"Imaginary Enemies" is the fourth episode of season one of Orange Is the New Black.
Chapman is assigned a cube with Claudette as her roommate, and work detail in the electrical department. She forgets a screwdriver, resulting in lockdown and a detailed search. Tricia tries to prevent Mercy from being released. We see Claudette's story via flashbacks. Alex and Nicky bond, and Tricia and several other inmates try to enlist Piper's help in writing their appeal letters.
This episode provides examples of the following tropes:
- A Day in the Limelight: Miss Claudette arrived in the U.S. as a young girl and went to work as a maid. Later, she took over the business.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Piper to Miss Claudette: "I've been starved out, felt up, teased, stalked, threatened...and called Taylor Swift."
- Bait-and-Switch: At first it looks as if Big Boo is going to get back at Tricia by using a screwdriver as a weapon. Instead she uses the screwdriver to masturbate.
- Chekhov's Gun: The screwdriver seems unimportant but will come back later in the season.
- Depraved Homosexual: Tricia prepositions Miss Claudette for sex in one of her many attempts to get Mercy to stay.
- Dissonant Laughter: While Caputo is chewing out the staff, Pornstache laughs at the statement "Fucking unions were not created to protect the drunk and retarded." He laughs again when Caputo tells him the screwdriver can be used to puncture a lung and otherwise injure a CO.
- Hope Spot: Healy tells Claudette the immigration laws are under review, and she may be eligible for release earlier than anticipated. She declines, saying it will be a lot of aggravation for nothing. "I know how these things go."
- Love Makes You Dumb: Miss Claudette chastises Tricia when she catches her snooping in Piper's bunk hoping to frame Mercy just to extend her prison sentence and keep her from leaving. "Love is not an excuse!"
- Love Triangle: Boo/Mercy/Tricia.
- Neat Freak: We see why Claudette is so obsessive about cleanliness in her cubicle.
- Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: Boo masturbates in her bunk with the use of a screwdriver.
- Never My Fault: Luscheck refuses to take responsibility for his own accidents and screwups and pins all the blame on Watson and the other female inmates instead.
- Noodle Incident: Alex and Nicky mention having 'pork chop stories'.
- Perverted Sniffing: Pornstache takes the opportunity to lustfully sniff Piper's hair and grope her while checking her for any missing tools.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Luscheck takes every opportunity to insult Watson by calling her "a monkey". Much to Watson's fury.
- Sex for Services: Tricia offers to sleep with Miss Claudette if it means that it will help Tricia keep her lover Mercy to stay in prison longer. Miss Claudette refuses.
- Shout-Out:
- Watson compares Piper to Taylor Swift.
- Watson also nicknames Piper "Honey Boo Boo".
- Title Drop: Piper says to Nicky "I think I might have gotten Miss Claudette mad at me." Nicky says "You know how some people have imaginary friends? I think you have imaginary enemies."
- Violence is the Only Option: When one of Claudette's young employees has been abused by the client, Claudette kills him. She can't go to the police, nor are there any other legal options, and he would likely abuse any other girl she sent.
- White Glove Test: Hinted at, when Claudette takes off her rubber gloves, looks around the kitchen, then pats a pile of clean, neatly folded dish towels.
- Work Off the Debt: Claudette goes to work to pay for her passage to the US.
- You Are Fat: Unable to face the fact that Boo might have a point about Mercy forgetting her when she's on the outside, Tricia tries to insult her by using this, almost word for word.Tricia: Yeah? Well, you're fat.Boo: Oh, you got me.
