Orphan Black - Season 2 Discussion

[Christopher]

Now, Tony is trans...but also gay? Or bisexual? That's a little confusing too.

The key thing to remember is that the question of what gender you consider yourself to be is separate from what gender you're attracted to. So a biologically female person considering themselves male has nothing to do with what sex they want to sleep with, just with how they perceive themselves. So yeah, Antonia was probably attracted to men, but wanted to relate to them as a man rather than as a woman -- and wanted to be male for other reasons that weren't about having sex.

 

[bigdaddy]

We really need to explain trans-related things in the year 2014?

:brick wall:

Tony could be gay, straight or bi, we really don't know. Just like everyone else on the planet. You don't know unless you actually have sex with them.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

We really need to explain trans-related things in the year 2014?

:brick wall:

Tony could be gay, straight or bi, we really don't know. Just like everyone else on the planet. You don't know unless you actually have sex with them.

Or at least ask. "Hi, I'm doing a survey...."

 

[Aldo]

Tony could be gay, straight or bi, we really don't know. Just like everyone else on the planet. You don't know unless you actually have sex with them.

Well if you buy me dinner first, you never know

P.S. My name is Tony, so this whole conversation tickles me pink.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Mr. & Mrs. John Wayne Gacy?

I guess the couple that disposes of a dead body together stays together.

 

[Christopher]

There were some really sweet things in this episode, like the Skype-bonding between the three main clones, and the way Sarah has come to think of all the clones, not just Helena, as her sisters. And like Kira's bravery and selflessness and the love expressed among the family as she underwent the procedure. But there was also so much dark and disturbing stuff.

Like what Henrik was doing with Helena's embryos -- that was completely messed up. Brood mares. Good lord. And the way the cult treated their children. When Helena's the one with the most functional moral compass, you know you're in a really screwed-up group. But what a strange, sweet alliance was forged among Helena, Gracie, and Mark, united by their mutual recognition that Henrik had gone too far.

Alison and Donnie -- that was messed up. Getting turned on by what they did... and right on the freezer? Eww.

Rachel grinning widely at the home movies was shocking to see -- her face didn't split! But then, I'm not sure it really happened, since they seem to be using imagine spots with Rachel to show us what's going on inside her head while her outside is tightly controlled. But she's definitely getting unstable, and kidnapping Kira was a horrible thing to do. I don't think she even cares about Dyad's interest in the girl anymore -- she just wants to steal Sarah's life and play mommy.

What I find interesting in retrospect was that Rachel's impersonation of Sarah was visually more exact than the impersonations usually are, with the hair and makeup and wardrobe exactly right rather than approximate (though when I rewound the sequence to figure out when the switch happened, I could see her performance was colder, more Rachel-like). It makes sense that the rich, perfectly coiffed Rachel would've had professional-grade makeup and hair people to create a perfect disguise for her, whereas the others generally have to improvise their disguises.

 

[sojourner]

Donnie finally found his groove.

 

[Aldo]

What I find interesting in retrospect was that Rachel's impersonation of Sarah was visually more exact than the impersonations usually are, with the hair and makeup and wardrobe exactly right rather than approximate (though when I rewound the sequence to figure out when the switch happened, I could see her performance was colder, more Rachel-like). It makes sense that the rich, perfectly coiffed Rachel would've had professional-grade makeup and hair people to create a perfect disguise for her, whereas the others generally have to improvise their disguises.

I did the exact same thing you did, I rewound the sequence too. I didn't even realize the switch until Felix got a call on his cell from Sarah (and even then I was confused until she stabbed him and spoke in her normal Rachel voice).

So that was Tatiana's double eh? They never gave her a name in the episode but I'm assuming it was Alexis, just as Christopher told us it would be a few weeks back. She played all her scenes with Tatania as Helena, though I'm sure that's not the first time she had to play off Helena

So all in all I really enjoyed this episode. It seems like they're planting a lot of seeds they hope to explore in Season 3. I'm just hoping they get renewed so they get a Season 3 to explore this stuff in.

 

[tomalak301]

Man watching this show can be a stressful exercise. From worrying if Cosima will make it through all season to basically waiting for something bad happen in tonight's episode, it's amazing to me how much attached I've become to these characters. There were tearful moments, such as Sarah and Kira's scenes, and then there were great moments, such as the entire Alison/Donnie storyline. Donnie is an unstable SOB, but I loved him tonight, especially his idle threat in the van..."Have a shitty day"

I still enjoyed last week's episode, but this week was classic Orphan Black. We got some much needed backstory for Rachel (Her private room was really interesting), and we even got a Rachel as Sarah scene, which I should have saw coming. I knew something bad was going to happen, but I didn't think it would involve a clone switch, reminding me of Sarah as Cosima back in the season premiere. In fact, there were quite a few call backs to previous episodes, like that one or Vic saying "I hate this Garage." And while all that was going on, the writers did what they said they were going to do, streamline the story and bring everything back to Dyad. One of the criticisms I've seen of this show is that there's too much going on. Well, I'm sorry, but if you can't understand what is going on, than you need to pay better attention. This show is pretty easy to follow if you've been with it for the long haul.

As for Helena's storyline, man it was great to see her back again. I actually did recognize Tatiana's double, but it did take me a while. I also heard there was a deleted scene where the Kids and teachers were taken out of the complex before Helena brought it down. Also, just so I wasn't confused, was that really a Sherlock Homes looking Pipe when Helena said "What makes you think I'm trying to be funny?" Nice touch.

I'm really nervous about the finale next week. I think I've been this way for a few weeks but now that we're a week away, I don't want this show to go. Considering we haven't heard if it's been renewed, I haven't had enough of Tatiana Maslany goodness yet and that makes me a little sad.

 

[Aldo]

Quick nit-pit: She said "What makes you think I'm trying to be funny?"

 

[tomalak301]

Quick nit-pit: She said "What makes you think I'm trying to be funny?"

Thank you and I edited it. I get quotes wrong all the time.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I shudder to think of her feeding that ice cream to her children. The ice cream she carefully lowered on top of the freezer body.

Donnie finally got his manhood on.. seems all it took was some kinky necro feelings to make waving that gun around believable.

I'll be a little irritated if these pregnancies "take" as they are laymen doing IVF in a barn and in the best of hospitals it has a terrible success rate. But hey, maybe these clone eggs are super eggs?

A beautifully shot episode. Gripping. The dialog and direction between Helena, Gracie and Mark was stunning.

I wanted Helena to kill that asshole when she jumped him, you know snap his neck but instead we got full on Helena dramatics! Remember her with the Barbie dolls? Now she had her own RL Ken doll to play out all the horrors visited upon her with. Wow.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Rachel grinning widely at the home movies was shocking to see -- her face didn't split! But then, I'm not sure it really happened, since they seem to be using imagine spots with Rachel to show us what's going on inside her head while her outside is tightly controlled. But she's definitely getting unstable, and kidnapping Kira was a horrible thing to do. I don't think she even cares about Dyad's interest in the girl anymore -- she just wants to steal Sarah's life and play mommy.

I think she wants to redo her own childhood, via Kira. To fix it.

 

[sojourner]

I'll be a little irritated if these pregnancies "take" as they are laymen doing IVF in a barn and in the best of hospitals it has a terrible success rate. But hey, maybe these clone eggs are super eggs?

I think all the other kids in the "day care" were the results of his practicing the IVF.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

With whose eggs?

 

[sojourner]

Any available female? there seemed to be quite a few around the compound.

I think the better question is "with who's sperm?", since if he wanted to use his, well, he could have done it the old fashioned way.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

So do you think the are Mr. Godly IVF dude's kids?

 

[Guy Gardener]

They mentioned a mother hunting for new brood cows.

Of course was this aforementioned "mother" only a brood cow too or the actual genetic donator?

The genetic donator would have to be thought of as divine as daddy is.

Surely he could deify as many women as he felt like to be the almother, but really one at a time, and if he started 20 to 30 years ago, then the original almother is most probably not so great at making any babies anymore, beyond using what she spent a decade locking into a freezer for science.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

Right. So he had some holy-ish eggs and he used his own sperm on them and implanted the results in all these varying brood mares. But NOW he has the holy grail of eggs, Helena's. And he can start implanting his and Helena's embryos in his first generation experiments as soon as they hit puberty.

The guy has been fathering his kingdom for decades.

I am so glad he is dead.

 

[Christopher]

Also, just so I wasn't confused, was that really a Sherlock Homes looking Pipe when Helena said "What makes you think I'm trying to be funny?" Nice touch.

No, the type of pipe associated with Holmes on stage and screen is a calabash pipe, with a U-shaped stem and a large bowl. IIRC, this was a large pipe, but of a more conventional straight-stemmed type, the sort you might expect a stereotypical farmer to smoke.