Season 4 of Orange is the New Black was filled with shocking moments, from that mouse scene to Poussey Washington’s (Samira Wiley) death. In the very last minute of the finale, Daya (Dascha Polanco) manages to get her hands on Humphrey’s gun in the aftermath of Poussey’s death and points it back at him.
"The boiling point has tipped over," Polanco told The Hollywood Reporter about her character holding the future of Litchfield in her loaded hands. "At this point, Daya is thinking, 'F— everyone. I’m going for it.'"
Fans did not get to see if Daya pulls the trigger, as the scene cut to a final scene with Poussey, and will have to wait for Season 5.
"She's in a dark place," said Polanco. "Dayanara's a victim of her circumstance. It’s a cycle that keeps on repeating itself. She’s been fighting it for so long and now there’s no way of her fighting it. Right now it’s her accepting things and I think she’s over it."
Will Daya pull the trigger? While the character was introduced in Season 1 as a timid and nonviolent inmate, a lot has changed: Daya entered a relationship with C.O. Bennett, got pregnant, framed a different C.O. and gave birth without Bennett after he runs away from his reality. To top it all off, Daya finds herself alone in Season 4 after her mother is released.
On her end, Polanco thinks it is entirely possible. "Yes," said Polanco when asked if her character is capable of pulling the trigger. "I think Daya's definitely experiencing some postpartum depression. She might pull back and think about being a mother and not wanting to miss the opportunity of being with her child. But a woman going through postpartum — at that point, they’re very fragile and very sensitive."
What’s more, Polanco notes that viewers still don’t know what put Daya in prison.
"Daya may be nice and naïve, but she did live in a household where there was a lot of anger and that resides within her," she told THR. "Knowing that it’s a guard on the floor, especially, she has resentment and that really flipped that switch."
Season 4 of Orange is the New Black is available on Netflix.
