It's likely been quite some time since you finished binging season five of Orange Is the New Black, which means you probably need a few reminders about your favorite characters. Netflix's prison comedy is as great as ever in season six, but it contains less flashbacks than any other season before it. Because of that, remembering how each character ended up at Litchfield to begin with might prove tricky. In case you missed anything, here's the definitive guide to exactly what each inmate did wrong — besides getting caught, obviously. Oh, major spoiler alert if you haven't seen up to season four!
— Additional reporting by Amanda Rosenberg
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Before we find out about Suzanne's crime, we get a taste of her upbringing. She was adopted by a white, suburban couple, and despite loving her daughter, Suzanne's mother often pushed her to accomplish more than she was comfortable with — like singing a song at her graduation.
A season four flashback reveals that Suzanne used to work as a greeter at a superstore. One day, she sees a kid whose family she knows from the store at the park, and she brings him home to play videogames with her. After a while, he wants to go home, but she doesn't understand. He tries to use the fire escape to leave, but falls — presumably to his death. It's one of the darkest backstories we've seen on the show.
Poussey Washington
So far, Poussey's crime is unclear. What we do know about her past is that she lived in Germany, where her father was stationed with the US Army. She had a romantic relationship with the base commander's daughter, and this is what got her family reassigned to the States.
In a season four flashback, Poussey is back in America visiting her friends. She gets separated from them and has a wild night on the town, befriending some drag queens and hitching a ride from bicycling monks who turn out to be members of an improv group.
By the end of season four, we find out that Poussey is in prison for being busted over a small amount of weed.
Brook Soso
Brook lands in prison due to some illegal political activism. In a flashback during season four, we learn that she used to be a door-to-door activist. One day, she agrees to go to the house of a registered sex offender if a guy she has a crush on will go out with her. She goes, and it turns out that he's actually a really nice guy who got a bad rap. Once she gets back to headquarters, she boasts about how awful he was and that he tried to seduce her. That's as far as we've gotten into Brook's backstory, but I'm betting that she takes her lie too far and the guy presses charges for further besmirching his already tainted name.
Maria Ruiz
During season four, we see that Maria is the daughter of a Dominican equality activist. As a teenage girl, she sees a Mexican guy dropping money into a bush while running from the cops. She grabs it and finds him later to give it back. The two fall in love, and she's banished from her home. We haven't gotten the details of what exactly she gets busted for.
Lolly Whitehill
Lolly is legitimately crazy, and from what we've seen, she may have just ended up in prison for being homeless and trying to sell coffee out of a grocery cart.
Maritza Ramos
On season six, we learn that Maritza Ramos used to work as a waitress in a club. She used to scam customers by putting water in vodka bottles, tripping while delivering the bottle, guilting men into paying for it, then pocketing the cash. While running these little scams in the club, she meets a man who takes her scam game up a level. He takes her to a luxury car dealership where he tells her to find an older, wealthy man, take his ID, and steal the car in his name. Maritza quickly finds her mark — an older man named Edward Spencer. However, just as she's about to drive away, one of the sales guys joins her and Spencer. During the test drive, the salesman asks questions about their relationship, and it quickly becomes evident that Maritza is scamming Spencer. In a fit of desperation, Maritza feigns illness. Both men step out the car to check if she's alright and in that brief second, she runs back into the car and drives away.
Blanca
Before Blanca went to Litchfield, she was a caretaker for a terribly mean old lady. She falls for the gardener at the woman's estate, and the old woman fires him because she sees the budding relationship. The woman awakens in the night to see Blanca and the gardener having sex on a chair several feet from her bed. After that, the woman is terrified of Blanca. TBA on how she actually winds up in prison, though.
Judy King
We know before celebrity chef Judy even gets to Litchfield that she is in prison for tax evasion.
