"Orphan Black", Episodes 1-3 - Capsule Review

 

Don't know if I'll write anymore thoughts on individual episodes but I was enjoying Orphan Black far too much not to jot down cursory thoughts.
  
Minor Spoilers Below:

This early on the name of the game for Orphan Black appears to be consequences. In fact, the series in that regard that it most reminds me of is Breaking Bad. Sarah does one thing which leads to another which leads to yet another, and each reveal deepens and complicates the plot and our understanding of what's going on. This twistiness is part of the delightfulness of Orphan Black which as it expands becomes ever more fun and ever more crazy. The show has burnt through a fair amount of plot already only three episodes in, propelling forward, never content to stay still.

But even as the plot gets a little more holy shit-like, it continues to become ever more compelling. I'm not sure how the show can maintain this forward momentum. I feel as if this will fail the Homeland-test, where a great series pushes through so much plot that it can't sustain itself beyond a great first season. But for now, it remains to be thoroughly engrossing. The series started with a pretty crazy-cool concept with Sarah stealing the identity of a woman who could all but pass for her twin (oh little does she know) in order to runaway from her own life's problems. But turns out this woman, Beth, has some pretty burdensome issues on her end of things that make Sarah's life look like a a piece of cake by comparison.

So much of what makes this insanity work though (and I haven't even gotten to the standard bearer of crazy yet) is Tatiana Maslany's great performance. Maslany plays multiple parts, she makes every one of them have a unique flavor that sets them apart, and she makes it seem effortless. This is because as we learn in episode three that Sarah is *spoiler* a clone, one of many in some sort of scientific experiment that someone else (one of the clone's apparently) wants to shut down by killing all of the clones. *spoilers end*

This awesome but seemingly absurd premise sounds like it shouldn't work, but it somehow totally does. That's partly due to Maslany, but also partly due to the show taking seriously every knotty twist and turn. Rather than taking the easy way out with an explanation, say in deus ex machina fashion, the show tends to double down, always building its mythology out and making the corners it puts our protagonist into less cut and dry. For every corner the show puts Sarah into, it finds some brilliant, unexpected, but completely reasonable way out for her that you never see coming and makes all that backing into corners all the more exciting. Also, part of this success is that it's all pretty damn fun!

This all makes for a show that's part thriller, part science fiction, and part mystery (and occasionally a pretty good cop show). And thus far, it's a very smart, clever, and fun show. This could all go incredibly wrong but for now the mythology hasn't swallowed the series whole, and I can't wait for more.