‘Orange Is The New Black’ Season 5 Spoilers: Lauren Morelli Explains Why Poussey Had To Die

“Orange is the New Black” writer-producer Lauren Morelli recently opened up about Poussey’s (Samira Wiley) death in the hit Netflix series. She explained why among all of the characters in the show, Poussey was the one that they had to let go.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, she said, “Jenji Kohan pointed this out in the room a lot when we were talking about wanting to do that storyline in season four and debating who would be the most effective character. We went back and forth a lot and ultimately it really came down to Jenji saying some things that I held onto that were so right on: Poussey had so much hope in her.”

“You really feel the loss of that hope, of that smile. There are plenty of women in this prison that you think are going to stay in this prison, this is their life. But with Poussey, we felt like one day she’s going to get out and have a chance at life after this, and to be robbed of that felt like the right story way to go,” she continued.

Meanwhile, Poussey made an appearance in one episode of “Orange is the New Black” Season 5. In the flashback, Poussey meets Taystee (Danielle Brooks) for the first time ever, and it is obvious that they already have some sort of connection. Among all of the inmates at Litchfield prison, it’s also Taystee that had the most difficult time dealing with Poussey’s demise.

Morelli, who is the real-life wife of Wiley, admitted that she misses her wife on the set of the hit Netflix series. Even though they are together every day, it’s still different not seeing her at work. Morelli added that she also miss writing stories about Poussey, especially since she was the one who wrote the finale episode for Season 4 where the character was killed.

But the writer-producer said she would feel the same for any of the other cast members who will no longer be part of the series. “They all have such specific voices so when you lose that voice I always feel an absence,” she said.

“Orange is the New Black” Season 5 streamed on Netflix on June 9.