Introducing Orphan Black rewatch and recap

I forget when they started promoting Orphan Black before it premiered, but I think there were months of these somewhat trippy looking promos about a show where a woman finds out she’s a clone.  At the time I thought it looked interesting and figured I should check it out.  It was maybe three or four episodes in that I got fully hooked, and I now consider it my favorite show currently on air.  I bring this up now, because the fourth season begins April 14. 

Trying to explain the show in a few paragraphs is probably next to impossible.  So this is more why I like it.  It seems like a lot of shows these days are either stupid, or think convoluted plots are the same as interesting plots.  And while Orphan Black is complex and confusing at times, it’s done by people who – apparently – know what they’re doing.  They’re not being confusing to hide that they don’t have a plot, it’s just the best way to reveal the plot, if that makes sense.  It’s a show where, at the end of the season, you go back and rewatch the series to catch all the subtle hints that you hadn’t noticed.

Another big reason to enjoy the show is Tatiana Maslany who plays the clones.  She doesn’t just put on a different wig to play another clone.  When I first started watching the show, I figured there had to be twins, or women who looked very similar because there would be two or three clones interacting in a room and I thought They can’t all be the same person.  But they are.  And what makes it really interesting is that all of the clones are unique.  Sarah is distinct from Alison who is distinct from Cosima who is distinct from Helena who is distinct from Rachel.  (Those are the main five clones.)  But what really shows Maslany’s acting skill is when one clone impersonates another.  It isn’t just the regular Sarah version, it’s what Alison would do if she was trying to impersonate Sarah.  I know, it sounds weird, but if you’ve seen the show you know what I’m talking about.

So you have an interesting story told by people who aren’t jerking you around, with a fantastic leading actress. I highly recommend watching it. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s the official BBC America site.  

During the second season, I wrote up recaps of each episode along with my thoughts on a site that is no longer around.  Part of the reason was to get page views, but more importantly recapping a complex storyline helps keep everything together, and it made a handy guide to go back to review things.  During the third season, I wrote up recaps on a site that is still around, but probably not for long.  Fortunately, I was able to copy all of those posts.  So my plan is to rewatch the series before Season Four starts because it’s a good show and I like binge watching it.  But I’ll recap and add some thoughts for Season One, and then just revise my old posts.  There are ten episodes each season, so I’m going to try to get an episode a day up, which shouldn’t be too hard since I’ll probably watch the entire series in about a week.  Then come April 14, I’ll start recapping Season Four.