Some characters in Litchfield just blend into the background until they suddenly don't. You know the type. For a long time, Leanne Taylor was just "that meth girl" hanging onto Pennsatucky’s every word. She was the muscle for a crazy preacher, the girl with the bad teeth, and half of a chaotic duo with Angie Rice. But if you actually sit down and rewatch, the story of Orange is the New Black Leanne is easily one of the most tragic and deeply weird arcs in the entire seven-season run.
Seriously.
Most people remember the riot or the laundry room antics. They forget the girl who spoke Pennsylvania Dutch and was literally kicked out of a cornfield.
The Amish Backstory Nobody Expected
Flashbacks are the bread and butter of this show. Usually, we get a "bad choice" or a "wrong place at the wrong time" scenario. With Leanne, the writers went somewhere totally different.
She grew up Amish.
Think about that for a second. In Season 3, we finally see her life before the jumpsuit. During her Rumspringa—that period where Amish teens get to taste the "English" world—Leanne didn't just try a burger or watch a movie. She fell headfirst into the meth scene. It’s a wild jump, from horse-and-buggy silence to the frantic energy of a drug den, but it happened.
What makes it heartbreaking isn't just the drugs. It's that she tried to go back. She actually wanted to be Amish again. She hid her stash in a backpack in a cornfield, got baptized, and tried to commit to the quiet life. But the "English" world doesn't let go that easily. The police found that bag. Because Leanne was—honestly, kind of a mess—she left her ID in it.
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The feds gave her a choice: snitch on her friends or go to jail. She snitched. She chose her family over her drug buddies, but in the Amish world, being a "rat" is just as bad as being a "user." Her own community shunned her. Her parents were being punished for her choices. So, she ran.
Why Orange is the New Black Leanne Was the Ultimate Follower
Leanne Taylor is a textbook case of someone who needs a North Star. She can’t function without a leader.
First, it was the Amish church.
Then, it was Pennsatucky and her "miracle" healing.
Then, it was Norma and the silent cult.
When Pennsatucky got her teeth fixed and started acting "civilized," Leanne felt betrayed. She didn't want a friend; she wanted a prophet. That’s why she turned so viciously on Brook Soso. Remember that? The bullying was relentless. Leanne took the "peace and love" of Norma’s group and weaponized it into something ugly.
The Dynamic with Angie
You can’t talk about Leanne without Angie Rice. They’re like a dark, drug-addled version of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Most of the time, they provide the comic relief—snorting nutmeg, making "hooch," or getting into petty arguments about laundry.
But during the Season 5 riot? Things got dark. Fast.
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They found a gun. Suddenly, the two "dumb" girls had all the power. They forced guards to perform a talent show. They acted like children with a loaded weapon, which is basically the most dangerous thing you can have in a prison. It was a weird, uncomfortable shift in tone that showed just how much Litchfield had eroded whatever "good Amish girl" was left in Leanne.
What Really Happened in the Ending?
If you're looking for Leanne in Season 6, you won't find her. After the riot was crushed by the SWAT teams, the inmates were split up. Most of the "main" cast went to Max (Litchfield Maximum Security). The others? They were shipped off to other facilities across the country.
Leanne Taylor ended up at FDC Cleveland.
We don't see her for a long time. It felt like the show just forgot about the "meth heads" once the story shifted to the brutal gang wars in Max. But in the series finale, "Here’s Where We Get Off," we get one last glimpse.
Alex Vause gets transferred to a prison in Ohio. As she’s walking through the new yard, who does she see?
Leanne and Angie.
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They’re still together. They’re still making trouble. They’re seen pulling down the trousers of another inmate, laughing like nothing ever changed. Honestly, it’s a bit of a gut punch. While characters like Taystee are fighting for justice and Piper is trying to navigate the real world, Leanne is stuck in a loop. She’s still the same bully, still the same follower, just in a different yard.
The Reality vs. The Fiction
A lot of fans wondered if the Amish backstory was even remotely real. According to experts like Jeff Bach from the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, the show took some massive liberties.
- The Clothing: Real Amish women from Lancaster wouldn't wear those specific shades of pink or the styles shown.
- The Snitching: While shunning (Meidung) is very real, the idea of the police raiding a baptism ceremony over a backpack in a cornfield is pretty "Hollywood."
- The Language: Emma Myles actually learned some Pennsylvania Dutch for the role, and while it wasn't perfect, it was a cool nod to the character's complexity.
Takeaways from Leanne's Journey
If you're a fan of the show or just researching the characters, Leanne is a reminder that prison doesn't always "fix" people. Sometimes, it just freezes them.
She never found a new identity. She just swapped one cult for another until the walls closed in. If you want to dive deeper into the Litchfield lore, you should definitely check out the Season 3 episode "Where My Dreidel At." It’s the definitive Leanne episode and changes how you see her entire "mean girl" persona.
Next time you watch, pay attention to her teeth. The makeup team spent hours making them look decayed from meth use—it’s a tiny detail that tells her whole story before she even opens her mouth.
To really understand the impact of characters like Leanne, you should look into how the show handles recidivism and the lack of mental health resources for addicts. Her story isn't just about being a "bad person"; it's about a girl who lost her community and never found a way back to herself.