God's Chillin' (Season 1, Episode 3)

This has to be the most reprehensibly named of all the OZ episodes, if for no other reason than that it forces Augustus Hill into dialect for some of the narration.

This episode is a series of confessional, both in the traditional sense and not. The main storyline is of Jefferson Keane, who continues to turn away from the gang and eventually toward Islam. Keane undergoes a complete breakdown and rebirth through the aid of Kareem Said. It's a real rollercoaster of an episode for Keane (and shows off acting chops we weren't aware that Leon had). He's so disillusioned that he starts to act strangely, setting fire to his mattress and refusing newcomer Kenny Wangler into the gang. After he is confronted by Said, Keane finally admits his feelings of spiritual bankruptcy.



What follows is Keane learning to be a Muslim and to let joy back into his life. His happiness if short-lived, though, as he runs afoul of the most dangerous man in prison, Ryan O'Reilly. Keane encourages O'Reilly to confess his involvement with the death of Dino Ortolani. For this, O'Reilly tells the Italians that Keane killed Dino, and offers to take care of Keane as a "sign of good faith". He arranges with the hacks for Keane to be alone in the gym with two murderous members of the Latino gang, and rather than die, Keane kills one of his foes and ends up on Death Row.

Near the end of Keane's odyssey, we finally meet Governor James Devlin in person. Devlin, played perfectly by Zelijko Ivanek, is one of the most fun characters on OZ, mainly because he is so evil. He's a non-violent O'Reilly, who lies and manipulates to get what he wants. In this episode, Devlin appears at the prison to give a press conference, and to warn the staff that Keane will be the first person executed now that the death penalty is back.

"The Routine" (Season 1, Episode 1)

The first episode of OZ is striking for its uniqueness, both good and bad. For 1997*, its frank depiction of casual violence and brutal prison sex is incredibly brave and, as the first hour-long drama produced by HBO, it's foreshadowing the violence of later fare, like the business-like killing of The Sopranos, and the eye-popping vengeance of Deadwood.

But much of OZ's original ambition is its downfall. The first episode, and the first season in particular, suffer from too much liberalism, not only in the overly self-righteous narration, the ridiculous extremes of Tobias Beecher's story (which lasts through all 56 episodes), and the horrific camera work. It's as if the producers were afraid of never getting past the pilot, and shoved as much as they could into one hour.