by Verushka Byrow
To sum it up: Tatiana Maslany and every single writer on the show.
Let me set the scene for you: Orphan Black is the story of Sarah Manning, an orphan, a con artist and a thief to boot, who one evening sees a woman commit suicide by train. Sarah is the only witness and the only one to see that Beth has her face. It makes her pause, just barely before she steals Beth’s identity and as the show progresses, her life. Beth is a cop, she’s successful and she has everything Sarah doesn’t.
To sum it up: Tatiana Maslany and every single writer on the show.
Let me set the scene for you: Orphan Black is the story of Sarah Manning, an orphan, a con artist and a thief to boot, who one evening sees a woman commit suicide by train. Sarah is the only witness and the only one to see that Beth has her face. It makes her pause, just barely before she steals Beth’s identity and as the show progresses, her life. Beth is a cop, she’s successful and she has everything Sarah doesn’t.
Soon enough, it becomes clear it’s not that easy. Sarah returned home to reconcile with her daughter, Kira, but taking over Beth’s life delays that reunion and results in Sarah having to fake her death, with the help of her foster brother, Felix. Taking over Beth’s life also means having to deal with the consequences of a shooting by Beth. Sarah finds herself having to pretend to be Beth at the hearing, and with a suspicious partner, Art. Suspecting “Beth” is about to take off, Art forces her to stick around to testify. And while all this is happening, Sarah receives a message from a German woman, Katja. Who looks just like her.
When Katja is assassinated in front of her, Sarah meets Alison and Cosima, who are both clones too. They had been working with Beth to try and figure out who they are, and who made them. Added to the mix, in season one, is Helena, a killer and a clone. She is convinced she is the original and her mission in life is to destroy the other clones.
So, the story grows, with Tatiana Maslany playing six live clones in season one. She’s made each character distinctive, even when she’s pretending to be one of the other clones and rightly earned (and was robbed) a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress last year.
When Katja is assassinated in front of her, Sarah meets Alison and Cosima, who are both clones too. They had been working with Beth to try and figure out who they are, and who made them. Added to the mix, in season one, is Helena, a killer and a clone. She is convinced she is the original and her mission in life is to destroy the other clones.
So, the story grows, with Tatiana Maslany playing six live clones in season one. She’s made each character distinctive, even when she’s pretending to be one of the other clones and rightly earned (and was robbed) a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress last year.
Sarah is the audience’s introduction into this insane world of clones, but the series, very slowly and confidently expanded each of the clones’ worlds in the season. Alison, is the soccer mom, wound so tight as her perfectly ordered world is crumbling around her. Cosima is a scientist and a student at a university, leading the scientific charge for answers. Helena, a killer, comes with her own background, and then there’s Sarah, who wants nothing more than to be a mother to her daughter, but needs answers about her past and how they may affect Kira before she can truly be a mom. As a clone, she should not have been able to reproduce, which adds another element to the show.
The writers, with Maslany, have made each storyline and each clone matter, and each one wonderfully unique. They have woven a conspiracy with care, never letting it take over the story of the clones and their lives. I think, the conspiracy can only matter to the audience, if the audience is invested in the clones, their lives and the effect of the conspiracy on them. The clones appeal to different types of viewers, ensuring a diverse audience for the series as a whole.
The season expands, drawing in a shady group seemingly responsible for creating the clones. Each of the clones has been assigned a monitor from the group, someone to observe them in their lives and report back on their progress. Beth’s boyfriend, Paul, is identified as one, but even though he falls in love with Sarah, and wants to help, getting his freedom is far more complicated – he has a past too, and it’s left him caught in this web of clones in the present.
The writers, with Maslany, have made each storyline and each clone matter, and each one wonderfully unique. They have woven a conspiracy with care, never letting it take over the story of the clones and their lives. I think, the conspiracy can only matter to the audience, if the audience is invested in the clones, their lives and the effect of the conspiracy on them. The clones appeal to different types of viewers, ensuring a diverse audience for the series as a whole.
The season expands, drawing in a shady group seemingly responsible for creating the clones. Each of the clones has been assigned a monitor from the group, someone to observe them in their lives and report back on their progress. Beth’s boyfriend, Paul, is identified as one, but even though he falls in love with Sarah, and wants to help, getting his freedom is far more complicated – he has a past too, and it’s left him caught in this web of clones in the present.
One of the more memorable episodes of the season has Alison torturing her husband because she thinks he’s her monitor, while upstairs in her living room, Sarah is pretending to be Alison at a dinner party. It’s that wonderfully chaotic, brilliantly written and confidently portrayed by Tatiana Maslany. She is in essence playing Sarah, who is playing Alison. It isn’t effortless mimcry, because Sarah is pretending to be someone she doesn’t like or know well. Maslany has given each clone different quirks, different habits and different ways of speaking and doing things, so that the audience will see Sarah pretending to be Alison.
By season’s end, the group has closed in on Sarah, and another clone, Rachel, is revealed. Rachel is working with the group that created the clones and offers Sarah and her daughter a safe haven if she gives herself up. Sarah almost agrees, but changes her mind at the last minute. The catch? Kira is missing, along with Mrs S, Sarah’s foster mother. Did Rachel kidnap them? Or, did Mrs S go on the run with Kira? Yeah, Mrs S, isn’t what she seems either.
That’s the beauty and the skill of the writing on this show – it’s a conspiracy, but it isn’t taking over the show, and every reveal is done with care, for the greater story being told.
Season two will start April 19 and Maslany says Sarah is in a state of desperation. She’s lost, it seems – is it a bad thing to be excited for that?!
By season’s end, the group has closed in on Sarah, and another clone, Rachel, is revealed. Rachel is working with the group that created the clones and offers Sarah and her daughter a safe haven if she gives herself up. Sarah almost agrees, but changes her mind at the last minute. The catch? Kira is missing, along with Mrs S, Sarah’s foster mother. Did Rachel kidnap them? Or, did Mrs S go on the run with Kira? Yeah, Mrs S, isn’t what she seems either.
That’s the beauty and the skill of the writing on this show – it’s a conspiracy, but it isn’t taking over the show, and every reveal is done with care, for the greater story being told.
Season two will start April 19 and Maslany says Sarah is in a state of desperation. She’s lost, it seems – is it a bad thing to be excited for that?!
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