‘Orange Is The New Black’ Season 5 Cast Might Not Make It All To Season 6: Gloria Dies?
Orange is the New Black Season 5 finished with a cliffhanger, with the fate of 10 inmates hanging. OITNB Season 6 will pick up in the aftermath of the riot, but not all characters are sure to survive. Will Gloria die?
Warning: This contains spoilers!
Gloria Mendoza, portrayed by Selenis Leyva, is one of the 10 inmates hiding in an empty swimming pool as the police bomb their location. The way that Orange is the New Black Season 5 left off in the finale with a huge explosion, some characters seemed to face the fatal consequences of their three-day riot. Leyva doesn’t know yet what would happen to her character. She told USA TODAY:
“As an actress, I was mortified the entire time. Because I was like, ‘What does this mean for Gloria? Does she die in the next episode?’… I always think, is Season 6 going to start with limbs everywhere? It’s scary, the aftermath of it all.”
Orange Is the New Black Season 5 puts the inmates in charge—with very disturbing results: https://t.co/C1LW3YKrbk pic.twitter.com/8Rr3jW9kCF
— Slate (@Slate) June 15, 2017
The fate of Dayanara Diaz, played by Dascha Polanco, is also uncertain. Given that she shot a corrections officer, she was taken into custody and is surely going to face a punishment for that. Polanco hinted that Orange is the New Black viewers might not see her ever again. Leyva added:
“They all are going to face consequences, every single person in the prison, because it’s gone wrong. It went from a riot asking for justice to falling apart. There’s casualties, and now they’ll pay the price…there’s buses collecting inmates, but where are they going?”
Lauren Morelli, a veteran writer and producer for Orange is the New Black, hinted a big shift come Season 6 as they deal with the aftermath of the riot. In the finale, the women standing together along with Gloria are Piper (Taylor Schilling), Alex (Laura Prepon), Red (Kate Mulgrew), Taystee (Danielle Brooks), Black Cindy (Adrienne C. Moore), Crazy Eyes (Uzo Aduba), Nicky (Natasha Lyonne), Frieda (Dale Soules), and Blanca (Laura Gomez). Morelli told The Hollywood Reporter that these are the leaders who have real reasons not to just surrender even when the police stormed in the prison. She added:
“It’s a really interesting mix of characters. It was one of the first times in the show, aside from Poussey’s death in the cafeteria, where things sort of transcend racial tribes. Having these leaders more or less of the various racial groups come together felt really important. It felt like this riot is about all of us.”
Taystee Is the Real Star of ‘Orange Is the New Black’ (Column) https://t.co/rN7OMBov2D #oitnb @thedanieb
— WendyGirl ???? (@OITNB_Daily) June 15, 2017
Meanwhile, there’s going to be a lot of things to happen for Taystee in Orange is the New Black Season 6, according to Morelli. She blamed herself for Poussey’s death. In Season 5, she pointed a gun at Desi Piscatella (Brad William Henke), but decided not to kill him. Morelli added that even without getting the literal win, Taystee rose to the situation and became the leader her family needed her to be.
Orange is the New Black has been renewed up to Season 7. OITNB Season returns next summer.
[Featured Image by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TNT]
