Orphan Black Season 2 (1 Viewer)

[joshEH]

This is all I could think of while watching last night's episode:

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tonight's episode was probably my favorite of the season. Every single storyline was firing on all cylinders, and speaking to something deep about that character's life.Anybody who says that Tatiana Maslany is just a gimmick actress needs to watch the scene where Kira is having her bone marrow removed. God, the maternal anguish on Sarah's face, especially knowing that she brought this about, is absolutely heart wrenching. Sarah's maternal feeling is like a live wire, it just cuts right through the TV screen to the audience. And then that's reflected in Mrs. S, who was more of a mother to Kira than Sarah was for years at a time, and for all intents and purposes is Sarah's mother. And yet there's a coldness to Mrs. S that isn't there with Sarah. Everything with Mrs. S is filtered through years of hard calculation, and with what Sarah feels there's just no filtering. It's all there on her face.And then there's Helena, who has basically completed her journey from villain to bona fide antihero. I love the evolving dynamic between her and Gracie, where Gracie starts out despising Helena's very existence, and comes to trust her more than her own flesh and blood. And Helena's own fractured maternal instinct, first defending the girl at the nursery from the twofaced midwife (played by Maslany's body double for the show!) and then later putting it all on the line for Gracie."Haven't you been listening to anything my father's been telling you?""Not really."The final shot of Helena's storyline this week, with her posed on top of the hill with the tank of frozen embryos while the Neoprolethean compound burns in the background, was basically a Batman perched over the city shot.And after pushing Donnie deep into stupid territory in recent weeks, we get a glimpse of the man who could pull off this elaborate deception all of these years. Everything from him taking down Vic the Dick to his confrontation with Art Bell's old partner in the van was just expertly handled. And then, just as Alison and him have put the final touches on their concrete work, we get a glimpse of why they got married in the first place. "The freezer!"And man, Cosima's just so good. A good, selfless person. If I have one criticism of this season, it's that she's too often been objectified as the victim, the standard trope of being seen as the disease and not as the person with the disease. She's lacked some of the agency she had in the first season. But every time someone is asked to make a sacrifice for her well being, she doesn't expect it. She respects the validity of their choices, and doesn't see her survival as more important than that. Most of these characters operate somewhere on the gray spectrum, but she's as close as the show gets to being a white hat.Finally, Rachel commits the unforgivable act. And because she's Rachel, her impersonation is perfect. She shatters this family, because Sarah will blame Mrs. S and Mrs. S will blame Sarah. But what makes the act most unforgivable is that Rachel is doing to Kira what Leekie did to her. He ruined her life. On some level, she knows that. And now she's doing the same thing to Kira. How do you redeem that?

 

[joshEH]

Helena is now and always will be my favorite clone. If cheering her killing Henrik is wrong, I don't want to be right. Helena saying, "Do I look like I'm trying to be funny?" with the pipe in her mouth was brilliant.

(I would like to think that the dude who does the voice of Ghost Face in the Scream movies would be impressed by the way Tatiana said "Gut you like a fish.")

Everything with Alison and Donnie hiding Leekie's body was more twisted fun. Now, I actually like Donnie. Before, I thought he was a schmuck, and I couldn't wait to see Alison kick him to the curb.

Now that I see that he actually does love Alison, and has manned-up in protecting her, I like him. His "Have a shitty day" was priceless. Alison wanting to get backdoor-beauty nasty over the freezer was even better.

 

[joshEH]

But what makes the act most unforgivable is that Rachel is doing to Kira what Leekie did to her. He ruined her life. On some level, she knows that. And now she's doing the same thing to Kira. How do you redeem that?

Speaking of which, Kira reminds me more and more of Clint Howard every time I see her. (She does have that crazy forehead.)

 

[TravisR]

Anybody who says that Tatiana Maslany is just a gimmick actress needs to watch the scene where Kira is having her bone marrow removed. God, the maternal anguish on Sarah's face, especially knowing that she brought this about, is absolutely heart wrenching. Sarah's maternal feeling is like a live wire, it just cuts right through the TV screen to the audience.

I buy Sarah's response to the bone marrow situation but at the same time, I find it kinda messed up that she would have to have a crisis over what to do. I don't have children and I understand that Sarah would do anything to protect Kira but removing bone marrow, while hardly pleasant, seems like a small price to pay to let another person- let alone her own sister- live.

If cheering her killing Henrik is wrong, I don't want to be right.

During that scene, I wondered where exactly was she putting that insemination tool. I guess there's no happy answer to that question.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

During that scene, I wondered where exactly was she putting that insemination tool. I guess there's no happy answer to that question.

I had both the exact same thought, and the exact same conclusion. At that moment I was very grateful this wasn't one of those HBO shows where they might actually have showed the answer.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Tatiana Maslany won Best Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics' Choice Awards

 

[TravisR]

Tatiana Maslany won Best Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics' Choice Awards

And the Emmys say "Who?"

 

[Hanson]

Even worse - this is the second year in a row she's won. Still won't get an Emmy nom.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Very strong finale. I really liked that it was almost karmic in its consequences: With one very notable exception, the characters that did good had good things happen to them, while the characters who did bad had bad things happen to them.I loved the opening scene, where you see Sarah and Mrs. S just full bore at each other's throats in the background, as Felix is wrought with guilt in the foreground because he didn't know it was Rachel impersonating Sarah until it was too late. And then Sarah going from screaming at Mrs. S to crying in her arms after realizing that, whatever else Mrs. S is up to, she has always put Kira first and foremost. I love that dysfunctional mother/daughter relationship where there is so much love but also so much emotional scar tissue.The reunion scene with all of the surviving clones (except Rachel), in addition to being a technical marvel, I found surprisingly moving. When Helena got introduced to all of her "sistras", I actually choked up a little.The reveal about Project Castor is actually the other shoe I've been waiting to drop for a long time now. It'll be interesting to see if Ari Millen is up to the challenge; by making the male clones a military project, it lessens the burden somewhat since most of the clones will presumably have had roughly the same upbringing.I wonder if Henrik knew that Mark Rollins was a clone too; if so, maybe it was Rollins's sperm that was used to fertilize Helena's eggs, and perhaps the child Gracie is carrying is actually the first natural child of two artifically created clones.When they introduced Charlotte, I could see that it was the same actress who played young Rachel in the home movies, but I wasn't sure if she was a later generation clone, or if she was Marion Bowles's biological daughter. Because if that latter was the case, it would make Bowles the genetic source. While Charlotte does appear to be a later generation clone, I'm not yet convinced that Bowles isn't the genetic source for the female clones.My guess is that Rachel will be back next season wearing an eye patch. Loved that Ethan Duncan got to go out on his own terms, and moved all of the pieces in exactly the right way for the most moral outcome. I loved that just when hope seemed lost for Cosima, salvation arrived scrawled in a beat up old copy of The Island of Dr. Moreau.Most of all, I loved how the pieces were carefully laid for all of these climactic moments, so I never felt like there was any handwaving going on by the writers.The one exception for the general theme of karmic balance: Helena getting kidnapped by Paul and Project Castor. But knowing Helena as we do, I'm really just feeling sorry for Project Castor at this point.Can't wait to see what Season 3 brings next year.

 

[mattCR]

Loved it.

If you haven't seen this, here's a link to BBCA's breakdown of how they did the Clone Dance scene.

http://www.bbcamerica.com/orphan-black/videos/extended-clone-dance-party/

 

[joshEH]

Next seasons needs less conspiracies-within-conspiracies and more CLONEDANCEPARTYTIMES and A-Team constructo-montages that result in cool shit happening to bad people.

And a big boo-hiss to blackbagging Helena away again, though what the hell was shit doing to that liquid-nitrogen cylinder before she sneaked out? I can't buy for a second that she's still in ALL INFERIOR CLONES MUST DIE-mode, or would do anything that might backfire and get Kira hurt, but it definitely looked like she was doing something, there.

(Oh, and nice to see Michelle Forbes not play a straight-up bad guy for a change.)

 

[TravisR]

(Oh, and nice to see Michelle Forbes not play a straight-up bad guy for a change.)

I've probably seen Forbes as a good/regular guy in more things than the baddie but the times that she was the bad guy were so indelible that I was positive that she was bad the second she came onscreen on this show. Then again, I'm positive that everyone on this show is the bad guy. Maybe I trust the clones. MAYBE.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

And a big boo-hiss to blackbagging Helena away again, though what the hell was shit doing to that liquid-nitrogen cylinder before she sneaked out? I can't buy for a second that she's still in ALL INFERIOR CLONES MUST DIE-mode, or would do anything that might backfire and get Kira hurt, but it definitely looked like she was doing something, there.

She took that from the Neoprolethean compound before she burned it to the ground. The implication is that it contains either her frozen extracted eggs, or the frozen fertilized embryos. Either way, it seems she left them in the safekeeping of her "sisters".

 

[joshEH]

With two scenes, the show made me do a complete 180 on Rachel. Her reaction to Duncan's suicide showed depth. Watching her break down made me briefly think she wasn't all bad. Maybe she wasn't really the villain of the show. That ended when she destroyed the stem cells.

I'm not saying she deserved a pencil through the eye, I just don't feel bad for her. I'm sure she'll make wearing an eye-patch look sexy, though.

 

[KevinGress]

I wonder if Henrik knew that Mark Rollins was a clone too; if so, maybe it was Rollins's sperm that was used to fertilize Helena's eggs, and perhaps the child Gracie is carrying is actually the first natural child of two artifically created clones.

I don't think so; I thought it came out from Henrik's daughter when she was yelling at Helena that he made her eggs 'whole' - that the babies that Helena and she were carrying were his Rollins called him out on it, at least implying that his daughter carrying his child was twisted. And it would make the whole scene with Helena in a wedding dress understandable; he 'married' her to make their children legitimate.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Officially renewed for Season 3

 

[Stan]

Is season two available online anywhere? I had it stored on the DVR, (I like to watch some shows in batches of 4-5 episodes at a time), but had a new HD receiver installed, so lost all my old recordings. Checked BBC America, which links to Dish Anywhere, however can't seem to find it. Season one is available, but only finding short clips from season two.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Is season two available online anywhere? I had it stored on the DVR, (I like to watch some shows in batches of 4-5 episodes at a time), but had a new HD receiver installed, so lost all my old recordings. Checked BBC America, which links to Dish Anywhere, however can't seem to find it. Season one is available, but only finding short clips from season two.

Not to my knowledge, Stan, but it's coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray this coming Tuesday. So if you don't mind spending $20, you can watch the whole season in better than broadcast quality.

 

[Hanson]

Even worse - this is the second year in a row she's won. Still won't get an Emmy nom.

Called it.