Will [Spoiler] return to Orange is the New Black season 7?

One major character has said goodbye to prison in the latest season of Orange is the New Black. But are they gone for good?

Warning: Major spoilers ahead if you have not finished watching Orange is the New Black season 6.

Not everyone returned for season six of OITN, Maritza and many others were noticeably absent. We’re hoping to see them again, but in the meantime, we now have another character to worry about – Piper (Taylor Schilling). There’s nothing wrong with her. On the contrary, she’s living her best life. One of the closing scenes in the sixth season is Piper leaving prison a free woman. Will we ever see her again?

Fans were so busy wondering if Taylor Schilling’s Piper would be free by the end of the OITNB series, the possibility of an early release never occurred to us. Viewers have been following Piper from the very beginning. Orange is the New Black did start off as Piper’s story, after all. However, as more characters were introduced (and, to be brutally honest, Piper became increasingly irritating), the plot shifted to have more of an ensemble cast focus. Still, as an OG, we would all love to see Piper again in the final season.

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Well, rest assured we have not seen the last of Piper! In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Tara Herrmann revealed that Piper’s release was always part of the plan. But it doesn’t mean her story is finished.

“The thought of releasing Piper has come up in previous seasons because the real Piper’s sentence was 15 months and we want to make sure that we can fully tell the story of what it’s like for Piper on the outside,” Herrmann told the source.

This could have easily been done before, but Herrmann shared it simply “seemed like the time was right [in season 6]. It felt like we had sort of seen her full-time in accordance to what the real story was for the real Piper.”

With Alex (Laura Prepon) and Piper now married, and Alex still having four years left in her sentence, we can expect more drama, conflict, and possibly heartbreak, to come.

Orange is the New Black Season 6 is now streaming on Netflix.