Orphan Black, season 1
Jun. 11th, 2013 07:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakI have marathoned this and have to join the chorus: a) Tatiana Maslany for all the awards, and b) do yourself a favour and watch it unspoiled. Let's see, what else can I say before using the spoilery cut? It has dozens of interesting, complicated women. It doesn't favour romance over everything else; au contraire, the relationships getting the most narrative weight are friendships plus family. Speaking of family and families, it also doesn't privilege biological family over adopted family. Oh, and it has two important gay characters, one male, one female (plus assorted partners in supporting roles).
To start out with a trivial detail: this is how you pronounce "Cosima" in English? Because while marathoning the show I thought her name was written "Kazima", given how everyone said it, and then I looked it up on the net and lo and behold, it was the name of Liszt's daughter, Richard Wagner's second wife. Which is pronounced totally differently in German, hence my astonishment.
On to the more important stuff. Tatiana Maslany is truly amazing, bringing each of the clones to life as a fully rounded, different person. As good as the writing is, the whole thing would collapse if she didn't sell her audience on all of her characters being real and making them forget they're all played by the same woman. (Also these ten episodes must have been incredibly draining to film. It's not like she ever gets a minute off. ) Obvious point of comparison: Dollhouse had other problems, too, but a big one was that despite the show being explicitly written to showcase its leading lady's versatility, it instead proved that Eliza Dushku is something of a one trick pony, highlighte especially by the direct comparison with Dichen Lachman, Amy Acker and Enver Gjoki, all of whom did so much better with the central premise. So, as I said: if Tatiana Maslany hadn't had the acting chops, Orphan Black would have collapsed. Instead, it shines.
For which it also has the writing to thank. Using the clone concept to explore nature versus nurture isn't new, no, but it's rarely done as well. It's not just that the clones lead very different lives (partly due to their own choices, partly due to how they were raised/placed), but that the relationships they form with each other are different as well. Sarah, who is our main point of view character, relates to Alison, Cosima and Helena (obviously) in very different ways, and vice versa. It's the anti "biology is destiny" show; Sarah and Alison are (as far as we yet know) straight, Cosima is gay, Helena may also have been but was too screwed up with from childhood onwards to find out, none of them treats this as a big deal. Also, while they form a bond due to their shared situation, this doesn't suddenly superceed all the other relationships in their lives due to mystic clone-ness. Sarah's mutually supportive relationship with her foster brother Felix as well as the tenser one with their foster mother, Mrs. S(iobhan) are treated as keystones both by her and the narrative.
It's also a show good with the shades of grey. Starting with our heroine. Sarah, starting out as a small scale grifter, does some shitty things and not for noble motives (beginning with snatching Beth's purse after the woman killed herself, moving on to having distracting sex with the dead Beth's boyfriend so he doesn't figure out something is off before you can say dubcon, etc.). She becomes heroic through the story, but she never loses her massive chip on the shoulder and spiky messed upness, and long may she keep both. Helena, introduced as a scary psychopath (the first of the clones to get a purely negative introduction), is then revealed as an incredibly tragic and curiously innocent figure, and both Sarah and the audience never lose the pity for her while still being aware of the danger Helena poses. The episode featuring the suburban party from hell has a lot of black humor in it, but it also reveals that Alison - starting out as the most tightly repressed and conformist of the clones - under pressure has an unstable streak and a capacity for violence that's disturbing, and born out in the finale. And so forth. Basically the only ones one could accuse of being one dimensional are the main antagonists this season, who are a bit too one the nose embodiments of the evil patriarchy seeking to control women in its various forms - Olivier and Dr. Leekie for science/commerce, Tomasz via religion. And even that is complicated by the introduction of Rachel in the last two episodes, who seems to outrank Leekie in the shadowy organization who created and seeks to monitor the clones (and of course is one of them herself), and so far is the embodiment of soulless capitalism. (Undoubtedly we'll learn more next season.) I'm also willing to bet that at some point in the future we'll meet whoever originated the experiment and it won't be a man, it will be either a woman or a couple.
(Not Mrs. S., I think that's a red herring, though she probably had something to do with the shadowy organization/may have worked for them at some point before going on the run with Sarah and Felix. Given said organization's penchat for never telling minions more than absolutely necessary, see also Paul not knowing he was monitoring a clone, I don't think that if Mrs. S. worked for them in the past she ever was told about cloning, though she may have known Sarah was some type of experiment.)
Missteps: I can see the dramatic necessity for Helena finally doing something that pushes Sarah over the edge, and it was in character for Helena, given the hell that was her life, to blame Amelia for giving her up, but unfortunately this still leaves us with the net result of a black woman introduced, delivering exposition and a cryptic warning and then dying in short order.
Unexpected delights: Felix going from running interference for Sarah to actually befriending Alison. (Another testimony to the amazingness of Tatiana Maslany's acting prowess is that the Sarah-and-Felix scenes and the Alison-and-Felix scenes, while both being wonderful, each have their completely different dynamic. Also, Felix: best sarcastic gay brother ever.
Also, I approve of the fact that Detective diAngelo and Art, while their investigation endangers Sarah and the rest of the clones, aren't vilified for it. From their perspective, they're absolutely trying to do the right thing, much like James Ellison in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Also, I really hope Art, having figured out much, will discover the whole truth (well, as much of it as our heroines know) next season. He deserves as much.
Can't make up my mind about: not one but two monitors changing sides because they fall in love with a clone. I think the show just about got away with it by, after letting Paul switch two thirds in, keeping Paul greyer in the finale (he still has a self preservation instinct and goes back to the organization when Sarah leaves him hanging), while Delphine's switch to Cosima happens at the end of the season. But still, it means Donnie be better not stricken with a conscience next season or it gets unbelievable.
Also: I was side-eyeing the fact that Sarah has a biological daughter and the other clones we know so far couldn't reproduce for a while, because I didn't want a story where Sarah is the original, which seems to be against the spirit of the show. (Especially with its textual emphasis via Sarah's impassioned words to Helena that none of them is "the original" and they're all equals.) But then Amelia delivered exposition which on the one hand affirms Sarah's clone status and on the other seems to offer a (tv science) explanation - Amelia mentioned "fertility treatments" which may have resulted not just in unexpected twins but also Sarah's ability to reproduce. (It also hasn't escaped my notice that both Kira and Helena seem to have (had) a heightened healing factor, which may have been what the whole experiment eventually is supposed to result in.)
(Though I haven't ruled out organ harvesting, either; I remember Never Let Me Go too well.)
In conclusion: this was really an amazing first season, and the hiatus will be torture.
To start out with a trivial detail: this is how you pronounce "Cosima" in English? Because while marathoning the show I thought her name was written "Kazima", given how everyone said it, and then I looked it up on the net and lo and behold, it was the name of Liszt's daughter, Richard Wagner's second wife. Which is pronounced totally differently in German, hence my astonishment.
On to the more important stuff. Tatiana Maslany is truly amazing, bringing each of the clones to life as a fully rounded, different person. As good as the writing is, the whole thing would collapse if she didn't sell her audience on all of her characters being real and making them forget they're all played by the same woman. (Also these ten episodes must have been incredibly draining to film. It's not like she ever gets a minute off. ) Obvious point of comparison: Dollhouse had other problems, too, but a big one was that despite the show being explicitly written to showcase its leading lady's versatility, it instead proved that Eliza Dushku is something of a one trick pony, highlighte especially by the direct comparison with Dichen Lachman, Amy Acker and Enver Gjoki, all of whom did so much better with the central premise. So, as I said: if Tatiana Maslany hadn't had the acting chops, Orphan Black would have collapsed. Instead, it shines.
For which it also has the writing to thank. Using the clone concept to explore nature versus nurture isn't new, no, but it's rarely done as well. It's not just that the clones lead very different lives (partly due to their own choices, partly due to how they were raised/placed), but that the relationships they form with each other are different as well. Sarah, who is our main point of view character, relates to Alison, Cosima and Helena (obviously) in very different ways, and vice versa. It's the anti "biology is destiny" show; Sarah and Alison are (as far as we yet know) straight, Cosima is gay, Helena may also have been but was too screwed up with from childhood onwards to find out, none of them treats this as a big deal. Also, while they form a bond due to their shared situation, this doesn't suddenly superceed all the other relationships in their lives due to mystic clone-ness. Sarah's mutually supportive relationship with her foster brother Felix as well as the tenser one with their foster mother, Mrs. S(iobhan) are treated as keystones both by her and the narrative.
It's also a show good with the shades of grey. Starting with our heroine. Sarah, starting out as a small scale grifter, does some shitty things and not for noble motives (beginning with snatching Beth's purse after the woman killed herself, moving on to having distracting sex with the dead Beth's boyfriend so he doesn't figure out something is off before you can say dubcon, etc.). She becomes heroic through the story, but she never loses her massive chip on the shoulder and spiky messed upness, and long may she keep both. Helena, introduced as a scary psychopath (the first of the clones to get a purely negative introduction), is then revealed as an incredibly tragic and curiously innocent figure, and both Sarah and the audience never lose the pity for her while still being aware of the danger Helena poses. The episode featuring the suburban party from hell has a lot of black humor in it, but it also reveals that Alison - starting out as the most tightly repressed and conformist of the clones - under pressure has an unstable streak and a capacity for violence that's disturbing, and born out in the finale. And so forth. Basically the only ones one could accuse of being one dimensional are the main antagonists this season, who are a bit too one the nose embodiments of the evil patriarchy seeking to control women in its various forms - Olivier and Dr. Leekie for science/commerce, Tomasz via religion. And even that is complicated by the introduction of Rachel in the last two episodes, who seems to outrank Leekie in the shadowy organization who created and seeks to monitor the clones (and of course is one of them herself), and so far is the embodiment of soulless capitalism. (Undoubtedly we'll learn more next season.) I'm also willing to bet that at some point in the future we'll meet whoever originated the experiment and it won't be a man, it will be either a woman or a couple.
(Not Mrs. S., I think that's a red herring, though she probably had something to do with the shadowy organization/may have worked for them at some point before going on the run with Sarah and Felix. Given said organization's penchat for never telling minions more than absolutely necessary, see also Paul not knowing he was monitoring a clone, I don't think that if Mrs. S. worked for them in the past she ever was told about cloning, though she may have known Sarah was some type of experiment.)
Missteps: I can see the dramatic necessity for Helena finally doing something that pushes Sarah over the edge, and it was in character for Helena, given the hell that was her life, to blame Amelia for giving her up, but unfortunately this still leaves us with the net result of a black woman introduced, delivering exposition and a cryptic warning and then dying in short order.
Unexpected delights: Felix going from running interference for Sarah to actually befriending Alison. (Another testimony to the amazingness of Tatiana Maslany's acting prowess is that the Sarah-and-Felix scenes and the Alison-and-Felix scenes, while both being wonderful, each have their completely different dynamic. Also, Felix: best sarcastic gay brother ever.
Also, I approve of the fact that Detective diAngelo and Art, while their investigation endangers Sarah and the rest of the clones, aren't vilified for it. From their perspective, they're absolutely trying to do the right thing, much like James Ellison in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Also, I really hope Art, having figured out much, will discover the whole truth (well, as much of it as our heroines know) next season. He deserves as much.
Can't make up my mind about: not one but two monitors changing sides because they fall in love with a clone. I think the show just about got away with it by, after letting Paul switch two thirds in, keeping Paul greyer in the finale (he still has a self preservation instinct and goes back to the organization when Sarah leaves him hanging), while Delphine's switch to Cosima happens at the end of the season. But still, it means Donnie be better not stricken with a conscience next season or it gets unbelievable.
Also: I was side-eyeing the fact that Sarah has a biological daughter and the other clones we know so far couldn't reproduce for a while, because I didn't want a story where Sarah is the original, which seems to be against the spirit of the show. (Especially with its textual emphasis via Sarah's impassioned words to Helena that none of them is "the original" and they're all equals.) But then Amelia delivered exposition which on the one hand affirms Sarah's clone status and on the other seems to offer a (tv science) explanation - Amelia mentioned "fertility treatments" which may have resulted not just in unexpected twins but also Sarah's ability to reproduce. (It also hasn't escaped my notice that both Kira and Helena seem to have (had) a heightened healing factor, which may have been what the whole experiment eventually is supposed to result in.)
(Though I haven't ruled out organ harvesting, either; I remember Never Let Me Go too well.)
In conclusion: this was really an amazing first season, and the hiatus will be torture.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-11 07:10 pm (UTC)I hadn't thought of organ harvesting. I doubt that's where the show is going, but it would certainly make sense...
no subject
Date: 2013-06-11 07:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-11 08:21 pm (UTC)- Delphine didn't totally change sides. She was still spying for Leekie when she came to Felix's flat, albeit with a bit of her own agenda. She might switch sides now, though.
- The clones were not born infertile, but were made infertile (intentionally or not) through medical intervention post-birth. Sarah was able to conceive because she'd been outside the system.
I agree that Sarah being "the original" or something would definitely not be in the spirit of the show. I also agree (or at least I hope!) that Mrs. S. ran from the org (and successfully hid Sarah from it) a long time ago, and she left with Kira to do the same.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 04:23 am (UTC)Oh, I like that explanation! (Would presumably apply to Helena, too, except for growing up in the hands of religious sadists, so...)
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 01:02 am (UTC)I also wondered if Sarah and possibly Helena were different because they were the first go - Amelia running away meant that other clones were born under vastly more controlled circumstances, such as IVF without telling the birth parents as it looks like happened with Cosima and Allison's parents.
Mrs S! She was so awesome and I really don't know what to believe about her. I'm really hoping that she's taken Kira (and Felix) to safety as she told Sarah she would do if necessary. Those survival skills she has (and has inculcated in Sarah and Felix, with their ability to straight-out lie to people) have to be from somewhere, and Leekie really didn't seem to know about Sarah.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 04:43 am (UTC)Leekie really didn't seem to know about Sarah.
Or Kira. And yes, that gives me hope that Mrs. S. is not currently in league with the organisation, though evidently there is something in her past. (Incidentally, if her secret isn't that she used to work for the organisation, I would guess that with all the emphasis on Thatcher England in her backstory, it might be that she wasn't just peacefully helping illegals etc. but might have had an active terrorist phase as a young woman which she then ended when she took off with Sarah and Felix.)
Or, but I'm not sure how I'd feel about this because I like the bonds of foster family and it would go into "blood will tell" territory: Mrs. S. is actually Sarah's (and everyone else's) biological mother or rather, the orignal egg donor. Who later when scruples developed and/or she found out what the donation actually resulted in tracked down the child she could find, which was Sarah, and made off with her. Pro: casting Maria Kennedy Doyle as Mrs. S., i.e. an actress whose colouring and facial structure actually makes her look like she could be related to Tatiana Maslany. Casting Maria Kennedy Doyle in general, which would indicate Mrs. S. is a role of major importance. Con: Mrs. S. genuinely seemed surprised to learn about the whole clone thing. (Also, but that's not a pragmatic but an emotional reason, like I said, it would take away an aspect of the show I like.)
(Probably) Unrelated to the "What's Mrs. S.'s secret and where is she now?" question: I wonder a bit about Amelia, too. To wit: if she gave "one child to the church, and one to the state", how come Helena ended up in Ukraine and Sarah in Britain? Presumably it would have been relatively easy for her to get from South Africa to Britain (what with Thatcher not boycotting Apartheid SA), but then you'd expect Helena in an English or Irish church-run orphanage, not in the Ukraine. So maybe there is something fishy and missing about Amelia's story, too.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 05:10 am (UTC)Interesting point that Mrs S.'s misleads about her past might not be covering what the finale makes us think they're covering. I was actually a bit confused about her description of the underground network she was part of in the 80's, mostly due to my lack of knowledge of British history. I know in the US in the 80s there were underground networks helping undocumented Central American refugees of CIA-sponsored coups. Was there something similar in the UK with South Africa? What about people in other countries? I'm so ignorant!
Oh, I really like Mrs. S! I was a little devastated by that final scene and love coming up with explanations.
Is it 2014 yet?
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 10:28 am (UTC)Mostly. Alison's adopted children have been shuffled off-screen. Happily to their grandparents, and therefore safe, but they don't seem to have the same importance in Alison's life as Kira does in Sarah's, certainly not as measured in relative screen time.
I have to watch the series again with a closer eye to details and possible clues. Hardly a chore, that!
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 10:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 03:44 pm (UTC)How is Cosima pronounced in German? Accent on the first syllable?
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 04:02 pm (UTC)Trying my hand at a phonetic transcription in English: Cohhhhseema. Now the male version, Cosimo, was quite popular in Renaissance Italy, and George Sand, who used to be friends with Liszt & Marie D'Agoult, had written a historical novel called "Cosimo" at the time Marie got pregnant, so she and Liszt called the girl after their friend's main character.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 04:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 04:14 pm (UTC)Also, I really hope Art, having figured out much, will discover the whole truth (well, as much of it as our heroines know) next season. He deserves as much.
Agreed. I spent the whole season feeling bad for him, because as far as we can tell he's the only (non-clone) person in her life who cared about Beth. In a weird sort of way, that relationship became one of my favourite parts of the season, even though we only see what it must have been like as he interacts with Sarah-playing-Beth.
My prediction is that Art will find out the truth, and then end up having to hide it from his co-workers and superiors.
(Though I haven't ruled out organ harvesting, either; I remember Never Let Me Go too well.)
What if they're after a healing factor because they want harvestable organs? I mean, imagine if you could remove a kidney or a lung or part of a liver from a clone and then it would grow back ...
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 06:57 pm (UTC)Yes indeed. And the echo of his partnership with Beth through Sarah playing her, the way he was/is loyal to Beth is very touching.
What if they're after a healing factor because they want harvestable organs? I mean, imagine if you could remove a kidney or a lung or part of a liver from a clone and then it would grow back ...
I wouldn't be suprised if the next step of the clone project is called Prometheus, no. Btw, speaking of names with mythological relevance, "Project Leda" reminded me Leda actually had four children - the Dioskuri and Helena & Clytaimnestra, who in most versions I know are normal siblings but in one are twins as well. I'm still trying to figure out whether that foreshadows anything.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-12 08:50 pm (UTC)I have no idea how you pronounce Cosima in English. It’s not a name I’ve ever encountered before, except in relation to Wagner’s wife. I guess that’s how the show decided to pronounce it.
Good point about the comparison with Dollhouse and Eliza Dushku.
I love the relationships between Sarah and Felix, and Sarah and Siobhan. Also the developing quasi-sibling relationship between Alison and Felix.
Can't make up my mind about: not one but two monitors changing sides because they fall in love with a clone. I think the show just about got away with it by, after letting Paul switch two thirds in, keeping Paul greyer in the finale (he still has a self preservation instinct and goes back to the organization when Sarah leaves him hanging), while Delphine's switch to Cosima happens at the end of the season. But still, it means Donnie be better not stricken with a conscience next season or it gets unbelievable.
I doubt there’s much danger of Donnie switching sides. I think Donnie strongly dislikes Alison (probably with good reason).
I kinda sorta bought Delphine switching over, because she’s not a trained operative, she’s just a PhD who Leekie recruited from a legitimate scientific role at the Dyad Institute. And Paul switching over I could kinda sorta buy as a combination of three factors: attraction to Sarah, guilt over driving Beth to suicide, and resentment of the Institute for blackmailing him. I liked that Paul switched back at the end of the season to ensure his survival. Before he switched back, I figured he was dead sooner or later, because his story arc didn’t seem to be going anywhere except dying heroically to try and save Sarah. And I don’t want any of the characters to die. I like them all. I worry about Delphine, though, because she hasn’t cut any deals with the Institute, and doesn’t seem to have a back-up survival plan in place.
Also, I approve of the fact that Detective diAngelo and Art, while their investigation endangers Sarah and the rest of the clones, aren't vilified for it. From their perspective, they're absolutely trying to do the right thing, much like James Ellison in The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Also, I really hope Art, having figured out much, will discover the whole truth (well, as much of it as our heroines know) next season. He deserves as much.
This, exactly this. Also, this show has some interesting similarities with Sarah Connor Chronicles.
Also: I was side-eyeing the fact that Sarah has a biological daughter and the other clones we know so far couldn't reproduce for a while, because I didn't want a story where Sarah is the original, which seems to be against the spirit of the show. (Especially with its textual emphasis via Sarah's impassioned words to Helena that none of them is "the original" and they're all equals.) But then Amelia delivered exposition which on the one hand affirms Sarah's clone status and on the other seems to offer a (tv science) explanation - Amelia mentioned "fertility treatments" which may have resulted not just in unexpected twins but also Sarah's ability to reproduce. (It also hasn't escaped my notice that both Kira and Helena seem to have (had) a heightened healing factor, which may have been what the whole experiment eventually is supposed to result in.)
I thought differently, although I could be wrong. I assumed Sarah’s fertility is just a result of chance. Yeah, most clones aren’t fertile, but some are. Dolly the Sheep had several healthy lambs, although confusing the TV matter by bringing real-life cloning into it is probably a bad idea on my part. I wonder if Sarah also has a heightened healing factor, and we just haven’t noticed yet because she hasn’t been in any life-or-death medical emergencies. She seemed to get over that split lip Helena gave her in 1.03 pretty fast. That way Sarah could pass the healing factor onto Kira.
Speaking of Kira, there’s going to have to be quite the time jump in between 1.10 and 2.01 in order to explain away the child actor being a year older.
Missteps: I can see the dramatic necessity for Helena finally doing something that pushes Sarah over the edge, and it was in character for Helena, given the hell that was her life, to blame Amelia for giving her up, but unfortunately this still leaves us with the net result of a black woman introduced, delivering exposition and a cryptic warning and then dying in short order.
Yup. Indeed.