I Just Read About That…

[BINGED: June 15-24, 2014] Orphan Black

Last year when Orphan Black came out, we taped a bunch of episodes, but it aired at an awkward time in our viewing schedule.  We watched the first episode but we picked a bad night (for me) to watch it because I dozed off and didn’t get absorbed in it.  Then the Tivo deleted an episode or two and that was the end of that.

As Season 2 was amping up, the press about the show was a little ridiculous, but everything made the show sound so good that we decided to give it a try again.  Of course, it started before the Fall season shows ended, but SyFy kindly aired a marathon of Season 1.  By the time we had time to watch it, we had 17 episodes in our queue.  And that was an awesome way to watch this show–no delays between episodes, just one show a night until we were totally hooked.

Sure, some of the details of the show are confusing and sure there’s some weird sciencey mumbo-jumbo, but when the characters are this intriguing, and the actual story grows more compelling, you can forgive confusion (especially since a surprising number of those questions were answered in the Season 2 finale).  The acting is superb and each clone’s storyline is detailed and rich.  Even the characters that were despicable have become enjoyable (how many murderers are we going to root for on this show?).

We love Allison and her husband Donny–she started as a stuffy, boring soccer mom, and has turned into one of the best sources of comic relief on the show.  Cosima began as a science nerd, and while she has had the least to do lately (what with being ill), her character is a source of most of the show’s warmth.  Helena has rapidly become my favorite character on the show (not bad for a psychopath, yeah?).  Rachel was never going to be a fan favorite, but the depth of her character was impressive (even if there is so much we don’t know about her).

Felix is always a delight.  Cal, who could do double duty as an Eddie Vedder stand in, brings a nice grounding to the show even if he still something of a mystery.  I even liked the way Grace played in so many subtleties without ever really changing her expression.  I still find Kira to be an unsettling-looking child, but I give her a lot of credit for working with all of these different versions of the same actress.  And Dr Leaky is played by Max Headroom!  Is he good?  Is he bad?  Does he care?  I’m not sure!  What great casting.

And that leaves Sarah, a deeply flawed character who is all too human and seems to always make decisions that I wouldn’t.  And yet, you can’t help but root for her.

There are dozens of other characters, some compelling, some just frightening, but they all do a great job rounding out this convoluted show.  I do have to wonder why we have never seen the parents of the other characters (or were just told that they were dead or something).

One of the great things about the show is that the main character(s) is a woman, but they never make any fuss about that. She just is, and she/they are varied and complex.  They fight, they cry, they love, and it’s normal.  Because it is normal, it’s just not normal for television and movies (especially movies).

There have been dozens and dozens of articles written about this show and about Tatiana Maslany’s acting.  So I won’t say much about it except to say that I often forget that I am looking at the same actress.  And while accent and makeup clearly have something to do with it, it’s the way Maslany inhabits each character so differently that really makes the show work (the spectacular special effects sure help).

There were so many episodes which left us exhausted, practically wrung out.  And while the Season 2 finale didn’t do that, it answered many questions and raised many more.  The only bad thing is that Season 3 won’t be coming out until lord only knows when.

See you next season sestra brothers.

Enjoy an extended Clone dance here.