I was extremely conflicted after watching this episode. On the one hand, it definitely has its moments, but, on the other, it's just so boring and not that entertaining. One thing I understood for sure is that I was too harsh on season 2 premier back in the day. If that one got 7-7.5 from me, then this one I really can't rate any higher (but also lower) than 6.5.
I'll start with good things Orientación had. First of all, I really liked Alex and the way he was portrayed. Since his first appearance I was interested in him as a character. And here he was amazingly written. A man that on purposely rejected his family once again to not bother them any longer, overwhelmed by the things he's done, without his pills that helped him to keep it together somehow, with the only one thing left, - a strong motivation to get out of that place. I felt for him at some point and was grateful he helped Michael by giving advise and then by literally saving his life. Especially because it fit his motivation. The second plus of the episode is a pretty good atmosphere in the scene where Linc came to morgue. And the last, but not least, is once again a well written motivation for characters. As a viewer, I can get why that or another main characters does what he does. And I find it pretty important cause nowadays I'm really tired of characters those motives can't be logically explained.
So, the bad things. The main one is probably the realization that I'm indifferent to the given setup. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good idea to get the show back to its roots but it all just feels extremely repetitive, for some reason. Once again we have a situation where Michael needs to get someone out because someone will die unless he does. I gotta admit, I'm not into it that much. The second thing that dissapointed me was the Sona itself. It looks okay, but I see lack of the dark, hopeless atmosphere from s2 finale. The general idea of dealing with conflicts by having one-on-one fights with only one survivor makes perfect sense. I guess, it can be considered as another good moment from the episode. The more dead people you have, the more supplies you have for the others. But... I didn't really liked the execution that much. I can't point my finger on what exactly feels off, but it all was a bit undewhelming. Same actually goes for framing Michael thing to get him killed. It makes sense from characters' perspective, but it was executed kinda poorly. The writers seemingly tried to have the same slow pace and introduction to this prison, as they had with Fox River, but it's not even half as good, beginning with setting, ending with prisoners. There were too many scenes in there, it would've been much better if they had given it to other stories, such as Sucre's one, or LJ getting kidnapped. Speaking of the latter.
Third thing, that I disliked, is LJ being in Panama and kidnapped. I just don't really get it how they got to him. The boy was under protection, and I thought that only Linc had a way to contact him. Others just didn't need to. And then, suddenly, without Linc knowing anything, LJ is easily found. The only hope I have is that it'll be explained, but I doubt it. Next, intro. I have nothing against the way it's done, only with the fact that Sara's absence there is too obvious and gives away everything immediately. I just wish they could've kept the one from season 2 for at least 1 episode or so. I also find new characters unintresting and not at least a little intriguing. They were just there, I guess. For some reason, when new characters, especially new main ones, were introduced in earlier seasons, I wanted to know more about them. Here, I'm just indifferent. Hope those new characters will grow on me, only time will tell.
Overall, it was an episode that didn't make me look forward the moment I see the continuation of the story. It's pretty sad, considering how first two seasons' premiers were managed to do it without even trying.
I'll start with good things Orientación had. First of all, I really liked Alex and the way he was portrayed. Since his first appearance I was interested in him as a character. And here he was amazingly written. A man that on purposely rejected his family once again to not bother them any longer, overwhelmed by the things he's done, without his pills that helped him to keep it together somehow, with the only one thing left, - a strong motivation to get out of that place. I felt for him at some point and was grateful he helped Michael by giving advise and then by literally saving his life. Especially because it fit his motivation. The second plus of the episode is a pretty good atmosphere in the scene where Linc came to morgue. And the last, but not least, is once again a well written motivation for characters. As a viewer, I can get why that or another main characters does what he does. And I find it pretty important cause nowadays I'm really tired of characters those motives can't be logically explained.
So, the bad things. The main one is probably the realization that I'm indifferent to the given setup. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good idea to get the show back to its roots but it all just feels extremely repetitive, for some reason. Once again we have a situation where Michael needs to get someone out because someone will die unless he does. I gotta admit, I'm not into it that much. The second thing that dissapointed me was the Sona itself. It looks okay, but I see lack of the dark, hopeless atmosphere from s2 finale. The general idea of dealing with conflicts by having one-on-one fights with only one survivor makes perfect sense. I guess, it can be considered as another good moment from the episode. The more dead people you have, the more supplies you have for the others. But... I didn't really liked the execution that much. I can't point my finger on what exactly feels off, but it all was a bit undewhelming. Same actually goes for framing Michael thing to get him killed. It makes sense from characters' perspective, but it was executed kinda poorly. The writers seemingly tried to have the same slow pace and introduction to this prison, as they had with Fox River, but it's not even half as good, beginning with setting, ending with prisoners. There were too many scenes in there, it would've been much better if they had given it to other stories, such as Sucre's one, or LJ getting kidnapped. Speaking of the latter.
Third thing, that I disliked, is LJ being in Panama and kidnapped. I just don't really get it how they got to him. The boy was under protection, and I thought that only Linc had a way to contact him. Others just didn't need to. And then, suddenly, without Linc knowing anything, LJ is easily found. The only hope I have is that it'll be explained, but I doubt it. Next, intro. I have nothing against the way it's done, only with the fact that Sara's absence there is too obvious and gives away everything immediately. I just wish they could've kept the one from season 2 for at least 1 episode or so. I also find new characters unintresting and not at least a little intriguing. They were just there, I guess. For some reason, when new characters, especially new main ones, were introduced in earlier seasons, I wanted to know more about them. Here, I'm just indifferent. Hope those new characters will grow on me, only time will tell.
Overall, it was an episode that didn't make me look forward the moment I see the continuation of the story. It's pretty sad, considering how first two seasons' premiers were managed to do it without even trying.