Orphan Black 4x04 Review: "From Instinct to Rational Control" (Goodbyes and Bonjours) [Contributor: Meredith]

“From Instinct to Rational Control”

Original Airdate: May 5, 2016

In my review last week, I mentioned that even when Orphan Black is a bit slow on the plot development and story, the character development and relationship dynamics save it. This was especially true this week, as we learned a few things that will move the plot forward, but really not much happened. Nevertheless, the interactions between the characters (special shout-out to Alison, Donnie, and Felix) and the insights into their psyches still made this a compelling hour of TV, if less so than other episodes.

MYSTERIES SOLVED

This episode was mostly centered around unraveling certain mysteries (we know who MK is! We know what the cheek maggots do — sort of!) while opening the door to new ones (what is even going on at that fertility clinic? Will Rachel prove herself to be an absolutely horrid person after all?), and so it served as yet another filler episode.

With help from a few different places, Sarah discovers MK’s tragic background. She was a Helsinki clone, the only survivor of an attack orchestrated by Ferdinand that killed her twin as well as a whole slew of other clones and their loved ones. This has placed Ferdinand in MK’s crosshairs, as well as made Sarah untrustworthy in her eyes, as the latter is working with Ferdinand. There’s an exceptionally powerful scene with Sarah, MK, and Ferdinand in Beth’s apartment — which seems to end with both MK and Ferdinand falling off our radar — for now.

Meanwhile, Alison is issued a stern reprimand by Sarah, who snaps at her sestra to just pull her weight for once, sending Ali, Donnie, and Felix to a fertility clinic that may be a cover for a neolutionist plot. The best scenes of the episode were absolutely Donnie and Felix in the fertility clinic playing a gay couple trying to conceive, followed closely by Alison and Donnie role-playing phone sex while Donnie attempts to deposit his specimen. Donnie and Alison are the light of the show, and whether it’s Helena, Felix, or anyone else playing opposite them, the result is gold.

Elsewhere, Rachel tells her mother that they mustn’t intervene to help Charlotte recover from her illness, because letting it run its course will teach them more. Is Rachel really so evil to let a child suffer and die? Or is she pulling a long con on mama dearest? And finally, Cosima and Scott sort of discover what the cheek maggots are used for — to implant foreign DNA and gene material into their host’s body. But for why?

THE ALISON EFFECT

I love all the sestras equally. I really do. But over the course of four seasons Alison has, to put it simply, grown on me. She is hilarious and heroic at the same time, all while maintaining her perfect suburban mom/wife persona. I’m really glad she’s being brought more into the fray of the actual clone activities, as she has spent much of her time on the sidelines, pursuing her own endeavors. While that was likely purposeful on the character’s part, it’s a really smart move by the show to move her more into the central storyline at this point. Alison has really developed as a character, and this week proved that she’s a masterful schemer and planner, if nothing else. She’s smart and cunning and thinks on her feet, in a different way than Sarah, and I’m really interested to see where this story goes and how she helps guide it.

Of course, Alison is also great for comedic effect, as demonstrated this week. Her character is perhaps the most unique of all the clones, and I find myself forgetting even more than usual that she, too, is played by the masterful Tatiana Maslany. Each sestra is an individual, of course, but I find Alison the most different from the others. Maybe it’s the bangs? Whatever it is, I can’t wait to see more of Alison.

WHAT SHOULD BE

Okay, show. Give me more Cosima. I know, I know. I just said I’m excited to see more Alison. And I know there are so many sestras and so little time. But Cosima has no story so far! She’s locked in a basement with very little screentime, and very little to do. What about Delphine’s “death”? Why are we not exploring her response to that more fully? Her feelings on her own illness? Her work to discover what’s wrong and how to fix it?

My desire for more Cosima is a bit of a conundrum because I really do love all the sestras and want to see more of all of them. But... I miss Cosima. I feel a bit like her storyline(s) has(ve) been left dangling. I’m hopeful that it will be picked up again as the season progresses, but in the meantime I’ll keep saying it: Give me more Cosima. Give me more Cosima and Scott. Give me more Cosima and Kira. Give me more Cosima and S. Give me more Cosima and her sestras. Please.

Aside from more Cosima, I actually am interested to see how Felix’s sister storyline plays out. I have a bad (intrigued, but foreboding) feeling about his bubbly southern belle bio-sis. I’d like more Sarah and Art, please. I’d love if Kira’s dad could take a little hiatus from dragon-hunting and wooing Khaleesis and maybe make a pit stop in downtown Toronto? That poor kid has been through the wringer, and she misses her pops.

Really though, other than my desire for more Cosima, I’m happy with and intrigued by the groundwork this season is laying down. Can’t wait to see what comes next!

Odds and Ends:

• Fun fact: Aroma Espresso Bar is one of my favorite places in Toronto, and so I giddily tweeted about it while watching the scene filmed there... and then won a free drink to be used when I go home for my summer visit!
• I am ALL FOR Donnie and Felix. What’s their ship name? Delix? Fonnie? I don’t care. More please. 
• Tatiana Maslany is the accent queen. Alison’s French accent was spot-on. This woman needs ALL THE AWARDS NOW. 
• Am I the only one who is totally okay with MK being gone for a bit? I feel strangely protective of the original sestras. They’re the ones whose stories I want to see. 

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Orphan Black 4x03 Review: "The Stigmata of Progress" (Sestra, Sestra) [Contributor: Meredith]

“The Stigmata of Progress”
Original Airdate: April 28, 2016

Orphan Black is so good. So good. And it’s at its absolute best when Tatiana Maslany is showcasing her total brilliance by portraying all of the clone sisters within the span of one episode. And the show goes above and beyond when she gets the chance to showcase Maslany playing one of the sestras pretending to be a different sestra — which happened not just once, but twice this week. So yes. This was a fantastic episode.

PLOTTING THE COURSE

The plot this week centered around discovering just what exactly the tiny robot maggot implanted in Sarah’s cheek is meant for. Yes. That in fact is a sentence I just wrote. S and Art and the dude from the Neolutionist club last week all lend a hand, leading Sarah to a dental practice in downtown Toronto, where a totally-not-trustworthy blonde acts trustworthy. In the end, Ferdinand (remember Ferdinand?) shows up and saves Sarah in the nick of time, because the blonde was definitely not trustworthy. But is Ferdinand trustworthy?

Elsewhere: Alison and Donnie decide to dig up Leekie from their garage because he probably has a maggot in his cheek that Cosima can study. While they are occupied trying not to pass out from dead body fumes, the cops show up to question them about some other deaths, because Alison’s campaign flyer was found at the scene (remember — Helena had something to do with this.) Anyways, Helena in a bathrobe poses as Alison, and Donnie intervenes, but Helena proves she knows way more than we thought about Alison’s campaign. In the end, all seems to be handled, and Alison and Donnie present a thoroughly confused Cosima with a new cheek maggot. Ah, what every girl wants.

To round out the episode, Felix has found his biological sister, and he blows Sarah off in favor of spending time with her. And finally, we see Rachel again. Rachel is raising Charlotte while locked away. She is also working toward recovery with Ira, the only non-militant male clone.

While much of the plot this week seemed to be filler, and is meant as a stepping stone in order to lead us to the next big thing, the pacing was done well, the character beats were hit perfectly, and so the episode felt just as satisfying as any other. Kudos to the cast for ensuring that the characterization is always so strong it almost doesn’t matter what the story of the week is.

SESTRA, SESTRA

The biggest strength for this show is clearly the out of this world performance (or, performances) by Tatiana Maslany. Everyone says this, always, but the viewer constantly forgets they are watching one actress play multiple people. Maslany has nailed the nuances of each clone: the tone and accent of their voice, their facial expressions, body language, personal style, etc. Each woman is so unique and individualized that even when watching two clones together, you never have a moment where you think anything is amiss.

This week had a little bit from pretty much every clone, save for the newly introduced MK. And, as such, Maslany really got to shine. Even better than watching her perfected performances as each sister is watching her play one clone acting as another. This is always fun, and often hilarious. This week we were rewarded with two such occurrences: when arriving at the dental office, Sarah is mistaken for Beth and quickly has to adjust to playing that role, without much context at all; and of course, Helena gets to act as doting wife to Donnie as she pretends to be Alison. Helena pretending to be anyone other than Helena is always entertaining, in a very overt way because these scenes are meant to be comical. But watching the other clones act as one of their sisters is equally as engaging, because the viewer gets to see just how truly astonishing Maslany is.

As I’ve mentioned before, the supporting cast is just as strong as Maslany, whether it’s watching Art try to find his footing with Sarah, S extending her maternal instincts to Cosima, or Donnie playing husband to Helena-as-Alison. Even more impressive is watching the young actress who plays Kira interact with Maslany as the different clones — Sarah is Mommy, but Cosima is Auntie, and the nuanced differences are impressive.

But speaking of Kira, this little girl’s creepy future-seeing abilities are just getting creepier. What’s this about the sisters burning Sarah to death? Uhhh... someone needs to get little Kira to a child psychologist, soon.

COMING UP

So what comes next? This episode laid a lot of foundation. We still don’t know exactly what the cheek maggot is for, or how to get it out. And what exactly is Ferdinand's role in all of this? Furthermore, what about Rachel and Charlotte? Where do they go from here? The police questioning “Alison” seems to have ended all right, but I get the sense this case is not closed. And of course — can we trust Felix’s bubbly Southern belle biological sister? I’m going to go with no, but then... maybe Felix needs to come back to Sarah not because his other family is a bust, but because family isn’t only bound by blood.

There are many threads to tie up, but luckily the season has just started. And it looks like we’re in for a lot of action, relationships, character development, mystery, and fun.

Odds and Ends: 

• Donnie just gets funnier and funnier, and I’m loving this all-in, hands-on committing to the crime persona. Alison is a lucky woman.
• I need more story for Cosima. Right now she’s just locked in a basement, serving as science sidekick for Sarah. Give her more to do. 
• Does anyone else want to set up a playdate for Kira and Charlotte? They both need some kid interaction.
• I want Rachel to end up on the side of the sestras. Stick together, ladies. Nothing good can come from being at odds with each other.
• Can we get some more Hot Paul flashbacks? Please?

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Orphan Black 4x01/4x02 Review: "The Collapse of Nature" & "Transgressive Border Crossing" (Everything Old is New Again) [Contributor: Meredith]"

“The Collapse of Nature” & “Transgressive Border Crossing”

Original Airdates: April 14, 2016 and April 21, 2016

Orphan Black premiered exceptionally strong, with both episode one and episode two returning to a season one feel — and that’s a very, very, very good thing. After our in-depth look at who Beth Childs was in the premiere, the second episode brought us back to all of our favorite sestras, and set the ball rolling for an action-packed season.

BACK IN TIME

The entire premiere, save for the last 30 seconds or so, was actually a flashback to the days leading up to Beth Childs’ suicide (the very thing that set the entire series in motion). This was a welcome flashback for a number of reasons. Not only did it give us a chance to say hello again to Hot Paul (Dylan Bruce), but it allowed us to learn about another one of the clones without actually introducing a new clone — yet.

We never really did get to know Beth beyond what we learned while Sarah pretended to be her. On top of that, the link between what Beth was investigation before her death and what the big mystery for this season will be ties the whole series together really nicely, bringing the clone drama back to the forefront and letting the show and the characters do what they do best. Pre-series Beth was to the clone sestras what current Sarah is — the glue binding them, the leader guiding them, and the key to it all, it would seem. And we learn that, despite appearances, Beth was just as messed up as Sarah is, albeit in different ways.

Other pluses from this flashback episode: more Art! I love Art, and his dynamic with both Beth and Sarah is fantastic. The nuances Tatiana Maslany and Kevin Hanchard bring to these characters as they play opposite one another in each role are incredible, and it’s fascinating watching Art struggle with attempting not to transfer his feelings for Beth to Sarah. Additionally, we meet MK/Mika, another clone who is suspiciously in the know about neolutionists and everything going on behind the scenes. She was Beth’s informant, but she was — and continues to be — desperate to stay hidden and secret from the rest of the clones. She only sort of emerges to warn Sarah of impending danger right at the end of the episode, thrusting her into the present-day storyline.

Normally with most shows, flashback episodes bore me. They don’t really impact the current storyline, or there are plot holes that are impossible to ignore. Not so with the premiere of Orphan Black. It was a bit of a risk to begin the season with an old storyline, and not really any focus on the characters in present day that we know and love. But it paid off in spades, as not only was this flashback episode engaging and interesting, it absolutely tied to the present seamlessly, allowing this season’s adventure to kick off in a unique and exciting way.

NO DAY BUT TODAY

Of course, we can’t stay in the past forever, and the second episode picks up immediately where the premiere ended — with Sarah having just been warned by MK that her location has been compromised, forcing her to pack up Kira, Kendall, and S and hightail it out of Iceland with the bad guys hot on their heels. After quite the journey, they arrive back in Toronto. Kira is not happy to be separated from her dad, but Sarah is happy to be back home with her sisters.

This episode also let us catch up with the entire crew: Cosima is not doing well, both health-wise and mental health-wise in the wake of Delphine’s unknown dead or alive status; Alison is busy trying to be parent of the year while also caring for pregnant Helena, with the help of an ever more lovable Donnie; Felix is cold and distant from Sarah, and we later learn it’s because he feels like he doesn’t belong in her family anymore and has started a search for his own birth family.

Sarah and Art are working together to figure out what Beth knew, which leads Sarah to MK — though the two only speak on the phone again. When Sarah is attacked by neolutionists, it comes to light that she has that worm thing from the premiere implanted in her cheek, and the episode ends with her desperate and scared and determined to get to the bottom of it. Ah, just like old times.

This episode once again had a season one feel to it, though not quite so literally. But the fast-paced adventure, the dynamics between the sestras, the mystery to solve and the inclusion of Art, and the overarching sense of danger and immediacy to the drama brought me back to everything I love so much about this show.

A STRONG FOUNDATION

Orphan Black has never had a bad season. But, like any show, it has its strengths and its weaknesses. This reviewer considers season one the strongest outing, and in its callback to so many of the things that made the freshman season great, season four is off to a fantastic start. There just aren’t enough words to adequately express the brilliance of Maslany as she tackles every clone as a unique and separate entity. Everyone says it, but I’ll say it again: you forget you’re watching one actress. It’s absolutely incredible.

But the supporting cast is just as strong. The group of actors playing Felix, Donnie, Art, Mrs. S, even young Kira, bring so much to the table as well, allowing Maslany to shine while also building an entire cast of characters we care to watch. This show is a standout among today’s TV viewing options — it gives the viewer everything we could want: strong characterization, interesting relationships, properly-paced storytelling, mystery, suspense... what more could we ask for? I am excited to watch every week, and this season even more so than the last two.

Kudos to the entire Orphan Black team for continuing to grow while still recognizing what makes this show so spectacular. I’m on the edge of my seat as I watch this unfold, and the credit goes to the show’s writers as much as the actors. If you aren’t watching Orphan Black yet... what are you waiting for?

Odds and ends:

• Am I just not remembering something, or do we not know how Beth was able to afford a Jaguar? Her swanky condo was apparently paid for by Hot Paul, so was her car, too?
• I miss Cal. I know he’s busy being all swoonworthy on Game of Thrones, but poor Kira isn’t the only one missing her dad.
• Interesting to see Felix having a bit of an existential crisis. He’s always been a source of fun and humor and lightness on the show, and though that might be missed a bit, it will also allow Jordan Gavaris to really flex his acting chops.
• Of course, we always have Helena, Alison, and Donnie for those moments of humor. I’m loving this trio’s dynamic, and Donnie has really grown on me as a character. He’s arguably had the most character growth of anyone.
• So... Delphine’s dead or alive status is unknown? I was sure she was a goner, but maybe not? I’m actually not sure which option I’d prefer. I love Evelyne Brochu, and Cosima deserves happiness, but the storytelling options with her death are rich and deep. 
• I mean, really, how ridiculously amazing is Tatiana Maslany. Each new clone reminds me that this woman is in a league totally of her own, and if she doesn’t win ALL THE AWARDS this year, I may riot.

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