Orphan Black rewatch: Conditions of Existence

Because I should be lesson planning. Usual spoiler warning applies.

Also known as the episode in which Cosima meets Delphine for the first time. And we get this great reflective hallway shot that I tried to capture here.

But first, plot.

Oh, right, Sarah has sex with Paul again, doesn’t she? Guh. I am impressed that she went to Beth’s accent immediately when Paul surprised her in the shower, despite her shock.

And she got examined in her sleep. Funny how the doctors didn’t notice the lack of massive neck scar during the exam. Not to mention, how sloppy were they to leave this in her?

I was wrong about Alison’s hair earlier, though. She does wear it down more often in this season. The ponytail doesn’t become regular until later, I guess.

What I loved:

Cosima’s face/ hands, as always:

Everyone’s response to learning that Sarah shagged Paul. “Dude, that’s complex.” Cosima must suspect that she herself might have slept with a monitor or two of her own in the past, especially considering how calm she is about the experiment in general.

“I don’t leave prints when I burgle.” God bless you, Felix. Also, “would you get your fanny out of there!” when fanny means twat in British English.

And of course… those lips, that nose, that hair… Really, Delphine had the best hair in Season 1.

Followed by:

And everyone’s favorite… Enchantée

I love how obviously Cosima’s crushing on Delphine from moment fucking one. And who can blame her. Dyad absolutely intended for Cosima to fall for her, but they did NOT intend for the reverse to happen.

What I liked:

Vic screaming, followed by “I’m good” as the scene fades. In fact, Vic was used to good effect in these scenes, also with “Stay in school…” to Oscar and Gemma, and Alison beating him up in the parking lot. And Alison’s “He was…urban.”

That no one ever backs up Vic or takes his side, or makes it seem like he has a point.

Cosima’s encouragement of Sarah’s relationship with Paul foreshadows her early relationship with Delphine and her excuses about it to the sisters.

What I didn’t like:

Donnie, here. In hindsight, it seems obvious that the writers hadn’t made up their minds about him. Kristian Bruun has said that he wasn’t given a clear answer in Season 1 about whether or not he was a monitor, so his acting choices are understandably different than they are later. I just don’t like it.

Tapping Paul’s office just went way too easily.

Paul only just noticed that the scar was missing from “Beth’s” neck? You know, just Paul in general. Dude’s face never really changes, and his voice is so dreadful and dull. It’s unfortunate, considering how warm and funny Dylan Bruce is in every appearance of his I’ve seen.

They tried making Scott creepy. He’s not creepy, so this is weird for me.

Olivier. I’m not supposed to like him, but, uh, yeah… I don’t.

Anything else with Vic.

In place of the 1 minute 2 second “Previously on” section, I would have rather seen:

Alison’s reaction the first time she came to Felix’s loft. Did she drive herself there (we assume she did)? What did she say about everything there, especially the Sarah/ Penis painting?

Did we get Alison and Cosima’s reactions to Sarah quitting Beth’s job? Alison’s money is a “self-defense fund” and Cosima asked Sarah to stay a cop for defense, and now she’s not, so…. yeah, I would’ve liked to see that.

Felix and Colin getting it on. Or having a conversation, or dancing.

What Cosima and Delphine did after their introduction. Clearly they didn’t have sex, but did they get coffee, or keep standing in the hallway, or…. what? Who asked for whose phone number?

Also…

Did they ever give Raj back his surveillance shit? Like, any of it?

Orphan Black Rewatch: Effects of External Conditions

So much for only doing one of these every 24 hours. Usual spoiler warning applies.

Is Cosima opposed to sitting at a desk like a normal person, or what?

What I loved:

“Are you kidding? She’d crap her lululemons.” This was the episode in which I started liking Alison Hendrix.

How sweet Sarah is with Trevor, slipping into her real accent to assure him she’s not the angry angel.

Helena as Beth. “Out.” And her face.

Cosima does have bigger breasts, and Helena has a bigger ass. I tried longer than I’d care to admit to get a good screen shoot of each ass, but none came out well. This was the best I got for now:

Helena as Sarah as Beth, which was glorious. Alison as Sarah. LOVED it! This was the episode where the potential for clone swapping and Tatiana’s talent really shined through.

The entire parallel scenes of Alison as Sarah and Sarah hunting down Helena. Even after a few watches, I still get tense.

Monkey. Bum. Face. Goodness, I wish that Alison or someone could’ve kept calling Kira that throughout the series.

What I liked:

“Just follow the bloody brick road.” At first I thought the little boy was Helena’s son. We’re supposed to be frightened for him, with the music and the ominous door closing, but I just thought of Helena saying later, “I am very good with children.”

The cops weren’t all wrong with Helena. She was a religious fanatic, and she was abused, with severe childhood trauma.

I also liked that Cosima is open to the possibility that Sarah and Helena have a connection beyond just being clones.

In hindsight, it’s interesting that no one was too struck by “Beth” being all weird in the station, because Beth actually was weird all the time.

I’m not gonna lie, I agreed with Alison when she said Kira was better of with Mrs. S. I mean, there’s also a reason Sarah never had complete responsibility over Kira until the very end of the series. Sarah would have been a terrible parent.

What I didn’t like:

The gore. I know, I know, it’s fake and it’s an important part of Helena’s character, but I don’t like watching it. I’m not saying it shouldn’t be there, it’s just not my thing.

Actually, Felix’s painting of Cosima here isn’t that good, especially compared with the one from Season 5.

Paul. The character just doesn’t sit well with me. I almost feel bad for him, but I can’t feel bad for him knowing what I do, and I didn’t feel bad for him even the first time I watched it. He just…. eugh. Paul.

They tried making Kira creepy with the bloody smile thing, but it never went anywhere. I mean, Kira’s creepy in that she has that sixth sense, but not creepy like she’s a demon child the way they almost went here.

The Helena wig was more obviously a wig here.

I also wonder about Helena’s change of clothes, from nice Beth-ish clothes to the nightgown/ slip arrangement here.

In place of the 1 minute 2 second “Previously on” section, I would have rather seen:

Helena interacting with Trevor. I know why they didn’t show us that (see above), but she was probably rather sweet with him, if also very bloody.

Cosima leaning over. I mean…

Orphan Black Rewatch: Variation Under Nature

As always, I’m gonna go ahead and assume that, if you’re reading this, you’ve seen the entire series. Consider this your spoiler warning.

The title fits since this is the first time we really see the main clones as unique individuals.

What I loved:

Alison’s blunt exposition of the clone business and dangers therein.

Gemma appearing at the top of the stairs and asking who the ladies are.

Cosima’s calmness and gentle humor. It’s the hallmark of her character throughout the series.

“Dreadlocked science geek Sarah, arguably more attractive than the real Sarah.” And so it begins, the acknowledgement that Cosima’s the hot one.

Sarah having no idea how to put on the gun holster and the other cop not helping her. Also, Sarah’s awkwardness on the radio, as painful as it was to watch. It was a beautiful character moment.

Sarah’s response upon arriving at the quarry. Poor Katja, though. She deserved better.

Cosima’s smile!

Sarah’s left eye/ eyebrow in this shot. It’s like it’s the only part of her face that’s freaking out.

The whole user name and password business. Sarah (I accidentally called her Beth there for a sec) got super lucky with Raj there. I wonder if poor Raj ever learned the truth about Beth.

“Dirty little copy cop.” Hi there, Helena!

Sarah showing her first signs of growth, realizing that Kira is happier with Mrs. S, and that she has some obligation to her clones.

What I liked:

Alison’s response when Sarah redirected the gun and then punched her showed how unwilling or unprepared she actually was to kill someone. She is completely out of her depth, and that’s what scares her the most.

Sarah looking in Beth’s mirror and asking “Am I going insane?”

“Do you have a criminal record?”

I like this best having seen the whole series, but look. Mrs. S actually birdwatching:

Felix as babysitter. Particularly, “Does your daddy have a drinks trolley?” although we learn later that it would have been better maybe to ask if Mommy had one. Only reason this isn’t a love is that the crossdressing, while delightful, is a bit too stereotypical. We’ve seen in his scenes with Kira that Felix does have other experience with children.

I think the scene where Alison teaches Sarah-as-Beth to shoot is the basis of SoccerCop. And, I can kinda see it.

“You cannot hide in minimalist furniture!”

The sound muffling after Helena shoots Art. Also, the first appearance of Helena’s screeching soundtrack.

Sarah shows incredible bravery in going after Helena by herself. She could have easily faked that pursuit and said the shooter got away, but she actually, literally went after her. Although, it almost seemed for a minute like Sarah might get a civilian shooting of her own, the way she waved that gun around.

What I didn’t like:

Come on Sarah / Felix, turn off the headlights when you’re not driving. Aynsley should’ve yelled at him for that, alone. It’s probably shining right into her living room.

The science is off regarding the print matching, as others have pointed out.

Cosima is remarkably cool with Sarah taking over Beth’s life. A little more explanation or discussion there would have been nice, hell, even in a later season.

I never like watching Paul make out with anybody. I think it was the first time we hear the phrase “Big Dick Paul,” though.

In place of the 1 minute 3 second “Previously on” section, I would have rather seen:

Aynsley walking her dog and getting suspicious of Felix in the car

More of Sarah futzing around as Beth and maybe someone commenting about how long she’s been weird (that is, because of Beth’s actual weirdness)

Cosima reading by herself in the bar.

Felix babysitting

Other interesting notes:

It seems they hadn’t quite worked out Cosima’s presentation yet during the first scenes with her. Her voice is a little higher and her makeup different than we get used to later on. Also, Alison’s hair is down, which we don’t really ever see after this episode, I think. This is only for the first scene, though.

So I guess this applies to every episode, but since I’m watching more closely, does Kathryn Alexandre’s name ever appear in the credits? Opening or closing ones?

Where even is Cosima here? It looks like a campus, but there’s no way she bounced back and forth from Minnesota that quickly. I do love her face here, though.

I think Kathryn Alexandre is more obvious here than in other clone shots:

Look at her knuckles here. I saw somewhere that, in the episode before this one, Tatiana actually busted open her right knuckles while banging the briefcase open. I guess this proves it.

Sarah’s comment to Art, “Hey, you’re not gonna hug me are ya?” must’ve struck Art in some kind of way considering they’d slept together.

Orphan Black rewatch: Instinct

As always, I’m gonna go ahead and assume that, if you’re reading this, you’ve seen the entire series. Consider this your spoiler warning.

A one-word title! Is this the only one of the series? Maybe!

Apparently it was freezing out when they shot this, and they had to keep doing retakes of Katja getting the dirt tossed on her face. Add this to the list of outtakes I want to see.

What I loved:

How the show picks up immediately where the previous episode left off. So good.

Cosima telling “Beth” to get rid of the body. “You’re a cop, like, buy a shovel!” Her whole attitude towards “Beth” is interesting, actually. She sounds so annoyed, so done with Beth’s shit rather than concerned by “Beth”’s lack of action.

How happy Sarah looked when Paul said he’s going back to Cody’s (Coady’s???) for a while.

Even having seen this before, and seen Sarah work on other “cons” before, I am still SO impressed by her craft in being Beth. Yes, it a lot of luck because Beth was unhinged already, but goddamn, way to stay cool under pressure and roll with the punches and be creative when needed. I wonder if Sarah will get to use these skills in whatever line of work she picks up after Season 5.

I don’t know if TPTB planned it in advance (willing to bet not), but knowing Beth and Art slept together gives so much wonderful nuance to Art’s actions here.

Die Stiefel sind zum wandern. Ja bitte! Honestly, first time I watched this, that whole scene took me from “Okay, this show is interesting, and I’m bored so I’ll keep watching” to “Holy shit, I love this.”

This look on Felix. If he were a woman, I’d eat him right up:

Felix’s fur-lined helmet:

Little bitty Kira! Anyone who says Skyler Wexler “didn’t grow at all” during the series needs to rewatch these episodes.

Sarah manipulating the psychiatrist into declaring her fit for duty. Golden.

What I liked:

We hear Cosima’s voice for the first time, but of course we don’t know that it’s Cosima. I wonder if she and Sarah will look back on this moment, when Katja’s dead in Beth’s car, as the “first time we spoke” moment.

Sarah does have enough self-control not to destroy Felix’s artwork when she’s pissed and throwing things.

Sarah’s accent slipping through when she talked to Paul.

Rewatching it, I see things totally differently. In the scene in the soccer hut, Alison says, “Idiot, do you even know who you’re talking to?” At first, I thought she was threatening Sarah, but know I realize that Alison knew that Sarah thought she was talking to Cosima. Or vice-versa. She realized that Sarah didn’t know Alison and Cosima were separate people. So, the question was literal, and the answer was no.

Looking back, having seen the entire series, Sarah is still clearly different from Beth. For one, Sarah as Beth always wears her hair down. We see later that Beth usually had hers in a bun.

What didn’t work for me:

The “Previously on Orphan Black” section lasted a goddamn minute. A whole minute! We could have done other things with that time!
I’m gonna complain about Vic every single episode he’s in. He’s the epitome of a guy who never, ever listens to people or does what he’s asked, and constantly plays the victim. At least no one rewards him for it. It only makes it worse when he whines about how much he loved Sarah.
The penis in Sarah’s portrait is never made clear to me. I get that it’s artistic license, maybe Felix just being disrespectful because he’s upset, but, uh…. it still weirds me out.

Interesting notes:

When Sarah opens the briefcase and the phone rings, she says the caller is “punctual” and we assume it’s Alison because that’s the name we have. We learn later that it was Cosima, who is not, in fact, very punctual.

Orphan Black rewatch: Natural Selection

I’m gonna go ahead and assume that, if you’re reading this, you’ve seen the entire series. Consider this your spoiler warning.

The first word Sarah says is “Shit.” Classy, and great tone setting.

Here we see the one remaining pay telephone in North America. Thankfully for Sarah, who apparently doesn’t have a cell phone at this point, even though it was filmed in 2012.

One wonders what Sarah’s thought process was in approaching a strange distraught woman on a train platform. She hadn’t seen her face yet. Maybe she intended to rob her even before she jumped, but that seems really stupid. Maybe it’s that connection Beth talks about in Season 4?

Gobs of name usage here, probably to remind the audience who everyone is. It’s a useful convention in fiction, but not really true to life. I call my pets by name way more often than my family members.

Knowing Beth’s relationship with Art, of course, makes this scene interesting. “What’s the charge?” she asks, and Art answers “Don’t Beth, not today.” Like Beth’s pulled that one before. Interesting.

I couldn’t watch the scene where Sarah first faces the police board and drinks soap. The terrifying awkwardness just oozed so much. I also didn’t watch Sarah fuck Paul on the counter because, well…. ew.

What I loved:

The entire setup, obviously. And the cliffhanger was brilliant. I started watching this show knowing about the clones, but during my first watch of this episode, I kind of forgot about it with all the police stuff. Dropping Katja in for the last scene was a great move.
Felix’s sass. Vic says he doesn’t know where else to go, and Felix responds, “A men’s shelter?”
this face:

What I liked:

Knowing that Vic eventually vanishes. The character works in the story in this episode because he gives Sarah motivations, but, God, I hate him.
Waiting for the psychiatrist, Art asks her “Where’s your wit gone?” This fits in well with the other comments made about Beth’s sense of humor and how well she did or did not keep it after the clone drama kicked in.
It’s a two-word title, and if you know about the clones, it makes perfect sense. Nice.

What didn’t work for me:

This bothers me a little throughout the series, but Felix’s security is garbage. Vic pounds on the door and he doesn’t even ask who it is before opening it? And then Sarah just walks in while Felix is gone because the door isn’t even locked? And this never really changes, ever.
Later in the series, we never hear about the others who were at Sarah’s wake. They seemed legitimately upset that she was dead, and, what? They keep on thinking she’s dead?
Felix being on the phone during the wake. I get that he wasn’t upset because, well, duh. But really, how did no one else shout at him? And how did no one else notice him calling her “Sarah” on the phone?
Tatiana’s German accent was, um, something!

Other notes:

In Season 4, when Sarah and Art are looking through Beth’s surveilance footage, it would’ve been cool to see Sarah’s first appearance in the house.
Sarah says that Beth’s credit is maxed. In Season 4, Ghost!Beth tells Sarah that Sarah maxed out her credit cards.
In Beth’s phone, Cosima and Katja’s numbers aren’t stored, so they come through as “Unknown Caller.” Narratively, it works, but how would Beth differentiate the clones, then, when they texted?
Paul noticed that Beth’s hair was different, but Art didn’t? Or maybe Paul was tipped off by Neolution that something fucky might be afoot.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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