"Orphan Black" Episode One: Natural Selection
If you read this blog, I'm sure that you are an aficionado of many of the same things that I am. You love super heroes and comic books and sci-fi and fantasy. So, I can't imagine that there are many of you out there who aren't proud members of the "sestrahood." Maybe you haven't though. There is so much great TV out there, it's hard to catch everything. With season four of the BBC America drama getting ready to start this Thursday and all 3 seasons available to stream if you have an Amazon Prime membership, now is the perfect time to see what everyone is raving about. It's also a chance to see why lead actress Tatiana Maslany scored her first Emmy nom last year.
Each week, I'll be revisiting an episode of "Orphan Black" from the pilot until the fourth season finale. Watch along with me and read my recaps. We are starting today with the pilot, "Natural Selection."
Even if you've never watched "Orphan Black", you probably know the general conceit of the show. Just for fun, let's pretend you don't. I wish that I hadn't known because I think it would have made this already strong pilot, even stronger.
"Natural Selection" begins with one of the strongest opening scenes of any television pilot I've ever seen. On a nearly deserted train platform, we first meet Sarah Manning. Without saying a word, you know that Sarah is in a rough place in her life. It's cold, but she's not dressed for the weather in her shorts and worn tights. The blonde streaks in her hair. Sarah has a tense conversation with someone about her daughter who she hasn't seen recently. Behind Sarah, we spy a smartly dressed dark haired woman doing some strange things. She slips out of her high heels. Takes off her jacket and folds it, placing it delicately on the ground. She puts her purse next to the heels and jacket. As Sarah angrily ends her phone call, she turns and comes face to face with... herself. The other woman on the platform is Sarah's twin. They lock eyes. Sarah's face shows shock and fear. Her double just shows resignation as she steps off the platform into the path of an oncoming train. After the shock of what she's witnessed wears off, Sarah absconds with her doubles purse in the confusion that follows.
The best thing about the pilot is that it starts strong and keeps you off balance the rest of the time. You may think that Sarah is an anti-hero along the lines of Walter White or Don Draper, but that is dispelled when you see her interacting with her gay foster brother, Felix (the divine Jordan Gavaris). Sarah has found herself in a bad situation and that has caused her to not see her daughter, Kira, for almost a year. She has left her scumbag boyfriend, Vic, along with some of his cocaine and she's hoping that Felix can sell it for her.
It would have been easy for Sarah to veer into anti-hero territory, but the creators steer clear of that. It's great to watch the pieces fall into place. Sarah can't get her double out of her head so she goes the woman's house and finds out that she is Beth Childs. She has two phones and she has a bank account with $75000 in it. It's just what Sarah needs to better herself. Beth is dead so Sarah sees assuming her identity and taking the money for herself as a victimless crime.
While she waits for the bank to get the money together, Sarah finds herself getting pulled more and more into Beth's world and the mysteries that seem to populate it. She finds various birth certificates and passports in a safe deposit box, none of them her own. Both phones are ringing, someone is sitting outside Beth's apartment flashing their headlights at her, and Beth seems to have a pretty sizable prescription drug problem.
The pilot puts Sarah through the ringer and a lot of viewer enjoyment comes from trying to figure out how she is going to get out of things. Sarah finds out that Beth's is a cop and her partner is trying to bring her in to give a statement to Internal Affairs about what happened with a shooting Beth was involved in. Beth's partner, Art, immediately notices something is up with her. It was nice to see him immediately have the inkling something is off and have him follow Sarah after she drinks bathroom soap to throw up and get out of making the statement.
Beth's boyfriend, Paul, is an easier obstacle for Sarah to navigate. She sleeps with him, hoping that will placate him long enough for her to get the money and get out of town. Sarah seems to be a super woman and you kind of have to ignore the implausibility of Sarah being able to so seamlessly imitate Beth in such a short amount of time. So, it's nice to see her delegate some things to Felix, namely identifying Beth's body as Sarah's, in order for Sarah to be able to leave her problems with Vic and the drugs behind.
This leads to it's own set of problems due to Vic wanting to have a memorial for Sarah that her daughter, Kira inadvertently shows up at. Before Sarah can try to clean this mess up, she is confronted by another double, Katja Obinger, who was the one flashing headlights and calling Beth's other phone. Before Sarah can get any answers, Katja is shot in the head in the backseat of Beth's car, the episode's second OMG moment. This is also the first of many awesome "Orphan Black" cliffhangers that make you immediately want to skip to the next.
This episode doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what the show has to offer and there are still important characters yet to meet. It does a great job of giving you just enough to keep you entertained and coming back for more.
If you have seen it, what are you favorite moments from the pilot? If you are watching for the first time, what was your first impression? Are you excited to watch more? Let me know in the comments.
The best thing about the pilot is that it starts strong and keeps you off balance the rest of the time. You may think that Sarah is an anti-hero along the lines of Walter White or Don Draper, but that is dispelled when you see her interacting with her gay foster brother, Felix (the divine Jordan Gavaris). Sarah has found herself in a bad situation and that has caused her to not see her daughter, Kira, for almost a year. She has left her scumbag boyfriend, Vic, along with some of his cocaine and she's hoping that Felix can sell it for her.
It would have been easy for Sarah to veer into anti-hero territory, but the creators steer clear of that. It's great to watch the pieces fall into place. Sarah can't get her double out of her head so she goes the woman's house and finds out that she is Beth Childs. She has two phones and she has a bank account with $75000 in it. It's just what Sarah needs to better herself. Beth is dead so Sarah sees assuming her identity and taking the money for herself as a victimless crime.
While she waits for the bank to get the money together, Sarah finds herself getting pulled more and more into Beth's world and the mysteries that seem to populate it. She finds various birth certificates and passports in a safe deposit box, none of them her own. Both phones are ringing, someone is sitting outside Beth's apartment flashing their headlights at her, and Beth seems to have a pretty sizable prescription drug problem.
The pilot puts Sarah through the ringer and a lot of viewer enjoyment comes from trying to figure out how she is going to get out of things. Sarah finds out that Beth's is a cop and her partner is trying to bring her in to give a statement to Internal Affairs about what happened with a shooting Beth was involved in. Beth's partner, Art, immediately notices something is up with her. It was nice to see him immediately have the inkling something is off and have him follow Sarah after she drinks bathroom soap to throw up and get out of making the statement.
Beth's boyfriend, Paul, is an easier obstacle for Sarah to navigate. She sleeps with him, hoping that will placate him long enough for her to get the money and get out of town. Sarah seems to be a super woman and you kind of have to ignore the implausibility of Sarah being able to so seamlessly imitate Beth in such a short amount of time. So, it's nice to see her delegate some things to Felix, namely identifying Beth's body as Sarah's, in order for Sarah to be able to leave her problems with Vic and the drugs behind.
This leads to it's own set of problems due to Vic wanting to have a memorial for Sarah that her daughter, Kira inadvertently shows up at. Before Sarah can try to clean this mess up, she is confronted by another double, Katja Obinger, who was the one flashing headlights and calling Beth's other phone. Before Sarah can get any answers, Katja is shot in the head in the backseat of Beth's car, the episode's second OMG moment. This is also the first of many awesome "Orphan Black" cliffhangers that make you immediately want to skip to the next.
This episode doesn't even begin to scratch the surface of what the show has to offer and there are still important characters yet to meet. It does a great job of giving you just enough to keep you entertained and coming back for more.
If you have seen it, what are you favorite moments from the pilot? If you are watching for the first time, what was your first impression? Are you excited to watch more? Let me know in the comments.
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