Summary

• Orange Is the New Black highlighted the mistreatment of prisoners and flawed prison system, telling the stories of inmates in a humanizing light.
• Each character's backstory adds depth to the show, making their deaths more impactful as they struggle with trauma and adversity.
• The deaths in Orange Is the New Black, from overdose to suicide, shed light on the harsh realities of prison life and the need for change.

This article contains mentions of sexual assault, violence, and suicide.

The many Orange Is the New Black deaths not only helped make it one of Netflix's first widely popular and critically acclaimed original shows, but also a heart-wrenching dramatic one. The highly influential series is inspired by a true story, adapted from Piper Kerman's memoir Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, about her experiences at a minimum-security federal penitentiary. The series brings attention to America's broken prison system and the corrupt privatized facilities. It humanizes prisoners and paints them as lost, forgotten souls rather than dangerous criminals.

The show highlights that when a prisoner gets out, they are set up to fail on the outside and, more often than not, find themselves back in prison. While the show is mainly about Piper, it showcases many of her fellow inmates. Each episode in Orange Is the New Black's seven seasons features flashbacks of a different character's background, showing what led them to prison. The series' character-focused storytelling makes every death hit harder, as not every character made it to the end of Orange Is the New Black.

Tricia Miller - Season 1

Dies From A Drug Overdose

Tricia (Madeline Brewer) was one of the more lighthearted and endearing characters of Orange Is the New Black season 1, but she struggled with abandonment issues and drug addiction. She was one of the youngest inmates at Litchfield at age 19 and helped in the kitchen. Her issues became clear as early as episode 4 when she attempted to plant drugs in her girlfriend's bunk on the day of her release to be found by a correctional officer. Luckily, she was caught in the act and told, "This isn't love."

Tricia's backstory was explored in episode 10 when it was learned she ran away from home as a teenager to escape her rapist stepfather. She and a friend depended on stealing to survive, but she kept a notebook of everything she stole with the intent of one day paying her victims back.

During episode 9, it came to light that CO George "Pornstache" Mendez had been smuggling drugs into the prison and supplying them to Tricia. When his drug supply hit a snag, he coerced Red to help him smuggle drugs in to help Tricia with her withdrawal. Red refused and demanded Tricia turn herself in, resulting in an extended sentence and time in SHU.

Mendez covered up the overdose by framing it as a suicide by hanging.

Afterward, Tricia went to Red asking for forgiveness, but Red said she was done with her. Mendez strong-armed Tricia into helping him distribute the rest of the drugs, and she tragically ends up overdosing on them. Mendez covered up the overdose by framing it as a suicide by hanging. However, Red and Nikki knew the truth, and Tricia's death hit them both particularly hard since they felt responsible. The two then conspired to take down Mendez once in for all.

Yvonne "Vee" Parker - Season 2

Vee Was Run Over In An Attempted Escape

Vee (Lorraine Toussaint of Concrete Cowboys) arrived at Litchfield during Orange Is the New Black season 2 and quickly became a powerful figure among the inmates. She acted as the main antagonist of the season and an adversary for Red. Vee was a highly charismatic, intelligent, and manipulative sociopath who used people as pawns and discarded anyone in her way, no matter their loyalty. Upon arriving at Litchfield, she immediately saw Suzanne, a.k.a. "Crazy Eyes," as an easy target to manipulate. She took advantage of her desperation for love and used her for her criminal organization within the prison.

Vee was also a motherly figure to Taystee outside of prison and quickly drove a wedge between her and her best friend, Poussey, when Poussey pushed back against Vee's takeover of the Blacks. Vee also had Red brutally beaten when she refused to sell her "business." After all the vindictive backstabbing and pain she caused to beloved characters, Vee's death was one of the most satisfying. During an attempt to escape, she was run over by another escapee, Rosa, who afterward said, "Always so rude that one." Vee's corpse was then left on the side of the road.

Rosa Cisneros - Season 2

Rosa Possibly Died Of Cancer Off-Screen

One of the most enigmatic characters in Orange Is the New Black, Miss Rosa (Moon Knight's Barbara Rosenblat) was one of the first inmates Piper met upon arriving at Litchfield. When Red started starving Piper after she insulted her cooking, Rosa told her she had similar issues her first week in prison and had to brawl with the other inmates to settle things. "If I had won, I'd have been la hefa," she said. Suffice to say, it did little to calm Piper's nerves.

During season 2, the Rosa-focused episode finally gave a backstory to the mysterious character. In her youth, she was a bank robber but got reckless and was eventually caught and sent to a maximum-security prison. Presumably, after she was diagnosed with cancer, she was transferred to Litchfield. Rosa was not seen again after escaping, but it's assumed she died off-screen, finally succumbing to her terminal illness. However, there was some solace in knowing she died a free woman.

Poussey Washington - Season 4

CO Bayley Suffocated Poussey