The Orange Is The New Black Storyline That Disappeared Without Explanation
"Orange is the New Black" might've ended in 2019, but the show remains one of the best Netflix Originals — and comedy dramas in general — of all time. Many people still rewatch and talk about the show, and more Netflix subscribers are tuning in all the time. For those who don't know, "Orange is the New Black" tells the story of a woman named Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) who goes to the Litchfield Penitentiary women's federal prison to serve 15 months for unknowingly smuggling drugs for her ex-girlfriend Alex Vause (Laura Prepon). Leaving a normal, upper middle class lifestyle, Piper is thrust into the wild world of Litchfield, where her and a bunch of other inmates face the many struggles of incarceration.
Unlike other Netflix Original series that are cancelled prematurely, "Orange is the New Black" was able to present a fully planned out story that concluded with its seventh season. Overall, the show wowed critics and audiences, earning an average 90% on Rotten Tomatoes for all seven seasons. But that doesn't mean that there aren't aspects of the show that people are disappointed in, or storylines that are left unfinished. In fact, there's one specific storyline that completely disappears from "Orange is the New Black" in Season 3, and the show never really mentions it again.
Bennett takes off in Season 3 and never returns
In the first few seasons of "Orange is the New Black," many viewers fall in love with correctional officer John Bennett, played by Matt McGorry, who starts a romantic relationship with Dayanara "Daya" Diaz, played by Dascha Polanco. Everything goes well with them until Daya gets pregnant, presenting the couple with a very difficult situation. Unfortunately, Bennett isn't the man Daya first thinks he is, and at the beginning of Season 3 he flees from his job, his fiancée, and his unborn baby one day, never to be seen again. Many fans hoped that Bennett would valiantly return to reunite with Daya and their baby, but he never comes back to Litchfield.
The most probable reason for this abrupt end to Bennett and Daya's story is McGorry's casting in the ABC hit crime drama "How to Get Away with Murder," which started airing in 2014. The series stars Viola Davis as a college criminal defense professor who, along with a group of talented students, become directly involved with a mysterious murder plot that changes their lives. McGorry plays a student named Asher Millstone, and the actor appears in all 90 episodes of the show's six seasons. Whether it was his personal decision or a result of conflicting contracts, McGorry was probably unable to continue working on "Orange is the New Black" at the same time as "How to Get Away with Murder."
While fans of "Orange is the New Black" were hoping for a better resolution for Bennett, they will just have to accept that he leaves Daya and his baby behind, or feel free to imagine a happier ending for yourself.