What Is The Significance of June 7 On 'OITNB?'

Well, hello there, fellow inmates. If you've been basking in the wonderment that was the early release of Orange is the New Black season 3, you and your tired mind probably have a few questions. Like, for instance, why would Netflix play such a magnificent yet cruel prank on a weeknight? But, our incapability and lack of willpower not to marathon aside, there are way more questions about the actual goings on of this season of OITNB that are a lot more pressing. [Episode 4 spoiler alert!] One glaring one that comes to mind? What is the deal with Piper Chapman and June 7?

Other than it marking the end of the first week of the month that begins summer, it doesn't seem like much, right? Well, actually, we're all wrong in assuming that, because June 7 is actually an incredibly important day. When the whole "June 7" debacle is brought up in episode 4, during a tense bathroom scene between a downtrodden Piper and an upbeat Alex, the mere mention of the date seems quite foreboding. Piper is not just reluctant to talk about it, she looks at Alex as if she said Voldemort's name aloud when she merely breeches the subject. So what is behind the date-that-shall-not-be-named? Something quite simple, actually.

As it turns out, June 7 is Piper's birthday, and on this particular one, she's turning 32. We learn this, of course, when Piper's family, including her mother, brother, sister-in-law, and yes, even her father show up for visiting hours. In an especially heart wrenching moment after her mother tries to nonchalantly inquire about her birthday, Piper directly addresses her clearly disapproving father, who is all but ignoring her. He explains that he doesn't have anything to say and then she asks, "Then, why did you come?" He responds, while struggling to look her in the eye and asserts that, "Because, it's your birthday, Piper. Have I ever missed your birthday?"

So, yeah, a birthday in prison isn't one she feels like celebrating, and who can blame her? Her father sums up what I'm sure is a collective sentiment among all the Chapmans that she is, "Getting further and further behind in life." Sure, when Piper first entered Litchfield, it definitely seemed that way, and maybe it was. But, in a moment of epiphany for both us and Piper, she delivers an epic response to her father's major insult. She proclaims that her prison sentence is actually a good thing for her. She says, "Maybe this, right now, is making me a better person." And, when you think about it, it has opened her eyes to a lot of things. So, perhaps June 7 isn't such a bad day after all.

Image: Netflix; Giphy