Orphan Black 3.06 - "Certain Agony of the Battlefield"

Before airing, there was a lot of hype surrounding the sixth episode of season 3.  Excitement!  Intrigue!  Promise!  And yes, it lived up to the expectation.  “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” is the best we've seen since the beginning of the season, and there are two main reasons for this: movement, and connection.

ORPHAN BLACK 3.06: "CERTAIN AGONY OF THE BATTLEFIELD"

Movement is the most basic reason this episode works as well as it does.  Things HAPPEN, and they happen to characters we care about.  We learned things, and this new information spins events in a new direction, stimulating characters to make choices and DO things.  The episode had not only ACTION, but REACTION, from Felix’s torture of Rachel, to Delphine’s return, to Paul’s discovery and subsequent sacrifice.  We are given refreshed stakes, a new villain, and reiterated themes.  This is the episode that revitalizes the season.

But this episode proffers more than movement; it gives us connection.  And this, I would argue, is what truly sets “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” apart from its in-season predecessors.  Connection is what gives us meaning, and grounds us in characters and relationships we care about.  As this show sprawls bigger and deeper, connection is what holds the far-reaching pieces tight to center.

The biggest connection of the episode was the tether to the original construct of the show: runaway girl steals identity of suicidal woman.  During Season 1, learning more about Beth was intrinsic to the plot, so that Sarah could believably live her life -- but as the show has developed outward, it’s been altogether too easy to forget who started this investigation in the first place.  Yes, Sarah is our main character, but she is carrying a blood-stained mantle.  “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” reminded us of this death toll, as it confronted us with Beth in Sarah’s fevered hallucinations, and what happened to send her - and us - on this journey.

The entire Beth sequence was fantastic, simply because there were a lot of layers to parse.  On a fundamental level, the stakes are refreshed for Sarah: the woman who came before her, a sister she never knew, fell victim to this pursuit.  She will not be the last.  Moreover, Beth is a projection of Sarah’s own point of view.  This Beth contains shades of Sarah, and it’s fitting that Beth screams at Sarah and calls her a liar.  Sarah herself is frustrated and disappointed and disbelieving in herself - in her ability to be a leader, compared to a cop with a nice house and beautiful life.  After all, Beth chose this fight.  Sarah just got sucked into it, in a moment of desperate self-preservation.  Will it consume them both?

But it’s through the divine anything-goes nature of dream sequence that we were given some truly lovely details of connection and meaning.  It’s not only a question of who, but where.  Sarah is led to Mrs. S's kitchen by a young Leda clone - herself?  A young Beth?  Or perhaps even a young Rachel?  As she finally arrives home after the journey from her prison cell, she’s greeted with Helena’s drawings on the fridge, and Beth holding two cups of tea.  This is a projection of Sarah’s family, fractured and fucked-up as it is.  At home with Mrs. S, with her sisters; these are the people who truly created her.  And this is, too, a happy ending, a drawn and dark surreality of what could have been.

Now, contrast that to the bright opening sequence in the first episode of this season, “The Weight of This Combination,” and we have another connection to draw meaning from.  Sarah’s fantasy both parallels and contrasts Helena’s, fittingly, and it seems that this season’s structure is therefore bisected into two halves.  It also serves as an extension of fantasy and reality that's been used throughout this season, from the very first moments of episode 1.  “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” defines this motif more in surreality vs. reality, but Alison and Donnie’s rap video sequence, Helena and Pupok, and Sarah's fever dreams still all contribute to a disorienting and delightful tension between what is real and what isn’t.

Finally, these moments of connection trickled all the way down to the editing.  During Sarah’s dream sequence, they match cut Sarah’s horror-stricken face to her shots from Beth’s suicide in the Pilot.  Holy shit.  Even moments of reveal were stitched together across the continent, as Paul and Mark reached the same conclusion about the Castor STD at the same time as Cosima and Delphine.  Little choices like that help to connect the disparate characters and locations.  For me, the flashback cutaways to Paul felt a teensy bit less motivated, but I did appreciate the “What kind of guy am I?  You know what kind of guy I am” snippet simply because it’s such a non-answer that reminds us that Paul was so good at vaguely defining himself in a way that could easily be perceived as charming.  What a line, Major Dierden.

It bears stating, though, that Paul was deployed to best effect in this episode - which is the least they could do, since they were going to kill him off.  But in all seriousness, I love that Paul sprang to action when he realized that Coady was experimentally sterilizing women without their consent.  While Paul’s loyalties were purposefully nebulous throughout, this is a story fundamentally about women fighting for the right to their own identity and decisions - and to see Paul go out blazing in support of that was both rewarding and resonant.

Even beyond Paul, “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” used its characters and the story around them to excellent effect.  At the most basic level, it was lovely to have all clones at play and in action - we had substantial moments with Sarah, Alison, Helena, Cosima, Rachel, and Dream!Beth.  (Did Tatiana Maslany sleep at all when they filmed this?)  One step deeper, the specific choices regarding these characters were grounded in emotion, and not plot.  Felix tortures Rachel because he loves his sister, and he’s afraid she’s in danger.  Rachel breaks down because her life is in pieces now, and she’s left only with her own memories and a paintbrush.  Helena returns to save Sarah because they are sisters, and the guilt was too much to bear.  Cosima acts with compassion towards Gracie because she is not just Geek Monkey - she is life, and humanity, and warmth.

Actually - let’s talk about Cosima more, because I wish the show would.  I admit, I yawned a bit at the idea that she has a new love interest, because, well, lady-loving aside, who cares?  The start of it was a bit sudden, and looking too much like a Triangle for me to be truly engaged.  But the choices being made about Shay and how the relationship develops are providing some welcome insight to Cosima’s emotional landscape this season.  With both Delphine and Shay in the episode, the contrast becomes apparent: Cosima went from dating Science Chic, who is currently flat-ironed to within an inch of her structured wardrobe, to Zen Buddhist Babe, who specializes in spiritual counseling, flowy robes, and juicing.

This leads me to a desperate, begging, impatient question: when are we going to see more of Cosima’s spiritual arc this season?!  If you’ll excuse the inelegance: I want it.  Gimme it.  Please???

In all seriousness, I am 100% invested in where Cosima’s storyline goes from here, even with regards to Delphine and Shay.  They are, after all, the two polarities of her personality, and therefore relevant to her seeming negotiation of science and faith.  Even on a logistical level - how exactly does one date outside the Clone Club and its extended monitor pool?  This can’t end well, right?  It seems inevitable that Delphine will make some emotional decisions that will not be well-coiffed when under the pressure of hair straightening, tight zippers, and missing your girlfriend that you’re still in love with but sacrificed for the wrong reasons.  Messy Delphine Breakdown: we are a go.  (Maybe Shay can help her with some spiritual counseling afterward.  I feel so much more at ease with a spiritual counselor in the ensemble.  Everyone on this show needs it.  Which means that Shay is not long for this narrative, sadly.)

Even with these impassioned pleas, it’s near inarguable that “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” was the best outing this season.  Not only does the episode push forward with new stakes and mysteries, it put forth an ensemble of emotional connections grounded in the show’s own strengths.  More than anything, “Certain Agony of the Battlefield” reminded us not only of the original premise, but also of its central and dire themes, surrounding that with the characters we love trying to do the right thing in chaotic situations.  What more could we want?

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• Blah, blah, Paul loved Sarah and not Beth.  This felt a bit too easily-worked, especially in conjunction with Art talking about how he loved Beth.  Romance tradesies only really works on sitcoms, methinks.  Also: poor Beth.

• What would Beth think about Sarah and all this new information?  I'd love a kinder, more compassionate Beth to eventually come to Sarah in hallucination, just to tell her poor sister she's doing okay.  This shit ain't easy.  Both ladies deserve some peace.

• We got mention that Mark was on Sammy’s team - not Paul’s, in a bit of clever cover-up for their scene last year that made no mention of dying Castor clones.  Double cleverness - Sammy is presumable Tony’s buddy that sent him to Beth Childs last season.  (CONNECTION!)

• I love Dr. Virginia Coady in all her villainy.  Is she still alive?  Because from the previews, we got another mama in town, and I want Mrs. S. to get her groove back.

• If Rachel knows Duncan’s code, then why the hell did she go to such great lengths to get them last season?  I assume the brain injury has something to do with the sudden information, in a dark bit of irony.

• Delphine’s taking this “monitor” thing way more seriously than she ever did when she was actually a monitor.  Babygirl is so non-threatening that she may as well have been swigging scotch out of a sippie cup.  (I say lovingly.  I'm actually really worried about Delphine.)

Orphan Black Season 3 First Half Review

Forgive me Clone Club, for I have dropped the ball. In a perfect world, I would have every review individually posted the day after the episode airing, analysed corner-to-corner, free of awkward run-on sentences and full of quotable insight. Alas, the reality is this: I spent the entire premiere review babbling about Delphine and then she disappeared for four episodes and I couldn’t get my act together and write anything else. Am I that transparent-slash-lazy? (Apparently.)

So, in an attempt to make up for my absence, and a compromise on the amount of content I’d otherwise have to saddle myself with -- please accept this humble review of the first half of Orphan Black Season 3.

ORPHAN BLACK 3.02 - 3.05 - Half-Season Review

With Season 3 halfway complete, it’s a bit easier to have some perspective on the shape of the story and how it’s being deployed. It was clear from Episode 3.01, though, that this season is ticking at a different pace. And even though it’s intentional, and organic to the current story, it also presents some issues about the way this season is forced to develop.

The challenge is in the change: I would argue that this show’s DNA is built on showing Sarah Manning on the run or kicking and screaming. This fight-or-flight instinct has worked beautifully for OB in the past two seasons, because its main character is defined by a storytelling element that organically raises the stakes and demands audience investment. Yes, we are searching for answers, but we are also being chased, and this influence from both directions means that the show can speed forward easily with mystery and danger.

Now we’re in Season 3, and every pursuant threat has been neutralized: the police are no longer on Sarah’s tail, DYAD and the Proletheans have been eliminated (thanks to a well-placed pencil and some fire), and Cosima’s illness is mysteriously ebbed. What exactly are the elements of danger urging Sarah and Co. forward?

Enter the boy clones.

The boy clones exist in a strange space on the show, because they are both villain and mirror to our Leda clones. This is, of course, not a bad thing - look at Helena and Rachel, after all. But this abstract is not quite to maximum effect in execution. From a plotting perspective, their existence alone doesn’t really amount to a threat level on the Leda clones comparable to what we’ve known. And on a character level, I fear we just don’t care about them. Selling their content in Season 3 has been contingent on the audience caring about them. They are in a position much like the Leda clones in Season 1 - they are dropping dead from a mysterious genetic deviation, seeking answers as the clock runs out. We should care! Hell, we did care!

So why aren’t we caring now? I have no doubt that the OB writers know how to make an audience engage with a character. I think the bigger issue is a conflict of focus. With the Boy Clone Reveal (™) of last season, much of the audience flipped out, and we were reassured that the Boy Clones would not steal focus. (We were given no warning about Delphine and her hair straightener.) But… if the Castor Clones going to occupy the screen with Leda-style stakes and obstacles, propelled by the driving elements of mystery and danger… then we have to care about them, or else it all collapses.

It feels like there’s a reluctance to give these clones more screentime than absolutely necessary, so we get plot-relevant information about Castor, but no emotional anchor or barometer. It’s the Paul Problem, but multiplied - the characters fall flat, so we are kindly not invited to care about them, but they’re still around. And even though the boy clones are experiencing similar dangers as the girl clones, our earned love for the Leda ladies doesn’t really translate to Castor compassion. It’s more something along the lines of Why the hell aren’t my favorites onscreen more?

This isn’t helped by the fact that the Leda clones are largely sequestered into their own storylines right now. Scoot Alison out any further and she’s basically on her own HBO show. Cosima’s dissecting dead guys and going on dates, and Rachel is re-learning how to speak. They’re not working together on anything, because there’s little to work on. There’s nothing behind them chasing them forward, and the only character being pulled into action is Sarah. But even to find Helena, she gets tangled up in the Castor narrative point of view for three episodes.

There are, of course, interesting elements both at play and emerging. I love that Cosima appears to have a question of science and spirituality running undercurrent in the wake of her recovery. I love that Orphan Black continues to proliferate its active characters with a spectrum of badass Mothers holding shit together - the latest of which, Dr. Virginia Coady, is yet another brand of tough. Where Mrs. S. is a rebel and Marian Bowles is an executive, Dr. Coady is military. She is clearly Mom-with-Sons, and wields her motherhood with weaponized grit and guilt. I’m curious to see what she’s capable of, to achieve her goal.

The interaction between Helena and Sarah will always remain a core dynamic on the show, and their reunion and subsequent teamwork is full of depth and nuance. The push-and-pull of their love is a fitting manifestation of the individual frictions in their own personalities, and their inexorable tether to each other.

Helena herself remains a showcase this season, pivoting yet again into another dimension of her character. Season 1 saw Helena as a monster, then a victim. Season 2 showed us a victim, a fighter, and a kid sister. Season 3 is synthesizing these ideas, keeping every aspect of Helena alive and tangible, in a fascinating dance. Helena takes two lives in two episodes, and the dichotomy sums it up: one is a mercy kill, to allow a suffering soul some peace. The other is a sudden strike, to eliminate a body standing between herself and the exit. Helena is capable of both love and torment, wrapped messily in the same package.

Not only this, but Helena’s actions tell us more: she betrays Sarah, because Sarah betrayed her. Helena has been caged for much of her life, and brainwashed to recite the lines of an institution. In Season 1, she acted for the Proletheans. In Season 2, she acted for Sarah - her family. Helena’s connection to her sisters is a driving force for the character, but her role as watchdog and protector is not a huge deviation from her participation with religion. She just readjusted her faith, and devoted it to her sestra.

But with Helena’s choice to leave Sarah at the compound, we see Helena acting of her own feelings. This is a different wound, and harder to identify. But she recognizes betrayal because she now also recognizes true love. There’s this wonderful thread happening with Helena’s emotional independence, that really kicked off last season with Jesse. She is beginning to seek love, and independence, and relative normalcy, in a way that allows for her own wishes and desires and feelings. And while the narrative is reminding us that Helena is capable of terrible, monstrous things, Helena’s betrayal of Sarah is the most human we’ve ever seen her.

In all, the first half of season 3 sprawls far and can’t quite pull its weight into momentum. I suspect, though, that like other intricate world-heavy mysteries before it, this season of Orphan Black might be best devoured in one sitting, binge-style. Waiting week-to-week for each episode is a challenge, and certainly not an advantage to the plates they’ve got spinning.

Even so, the characters at the core of this show remain wonderfully developed, performed, and beloved, and any stumbles or stretches are grounded by Tatiana’s performances and the dynamics in the Leda clone sisters and their allies. As this show sprawls further and plots deeper, the family story at the center is always the best investment and reward.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• Art being in love with Beth is not something I didn’t want, but also not something I needed? I’m delighted to have Art in the fold but giving him a romantic reason after all this time feels a bit false. If you show us his dedication, it’s not necessary to declare his motivation.

• The reveal of the Castor Clone STD is interesting and horrifying by the same token, in an extended grim horror about tampering with the clones’ reproductive systems. It also twists the story back into the realm of violation of womanhood, a theme this show handles with fire.

• The “us vs. them” philosophy is taking new meaning in this third season. The military clones are purposefully designed to be part of a whole, to the point where they are branded with their affiliation. They are not individuals, but simple participants. This also translates to a level of exclusivity. Dr. Coady tells Mark about Gracie: “She’s not one of us.” Meanwhile, Sarah’s acting like the boy clones’ genetic brother status means they’re doing Thanksgivings together now, and Mrs. S. is taking in more wayward kids like family-expanding is going out of style. I’d like to see this friction and shift explored more in future episodes.

• I’m excited for Delphine’s return, but I’m not sure it could have as much impact as I had expected for the season. She hit the scene hard in the first episode and then disappeared, taking my dreams of a focused character breakdown with her. But maybe it’s not too late.

• I’m curious if the reveal that Cal designed and sold weapons will be paid off in the second half of the season. Hopefully in a non-tragic, Kira-is-safe kind of way.

• Strange feelings about Art and Mrs. S. interacting with shared concern towards Sarah??? Please play with this more, writers. (But mostly, I’m highly invested in getting Mrs. S’s groove back and patching things up with Sarah.)

• Sarah’s plea as Helena left her only served to heighten the horror and heartbreak we all felt. Though desperate and reactive, “Without me, you have nobody,” is also a bit cruel.

Orphan Black 3.01 - "The Weight of this Combination"

Remember last season, when Project Castor was introduced, and we all had a collective stab of panic about Boy Clones stealing focus? WELP, turns out we had nothing to worry about, at least for the present moment. Yes, Boy Clones wreaked havoc through the Season 3 opener - BUT. There was only one party turning heads and snatching the spotlight, and she looked good.

But more on that in a moment.

ORPHAN BLACK 3.01 - “THE WEIGHT OF THIS COMBINATION”

It’s clear from the first moments of “The Weight of this Combination” that we are staring down a different kind of animal than led the previous two seasons. Where the first two Orphan Black premieres share a similar tone and structure, the third kickoff burns at a different pace, with new elements at play and at stake. Where Seasons 1 and 2 both begin with a cataclysmic event that spins the world into a desperate chase, Season 3 rotates slowly on its own axis, requiring its characters to stand still and endure as they embark on a mental long game. Ruse, tension, and fear all mark the hour, instead of shock, acceleration, and pursuit.

With things momentarily settled in agitation, “The Weight of this Combination” wisely invests in two different ventures: 1) wishful thinking, and 2) anticipation. We see the first immediately, through Helena’s fantasy baby shower, perhaps possible if only she weren’t boxed up by the military. It’s heart-breakingly earnest, with Helena as the glowing recipient of fond smiles and thoughtful presents. In this happy place, she can live peaceably with her Sestras, and Kira, and Brother Sestra, as she awaits the newest member of their family. No Thomas, no Henry, no DYAD. Wouldn’t it be nice, indeed.

But alas, this ideal is impeded by an unfortunate reality, and when you go seeking heartbreak in the premiere, you find more incidents of real life splintering fantasy. The truth that Mrs. S. gave Helena to the military finds Sarah quickly, and Siobhán can do little but stand guiltily on her wartime decision while Sarah bruisingly casts her out of “her people.” To Siobhán, Sarah is choosing an extremist who tried to kill her over the woman who raised her and protected her, and it seems as though the family these two created is disintegrating as a result of the onslaught of circumstance. A happy possibility thwarted by reality.

The next sighting of painful truth comes with Delphine and Cosima’s break-up. If you’re looking for one ultimate single moment of heartbreak in this episode, look no further than Cosima's devastatingly vulnerable “I love you,” a half-hearted protest that she knows is not enough. The irony of Cosima and Delphine’s love story is the fact that it’s so unlikely, in such unlikely circumstances, but this element that brought them together is also going to tear them apart. Like Mrs. S., Delphine is being pushed out of the Clone Circle, because they are not clones. They cannot truly be allies, not because they’re not clones, but because of what being a clone means.  It’s no accident that Cosima also offers up a quiet “I love you” to Alison and Sarah, and is actually reciprocated.

In these elements of insidious reality, we begin to see slow shifts and stage-settings for what might come. Anticipation laces through the hour, and is echoed in the structure of tension and suspense. The first half of the episode awaits Ferdinand, the cleaner, and the second half awaits his realization that Delphine is tricking him by imposing Sarah as Rachel and Alison as Sarah.  We learn that two glimmer-eyed Boy Clones are skidding along a mission of violence and chaos, and we learn that Topside is also working on taking out the remaining Leda clones. We get a hint of some kind of rage trigger for the Castor Clones, perhaps a side effect in the same vein as Leda’s issues stemming from the eugenic infertility. And we even get a hint of a hint at Kira’s possible magical properties, perhaps linking her miraculous survival of being hit by a car in S1 with the dream retrieval of Cosima from death’s door. (Am I reaching here? Weigh in.)

But perhaps the most interesting anticipation comes in the shift with Delphine. With her newly straightened hair and ambiguous morals, Delphine skyrockets onto the scene as a Major Player of Season 3. It’s swift, it’s sudden, and it’s terrifying.

This change is even more drastic when I consider the fact that I personally have never felt compelled to delve into the character, simply because her existence on the show could be summed up as a well-meaning soft-heart who loves science and Cosima and is thus very bad at being a monitor and/or double agent. I actually want to take a moment to bring in one of the few things I’ve put down about Delphine, from last season’s premiere review:

…it bears stating that Sarah’s enemies affiliate with a tribe, whereas her allies are all individuals. It’s more apparent than ever in the “Nature Under Constraint and Vexed.” [... ] The help that Art, Paul, and Delphine provide to the clones relies on the idea that they’re betraying the organization to which they belong by acting of their own individual accord. [They] know the clones as humans, largely because they share human relationships with them. Art sees a partner, Paul and Delphine see lovers, Helena sees a sister. Like Delphine said: they’re invested. The humanity afforded the clones directly correlates with the help these people provide, which fosters the idea that they are thinking free of - and acting against - their embedded tribe. 

Of course, OB is still playing with the idea of loyalty, particularly with Delphine and Paul. Does loyalty to Cosima mean heeding her verbalized wishes, or does it mean turning over blood samples to DYAD because they’re the ones who can save her? The cast and writers have been very clear that Delphine’s feelings for Cosima are genuine (mercifully side-stepping the evil/manipulating/doomed lesbians trope) and so what’s interesting is how Delphine processes these feelings and how that manifests in her choices. This particular decision clearly indicates that she still has some faith to her tribe, in spirit if not motive. Delphine is not being blackmailed, unlike Paul, and therefore her lingering loyalty to DYAD and Leekie speaks more of her faith in science than anything else. Ironically, this characteristic that’s “betraying” Cosima is probably also what connects her to Cosima. Even more ironically, Delphine’s approach thus far in S2 is very reminiscent of S1 Cosima: she knows she’s being played, but she still plays, through some faith in the system and her own power. She believes she can use her affiliation with DYAD as an advantage. But this is group vs. individual, and it’s difficult to be optimistic about that in this universe. It seems inevitable that Delphine’s conflation of science with a group of scientists is going to burn her this season.

Damn!!! In last season’s premiere, it seemed inevitable that Alison, Rachel, and Delphine would experience harsh breakdowns because of an inability to cope with messy entanglements. Alison and Rachel have already experienced theirs, but Delphine…? Season 3 may be her time. The shift from Being Played to Major Player is huge, and it happens quickly. How much time has passed from 2.10 to 3.01 - a week? In this time, Delphine swiftly ascends the cold throne of DYAD, straightens her hair, and assumes the role of Rachel. “We all have our part to play,” she tells Cosima, and we can safely infer that Delphine believes this is hers, and the only option for her.

The fact that this realization and transformation is offscreen is a damn shame, because watching Delphine learn to inhabit the skin of Rachel Duncan would not be unlike watching Sarah Manning learn to inhabit the skin of Beth Childs, an iconic montage in the original Pilot. (Sarah’s makeover into Rachel is a half-callback, certainly welcome but not weighty. You’re damn right.) Delphine begins to straighten her hair, and dress differently - more structured, more crisp, more severe. But more than the look, Delphine has the walk. Who has two thumbs, speaks unlimited French, and made Rachel Duncan cry today? Au revoir, chiot.

There’s another detail of note that embodies Delphine’s shift - in 2.01, she stands apart from her organization because she sees the clones as individuals. Cosima, and her sisters. However, by 3.01, as The New Rachel, she must see them all as equal. They are a group, and for the purpose of self-preservation and larger goal, Cosima can no longer be unique upon Delphine. These are their parts. It is also Delphine’s part to ask Rachel’s doctor to prioritize Leda as a project over the individuality of its components. Delphine’s perspective has forcibly shifted, from individual to group, as she steps into power in the only place it exists in this narrative - with the group.

The fundamental question here is this: can Delphine sustain this level of armor? Can a woman who tripped and fell in her own feelings for a test subject really separate her heart and her reality? What is she capable of, and will it be the thing that finally breaks her - an inevitability set up one season ago? She can barely contain her sobs until Cosima retreats into Felix’s apartment, and while Cosima is certainly a soft spot, it’s still a glimmer of weakness in Delphine’s sleek facade. The holograph flickers, and we see reality underneath. And because this image is clearly adopted, it begs the final question of this shift: how will this change her? Will we lose another ideal happiness to the cold clutch of circumstance? The answer, standing at the start of the season, points drearily to yes.

And we were worried about boy clones. Although. We probably should be worried about Boy Clones because two of them are picking people off and exercising naked, and neither of these threats can be ignored. Regardless, The New Rachel Delphine was the surprise magnet of the episode, and this transformation is poised to be a fascinating and complex time bomb throughout the season.

In all, “The Weight of this Combination” keeps its hand steady as it tasks our clones with new challenges and dangers, surrounding them with fresh enemies and an ever-shifting circle of allies. Even though this premiere breaks pattern, it still holds promise, as the first gulp of a breath-held season filled with difficult choices, unavoidable circumstances, and the inevitable interplay between reality and what we want.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• Guess Alison and Donnie are gonna take out a School Trustee this season.  I really hope they just mean metaphorically.  #littleHendrixThings

• "I don't want to participate in any more Secret Shit," says Scott.  "I see your point," Cosima nods. "But what about THIS Secret Shit?"

• I want to know what kind of store Bubbles is.  I MUST know.

The Legend of Korra: Season 2 Review

One thing that I didn’t initially realize about Avatar was the scope and pace of the show - all three seasons span one overarching story, with a consistent narrative pull. Most TV shows segment their plot into individual seasons, and it seemed unexpected to spread one large plot across the whole show. Then somehow it was equally unexpected that Korra does quite the opposite. After finishing the S1 finale, with the villains vanquished and the protagonist embodying new powers, the question is immediate: what’s Season 2 going to be about?

Well, turns out there was no possible way that anyone could have accurately predicted what was coming next. Because HOLY NARRATIVE SHIFT, BATMAN.

THE LEGEND OF KORRA, SEASON 2

Okay, let’s get it out in the open: Book 2 has some flaws. It’s definitely an imperfectly-executed season, that’s top-heavy in content and overstuffed with side plots that either a) aren’t unraveled with maximum interest, or b) ultimately don’t matter. This leads to a strange paradox where the whole thing is somehow both rushed and slow to pace, both thematically intricate and undercooked. This also makes it very difficult to parse, and even harder to evaluate unilaterally.

For my purposes, the shining core of the season belongs to Korra, her relationship with the spiritual world, and the mythos of the Avatar role. Korra’s spiritual development is something that was touched on in the first season, and Book 2 evolves her even further, with deliberate and organic growth. The season doesn’t start to gel until Korra is swallowed by a dark spirit and connects with the Avatar lineage, and from there, this thread is the strongest through to the finale.

What I love about Korra in Book 2 is the way the narrative handles her. She is very purposefully a flawed protagonist. The first we see her in this season, she uses the Avatar State to win a race with Tenzin’s kids. Not exactly the picture of responsibility. More than that, she’s decidedly stubborn with her parents and Tenzin, and puts her faith in the wrong guy. She’s belligerent with authority, argues endlessly with Mako, and she definitely makes some mistakes. But what’s lovely about her arc in Book 2 is the subtle transition that is best identified simply as maturity. I love a good growing-up arc because its hallmarks are difficult to identify, and therefore more challenging to devise and track from a writing perspective.

In doing this, Korra develops its main character without deploying the oft-used device of “one fatal mistake.” Yes, there is inherent tragedy in the fact that Korra has fundamentally altered the lineage of the Avatar - but there’s also the solace that she really didn’t do anything wrong. Some shit went down, she did her best to stop it, and even though she was ultimately successful, some bad consequences snuck through. She didn’t have a fatal flaw; she didn’t make that One Doomed Mistake; her weaknesses weren’t her undoing. In fact, the show takes time to develop her out of her weaknesses, and doesn’t rub her face in her shortcomings. The narrative teaches her by guidance, not through punishment. Korra is not humiliated or shamed; she tries, and she learns.

This is beautifully supported in the origin story of the Avatar. It would be very easy to dramatize Wan’s mistake of helping Vaatu, and to portray his subsequent responsibility as tortured penance for his errors. It would also be very easy to invent an Avatar back story where the first Avatar is blessed with powers because he is Chosen, Special, and Good. Korra isn’t interested in unilateral incarnations of Good and Evil in stark contrast to one another. Why else would Vaatu and Raava be intertwined? No, there is no good or evil - there is only choice. Wan made a choice with some bad information, and his eventual responsibility of power is directly correlated to this concept of human error anchored by good intention.

What’s fantastic about this decision is that it’s echoed thematically throughout the season. If you ignore everything else in Book 2 but Korra’s spirit-related storylines, this shit is tight. (A bit heavy, yes, but TIGHT.) The key learning point for Korra is that the spirits are neither good nor evil, but rather a reflection of the humans they interact with. “A New Spiritual Age” is the best episode of the season for me, simply because it’s such a keystone moment for Korra’s development. A surreal dreamscape painted with metaphor and parable, Korra’s journey to the spiritual world is actually a journey within, illuminating the relationship between fear, faith, and the reality you manifest from inside yourself.

That your world is colored by your own perspective brings to light another of Book 2’s strongest storylines - the explored dynamic of Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi. Like with the origins of the Avatar, it would be all too simple to portray Aang as an amazing hero, person, and father. The Aang-and-Katara family is in prime position for fawning and glory, given their roles in Avatar (and also that they’re awesome). But Korra once again doesn’t dally with flat dynamics where it counts - Aang’s family is not perfect, and many of the issues stem from his role in it.

It is so refreshing to see a protagonist and all-around narrative hero portrayed critically and dimensionally, without judgment. I loved watching the push-and-pull between Tenzin, Kya, and Bumi, and each new way that their issues surfaced. Of course, Bumi’s experience is unique because he isn’t a bender. Of course, Tenzin’s experience is unique because he carries the airbending tradition. Of course, Kya’s experience is unique because she played a strong caretaking role, especially with Katara. And I love that Katara isn’t used as a wizened motherly figure to step in and sort all this out. She sits back and lets it play out, which is maybe bad, maybe good - but definitely real, and imperfect.

Tenzin’s spiritual storyline is also strong, and full of refreshing choices that reflect Korra’s commitment to dimensional and thematic storytelling. First, it’s a lovely choice to give Korra’s spirit guide role to Jinora, not the traditional spiritual mentor. Then we learn that Tenzin’s never actually been able to visit the Spirit World, which is another fantastic choice. The resolution comes with Tenzin in the Fog of Lost Souls, fittingly, where he reconnects with his true identity and sheds the self-imposed burden of his father’s legacy.

Were this not already an excellent convergence of theme and metaphor, its effect extends from Tenzin to Korra, when Korra rises to the occasion even after the spirit of Raava is pulled from her. As Tenzin is not Aang, a powerful good who came before him, Korra is not Raava either. Their worth is not wrapped up in the legacy of Good, because good versus evil is a complicated concept. Good versus evil only exists because people make decisions to look for the light, or only see dark. People with good intentions make mistakes, people with misguided ideas try to apply them to everyone, and everyone struggles with a false perspective that limits their light - their true selves.

So, that’s the good stuff - and oh, is it amazing-level good stuff. It handles archetypal ideas with such light and shade, and grounds its mythos in theme and character. But chances are if you are not Korra, a blood relative of Aang, or directly tied to the myth arc of the Spirit World, then your part in Book 2 was some iteration of well-intentioned mess, theoretically awesome but effectively underwhelming by comparison. A brief run-through:

Issue 1. The social politics of Northern and Southern Water Tribes are ultimately lost on the season. It should be interesting, but the story affords very little time to understanding the cultural context for each place, and altogether it’s not enough to resonate. It is not promising when you have a Civil War in the first act of your season that peters out in relevance halfway through. What works really well about the social politics is the idea that the Northern condemnation of the Southerners having abandoned their connection to the spirits, but unfortunately this barely even serves as relevant backdrop.

Issue 2. Connecting Korra to the conflict through her family didn’t work for the same reasons - why do we care about her parents? It’s unfortunate, but there’s no time to care. Ma and Pa Korra are standard parents without any defining qualities, and their presence feels flat and unnecessary. To boot, staging another brother-vs-brother waterbender conflict seemed a bit thin, especially when the Big Bad is the protagonist’s uncle. Could be interesting, yes, but it wasn’t made unique or individually developed in the narrative. Unalaq and Tonraq’s conflict didn’t connect to Korra in any meaningful way except the baseline that they’re family - but this choice never has any life breathed into it.

Issue 3. Varrick is another example of a potentially-interesting political and social thread. He is a delightful deployment of chaotic capitalism, funding both Team Avatar and the Southern Water Tribe to instigate the capital’s involvement in the Civil War. His use of propaganda is another interesting facet on the season’s brief exploration of the powerful mindlessness of public entertainment - but there’s not enough commentary there. The narrative spends too much time trying to create mystery about him being Good or Evil when it just doesn’t matter. Isn’t it more interesting if we know all along that Varrick serves his own needs, for better or for worse? Isn’t it more interesting to posit a flawed and narcissistic force technically acting for Good? And isn’t a runaround detective plot revealing that Varrick might be a Bad Guy counterintuitive to some of the main themes of the season?

Issue 4. This same need for “mystery” plagues Unalaq’s villainy storyline as well, primarily in the beginning of the season. It’s painfully obvious, given Korra’s stubborn rebuke of Tenzin and Tonraq, that the Avatar is making a Huge Mistake with her alliances. The audience is screechingly aware that Unalaq is not going to have good intentions. So why not lean into that and show us some of his scheming? With both Varrick and Unalaq, it would have been better to not waste time with intrigue and skip straight to dramatic irony. Show us their maligned plans so that we can feel fear for what Team Avatar doesn’t yet know and what possibly might befall them.

Issue 5. Another bad side effect of “concealing” Varrick’s alliances is the fact that Mako chases a remote for four episodes. Mako as a hardboiled detective is a mostly useless story thread, because it’s tied to many things that narratively don’t weigh enough - the Civil War, Varrick’s evil plans, Asami losing her business. The sting episode is completely pointless, as it not only tangles dramatically with plot threads that don’t matter, but it also hints at Mako’s past gang affiliation without actually acting on it. Most importantly, it affords us only the briefest glimpses of Lin Beifong in Season 2, so what’s the point?

Issue 6. This leads me to the last issue - the season does its best to incorporate supporting characters, but the execution just isn’t there. Bolin’s character takes a turn for the south with his stint as a self-important actor/lovesick boyfriend. Asami is barely relevant, showing up when it’s time to pilot something or cause romantic tension. Lin Beifong’s shining moment is swinging the president to safety, which is awesome, but otherwise she is a mere accessory to the season. And it’s definitely a challenge - I don’t know that there would be an organic way to push Korra forth on her spiritual journey and effectively include the rest of Team Avatar, given the overarching themes of the season.  That being said, it was especially disappointing to see the reduced screentime for Asami and Beifong, considering the strong moments afforded them in Book 1.

Ultimately, though, this season went hard and did a massive amount of storytelling. It set out to change the show’s universe as we understood it - and it achieved that. It created real stakes for Korra and Tenzin, and let them experience failure and undoable consequences. Once again, I’m left at the end of the season wondering how exactly the show will spin this world anew. We move forward into the unknown, choices made, Avatar lineage severed, and the worlds connected to bring spirits and humans together again. Even with the issues of execution, Korra Book 2 puts forth a damn impressive display of character, theme, and storytelling - all in pursuit of a massive narrative shift that fundamentally alters its main character and the world around, and within her.

The Legend of Korra: Season 1 Review

Recently, I started watching The Legend of Korra.

And I love it.

So, in the interest of writing about things I love - I’m endeavoring to jot down some of my ideas as I watch. At first, I planned on a casual liveblog, as a new format that encourages brevity and faster updates… but then I consumed the entire first season way too quickly to give any kind of play-by-play.

The good news is that I’ve pressed pause between Seasons 1 and 2 so that I’m able to write a season review! Half live-blog, half-analysis, I intend on it being a bundle of my thoughts and feelings in season-long batches. Those of you who have seen the whole show can point and laugh at all the things I don’t know yet, and all the emotions that haven’t yet destroyed me. (I do know the final shot though. I don’t live under a rock.)

THE LEGEND OF KORRA - SEASON 1

A dear friend of mine introduced me to Avatar: The Last Airbender maybe four years ago, and I’m embarrassed to say it took me a stupid amount of time to get through the show. (Three of those four years, basically. I told you it was embarrassing.) For some reason, I needed time to adjust to the world, and my fondness for the characters was a slow build - almost as slow as me getting around to watching each next episode. But eventually, something hooked, and I started snowballing. I’m happy to say that, in the end, I love the show dearly. It does very lovely things with its characters and themes, and there’s so much heart and humor at its core.

I tell you about my experience with Avatar not because it’s particularly interesting, but because it’s necessary. At first Avatar was presented to me on the mere premise of I think you will like this show, but then Korra premiered, and the recommendation leveled up to you must watch this show because Korra is waiting for you. And after just one season of Korra, I can say that this is true. Korra feels like a heart-and-soul show for me, but I can’t imagine loving it as much without the foundation that Avatar built.

This is absolutely part of the show’s construction, though. Korra picks up 60 years after Avatar left off, giving itself perfect opportunities to cash in on the immediate questions the scenario entails. What happened to each of our kids? Where are Katara, and Sokka, and Zuko, and Toph? What kinds of lives did they lead? What kind of world did they help create? How do the events of Korra relate to the events of Avatar? Katara shows up in the first five minutes, as if to say, “Don’t worry, friends. You’re home.” Then we meet Tenzin, and Lin, and eventually Iroh, and we have connections to the old world that immediately draw us in and make us want to learn more. The mere premise of the show invites devotion, and as it marches on, the showrunners employ this emotional engagement with panache.

Have I mentioned I love the art of this show?

But it’s not like Korra relies solely on its history without creating anything of its own. The show wastes no time expanding its world in one swift motion - and oh, what a world it is. Republic City is brand-new and bustling, gleaming with art deco extravagance and looming threats of danger to come. (I love the STYLE of this show. It’s so unique and dynamic and textured.) There’s organized sports, organized crime, social unrest, and a well-orchestrated police force - all introduced and made breathing within the first two episodes. Korra takes its pre-existing world and isn’t lazy with it; rather bursting it forward with its own life and unique conflict.

With this distinct world comes distinct differences, mixing uniquely with distinct characterizations. The role of the Avatar in Korra is not the same as the role Aang played. Aang, as a hero, functioned in the narrative as an “only hope,” with extinction behind him and a long path to rebuilding a world of promise. This is a classic hero’s journey - he is chosen, to vanquish an evil and restore balance to a burning world. But by contrast, Aang’s emotional journey isn’t as archetypal. As any hero, he has to overcome internal obstacles, but unlike most heroes, these fears are connected largely to guilt and grief.

Korra, on the other hand, is inverse. She is not chosen in the embers of a once-great civilization - she inherits a vibrant world that may still be too new to stand strong. She is burdened not with building, but with maintaining, and where Aang was tasked with staying hidden, Korra must exist in the spotlight. The Avatar is a public position, and she is in full view of an entire civilization, with its own political strife, criminal robber barons, and social division. Her mistakes are on display for all to judge, next to the expectation of her status and the yet-developed mastery of her skill.

Korra smash!  Korra has archetypal Hero weaknesses!

What makes this even more interesting is that Korra is the one with the classic hero’s flaws - her emotional obstacles align more closely to archetype. She is impatient; she has a temper; she struggles to connect with the spiritual world. She is fearful of her mortality, headstrong - maybe even a little arrogant - and she occasionally rebels against the teachings. This is the Young Hero as we know him - which is why Korra is even more unique; this is the Young Hero as we know her. Plug that into her context of maintaining a civilization instead of building one and we’ve got ourselves a fresh and dimensional take on the typical tropes we’ve seen before.

Between Korra’s role in a fully-developed new world, and the conflicts created by the Equalist movement (Amon), the government (Tarrlok), and the corporation (Hiroshi Sato) -- Korra excels at dimensionality right out of the gate. What’s frustrating, then, is the one part of the show that is disappointingly flat: the love triangle.

Love triangles are tropy, risky business. They are often sexist, boring, trite, and oversimplified. Rarely are triangles a worthwhile endeavor, purely because there’s little to do: Character A likes Character B! Character B likes Character C! Character B is confused! Character A’s feelings are hurt! Character C feels awkward! Character A doesn’t hate Character C, but maybe a little bit! There’s no easy resolution, and yet that doesn’t necessarily propagate compelling drama along the way. Triangles are best when no one’s a bad guy, everyone’s developed, and all the relationships are earned. (Bonus points if the relationships connect thematically to the narrative. But not too much. They’re supposed to be people, not ideas.)

The love triangle on Korra is not ship-shape (no pun intended) with this criteria, frankly. Yes, no one’s really a bad guy. Two-thirds of the characters are developed. But… none of the relationships are earned.

Asami knows a bad triangle when she sees one.

Let’s start with Asami and Mako. They just seem to be paired off because they had a nice meet-cute and two hot people start dating, right? Especially if it will anger the main character. (Sucks to be you, Character A!) They have a mildly charming date, sure. They seem to like each other, sure. But nothing’s really constructed for them. They’re just… there.

But hold your sky bison: Mako-and-Korra is equally left-field-adjacent. Mako’s original brooding-grumpy-guy facade fades into… generic attractive talented guy? Korra’s a catch because she’s… the Avatar? There’s not enough to support the relationship. There’s not even a moment where Mako makes a choice to help Korra fight the Equalists. At first he needs to save his brother. Then, after that, he just… does.

So both suggested sides of this triangle suffer from a complete lack of deservedness, and during most triangle-related scenes, I found myself chanting “you haven’t earned this” at my screen. Thankfully, I know how this all ends, so my patience wears a little stronger than it would otherwise. (The anticipation also helps.)

There’s the fact too that Mako hasn’t quite earned his place as the Romantic Lead and Alpha Male that the show has tried to bequeath him. This wouldn’t be so bad, except he’s the hinge Character B, which frankly is the load-bearing element of a Love Triangle. Character B has to be well-developed and sturdy. We need POV, we need motivation, we need backstory, we need empathy. With Mako? We have little. He has the typical orphan origin story, but the show didn’t find any reason to give us more information. He makes no real choices that define his character, and the only time he’s shown any exceptional pluck was fighting off blood bending to save Korra’s life. (In episode 12 of 12. We waited awhile.)

Same, guys.  Same.

Meanwhile, supporting characters are far outshining. Namely, Asami Sato, daughter of the city’s richest businessman. The city's richest businessman who also happens to be funding the bad guys, and a super terrible dad to boot. When Asami forsakes her relationship with her father and chooses instead to fight directly against him - well, this kind of choice skyrockets her one step down from Main Character status, impeded from full target mostly because the show is called The Legend of Korra, not The Legend of Asami. She defies stereotype, is sharply-defined, and makes a Big Choice. And, awkwardly, she’s the other leg of this triangle. Character B, our load-bearing character, is officially the weakest.

But even despite the flaws of the triangle, Season 1 deploys a well-developed, richly-detailed, and emotionally-resonant batch of episodes. It has a strong point of view, fleshed-out characters, and the same brand of heart and humor that its predecessor embodied. Both connected to its past but rumbling towards its future, The Legend of Korra stands on its own as a series, with a fantastic Hero at its center. I’m endlessly curious about where things will go from here.

So, if you’ll excuse me, I have more episodes to watch. But first, a Season 1 Round-up:

• FAVORITE CHARACTER

To quote several text messages that I sent during the course of my viewing: LIN BEIFONG IS MY EVERYTHING. Set up as both curmudgeonly and heroic, Lin is a badass pillar of noble stoicism and justice. She steps down from Chief of Police not because of injury or shame, but because she needs to pursue her enemies without the restrictions of her position. DAMN, WOMAN. And even though she gruffly dismisses Korra and keeps Tenzin’s family at arm’s length, she ultimately throws herself headfirst into danger to protect them. What a lady. 

• FAVORITE DYNAMIC

For a serious answer, probably Tenzin and Korra, or Lin and Tenzin. But I’m not saying I wouldn’t watch a show where Asami drives around the city while Bolin creates ramps for her to speed off of.

• FAVORITE MOMENT

Moments of choice will always be one of the most powerful tools that you can include in a narrative, and the biggest choice in Book One goes to Asami. That beautiful airless moment where she seems to accept her father’s offer to join the Equalists - only to refuse, and turn his electrified glove back on him. DAMN, WOMAN. This moment tells us everything we need to know about Asami, and jettisons the character into a new realm. Someone give this lady more scenes. The emotional content is too good to be left alone.

• FAVORITE SCENE (Look, I’m cheating. So sue me.)

What I love so much about the final scene is the message communicated about the role of the hero in this narrative. So often, heroes, as Chosen Ones, experience a burden of isolation. From Buffy to Harry Potter, a destiny of greatness has long signified emotional alienation and disconnection. No matter the Rons or Willows, Gileses or Dumbledores - the Hero is the Chosen One. When the chips are down, he or she walks alone.

For the Avatar, however, deep personal challenge results in spiritual connection. When Korra is faced with her Dark Night of the Soul, she doesn’t have to be alone to weather the tumult. Instead, she has the full lineage of Avatar history at her spiritual disposal. When she is in the crucible, so are they, and our Hero is not truly alone. She is connected to power through solidarity, not isolated in her power from normalcy. What a comforting expression to impart to the audience; what a thing to show young people about enduring pain and finding strength.

Orphan Black 2.10 - "By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried"

FINALE FINALE FINALE FINALE. Why bother with any preamble?

ORPHAN BLACK 2.10 - “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried”

It makes sense, in a show that is constantly shifting the ground on which the characters stand, that a season finale reorients everything. “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried” fulfills that disorder, picking up the show and setting it back down in a new landscape, calling both its characters and its audience to reevaluate what we think we know and challenging us to hold on as we tumble further through the looking glass.

The finale is also full of choices for its characters, which for any story inherently engenders an intriguing narrative pull, but of course, this is Orphan Black. This show has been very calculated in who is shown to have decisions.   Decisions are power, after all, and the power on this show has been squarely in the hands of patriarchal organizations - corporations like DYAD, religious groups like the Proletheans, government organizations like the military.

In positioning its female leads opposite these oppressive agencies, Orphan Black has delineated a clear feminist message, giving screentime and visibility to women whose power, personhood, and access to choice are all under threat. The point of the show has been to point the camera at women under watch, under knife, under pressure - and watch them struggle to make decisions denied to them.

But “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried” finds us in a brave new world. We are on shifted ground, because suddenly we realize that the familiar bastions of power have fallen away. Gone is Leekie, gone is Henry, gone are Tomas and Daniel and Olivier and even the concept of oppressive monitors.

What’s left are the playmakers, and the playmakers? Are all ladies. We have Sarah, Cosima, Rachel, Mrs. S, and Marian Fucking Bowles, each taking decisive action in the finale, grabbing a toehold and making choices that spin the world in new directions. Not only this, but the men in the narrative exist basically as extensions to these decisions. Cal returns, not to kick down any doors, but to offer up his hacker knowledge on the altar of Mrs. S.’s badass direction. He and Paul both act as liaision between Mrs. S. and Marian Bowles, twin beefcakes serving secondary to juxtaposed warrior mom-babes. Art and Felix take a backseat so they can help Sarah handle Helena’s return. Ethan Duncan and Scott give their time and knowledge to Cosima’s service and Sarah’s aid, and Jesse exists simply as a fair prince for our heroine to quest to.

In short: the menfolk carry out the intentions of the take-charge ladies and don’t utter a peep of protest. And not only that, but their roles are defined by passivity and communication, things that are traditionally prescribed to narratively-sidelined females. Cal and Paul trade in information, peacekeeping, and negotiation; Art and Felix basically babysit; Ethan and Scott simply facilitiate. And Jesse’s in a goddamned tower waiting for true love’s kiss. These are the definitions of female-bound narrative function, and in the Orphan Black universe, they are purposefully doled out to the gentlemen without question or argument.

So the topic of gender on this show spins anew, at a slightly different angle. The remnants of the patriarchies we knew are being run by Rachel Duncan and Marian Bowles, and the surviving members of the Proletheans are Gracie and Mark. Finally, for the moment, the women are running the narrative as well as the show - is that permanent? Does this twist in nurture change the fundamental nature of this show? And, beyond that, how is the big reveal going to work?

Because yes, it’s even more interesting, then, that this same episode introduces the concept of Project Castor. Turns out that there’s not just the batch of female clones, the group of Tatiana Maslanies running ‘round, but there’s also a batch of male clones. They are property of the military, and for one brief millisecond, everyone’s blood ran cold at the possibility of more Pauls. But it’s a small army of Ari Millens, and regardless of the actor, it blows this universe wide open.

Ground shifted again, and Orphan Black challenges us to stay in the spiral. And that’s the question - is the audience willing to follow a herd of Ari Millens in the same way we have the pack of Tatiana Maslanies? Will we care about Castor as we’ve cared about Leda? Will characters like Alison and Art remain relevant as the universe tilts anew? And will it fundamentally change the show if we extend the narrative of cloning to men, considering the effort made to illuminate the power imbalances of gender, the claims made on women’s bodies, and the concerted fight for agency in a world that denies it?

Obviously, I have no answer for these questions. The fact remains, though, that this is, at the very least, interesting. Men harvested by the military is, after all, another facet of feminism, the prescription of strength and aggression sacrificed to emotionally-detached hegemony. Using women’s bodies as vessels for reproduction is not a far cry from using men’s bodies to serve state-appropriated violence. Masculinity and femininity are two sides of the same coin, and they remain interrelated, no matter the “men’s right’s activists” trying to divorce them. These concepts prescribe limiting standards based on preconceived values of behavior, and taken to this conclusion, deprive the participants of identity, agency, and individuality.  Sound familiar?

In shouldering Project Castor, Orphan Black is reshaping and reiterating their conversation about nature, nurture, gender, identity, and order - especially as an extension of systems vs. the individual. The military is the least-explored of the systems that Orphan Black has introduced, so it seems like a natural - and potent - progression of focus. Provided that the show continues with its modus operandi (and all their Latin episode titles), I’m guessing that the chaos of life and deviation will tear through the rigid demands and shape something new, much like Sarah, and Cosima, and Tony, and Helena, and the entirety of Project Leda. The thematic concept embodied in these women doesn’t just vanish with a batch of boy clones.

So, that’s the season, eh? The world we’d learned in Season 1 continually expanded throughout these ten episodes, and blew wide open at the end. Because of this, I’d say that Season 2 wasn’t quite as tightly paced as Season 1, and the writing was burdened with the challenge of including everyone in the multiplying narrative threads. It was no small feat, and overall, I think it was successful. But moving forward, with a new sprawl of concepts, I’m definitely curious about how both the characters and pace will balance with it. April can’t come fast enough.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS

• This episode does some excellent editing work, particularly with sequences. There are two main sequences that thread together several disparate ideas, to help keep the pace up. The opening sequence with Sarah’s interrogation and her reaction to Kira’s abduction is a tour de force of acting and tension, and the sequence of Cosima and Kira winning science works well as a swift setup to build the climax. There’s also the final mini-sequence, revealing the subject of Project Castor over hallowed organ music - a tonally delicious cap.

• I wish very dearly that we got to see the moments after Duncan took his own life. It’s horrific to imagine a man you know as father committing suicide right in front of you, and this hooks fascinatingly into Rachel’s complicated relationship with Ethan Duncan. In the moment of panic, Rachel shrieked, “You cannot leave me again,” in a heart-wrenching outburst of childlike neediness and fear. I would have loved to see the aftermath of this, that moment after, of grief and horror and stillness. Instead, the writers just use the moment for shock, as it serves as an Act Out.

• Who else experienced severe heart palpitations at JUST HOW LONG it took for Cosima to wake up in the morning? Not cool, Orphan Black. NOT COOL.

• Cosima and Sarah end their season arc with a bed scene, of all things! All kidding aside - I loved the shift that these two took towards each other this season. Cosima’s life was suddenly on the line next to Kira’s, and the friction of what Sarah and Cosima, individually, were willing to sacrifice to ensure Cosima’s wellbeing has been a lovely way to etch their relationship. This season saw Sarah fighting to save Cosima’s life, and the finale saw Cosima fighting to save Sarah’s.

• Clone dance party? Now they’re just showing off.

Orphan Black 2.09 - "Things Which Have Never Yet Been Done"

So hey, this is the penultimate episode of Orphan Black’s second season, which means that a lot of loose ends get tied up, and new events push the storyline forward into the finale.  Alison and Donnie bury the hatchet (and the body), Cosima buys more time with Kira’s bone marrow, and Helena burns down the whole damn Prolethean complex to return to her sisters.  Most everyone is out of the woods by episodes’ end - except, of course, Kira, and by extension, Sarah.  This is the natural order of the show, echoing last season’s finale, and we hope this is going to drag everyone back into the woods - the natural order of the show.  After all, this season has marched steadily from EVERY CLONE FOR HERSELF, back towards CLONE SISTERS.

ORPHAN BLACK 2.09 - “THINGS WHICH HAVE NEVER YET BEEN DONE”

Truthfully, the two most interesting clone sisters this episode were the two that have never interacted - Rachel, and Helena.  But despite having never met face-to-face, Orphan Black actually interacts them quite a bit - thematically.  Rachel and Helena are both products of their contexts, bequeathed entitlement through their affiliations with corporation and religion, respectfully.  They stand on opposite sides of Sarah, given inverse relationships with control and chaos, but the same relationship with power.  They dye their hair blonde to differentiate themselves, to assert their own identity - which is ironic, considering that their identity is not derived from themselves, but through their alliances.  They feel power because of their belonging - to DYAD, to the Proletheans - and the narrative of Orphan Black has been slowly tugging the rug that these two stand on.  As an audience, we watch them reorient themselves, and wait for the big yank.

“Things Which Have Never Yet Been Done” puts Helena and Rachel forward in the narrative, and through this, lets them demonstrate their similarities and differences.  The episode does this mainly by letting us watch their relationship with a) their institution, and b) children.  We witness Helena begin her willing reintroduction to life with the Proletheans, an off-shoot of the context she was raised in, and we are shown Rachel completely ensconced in DYAD.  And within those respective walls, we see Helena interact with a child not too different from herself, and we see Rachel interact with Kira, and the opportunity to raise Kira through DYAD.  Basically: both women are faced with children that might echo the life she herself lived, raised in the snug empowerment of a stringent affiliation.

But in their reactions to the same basic stimulus, the differences between Helena and Rachel are illuminated, in the synthesis of chaos and control - we see the ability for these characters to change.  Helena connects with Faith (an ironically-named little girl) because Faith echoes to Helena her own self.  They zero in on each other, equally fascinated.  And when Faith is chastised by Alexis much like Helena was chastised by a nun in Ukraine, Helena protects Faith.  She steps between Faith and the life Helena got, and acts as an agent of change.  It’s echoed again with Grace - Helena puts herself between Gracie and the life her father’s forcing her into, and protects her from it.  And it ends with the ultimate change agent: fire.  Helena levels the whole compound, wildly burning it to ash for a better rebirth.

But where Helena destroys pain by fire, Rachel preserves it in ice.  In the throes of her original context, Rachel has a similar opportunity as Helena.  She’s kidnapped Kira to harvest a cure, yet she still puts her up in a pretty bedroom that’s decorated very carefully to be a home for a little girl.  She sits with Kira, waits for her to wake, and greets her warmly.  (Or as warmly as Rachel greets anyone.  Kira probably still felt a chill cascade over her.)  And the icing on the cake: she tells Kira, “You may even grow to like it here, just as I did.”  Here Rachel is, facing a child who might walk down the same path she did, and she says, “YEAH I KNOW IT SUCKED TOO BUT I LEARNED TO LIKE IT AND SO WILL YOU.”

So where Helena is an agent of protection, Rachel is an agent of perpetuation.  Helena, who was tortured, brainwashed, and caged, is capable of change.  Change is chaotic, and Helena thrives there.  Rachel, however, is not capable of change, because it can’t be controlled.  It is predicated on letting go, and Rachel is fundamentally incapable - and unwilling.  All season long, I’ve been waiting for some crack in Rachel’s exterior - to watch the hard shell split away and let all of Rachel’s issues come roaring out.  And yet, when this happened, it still felt dissatisfying to me.  Rachel reset right back to zero and pretended she didn’t just have a screaming fit where she broke things and threw plants.

It’s frustrating, and yet at the same time, this episode provided the saddest justification for that: unlike Helena, maybe Rachel is not capable of change.  And what else would make that difference but her sisters?  Helena can be an agent of change because she herself was changed - by Sarah.  She jailbreaks out of Prolethean Land because she belongs somewhere else, with her sestra.  She is no longer trapped by her context, because someone gave her a new place to belong.  Rachel doesn’t have that.  Not unlike Dr. Frankenstein’s creation (thanks for the thematic assist, Henry), Rachel is a monster because (cheese alert) she wasn’t shown love.

Or wasn’t she?  That somewhat thin conclusion doesn’t stop there, because Orphan Black has developed something deeper and more complicated for Rachel.  We have actual home videos that indicate Rachel was shown love in her life.  Not only have we seen these home videos, but Rachel traps herself with them.  She locks herself in a glass room with a martini and watches her own happiness, and tells herself it was all a lie.  Rachel was shown love, but she rejects that it could be real.  Helena may have tortured herself with a blade, but Rachel tortures herself with memories, and feelings she won’t allow herself to feel.  So like the home videos she watches, she’s stuck in a loop of self-torment until she implodes.  Then, she carefully reconstructs her facade, and the whole process is nothing short of fascinating and horrific.

I used to wonder how Helena could ever survive in this narrative.  How could she truly live in this world, all teeth and violence and remorse?  But Orphan Black has successfully resurrected the character for Season 2, and given her a believable chance at change and belonging.  Now, I find myself wondering if Rachel can survive this narrative.  “Things Which Have Never Yet Been Done” shows that she is similarly-derived as Helena, but suffers fundamental differences in how she moves through her own life, and what she allows herself to feel and do.  Can the writers feasibly keep her as a villain, in a time loop of tragedy and outburst?  Can they develop her, and let her change?  Or is Rachel the Javert to Sarah’s Valjean, doomed to pursue her endlessly, until she decides to step over the edge of her ivory tower?

STRAY OBSERVATIONS -

• Rachel/Marian interactions are deliciously loaded.  I like extending the idea of Leekie as surrogate father to the idea that Marian is Rachel’s surrogate mother, and their interaction was delightfully laced with a daughter’s false respect and a mother’s polite disappointment.  I practically screeched at Marian’s backhanded insult to Rachel about Sarah.  She may as well have said, “Why can’t you be more like Sarah, Rachel?  You’re genetically identical, and yet Sarah’s pretty much outsmarting at every turn.”

• I also dearly enjoyed Marian asking if Rachel, too, was intrigued by Sarah. “BIOLOGICALLY,” Rachel replies with a barely-suppressed eyeroll.  “I MEAN I GUESS SHE’S COOL IN LIKE A GENETIC WAY LIKE IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT HER SCIENTIFICALLY BUT MOSTLY I THINK HER LEATHER JACKET IS DUMB AND HER ACCENT IS STUPID AND I’M NOT INTERESTED IN HER UTERUS AT ALL SO I DON’T KNOW WHY YOU WOULD ASK, MOTHER.”  Then she goes back to reading Tiger Beat, and muttering under her breath how embarrassing her mom is.

• Kudos to Orphan Black for giving Kira the decision about her bone marrow donation, and double kudos for letting Mrs. S. be the one who points it out.  On a show about choice, and agency over women’s bodies, it’s nice to see it echoed down into plot decisions and applied to young girls.  Kira’s body, Kira’s choice.  They gave her all the information going in, they didn’t sugarcoat it, and Kira was courageous and made her own choice.  Sure, this was a plot thing that had to move forward anyways, but it was still nice to see it pushed there by Kira’s own decision.

• Did Rachel really say that Delphine makes a good interim director because she’s telegenic?  I won’t lie; I looked that word up to see if it had a scientific definition - telomeres?  genes?  science things I vaguely remember from high school?  But NOPE, it literally just means, “Delphine looks good on TV.”  “Well… yeah,” says all of the audience like this isn’t news at all.

• “I’M NOT AS PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE WITH MANSLAUGHTER AS YOU ARE.”

Orphan Black 2.08 - "Variable and Full of Perturbation"

Hello, universe.  Remember when I wrote Orphan Black reviews?  Yeah, me neither.  And if it turns out that I barely remember Orphan Black itself, just leave me a little comment to nudge me towards accurate information.  Additionally, since this is the episode with Tony, please let me know if I inadvertently demonstrate ignorance towards his trans identity, or the trans community.  I will absolutely make corrections.

So let’s do this, shall we?  It’s only five months later!

Hey guys, remember us?

ORPHAN BLACK 2.08 - "VARIABLE AND FULL OF PERTURBATION"

Variable, and full of perturbation.  There’s a fairly linear connection between this phrase, and Tony himself.  After seventeen episodes of dealing with the Clone Club identified as women, the showrunners now give us Tony, from the same batch of clones -- Tony, who identifies as a man.  That’s a pretty significant variance, given our understanding of the words “genetically identical.”

Clearly, the writers have introduced Tony to do exactly that: raise questions about what it means to be genetically identical, and the biology of gender identity and expression.  They’ve wheeled out a substantial topic to parse, and yet they concurrently do something kind of wonderful: they don’t try to.  No one says, “Hey, how can this be?”  They only say, “Oh, I guess this can be, then.”  Which is lovely, because that means that Tony’s identity, itself, is never called into question.  Questioning the existence of a trans clone is not any different than questioning the existence of a trans human, and OB’s not playing that game.

What’s nice about this portrayal is that it falls in line behind the LGBT representation that Orphan Black has already casually yet firmly displayed.  Cosima’s sexuality is never questioned, and so neither is Tony’s.  Gender and sexuality will always slide back on the list of main identifiers for these characters - like Cosima told Rachel, it’s not the most interesting thing about them.  Sure, they’re clones, and that’s always going to hold the trump card on interesting, but also, it’s quietly prescriptive: clone or no clone, that’s how it should be.

As a result, this plugs into grander, more universal themes.  Humanity is a central tenet of this show, and every clone expresses the need to be treated as a person and not a project.  We are not what defines us; we define ourselves.  This contextually-LGBT philosophy is actually central to the show, echoed across all the main characters, regardless of sexuality.  The ability to express one’s own identity is a human right, regardless of gender, sexuality, science, or nature.  It blows my mind a little bit that Orphan Black is thus a show that doesn’t narratively sequester LGBT themes in a “niche,” but rather carries them over to all the main characters.

So really, “variable and full of perturbation” is not just a phrase for Tony, a trans clone.  A major theme this episode was, “It’s not just me; it’s all of us.”  We’re not talking about Tony being variant or perturbed because he’s trans.   All of the clones are variable, and full of perturbation.  There are two previous episodes that have some version of the word “variable” in the title, and if you look up “perturbation,” you don’t necessary get the synonym “disturbed” (a word you really don't want to see applied to anyone identifying as LGBTQIA) - you get the emotional application, “anxiety, mental uneasiness,” and the scientific application, “a deviation of the system.”  If that doesn’t describe everything about Orphan Black, I don’t know what does.

Moreover, we get a few narrative connections between Tony and the other clones - mainly Cosima, and Sarah.  In this episode, both Cosima and Tony demonstrate the idea that they too, don’t call into question their own identities.  There is no crisis in key moments that would cause breakdown for others - Cosima casually strolls up to her maker and shakes his hand, and Tony has the biggest non-reaction to being told he’s a clone.  Identity issues are long since sorted through, and these two are the most resilient and adaptable in the bunch.  (LGBT themes may not be “niche” on this show, but it’s still important to acknowledge how they might manifest uniquely in context.)

There’s also Tony and Sarah.  Of course, Felix says, “He has some of your worst qualities,” about Tony the clone, but we also get a little scene with Rachel that illuminates the concept of variance.  What exactly is it about Sarah that makes her so different?  Why - not how, why - did she succeed in fertility when they were designed to be barren?  Like Tony, she was raised out of the control of DYAD, unmonitored, and that has cultivated a whole host of “chaos” on her identity.  Can we say exactly what happened, biologically, genetically, environmentally?  No.  It’s just who she is.  And the same goes for Tony.

The idea that “it’s all us” is specifically voiced by Cosima, as she struggles to forgive Delphine for betraying her trust in favor of protecting her.  (What’s that about respecting what people express about themselves?)  Delphine can’t make decisions for Cosima, because a) that’s a basic human no-no, but also, b) Cosima comes with Sarah, Kira, Helena, Alison, Tony, and yes, even Rachel.  No clone is an island; their fates are entwined.  Rachel herself voices this as well, as she uses the phrase “all of us” not once but twice in this episode (once with Delphine, once with Duncan).

So, from a thematic perspective, Tony slides easily into the world Orphan Black has created for itself.  Welcome to the family.  But from a narrative perspective?  Admittedly, the introduction of Tony feels something like proof of concept.  He whisks in, from nowhere, and whisks back out, into the black, with only the Clone Phone as a direct line back to the narrative.  In the grand scheme of the season, it’s likely that he will lift right out without any consequence.  Hell, in the episode, he lifts right out without much consequence.  They had to really work the timeline to pull Sarah out of her own plotline to even meet him.

Yes, they invented a reason to make Tony relevant: he comes bearing a message.  Mystery!  Intrigue!  Suspense!  Well - theoretically.  Tony’s message comes from Beth, via his dead partner (or monitor?) Sammy.  Narratively-speaking, messages from the dead are usually good devices.  But this one fell short.  There weren’t enough stakes generated during the time Tony held onto the message (except the looming threat that Felix was going to kiss a genetic identical of his adopted sister) - and the reveal of the message, which should ramp everything up, felt more like the air going out of a balloon.  Something about Paul, or something?  At which point Sarah screwed up her face and said, “Paul?”  Like she was trying to place him.  Us too, Sarah.  Us too.   His absence isn’t all that inconvenient, nor his is silence all that irksome, contrary to what Rachel says.

In all seriousness, bringing a message that Paul is military and is “on it,” is not all that revelatory, mostly because that message seems to baseline “he’s a good guy, DON’T WORRY” and not much else.  Yawn.  Orphan Black has long-suffered from a Paul Problem, and this message pretty much sums it up.  He’s supposed to be a mystery, which is supposed to invest us - but the problem is, there’s not enough there to make us care.  And they can’t give us more information to hook us, because a) then there’d be no mystery, and b) this is not Paul’s show.  As a viewer, I would probably be annoyed about following Paul through a mysterious adventure, thereby taking screentime away from more interesting elements of OB.

In a way, “Variable and Full of Perturbation” reminds me of a one-off episode that borrows elements of a different genre - in this case, a crime mystery.  We begin the hour in the middle of a car chase, where we meet a brand new character, and then wonder how this all connects to the main narrative thread.  In other words, the pre-credits sequence was exactly like one in Bones or Castle, with a hint of Lost sprinkled in.  Then, Tony has a mysterious message, and won’t talk until he gets more information - which Felix isn’t willing to give up until he gets more information, through Art.  Stand-off.  Art conveniently gets information, with no obstacle.  Added to that, there’s the suspense that someone’s going to come after Tony and shoot him too - except it doesn’t even come close to happening.  It’s very cop show-ish, without much air in it.

Let it be said, though, that genre-borrow isn’t necessarily a bad thing - but it definitely makes itself noticed.  In another way, the hour reminded me a bit of the Lost outing that “explained” Nikki and Paulo, distracting itself with a conceptual hook and letting an element of tension and dramatic irony carry through the diversion.  (And then promptly ending with only a remote possibility that this would be brought up again.)  But the bad thing about Nikki and Paulo - and the risk of genre-borrow and one-off episodes on serialized shows in particular - is the nagging question who cares?  Why care about these yahoos when Jack and Kate and Sawyer are traipsing around?

This same nagging question surfaces with Tony, unfortunately.  Would it have been better to parcel off some of Tony’s screentime to another character - Cosima, or Helena, or even (dare I say it) Paul?  If there weren’t another story thread or emotional beat that could have benefited from more clocktime, I wouldn’t necessarily say yes.  The problems in Tony’s storyline could be fixed within Tony’s storyline.  But in “Variable and Full of Perturbation,” there was another area that could have used the extra time - with Rachel Duncan’s meltdown.

That sequence should have been great!  Here’s this character who’s been buttoned-up for so long, pressurizing her emotions in fragile glass, and finally - she combusts.  It’s a huge deal, right?  Except it wasn’t, really.  The cutaways were, first of all, confusing, because it was difficult to tell the time and place for of her breakdown.  The sense of disorientation pulled the audience out of the moment, and we weren’t so much feeling anything as wondering where we are.  You could argue that the cuts helped to make her explosion more jarring in contrast with her usual demeanor, but I personally feel like we should have seen a stone-faced Rachel slowly crack and then unleash her tornado of pain and anger.  Cutaways just don’t do it justice, especially when they untether the audience from the emotions.  The scene would have benefitted from more screentime to build that emotional climax, and unfortunately, Tony’s part is the storyline with excess time to give.

So, in the end, the point of bringing Tony into the fold kind of remains on the idea that the OB writers wanted to demonstrate that a trans clone is, indeed, possible.  And y’know, given the space that Orphan Black has created for LGBT characters, and the way their presence is fundamentally thematic in all of the main characters -- it’s hard to argue with that.  This is the concept episode, the genre episode, the proof of concept, and the proof that identity - gender, and sexual - is in a person’s voice, not their DNA.  But in the realm of television writing - story building, plot threading, stakes and obstacles - “Variable and Full of Perturbation” was a little left of target.

STRAY OBSERVATIONS --

• How much did I love Kira’s exasperated “MO-OOOOM!” at Sarah questioning if Dr. Moreau was appropriate for kids.  How lovely that they still get to have some hints of “normal” mother-daughter interactions.

• Kudos to Josh Vokey, who plays Scott, for the scene where he finds out that Cosima is 324B21.  It’s a lovely little moment of realization and compassion, as suddenly the science becomes very human for him.

• THE KIDS ARE TRUANT.  Alison’s manner of speaking is still the best thing ever.  Also, of course she would criticize Donnie’s sloppy handling of Leekie’s body.  And of course she’d be irate that Donnie used one of her guns.  Of course, Alison.

• “You cannot imagine the strange colourless delight of these intellectual desires.  The thing standing before you is no longer an animal, a fellow creature - but a problem.”  This week, on meta-relevant excerpts from in-narrative novels!

• Did Tony remind anyone else of Apolo Anton Ohno?  I mean, it’s Canada.  He probably skates.