Maria Doyle Kennedy in BBC America's 'Orphan Black'
About two years ago, the United States Supreme Court
ruled unanimously biotech companies could not patent human genes. However, the court made a distinction between DNA that occurs in nature and synthetic DNA created in a laboratory. According to the ruling, manipulating a gene to create something not found in nature, through cDNA, is eligible for patent protection.
The ruling was name-checked last year in BBC America's Orphan Black, where eugenics and questions of identity are significant parts of the plot. For those unfamiliar, the critically acclaimed series, created by Graeme Manson and John Fawcett, centers around multiple "Neolution" conspiracies dealing with clones that all look like the very talented Tatiana Maslany. Much like an X-Files conspiracy, the show is a search for answers about why they were created and for what purpose? But at every turn a new question arises. And beyond bioethics and drama, the show's subtext is feminist concerns and class issues.
As the series begins its third season, the female clones of Project Leda are no longer alone. However, like a lot of mythology heavy TV shows, there is a question of how deep down the rabbit hole can a series go before it becomes a tangled mess of its own creation? You might need a pencil and paper to keep track of all the factions (and the factions within factions), who is on which side, and the purpose and agenda each group is working toward. And at times, it seems like the writers aren't really sure about the answers to those points, or know where they're going with them. But the draw and reason to watch is still Maslany, who amazes in multiple performances.
Continue below the fold for more.
From Lili Loofbourow at the New York Times:
The question at the show’s heart is whether the clones have free will and the right to lead normal lives, or if they are valuable only as experimental subjects to be monitored, impregnated, sterilized and policed. “It’s so thematically connected to feminist issues,” Graeme Manson, one of the show’s creators, told me. “Who owns you, who owns your body, your biology? Who controls reproduction?”
With any story centered around a mystery or elements of far-reaching conspiracies, invariably the longer it goes on the more convoluted the story will become. TV series predicated on revelations and answering questions, such as
Twin Peaks,
Lost,
Battlestar Galactica,
The X-Files, etc., usually have two options. One of the choices is to answer the main mystery, and build on the answer to setup a new focus. The drawback to this is the answer might not be a good one, or at least not anywhere as cool as the myriad possibilities in the imagination of fans. And the new mystery might not be as entertaining or as interesting as what originally drew the audience to the show in the first place. The other way of doing it is to keep growing the original mystery into an ever expanding web, where every new shocking clue only leads to more and more questions. However, this is the equivalent of stacking blocks straight up into the sky. The higher it goes, the more impressive it seems. But it also becomes very wobbly.
The second season of Orphan Black had more than a few wobbly moments and its forward momentum suffered. Keeping track of what Topside, Dyad, Old World Proletheans, New World Proletheans, Leda, and Castor meant, how many more version Maslany are still out there in the world, and the shifting allegiances of characters to the various sides, became part of the gobbledygook of the show's mythology. And by far the biggest addition to Orphan Black's mythology in season 2 was the reveal that former Prolethan acolyte Mark (Ari Millen) is actually part of a set of male clones created by the military under the name Project Castor.
If the Leda clones are a commentary on female agency (e.g., patented as property, their lives scrutinized, poked and prodded by scientists about their sexual activity, their fertility and reproductive abilities seen as a commodity, etc.), then the male clones of Castor are a deconstruction of masculinity. They were created for their ability to be weapons, tools to follow orders, and their behavior exhibits almost a sociopathic indifference to female suffering. The four brothers—Mark, Styles, Rudy and Seth—differ from the women in they were raised together as military assets by a "Mother" (Kyra Harper as Dr. Coady), and have been aware of their nature since they were children. So the differences in Millen's performance from clone to clone is a
bit more nuanced than Maslany's character creations.
“We’ll see that soldier mentality and that killer instinct and camaraderie of the Castor brothers, that sort of fraternity, but you’ll also see the viciousness and the craziness that is probably more of an act than a screw loose. But it’s all about intimidation,” Ari explained.
However, the strongest aspect of this show is not its mythology. It's the character moments and Maslany's performances. This is a series which has some very unsettling scenes, but also something like the
clone dance party. Those lighter moments, which can at times feel like heavy duty fan service, work because they still fit the the larger theme of the show. It's a family of sisters supporting each other against a world which devalues their existence.
Tatiana Maslany and Ari Millen in 'Orphan Black'
- Leda And Castor: For those that need a quick refresher on Greek and Roman mythology, the names are a reference to the story of Leda and the Swan. Depending on the version of the story one reads, Leda was a human woman who was either seduced or raped by Zeus in the form of a swan on the same night she slept with her husband, King Tyndareus. Leda then gave birth to Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra (future wife of Agamemnon), and sons Castor and Pollux. The parentage of the children are split, with Helen and Pollux being the children of Zeus, and Tyndareus the father of Castor and Clytemnestra.
- Am I You? Or Are You Me?: If you like watching Maslany play a clone pretending to be another clone, then you're going to like the season premiere. There are moments where it seems like a scene out of a 1980s sitcom.
- Felix And Cosima: The show's producers promise Felix (Jordan Gavaris) will have more depth this year, and will be more a person with wants and goals than an "accessory."
From Christina Radish at Collider:
Because Felix and Cosima will spend more time together this season, they’ll be relating to each other deeper than ever before. Said Gavaris, “They’re both gay, not that that’s who they are, by any stretch, but it is something that they share outside of the Leda drama and the sisters. When you know what it feels like to be oppressed and different, and to have to come out, that’s something that you share, that no one else can really understand. So, they find solace in one another. I think they’re both really lonely, especially after the way things have unfolded between Cosima and Delphine, and Felix can’t really seem to get anybody to stay.”
- Small Spoilers About Season 3: The audience might finally find out who Paul (Dylan Bruce) "really is," as well as get apologies and more backstory on Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy). The leadership of Dyad by Delphine (Evelyne Brochu) will be different from Rachel, but ambiguous as far as intent. Donnie (Kristian Bruun) and Alison are working together in a new business, with a new outlook for their family. And Cal (Michiel Huisman) will struggle to define his place with Sarah and Kira (Skyler Wexler).