Orphan Black Seasons One and Two

My Netflix saga continues with a show that took me a while to find! I actually had to watch it on Amazon because Amazon Prime exclusives (blabla legal stuffs) and of course it took me forever to realize that it was an Amazon Prime exclusive, but I’ve seen it know and I’m here to discuss seasons one and two of Orphan Black!

I had heard a few things about Orphan Black before I decided to check it out but I mostly went in blind and without many expectations. I was hooked from the first episode, and could not stop watching. Orphan Black does not waste time with pointless scenes of exposition about character backgrounds but instead throws the audience into the story and lets them figure things out as the story progresses. Viewers are introduced to Sarah’s character and history through dialogue between characters in early episodes. Through these early interactions in early episodes viewers can also pick up a things about Beth’s character and the people in her life. Both of these characters intrigued me from the first episode. I found Sarah the most interesting of all the clones in season one so I enjoyed when her character was being developed. Later when the second season came along and Rachel had her character developed she became my favorite clone just because of how interesting she was. I didn’t like her by any means but I was intrigued by her character and how she was tangled up with the clones despite herself also being a clone. I am excited to see where her character goes in future seasons.

Going into Orphan Black I had known that it was about clones and I had heard a little about how the lead actress plays all the clones but I did not know how brilliant of an idea this was until I began watching the show. Tatiana Maslany does an amazing job as the clones; giving each of them their own distinct personality. Having these characters that are all played by the same person gives the show-makers the luxury of whenever a clone is pretending to be another clone or disguising themselves as another clone— they can trick the audience as well as the characters, this makes the viewer feel like they are part of the story, and it allows for some twists.

While I did enjoy a lot of Orphan Black, I did have some issues with it. Most of my issues came up around the end of the first season and into the beginning of the second season (MINOR SPOILERS COMING UP).  After the season one finale I was excited to see how they would follow up that cliffhanger, but it turns out that they followed it up with a lot of red herrings that ultimately lead to nothing. I know that is kind of harsh and it is okay to have a few red herrings here and there, just don’t have your season finale based around one. Season two was also a time where a lot of side characters got screen time for things that just weren’t that interesting. I felt that some of the unimportant side plots could’ve been trimmed down or taken out and maybe replace with more character development moments for more important characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed Orphan Black despite its flaws. It hooked me from the very beginning and I am excited to watch season three when I get the chance. I hope that there is more character development in future season and that plots are more focused. I’ll keep you updated for when I watch any other seasons.

Keep Watching…

Meagan!