Entertainment

Why Everyone Should Just Be Happy For Morello In 'OITNB' Season 6 — Maybe

JoJo Whilden / Netflix

Lorna Morello has always been Litchfield's bubbly ray of sunshine. Even way back in Season 1 of Orange Is The New Black, she was gossiping, doing makeup, and dreaming of romance in a way that was a direct contrast to the prison doom and gloom around her. But she also has a history of delusion and dishonesty, which could possibly make viewers skeptical of anything she says. So is Morello really pregnant on OITNB? Spoilers ahead for Orange Is The New Black Season 6.

In past episodes, Morello's own husband, Vinnie, didn't believe her when she told him she's pregnant. In his defense, she's cooked up ideas in her own head that aren't exactly true to reality, so it's not surprising that he was skeptical. But, the two did have sex after their wedding while one of the correctional officers looked the other way, so a pregnancy could definitely be in the cards. And just in case you've forgotten, there was once what looked like cold hard proof.

Remember — Morello took a pregnancy test that actually turned out positive. And then she took several more that also drove the point home. Nicky, who was not on board with the idea of the pregnancy to begin with, finally believes her after Morello shows her the positive tests, and eventually helps to convince Vinnie that she's not lying.

Vinnie was last seen in Season 5 telling the guards not to hurt Morello because she's pregnant, and he ends up being pretty absent in Season 6. Whether that's due to lack of contact with Morello or just the fact that the story focuses more heavily on other characters this year isn't really clear — but it certainly seems, especially later in the new episodes, that she's really carrying a child.

The uniforms inmates wear as they stroll through Litchfield aren't exactly figure hugging, and the bagginess of them kind of obscures whether or not Morello's stomach is actually growing throughout the season. But when Piper sees her for the first time in a while, she immediately notices her stomach and celebrates her pregnancy. And as the season comes to a close, viewers leave Morello in a situation that certainly seems to prove she's on the verge of giving birth.

In the past, you theoretically could have suspected that Morello had tampered with her pregnancy tests or somehow pulled the wool over Nicky's eyes to convince her that she's really starting a family, when that may not have been the case at all. Let's not forget her sketchy situation with Christopher, the man she went on a single date with and then told everyone in the prison she was engaged to.

Morello's relationship with the truth has always been tumultuous, and there are hints that some kind of mental illness likely makes it hard for her to distinguish what's real and what's not. But Season 6 appears to give solid evidence that Morello isn't leading anyone astray with this one. She seems calmer now, and it makes sense — it's always been important in the past for her to know that the people she cares about believe her.

Now only other questions remain: will Morello have a healthy birth inside the prison? And how will she handle knowing that her baby is on the outside while she's still behind bars? Women in prison often struggle to get their basic health needs met, so accessing prenatal care is another obstacle an inmate faces. In some states, women are forced to give birth while handcuffed or shackled to a hospital bed, which is hardly anything to get excited about. All of these issues are in OITNB's wheelhouse so it's likely fans will get to see how it plays out for Morello. The only bad thing is that viewers will have to wait another year to find out just how Morello's journey into motherhood is going to look.