuable lesson.

6 Taystee – Inciting A Riot

Things get awfully hairy near the end of Season 4 when Poussey is accidentally killed by CO Bayley, who accidentally squashes her windpipe as he’s detaining her on the ground. Taystee, feeling frustrated at Bayley’s lack of punishment, decides to incite a riot in the prison. This includes keeping Caputo hostage and encouraging Daya to shoot a prison guard. Of course, this riot goes poorly, and most of the inmates involved are sent to maximum security in response, with Taystee being found guilty of Piscatella’s death. So, in retrospect, it wasn’t the greatest idea…

5 Suzanne – Assaulting Poussey

Yes, Suzanne was in prison for indirectly causing the death of a child. However, she had absolutely no ill will towards the boy, and his death was a complete accident. So we’re not counting that. Instead, we’re going to go with her brutal assault on Poussey in the women’s washroom. While under Vee’s influence, Suzanne grabs Poussey, slams her ribs against a bench, and proceeds to both punch and kick her while she’s on the ground in pain. In this case, Suzanne was intentionally causing harm, and even though it didn’t result in Poussey’s death, it was far more violent and ill-intending than her manslaughter charge.

4 Red – Smuggling Contraband

Red is one of the least antagonistic members of the cast, as she chooses to focus on her maternal and cooking duties. And while she does manage to get herself into some hot water over the years, most of her violence stems from revenge against others who have wronged her in the first place. However, that’s not the case when it comes to Red smuggling in contraband. It’s nothing compared to what the others on this list have done, but it’s still illegal, and it still results in some pretty heated debates and even moments of violence. See Red’s battle with Vee for proof of how dangerous smuggling contraband can be.

3 Healy – Ignoring Piper

Healy is one of the show’s slimiest characters, but also, as the series progresses, one of the most tragic. He serves as one of the main antagonists of Season 1, which is perfectly represented in his hostile relationship with Piper. This stems from the fact that Piper is a lesbian, causing the homophobic Healy to completely turn on her upon learning the truth. His treatment of Piper grows so toxic that he abandons her outside when Doggett is threatening her life. This not only encourages violence from both Doggett and Piper, but it could have also made him an accessory to murder, should either inmate have been killed.

2 Vause – Cutting Up And Hiding A Body

Vause is one of the smartest and most manipulative characters in the show, and we could have pegged her for her drug running and manipulating Piper into joining the drug business. But perhaps her greatest sin was cutting up and hiding Aydin’s body. While Aydin provokes Alex and, you know, tries to kill her, Alex in turns kills Aydin and enlists the help of Lolly and Frieda to cut up his body and hide it in the prison garden. Even though it started with Aydin, this is a pretty messed up thing to do, and is easily one of the show’s most graphic and surprising story beats.

1 Piper – The Panty Business

Piper is the main protagonist of the series and generally tries to stay out of trouble. She was put in prison for drug running, but once inside, she tends to keep to herself, aligning with the “good” inmates. However, that changes in Season 3 when she grows a big head and decides to start a panty-smuggling business. This results in all sorts of trouble for Piper, and it eventually culminates in the aforementioned swastika branding. While she was in way over her head, she genuinely believed that she was the top dog of the prison, and it made for some tough viewing.

About The Author

Nathan Sharp
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Nathan Sharp is a writer from outside Toronto, Ontario. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years. His preferences include drama, action, and horror, with the former being a particular point of interest and fascination.

He also has a love of video games, particularly those of Rockstar.

Whether it be about film, television, or video games, Nathan loves a good discussion and has written hundreds of articles for Screen Rant.

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