Reacting to Orphan Black: 101-103
WHO IS TRYING TO KILL THEM AND WHAT IS THIS CLONE STUFF AHHHH!?
The Setup: Miri has seen all available seasons of Orphan Black and is lowkey obsessed. Liz has been interested for a while but has never watched an episode until now! Kris has seen the first season (and will eventually finish) and Marchae has seen everything.
As always, notes after the fact are in italics. Up next: Miri and Marchae react to Issa Rae’s Insecure.
MIRI: Ok, so what did you think about the glory that is Orphan Black??
LIZ: I think I have so MUCH ahead of me (I’ve watched 2.5 episodes as of now)! I also feel like I have more questions than comments, but don’t give into my thirst for spoilers.. I don’t really mean it, but DAMNNNN!
MIRI: Hahahah I will do my best not to give in
LIZ: Felix is amazing and I want to go to his apartment and paint with him
MIRI: because they really unfold the mystery of it all so damn well
Felix!!! ❤️
LIZ: Right, this is an interesting show to REACT to because I know that there is so much MORE!
MIRI: DON’T snap towels at me, Bobby! I had a very traumatic childhood!
LIZ: Maybe I should lay out my main questions to just get them out of my system/
MIRI: Do it
LIZ: 1. Sarah, how are you going to keep up this “pretending to be a cop” thing!? The second hand stress from this.. good grief.
2. WHAT’S UP WITH HER KID? I am mad at her, but I know something redeeming about why she had to leave (I hope) is coming…?
MARCHAE: Liz, you have no idea! She definitely redeems herself in many ways and it gets more screwy as the series goes on. I definitely think giving her a kid also makes her so much more nuanced!!
MIRI: Sarah Manning thrives on stress. Sarah Manning eats stress for breakfast. Sarah Manning also has poor planning skills
MARCHAE: @miri this is perfect!
LIZ: 3. I can’t see her being with that vick the dick.. she makes bad decisions, obviously, but she is smart and strong and to me, that didn’t add up, but I do appreciate his interactions with felix
MARCHAE: I felt the same way for a long time Liz and it is quite incongruent with the character that they create. But I think it definitely shows that strong women can make bad mistakes. I also think that Sarah thinks she wants to be bad… like it’s her default.
MIRI: This is genuinely just the tip of the WHAT’S UP WITH HER KID iceberg in many ways
LIZ: 4. WHO IS TRYING TO KILL THEM? HOW MANY CLONES ARE THERE? AHHHHH!
She clearly has poor planning skills
MIRI: 3) Honestly, that is a slight flaw in the show for me. They don’t make him appealing/charming enough to justify it
LIZ: The shit that Elizabeth Childs was into seems to be pretty sinister.. some dirty cop cover up stuff I suspect?
MIRI: 3a) But Sarah is wicked self-destructive, so that does make some sense on that score
4) HAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHA I’m not telling
LIZ: I feel like the clones and their vastly different personalities (btw.. she deserves ALL the emmys) are so interesting as far as the different types of femininity that one person could end up taking on.. does that make sense?
MARCHAE: **PREACH**
MIRI: Beth is a source of a lot of questions. They actually do an amazing job of spooling that out over a long stretch
That makes total sense!
LIZ: This is hard to comment on, because I KNOW that I don’t know the half of it and I don’t want to GUESS
MIRI: It’s one of my favorite things about the show
It’s inherently feminist by the sheer fact that there are so many different types of women playing significant roles
And Tatiana Mislay does deserve all the Emmys
Thanks, autocorrect
She has one from last season
LIZ: I know she has the one!
MIRI: Just wait, though–you haven’t even seen her being a clone pretending to be another clone that we already know as a character. It’s just incredible
She uses music to get into the headspace of each clone, which I find really interesting
LIZ: Wow!
KRIS: Everyone should read this New York Times piece from a few years ago, The Many Faces of Tatiana Maslany. “Stephen Lynch, the show’s makeup artist, told me that he is often asked what prosthetic piece he uses for a particular clone’s nose. (The answer: none.) Once, Maslany’s mother was on set watching her own daughter and wondered aloud when Tatiana would be back.”
MIRI: They also do some really cool production stuff to differentiate the clones–i.e. they use more expensive makeup on a clone with more money than they do when she’s playing Sarah
LIZ: Yeah, I should’ve done this after watching a full season! That’s amazing.. something I found refreshing (even in the lovely age of tv that we are in now) was that it has strong female characters that are flawed and driving the action (duh) and that it is unapologetically (from day 1) not putting any of them into traditional femininity boxes… even the soccer mom is a gun wielding bad ass and there’s no focus on her domestic role as far as the plot of the show is concerned (so far)
MIRI: There is an official podcast that I recommend for anyone wanting to know more behind the scenes info! (Don’t listen ahead of the episodes you’ve seen though!)
We can talk again after the first season!
Wine Mom Allyson Alison Hendrix! Love her
Her domestic life does come into play later, but it’s in really lovely ways
MARCHAE: I’m sorry Miri, I feel like our friendship has ended… HOW HAVE YOU NOT TOLD ME THERE WAS A PODCAST!!!
MIRI: OH MY GOD I’M SO SORRY MARCHAE PLEASE COME BACK I LOVE YOU
KRIS: I’ve only seen the first season but Alison is probably my favorite, maybe because I identify strongly with uptight characters whom everyone else thinks needs to Goddamn Relax. DON’T RELAX IF IT’S NOT RELAXING, ALISON, YOU DO YOU. I also had my own weird “which Maslany is this” moment when I caught myself thinking, later in the season when Felix and Alison have scenes together, that these actors had more fun chemistry than Felix and Sarah.
LIZ: Sarah’s role as a mother is so gloriously screwed up and we also aren’t concerned AT ALL about her romantic life and there are so many seemingly progressive shows that CAN’T HELP but make a romantic storyline at least a PART of the leading lady’s life!
MIRI: I love that she and Sarah both have fierce/protective love for their children but in SUCH different ways
Very true!
We all know that I am a SUCKER for sibling dynamics and the Sarah/Felix relationship is just killer
LIZ: I love how she slips into different accents. Each clone feels like an actual different person.. I am in awe of that
I agree!
So far, I think I’ve met the detective (right before she killed herself.. but i don’t even buy that), the scientist, the mother, the “whatever sarah is”, and the german (just because I feel like there will be more)
MIRI: Hahahahhaa
Just to get the names out there:
LIZ: Thank you! Hahaha
MIRI: The Detective is Beth, the scientist is Cosima, the mother is Allyson Alison, Sarah is basically a con artist (at least at the moment), and the German is Katya (though she mostly gets referred to as the German)
So you actually have not met one of my favorites yet and I will say nothing more than that at this point
LIZ: I am excited to meet her.
MIRI: I was actually talking with Andrew the other day and he brought up a really interesting point–the pilot is an amazing and effective standalone, but it’s also kind of a three part intro.
The pilot hooks you completely, but you don’t learn about some of the huge building blocks of this world until the second and third eps
It’s really interesting
LIZ: Oh another reaction I had was that these HUGE traumatic things are happening to and around these women, (seeing the german be shot in the head and having to bury her, seeing Beth die.. and more) and they aren’t crumbling and crying with some wine and ice cream (tv sad woman who CANT DEAL trope)but they kind of go into fight mode and become MORE active and bad ass, which I love.
MARCHAE: I actually hadn’t thought about it this way which I say is to the shows credit. We are introduced into this world where being a strong woman (even as an Alison Hendrix who you would assume is docile) is a given. I don’t expect them not to be badassess. I think it’s the set up. We meet Beth who offs herself and then Sarah’s already planning from that moment how to work this from the beginning. So the show assumes we already believe we live in a world where “them females are strong as hell” and strong can be different for each woman. Cosima’s strength is in her mind. Beth’s is physical and strategy, Alison’s is legitimately the personification of craftiness. It is awesome. ( I won’t spoil who has yet to come) but they all offer and personify these areas of feminism that are often overlooked or given a negative connotation when they are assigned to us.
MIRI: I was going to say that Cosima’s strength is also her love, but then I realized that is also true for Sarah. And Alison. And then I dissolved into a puddle of my feelings about Orphan Black.
MIRI: Yes!
LIZ: I agree.. the word clone isn’t used in the pilot at all!
I think not until the 3rd ep maybe?
MIRI: Exactly! Which you forget once you’ve seen it. They really string out the tension beautifully
LIZ: This kind of reaction to trauma is more realistic to me than the wine cry.
MIRI: In the interest of honesty, I have had a few wine cries in my life, but all of them have been related to the crushing existential dread of job searching after grad school, rather than major life traumas
MIRI: Totally! They get shit done when they have to
LIZ: The women I know in my real life get shit done when bad things happen
yesss!
jink
jinx
hahaha
MIRI: And then later on in the run, they are given the chance to fall apart
which is also realistic!
LIZ: Yeah, they need to at some point!
MIRI: Again, through the sheer presence of so many women (and having to work hard to differentiate them!) the show does so much showing of women as different
which is what I think we really need!
LIZ: It’s so hard to focus my brain to stick to the episodes I’ve watched and explore those thoughts because they build the suspense so well that i just want to know more and more!
MIRI: Well, put your questions out there! I won’t answer but they’re a nice reminder of what is revealed when and how well they raise all of those questions
LIZ: The more female driven amazing shows I watch, the more infuriated I get when I see more of the same from other shows (which is not really fair, but when you know that something like this is out there.. it’s so hard to accept stereotypes and weak or sexualized female roles which are still so rampant)
MIRI: It is fair! Keep your anger! Let it fuel you to make more amazing and female driven content!!!!
LIZ: My main question is WHEN IS SARAH GOING TO BE FOUND OUT TO NOT BE A COP AT WORK? Are they like the worst detectives or what? Then…. WHO IS TRYING TO KILL THEM AND WHAT IS THIS CLONE STUFF AHHHH!?
MIRI: It clearly can be done AND BE SUCCESSFUL so there are no more excuses for shitty 5:1 ratios, sorry
Are they bad detectives or is she just a super awesome con woman?!
Seriously, that sequence of her destroying the credit card and learning how to play Beth is amazing in so many ways
LIZ: She kept saying she needed the money mostly because of a domestic issue and her male partner didn’t seem to give a shit about her safety and that really upset me and lead me to believe that he is either so principled that it is his fault or he is bad news bears…that is kind of a question ha
MIRI: Oh Art
LIZ: She’s a good con woman, but she doesn’t know how to talk or act like a cop and she’s stumbled in front of them so many times that I am confused.
MIRI: That is fair
LIZ: I agree about the Beth stuff.. she did study how to be her in that way so watch some damn detective stuff so you know what the lingo is, girl!
MIRI: Hahahahaha
Sarah Manning does not do her due diligence of tv watching
That is a valid criticism
LIZ: She can’t be still
she may have ADHD
I also have questions about the science of cloning
MIRI: I may not have answers but let’s not let that stop us
LIZ: and about how easily felix faked her death and funeral, while being the closest person to her and obviously not sad that she is dead and doing things like taking HER call during HER funeral.. that was hilarious, but how dumb are people!?
MIRI: DO NOT INSULT STEAMPUNK BOB THAT WAY
(was that his name? I feel like I’ve gotten it wrong but the enthusiasm is what should be counted)
MIRI: His name is Rockabilly Bob and I am ashamed to have forgotten it
LIZ: Well, I have questions about how similar each of them are and the whole nature v nurture thing.. am I going to figure out that each of these drastically different ladies have the same core personality flaw that manifests in various ways ORRRRR are we meant to believe (seems like this is more likely right now) that their personalities are a product of their environment and they really are so different and it is creepy that they share the same genetic makeup and have nothing else in common?!!!?!
I am not sure, but AHAHAH about Bob .. so sorry
MIRI: Well my non-answer to that would be look at siblings
Obviously less closely genetically related than clones
But–even growing up in the same house!–can be very different while sharing significant portions of DNA
So every little change changes a lot, is my opinion
LIZ: Also, are any of the clones suffering from anything that is hereditary?
MIRI: I also think gene expression is a factor–even two genetically identical people will have physical differences because the same genes are not always expressed the same way
LIZ: Also, do you think the show is making any statements about anything I’ve grabbed onto from these first episodes, whether that is femininity, nurture v nature, family, crime, or literally anything?
MIRI: You see that with identical twins who have physical differences
Oh! Identical twins are a much better illustration of my earlier point
Same DNA, different people
LIZ: Yeah environmental factors can cause genes to mutate faster (if at all)
WE ARE SUCH SCIENTISTS RIGHT NOW
MIRI: SCIENCE, BITCHES
I definitely think the show is making statements
I will not comment on what they are yet
I will say that sometimes they find the statements as they go
LIZ: here to save the world with pure conjecture and a lot of blind confidence (that is the rest of the song.. SCIENCE BITCHES)
I have a lot to do today… but I must keep watching.. honestly, I’m shocked that i am not halfway through season 3 right now with my binging practices
I knew I saved this show (which I knew I’d love because I trust my friends and their tastes) for a great reason haha
MIRI: My favorite example of finding the meaning as they go is a clone you see in passing in one season and do not meet until the next season. She was designed as kind of a joke–how totally crazy a version of Tat can we put together–and then they took that very one dimensional person and went deeper to find a genuine character beneath her. It wasn’t necessary and it really works
Yay for the right show at the right time!
LIZ: Ooo I am so excited
is that your favorite character?
or is that just another
MIRI: Nope!
LIZ: how many clones are there?
MIRI: Although I do adore her
NOT TELLING
LIZ: ha
MIRI: Also i don’t think I know definitively yet
LIZ: This show must be a bitch to edit and to make in general, but I SO appreciate the efforts
MIRI: Yes!
Omg can we talk about the scenes with more than one clone in them
MARCHAE: Liz there is a great video out there where they show how they edit with TM dancing and they edit each one in and out of the scene :) it’s a delight.
KRIS: Here it is! There may be a mild to moderate spoiler in this about character allegiances but there’s no dialogue so I’ll leave it to Miri and Marchae to decide if Lemon can watch it (I haven’t seen this season).
MIRI: LEMON IS NOT ALLOWED TO WATCH IT, nor is anyone else who hasn’t seen OB yet. The relationships between some of the characters change pretty drastically between first meeting and this, and they play that change out so beautifully that I don’t want it ruined for anyone. Come back later! The video will still be here!
LIZ: of course!
MIRI: because the more you learn about how they actually do it the more in awe you will be
So there is an actress named Lexi Kathryn Alexandre
MIRI: Did I genuinely not question thinking that someone had named their child Lexi Alexandre? That is a comic book villain’s name.
KRIS: Actually I assumed you were thinking of Lexi Alexander, the director of Punisher War Zone and a few episodes of superhero TV.
MIRI: Oh no (pronounce that in your head like Phoebe on Friends for full effect). Now I am both forgetful and a little mean to Lexi Alexander/her parents. And of course you’re right.
And she is the primary stand in
So she acts as all of the clones too
KRIS: Here’s a profile of Kathryn Alexandre in Variety! (photo by Chris Woods for Variety)
LIZ: wow
MIRI: She and Tatiana Maslany have to sync their performances to such an insane level
And of course there are other stand ins for multi clone scenes
but basically they both act both parts of the scenes
LIZ: 😱
MIRI: and in different takes the camera (with a preprogrammed set of shots/moves) records both
LIZ: Does the other actress appear on the show? Imagine being an actress and never being seen but doing all that work!
MIRI: And then they digitally combine different shots
Yes! She has a small role later on
LIZ: continuity is a bitch when filming something super basic
their team is probably so good
MIRI: But the bulk of her work in never actually seen
LIZ: I always look at the makeup when I watch stuff (sorry, but can’t help it) and I am in awe of how that is used to create character and personality (or to enhance it at least)
KRIS: Liz’s version of Marchae’s self-censoring is unnecessary apologizing.
MIRI: Tatiana Maslany brings that up in a lot of interviews–it is way more than just her own (INCREDIBLE) work
YEs!
LIZ: thats very nice of her
MIRI: They do such cool things with makeup and making it particular to the clones
Without it becoming cartoonish
LIZ: I’ve seen Tatiana be interviewed a lot and I really liked her before I ever watched
MIRI: She’s super charming
MARCHAE: Fast Fact about Marchae: She really REALLY wants to write a script for Tatiana because she is easily one of the best actresses of our time.
KRIS: I am not disputing that Tatiana Maslany is very very great, but I want to suggest that many more actresses have the ability to do what she does – Jessica Chastain is a different person in every movie, Keri Russell was Felicity and a pie baker/waitress before she was a stone cold KGB officer, Aubrey Plaza has gone from being an adorably sullen intern on Parks and Rec to being a TERRIFYING FORCE OF NATURE on Legion – and the problem is that the VAST majority of actresses aren’t given the opportunity to show their range. Maslany is up there with all of them, but she’s also (and I’m sure she’d be the first to say this) tremendously lucky that this has been her breakout show, because now she can’t be typecast.
LIZ: I want someone to come to my house so I can do 5 looks on them right now hahaha
yeah it is NOT cartoonish
MARCHAE: Pick me… Choose me…
KRIS: Lemon (yes we call her Lemon, we’re super original like that, but also it fits we swear), you also have several actor friends and acquaintances, some with quite excellent cheekbones, who might not hate having a little portfolio of radically different looks.
MIRI: Come to LA and make me beautiful
LIZ: I think that the wrong actress could’ve made this show horrible (since she is like a billion people in it..that is obvious, but girl had it going on since the PILOT)
I’m not convinced that people aren’t being cloned somewhere for real btw
you are already beautiful!
MIRI: Completely! You can see her improve later as she settles into all of this insanity, but honestly she is KILLING IT from the first sequence
OH let’s talk about that opening sequence
Thoughts before I excitedly monologue?
I genuinely think it is one of the best opening sequences I’ve ever seen. And (according to the creators) it was pretty much set from the beginning
LIZ: no go ahead!
MIRI: They started with that idea–a woman waking up on a train, going down onto the platform, and seeing an identical stranger kill herself
And it’s just perfect. You know so much about Sarah by the end of it, even if you have next to no details on her life
LIZ: I have like no negative or nit picky or annoyed thoughts about this show (compared to how I feel about so many things I watch) which is a statement of some sort I’m sure, but go on!
MIRI: hahahaha you will eventually question some things
LIZ: Yeah I agree that Sarah is a defined character within seconds of first seeing her!
MIRI: But overall, it’s incredible work and I just adore it
This is making me want to rewatch the entire run in preparation for next season
LIZ: Yeah I have questions and there are some things that are a stretch!
Ha
MIRI: I think they do a phenomenal job of creating little, significant moments/choices. Like, I’m so curious as to why Beth takes off and folds her jacket before her suicide. I don’t know if there’s anything we’re supposed to glean from it but it’s so specific and personal
Ok, what else is a stretch to you so far?
LIZ: Beth seems like a neat, organized, and meticulous person so maybe that is just a nod to that
MIRI: totally could be
LIZ: Her being a detective and the fact that anyone bought that funeral hahaha i guess those are the biggest stretches for me in a show about clones and a conspiracy to murder them all
Is her boyfriend, Paul, gone forever?
MIRI: I just like that it’s a small,r realistic detail that is there because she’s a person who would do that, not because the plot demanded it
hahahahahah
LIZ: YES!
MIRI: Paul is not gone forever
he will eventually give birth to an amazing meme, which I will link here for people who have already seen all the episodes. You should not click on it if you haven’t. SPOILERS
LIZ: Ok haha although I have enjoyed some shows with spoilers in mind (like the sopranos, Lost, and probably a lot more)
MIRI: Nope, I forbid it in this case
LIZ: ok
I WILL LISTEN
MIRI: THANK YOU
LIZ: Crying doggies are going to have to go out soon.. the whining is increasing in volume and frequency!
They have zero respect
MIRI: Hahahah how dare they
Ok, a few quick things:
Do you have a favorite character yet?
LIZ: Yes ask me things and tell me things
Felix
but as far as the clones, I adore the one with the glasses (scientist)
MIRI: Cosima
***Marchae’s comment below the photo has minor SPOILERS proceed at your own risk!!!****
MARCHAE: Cosima is so REMARKABLE and I love her relationship so much. And it is great that she falls in love with Delphine adding yet another layer to these remarkable female character and them doing whatever the F*** they want with their lives!
KRIS: I remember being deeply frustrated with Sarah more than once (in the one season I’ve seen) but never more so than when she disagreed with Cosima about something science-y.
LIZ: amazing name
MIRI: Do you have any theories about who is hunting them or why?
LIZ: zilch
MIRI: (Yeah, Cos is awesome!)
LIZ: why.. bc its illegal and they could be caught bc the clones are so spread out and have real lives and are smart/ found out about each other
MIRI: Not a question, but I want to put it out there that I miss Sarah’s Peak Punk look
LIZ: so whoever made them i think is trying to do it
MIRI: How many clones do you think you will meet this season?
LIZ: like 10? but i am sure there are a lot more
MIRI: Ok, do you have any final comments/thoughts/questions/exclamations?
LIZ: I should point out that in the notes app, I was jotting down a few things while I watched the pilot and one of them is “VICK IS A BUTTHOLE”
MIRI: Accurate
LIZ: umm I just have so many questions, but in an excited way, not in an annoyed way
MIRI: That’s good!
LIZ: Like i am pumped to figure it out and for once, I don’t know pretty much how the show is going to unfold (Aaron is always laughing at my ability to ruin shows by saying.. well clearly they are going to do this this and this)
MIRI: #filmschoolproblems
LIZ: Final comments are that I want to do this again when I am in much deeper so I can laugh at myself now for knowing SOO LITTLE
MIRI: Yes!!! We definitely should
LIZ: I do love it and I am here for it and I thank you for having me watch (or inspiring me to watch sooner than I may have on my own)
MIRI: Yay!
LIZ: ❤️
Anything else from your end that I should know or that you thought when you first watched?
MIRI: Oh I binged the hell out of the first two seasons in like a weekend the first time I watched. No coherent thoughts survived
LIZ: hahaha
MIRI: It was really interesting to go back and watch and remember just how long it takes to learn some of the basic facts of the universe
Basically, it’s one of those shows that does an amazing job of taking the viewer on the same(ish) journey as the characters–you’re only going to get in deeper as more shit reveals itself.
LIZ: so it must get really detailed and much bigger!
I can’t wait
We all hope to check back in with Liz when she makes it further in the season. And maybe Miri and Marchae will have some season 5 premiere reactions.