Reviews Series / Orphan Black

I Watch with Bated Breath (season one review)

Orphan Black has the hookiest of hooks. Protagonist Sarah Manning sees a complete stranger, her doppelganger, throw herself under a train. What does Sarah do? In that moment, she steals the woman's identity and tries to figure out who this mysterious individual is. It is a strong premise with a lot of potential, but like Lost, comes with a trepidation about where it is going. That's why I watched Season one with bated breath; not because of the suspense (though it is indeed a brilliantly tense show), but I am terrified of the moment wherein the writers are going to drop the ball and ruin the show.

Not that I should have a reason to mistrust the writers. Sarah is a really well designed character; resourceful, witty and daring, but also relatable, out-of-her-depth and always in peril. Other characters are fun too, such as the hopelessly lovesick drug dealing boyfriend (played by Vaas), and Sarah's snarking, flaming, hilarious (if somewhat stereotypical) foster brother. The scenarios the protagonist finds herself in are also well realised; full of suspense and intrigue. But then there are the things that suggest to me that the series might fly off the rails, once it gets down to resolving the main mystery of the plot. SPOILERS BELOW

A few episodes in, the show starts to hint towards the bigger players. There are references to goofy technophile cults, religious fanatic organisations, and meglomaniacal corperations. Like anyone else, I want to know what the hell is going on, and to solve the mystery of these doppelgangers, but the solution that we are creeping towards is "massive clandestine conspiracy". I hope it doesn't, because that kind of cliché would be a major disservice to the clever and original premise. Also, there are a few other supporting characters who I dislike, but who are inevitably going to play vital plot roles later, like Mr scowly face detective, and Mr incredibly bland love interest.

So yes, most of the review I have spent speculating about how a series might go wrong, rather than talk about what actually happens in the series itself. The conclusion I'm led to is that Orphan Black is a very entertaining series, and my concerns about it not going to stay that way are born from how invested I am with it. I give it a full recommendation.