Orphan Black Season 3 (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

Was that Sarah Silverman voicing the scorpion? Or has Maslany gotten talented enough that she can now literally change her body into a bug?

Yeah, I was just thinking about this the other day myself, and how there's probably only so far they can go with the premise (similar to Breaking Bad and BSG).


Five seasons sounds just about right; they still have two seasons left to plan an appropriate ending, and can fine-tune accordingly without having to artificially pad the storyline just for the sake of keeping it going.


Lately, 4-5 seasons has become the "new" 7-8 seasons for dramas, which is as it should be, I think.

Yeah, I think I said something similar in the Better Call Saul thread but when you have show where a powerful group is closing in on the heroes, it's tough to keep it going believably for more than 5 years. If they can do it, great but at a certain point, they can't keep outsmarting massively powerful opponents without probably getting killed.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The premiere was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On one hand, the premiere essentially introduced a new problem and resolved it, so we're not any further along in our macroplot than we were before the episode.

On other hand, this premiere had to make the people wanting to see the Leda clones back all working together toward a common goal happy. And the real treat for me was seeing Sarah back in full-on grifter mode. She used to deceive people to survive, and seeing her weigh each thing she said while carrying on more or less flawlessly as Rachel -- but somehow still not feeling like Rachel -- was a sight to behold.

I also liked how the fallout from Mrs. S selling out Helena was handled. It feels like I've watched a lot of shows lately where secrets are allowed to fester unnecessarily, so that they can come out at the worst possible time. That being the case, I was happy to see Mrs. S be straight with Sarah right away even though she knew it might mean losing her. And I liked that Felix, who does not share Sarah's bond with Helena, immediately understood why Mrs. S did what she did. And then endeavored to make Sarah understand it too.

And we did finally get an answer on what Helsinki was. I wonder how many cells are/have been out there, and if they all look like Leda and Castor or if every cell had its own genetic source.

Was that Sarah Silverman voicing the scorpion? Or has Maslany gotten talented enough that she can now literally change her body into a bug?

It sounded like Tatiana Maslany to me. Sort of like what Cosima would sound like after a few decades of heavy smoking. Given all of the abuse and confinement Helena's endured over the years, the scorpion's probably one of her coping mechanisms. And that being the case it would make sense that the voice was a reflection of her.

 

[TravisR]

It sounded like Tatiana Maslany to me. Sort of like what Cosima would sound like after a few decades of heavy smoking. Given all of the abuse and confinement Helena's endured over the years, the scorpion's probably one of her coping mechanisms. And that being the case it would make sense that the voice was a reflection of her.

Tatiana Maslany certainly makes sense to be the voice but for some reason, it sounded like Sarah Silverman to me. I guess either Maslany can do even more voices than I give her credit for, Silverman's a fan or I'm nuts. All three seem like reasonable explanations.

 

[DaveF]

Is only the premiere showing on AMC, but not the whole season? We watched the premiere. Loved it. Noticed the TiVo didn't have next week's in the queue...

Now my wife's mad at me. The cats are hissing at me. The weather is getting cold and rainy.

I need Orphan Black 3, but I don't have BBC!

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Is only the premiere showing on AMC, but not the whole season? We watched the premiere. Loved it. Noticed the TiVo didn't have next week's in the queue...

Now my wife's mad at me. The cats are hissing at me. The weather is getting cold and rainy.

I need Orphan Black 3, but I don't have BBC! >

BBC America is a joint venture between AMC and BBC Worldwide. To promote the show, the "Orphan Black" premiere was simulcast on all AMC networks (AMC, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and WE). The remainder of the season will air on BBC America only. I'm surprised AMC didn't have a tag at the end telling viewers to call their cable companies and request that BBC America be added to their lineups.

Here in Albany on Time Warner Cable, BBC America isn't available on the Standard tier but is available on the next tier up, the extended standard or whatever. I got on this tier a while back as part of a promotional offer and have stuck with it mainly for BBC America.

 

[DaveF]

We're now scheming how to get our Orphan Black fix. May have to crash friends' house on Saturday nights.

 

[joshEH]

"...Oh hey, it’s Delphine. God, she looks good."


"You have a cleaner named 'Ferdinand'?"


"Do you remember our safe-word?" "No."



Oh my god, the Helena fantasy-sequence. My favorite things from that (though I loved every single detail of it) were:


1. Helena's fantasy-sisters encouraging her to eat like a pig;

2. Her fantasy-perfect blonde hair -- no roots!

3. Felix dressed like a preppie suburban dad, and barbecuing, no less; and:
4. Cosima's hysterical Ukrainian folk-costume.



It is scientific fact that by his mere presence, James Frain automatically improves everything a minimum of 18%. (I may or may not have yelled "yes!" out loud when he turned around, and I saw who it was.)


Loved how Donnie seemed so gleeful at the prospect of destroying the real-estate agent. Alison on the campaign trail is going to be utterly glorious to behold.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The second episode will be titled "Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis", so it looks like the episode titles are, in addition to being all Eisenhower quotes, all taken from his Farewell Address to the Nation:

Episode 1: "We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Episode 2: "We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method. Unhappily the danger it poses promises to be of indefinite duration. To meet it successfully, there is called for, not so much the emotional and transitory sacrifices of crisis, but rather those which enable us to carry forward steadily, surely, and without complaint the burdens of a prolonged and complex struggle – with liberty the stake. Only thus shall we remain, despite every provocation, on our charted course toward permanent peace and human betterment."

It is scientific fact that by his mere presence, James Frain automatically improves everything a minimum of 18%. (I may or may not have yelled "yes!" out loud when he turned around, and I saw who it was.)

The one exception that makes the rule: NBC's "The Cape"

 

[joshEH]

" 'SUP -- Donnie Hendrix."


Moments later:


"Don't doubt our stones...we have ample stones."

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Well the show continues to pile on more elements when I think it needs to pare back and become more focused.


As much as I enjoy Sarah and Donnie - a season long arc about running for a school board is not enticing.


And they really need to give Felix something to do besides throwing out zingers.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I really enjoyed this episode. Things are really revving up now, and we're starting to get an idea of where the season is heading.

Well the show continues to pile on more elements when I think it needs to pare back and become more focused.

I actually thought that was the business of this episode. Much more so than Season 2, we've got a pretty clear idea of what everybody's intentions are. Castor is trying to track down the original genome, Sarah is trying to rescue Helena, Cosima is trying to cure her illness, and Dyad is trying to weather the storm.

Given Michiel Huisman's limited availability, I was really worried they were going to kill Cal off -- first with Paul's home invasion and later when he was caught between the two Castor clones at the bottom of the stairwell in Felix's building. Given how well the character works and given how much chemistry Sarah, Cal and Kira have as a family -- as the floor hockey scene amply demonstrated -- that would have been a real shame. The solution the show came up with kept Cal in play while not requiring him to have a presence in all of the episodes. And given the harrowing scene in which Rudy held Kira at gunpoint, the only responsible decision Sarah could have made as a mother is to get Kira as far away from this calamity as possible. Sending Cal and Kira to Iceland effectively takes two important pieces off the board and refocuses the show on the Leda sisterhood, which has been a little dispersed since Sarah regained custody of Kira.

Lots of great character stuff with the original family of Mrs. S, Sarah and Felix too. I really appreciated that in Sarah's goodbye scene with Kira, she never denigrated Mrs. S in front of Kira, even though she's furious at the woman. One of the pleasures of the series so far is watching Sarah grow from an irresponsible, self-centered grifter to a responsible adult who is attuned to the needs of others and is able to set her ego aside to accomplish what needs to be accomplished.

As much as I enjoy Sarah and Donnie - a season long arc about running for a school board is not enticing.

I'm always of two minds when it comes to Alison's storylines. On one hand they're a lot of fun and usually provide the most laughs in the episode. Some of the satire of suburban life is absolutely delicious. Every scene is incredibly watchable. On the other hand, they're usually disconnected from everything else going on in the episode and pull you away from the driving force of the narrative. But the idea of Alison and Donnie as drug dealers is just too tantalizing to pass up.

And they really need to give Felix something to do besides throwing out zingers.

As underutilized as he sometimes is, I think a storyline just to give him something to do would be worse. If they can organically find something for him to do, great. If not, I'm just happy to have him in the mix.

 

[Parker Clack]

I loved the little bits of Sarah coming through as she tried to portray Rachel. What got me though was how

long it took me to realize that it was Alison portraying Sarah. The looks that the two characters gave each

other while Sarah/Alison was getting grilled by the Dyad people was done so well that you would have

sworn that there were two different actors playing those parts. Brilliant, Brilliant acting by Maslany.


I love the fact that the show is also unpredictable. The writers do a fantastic job of keeping it on the same

road they started, with just a few side tracks along the way.

 

[TravisR]

But the idea of Alison and Donnie as drug dealers is just too tantalizing to pass up.

Yup.

 

[joshEH]

"Stop provoking them. We're never gonna get any mangoes!" That scorpion is a great addition to the cast.


Alison and Donnie taking about what they would do about the body they buried in the garage if they sold the house was hysterical.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Episode 3: "In this revolution, research has become central, it also becomes more formalized, complex, and costly. A steadily increasing share is conducted for, by, or at the direction of, the Federal government."

BBC America Synopsis:

Spoiler

Formalized, Complex, and Costly
Season 3 | Episode 3 | Original Airdate: May 2nd, 2015 | 9:00PM

Leda and Castor are both on the hunt for original clone DNA. On-the-lam, Mark and Gracie pursue new leads to find the samples that might set them free, while Art and Sarah reunite to track them down. Meanwhile, Cosima and Scott try to learn more about Castor’s biology and Alison’s new money-making venture is going gangbusters. A shocking revelation about the Castor-Leda connection leaves the sisters reeling just before Sarah witnesses a deadly Prolethean-Castor face-off.

 

[joshEH]

Spoiler

[...] and Alison’s new money-making venture is going gangbusters.

LOLOLOL. Can't wait.

 

[DaveF]

I'm able to keep watching. I've got friends who are fans and are helping me out.

Three seasons in, I'm still amazed and perplexed at the cold-war-esque maneuvering: jostles, provocations, detente, but rarely outright hostilities. The implication is that there are counter-balancing powers and warring factions that make overt violence too risky (usually). We've now seen some of it with the ousting of Leakey and now Castor. It's weird and interesting. It defies belief in ways, but works, adding tension because there's so much barely submerged danger v

 

[Lou Sytsma]

My interest in the show is waning....

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I'm really enjoying how clean the storylines are this season; we know where everybody stands, and we know more or less why. While there are still a lot of unknowns out there, it's nice that we're caught up with the characters now for the most part.


The reveal that the Castor line and the Leda line are biological siblings was somewhat expected, but still interesting in that it will be sure to muddy the waters on both sides.


If that was it for Mark, his death would represent a further paring down of the rather unwieldy cast of characters. But Mark is the Castor clone that's experienced the most character development and that we've spent the most time with. And the decision to cut to Sarah's vantage point when Gracie's mother fired the (fatal?) shot seems like a very deliberate choice. So there's a chance that Mark is still alive.


Gracie's the real wildcard in this whole thing. On one hand, she seemed to rejoin the fold with the Proletheans, and how did her mother know where to find Mark if Gracie didn't tell her? On the other hand, she hid the biohazard container under the bed. She has a deep-seated revulsion for the "abominations", which makes Mark's lie by omission seem unforgivable to her. And yet Helena is her friend, in a way. And she's carrying Helena's child. It will be interesting to see whose allegiance she honors through this whole thing.


Paul's reference to having to report in to the bosses in Arlington would seem to confirm that Castor is a U.S. military project rather than a Canadian Armed Forces project. Of course, when it comes to geography related to our characters, it's been made deliberately difficult to pin anything specific down.


It's interesting how the show keeps going back to Beth, the clone that introduced Sarah (and us) to this crazy world with her death in the first five minutes of the series premiere. Her absence continues to be felt, especially as Art's admission helps explain his actions over the course of the series.


I wonder how the Dyad doctor got an image of the Castor tattoo?

 

[joshEH]

"Art, can't you just look away?"


"It's a dead body, not a bag of weed."


"...Well, look away, and it too will go up in smoke."