'Orange Is the New Black' season 5 release date, spoilers update: Samira Wiley's take on Poussey's death; Michael Harney back

"Orange Is the New Black" deals with life and death situations, but the climactic death of a favorite character in the series raised one too many questions. Now, Samira Wiley gives her take on the death of the character she portrayed.

The penultimate episode of "Orange Is the New Black" season 4 saw Bayley (Alan Aisenberg) crushing Poussey (Samira Wiley) to death. Many fans of the show were left devastated by this surprising death, and recently, Wiley spoke with Mic.com to express how she felt about her character's passing.

"In the beginning I was shocked, confused," the actress admitted. "There was a lot of people who assumed I asked to leave the show, which is the furthest thing from the truth. It was news to me and I think it really took having to have conversations about the story that they were trying to tell, [the] Black Lives Matter story and realizing that this character that I created could be the vessel for that story. I went from being shocked and confused to really being honored and challenged by the task put in front of me."

Meanwhile, Michael Harney has confirmed that he will reprise his character, Sam Healy, in "Orange Is the New Black" season 5.

Harney considers it a privilege to represent the mentally ill community through his effective portrayal of his character. The actor said he believes the said community needs support, and one way he could call for this support is through the show.

According to Master Herald, Harney's inclusion in season 5 could indicate that Lori Petty, who plays Lolly Whitehill in the series, would be back to reprise her role, too. It would be recalled that Sam and Lolly developed a strong friendship in season 4, something that's expected to flourish in the upcoming installment.

In related news, there is a possibility that Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) and Alex Vause (Laura Prepon) could find themselves back in each other's arms. They faced too many hurdles in their relationship, including a new love for Piper back in season 3. Apparently, Alex could be relying on Piper for strength in the fifth installment after what happened to her in season 4.

"Orange Is the New Black" season 5 is expected to drop in next summer on Netflix. Incidentally, the first four seasons are available to stream now.