Spoilers ahead for the series finale of Orange is the New Black. If you haven’t finished Season 7, don’t read on!
After seven long seasons of streaming, Orange is the New Black has finally served its time on Netflix. Jenji Kohan’s prison drama broke new ground as one of the first original shows to come from the streaming service, and OITNB quickly became a phenomenon. The final season delivered conclusions and tons of plot twists, but fans have a few questions following the series finale “Here’s Where We Get Off.” The chief question among them being: did Piper and Alex end up together?
Season 7’s finale saw the two inmates seemingly break up, as Alex was transferred to a facility in Ohio. But the final shots of the series added to some confusion, as Piper was seen visiting her at the new prison. So did they end up together, or was it just a friendly visit? Laura Prepon recently spoke to the finale saying:
You have to do that. Who knew what was going to happen with the fact that we do go against so many norms on this show. Truthfully, I didn’t know if Alex and Piper were going to end up together. But I hoped, because you want them to be together. You've invested all this time with these women — the good, the bad and the ugly of the relationship. Piper and Alex have gone through so much. You want to see them together and you want fans to feel fulfilled. It would have been an injustice to not have them together at the end. I’m really glad that that happened.
The final montage of Orange is the New Black may have left it vague as to whether or not Piper and Alex ended up together, but Laura Prepon seems to be sure of their fate. She says they ended up together in the end, meaning that Piper likely moved to Ohio to live somewhere near her partner. Sorry, Zelda, you're going to need to find a new gala date.
This news might be somewhat surprising to fans, considering how Season 7's finale went down for the longstanding couple. When Alex found out she was being transferred out of Litchfield, she broke up with Piper seemingly forever. The two characters wept and said goodbye, and it seemed like Pipes finally lost Alex for good.
The last sequence made it seem like Taylor Schilling's protagonist was going to head up to meet Zelda. At least, until Piper and Alex were shown laughing with each other as the screen faded to orange one last time.
Later in her conversation with THR, Laura Prepon was asked what she thinks the future holds for her character and Piper. The '70s Show alum said:
Well, Alex and Piper end up together. I think they both learned a lot from these years in prison and they’ll take that with them. I’m hoping that they use that to treat each other a lot better, which I’m sure they will. Because at the end of the day, love is love is love. And Alex and Piper love each other, so you just figure it out.
That's certainly hopeful. Not every character in Orange is the New Black got a happy ending, in fact many of Litchfield's most beloved prisoners didn't fare very well. It was a bitter sweet series finale, with Daya's life and Alex and Piper's relationship seemingly left ambiguous. But the actresses have cleared up the truth, with Laura Prepon confident that her signature character got a happy ending with her wife.
All seven seasons of Orange is the New Black are now streaming on Netflix. In the meantime, check out our fall premiere list to plan your next binge-watch.
