‘Orange Is The New Black’ Star Laura Gómez Talks Final Season

Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black has officially come to an end after seven seasons on the streaming platform, and actress Laura Gómez is sharing her thoughts on the recent finale and being a part of such an “iconic” show, according to a report from Pop Culture.

Gómez has been a part of the popular prison series since the beginning as Litchfield inmate Blanca Flores. Viewers were first introduced to Blanca as the crazy woman with messy hair, who would often lock herself in the bathroom to yell at the devil. Throughout the series, Blanca’s story slowly became a central component to the overall story line. At the end of Season 6, Blanca believed she was finally being released from prison but was instead transferred to PolyCon’s new immigrant detention center. She’s later informed that her permanent resident status had been revoked after she agreed to accept responsibility for the earlier prison riot.

While in the detainment center, she meets Diana Cardóva, played by Karina Arroyave, and together they try to learn as much as they can in order to convince the judge in charge of their cases to grant them freedom. Blanca also reunites with former Litchfield prisoner and her friend, Maritza Ramos, played by Diane Guerrero, as previously reported by The Inquisitr.

After several appearances in court, Blanca is able to obtain her green card, but ultimately decides to leave the United States to be with her boyfriend, who had been deported earlier in the season.

As Gómez reflected on her character’s journey, she said it’s been nothing short of amazing.

“It’s been beautiful in many ways because you know, this was a show that became so iconic so soon and over time we had such a huge following. [OITNB] changed our lives in many ways,” she said. “I love that we’re leaving on a high note. And I love that we’re bringing important topics to the table, that we’re bringing this conversation, that we’re not ignoring it, but that we’re also saying goodbye.”

“It was seven years of our lives, we became a family,” she continued. “It was bittersweet because that’s the nature of our business, and actors know that jobs come and go, but you know, you get attached to people or even to routines and it’s really nice.”

The actress also admitted that it doesn’t really feel over yet and that it’ll definitely take a moment to set in for her and the rest of the cast that the show has come to an end.

As for the other main characters, everyone seemed to be on their own journey during the show’s final season. Taylor Schilling’s Piper Chapman has just been released from prison and is struggling to adjust to life after lockup, while making her relationship work with her prison girlfriend, Alex Vause, played by Laura Prepon. Meanwhile, Alex finds herself having an affair with a prison guard, who later tries to sabotage her relationship with Piper.

Season 7 of Orange Is the New Black is currently available for streaming on Netflix.