Orphan Black: Transgressive Border Crossing
April 22, 2016 10:00 AM - Season 4, Episode 2 - Subscribe
After evading Neolution in Iceland, Sarah returns home to track down an elusive new ally.
-I love that we're getting a deep dive into Beth's character this season. Even if it is depressing as hell.
-In general, the episodes feel like they're moving very fast. Moreso than the first three years, these two episodes feel like one story that happens to have week-long commercial breaks between some of the scenes.
-Sarah's reaction to Fi's decision to find his birth parents felt like a rare false note for an OB character; Sarah of all people should know how meaningful it can be to find your blood relatives.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:18 PM on April 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
-In general, the episodes feel like they're moving very fast. Moreso than the first three years, these two episodes feel like one story that happens to have week-long commercial breaks between some of the scenes.
-Sarah's reaction to Fi's decision to find his birth parents felt like a rare false note for an OB character; Sarah of all people should know how meaningful it can be to find your blood relatives.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 7:18 PM on April 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Awww, "fertile Myrtle" Helena and her twin bebbies!
posted by TwoStride at 8:14 PM on April 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by TwoStride at 8:14 PM on April 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
Probably some defensiveness and projection involved for Sarah thinking about Fe finding other family. She's his real family; he's hers; it's got to be hard to see him seeking realer-seeming things than her and her tragically convoluted situation. I'm also loving how wild and fearless the show feels. I have no idea whether the narrative inconvenience of a pregnant Helena means she's a goner, which would be an easy fix for a tough story, or whether they'll jump forward in time five years, or whether they'll add magic science to make the children Kira's age in months, or what. They can do whatever they want, right now, and they do. It's so fun to see a show without rules.
posted by cgc373 at 10:53 PM on April 22, 2016
posted by cgc373 at 10:53 PM on April 22, 2016
Isn't Mrs S just the MVP?
And it was so nice to see Scott again, and Bucky Hate.
And the maggot-bots. So creepy. That last scene with the "there is something in my mouth" was so Thing/Alien creepy, and Tatiana's eye-acting was amazing.
posted by Mezentian at 4:20 AM on April 23, 2016
And it was so nice to see Scott again, and Bucky Hate.
And the maggot-bots. So creepy. That last scene with the "there is something in my mouth" was so Thing/Alien creepy, and Tatiana's eye-acting was amazing.
posted by Mezentian at 4:20 AM on April 23, 2016
I'm not sure how many more photos of cheekectomies I can take.
Anyway, here's a sweet interview with Josh Vokey on how his role as Scott has grown over the years.
posted by plastic_animals at 10:32 AM on April 23, 2016
Anyway, here's a sweet interview with Josh Vokey on how his role as Scott has grown over the years.
posted by plastic_animals at 10:32 AM on April 23, 2016
Isn't Mrs S just the MVP?
Yes the episode would have been worth it for just the scene of Mrs S getting to work with the gasoline. She is badass personified.
Although poor stuffed Monkey!! (Having been through a housefire myself a few months ago in which my daughter lost all her stuffed animals, that made me super sad.)
And it was so nice to see Scott again
I could watch Scott interacting with the clones all day.
The gender dynamics on this show are just unmatched anywhere else on television. I could feel myself this episode just sinking back into it with a giant "ahhh." Not that those dynamics are realistic, but it's so refreshing/energizing to watch even in an aspirational sense.
Going now to check out the Josh Vokey interview.
posted by torticat at 11:10 AM on April 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yes the episode would have been worth it for just the scene of Mrs S getting to work with the gasoline. She is badass personified.
Although poor stuffed Monkey!! (Having been through a housefire myself a few months ago in which my daughter lost all her stuffed animals, that made me super sad.)
And it was so nice to see Scott again
I could watch Scott interacting with the clones all day.
The gender dynamics on this show are just unmatched anywhere else on television. I could feel myself this episode just sinking back into it with a giant "ahhh." Not that those dynamics are realistic, but it's so refreshing/energizing to watch even in an aspirational sense.
Going now to check out the Josh Vokey interview.
posted by torticat at 11:10 AM on April 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
The gender dynamics on this show are just unmatched anywhere else on television.
Sssssh. If you say that too loudly they'll here you and... Sleepy Hollow!
I did like the explanation for the sheep mask, although someone should really discuss road safety with MK.
posted by Mezentian at 3:34 PM on April 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Sssssh. If you say that too loudly they'll here you and... Sleepy Hollow!
I did like the explanation for the sheep mask, although someone should really discuss road safety with MK.
posted by Mezentian at 3:34 PM on April 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Did I misunderstand or did someone at the club mention they had spoken to Beth six months ago? Meaning all 3 seasons have taken place over six months? That is both totally believable and totally shocking.
Sarah's reaction to Felix seemed completely par for the course for their relationship. She really treats him very badly and only seems to even want him around when she can use him as a pawn or something in yet another scheme or heist. My heart was breaking for him when he was like "ok we can go get a drink" and she was like "actually I just need you to get me into a nightclub, where I will inevitably ditch you." It's only natural when a relationship that consists 100% of using the other person starts to grow apart.
posted by bleep at 7:14 AM on April 24, 2016
Sarah's reaction to Felix seemed completely par for the course for their relationship. She really treats him very badly and only seems to even want him around when she can use him as a pawn or something in yet another scheme or heist. My heart was breaking for him when he was like "ok we can go get a drink" and she was like "actually I just need you to get me into a nightclub, where I will inevitably ditch you." It's only natural when a relationship that consists 100% of using the other person starts to grow apart.
posted by bleep at 7:14 AM on April 24, 2016
Meaning all 3 seasons have taken place over six months? That is both totally believable and totally shocking.
Kira dating is the new UNIT dating.
posted by Mezentian at 3:42 PM on April 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Kira dating is the new UNIT dating.
posted by Mezentian at 3:42 PM on April 24, 2016 [1 favorite]
Um, is no one going to talk about the fact the Neolutions -- the same Neolutions that Sarah is hiding from in a basement under a comic book store... the same Neolutions that tracked her and her family down in the middle of Nowhere, the last people in the world she wants knowing where she is... -- found Sarah, identified her as Sarah Manning -- and then just... let her go like it wasn't a big deal?
posted by patheral at 11:43 AM on April 25, 2016
posted by patheral at 11:43 AM on April 25, 2016
It remains to be seen how big a deal that encounter in the laundromat was. She's got a worm in her cheek (did she have one before?), and apparently people with worms in their cheeks end up dead.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:15 PM on April 25, 2016
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 12:15 PM on April 25, 2016
It did seem weird but falls into the category of "We'll find out next week I guess" for me.
posted by bleep at 12:20 PM on April 25, 2016
posted by bleep at 12:20 PM on April 25, 2016
My interpretation there is that not everyone in Neolution is on the same page or in on the same information. Among high-up Neos, it's pretty common knowledge who the Ledas are, but Sarah's special status and the particular man-hunt for her are need-to-know. Our EMTs aren't involved in the hunt for her, so they didn't know she was more than the wrong Leda clone for what they were up to.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 4:50 PM on April 25, 2016
posted by vibratory manner of working at 4:50 PM on April 25, 2016
patheral, the EMT Neos seemed to me to be checking which clone they had, and on discovering it was Sarah and not MK they got cranky, because they were actually after MK - the implication being, I think, that either they can tell which clone is which by manually examining the worm or that MK doesn't have one. That exchange seemed to happen in another language - Afrikaans maybe? Anyway, they weren't after Sarah so they let her go.
posted by prismatic7 at 10:43 PM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by prismatic7 at 10:43 PM on April 25, 2016 [1 favorite]
patheral, the EMT Neos seemed to me to be checking which clone they had, and on discovering it was Sarah and not MK they got cranky, because they were actually after MK - the implication being, I think, that either they can tell which clone is which by manually examining the worm or that MK doesn't have one. That exchange seemed to happen in another language - Afrikaans maybe? Anyway, they weren't after Sarah so they let her go.
No, I got all of that when I watched it. But the opening scene was Sarah et al running for their lives from the Neolutions -- for their lives. Burning everything behind them so they wouldn't be found. Then they go into hiding so they would not be found. It's the entire premise of the season (it seems to me), that they not be found because their very lives are in danger if they are found. Otherwise, why go through all of the cloak and dagger stuff in the first place?
And she's found. Just like that. And they let her go.
posted by patheral at 12:39 PM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
No, I got all of that when I watched it. But the opening scene was Sarah et al running for their lives from the Neolutions -- for their lives. Burning everything behind them so they wouldn't be found. Then they go into hiding so they would not be found. It's the entire premise of the season (it seems to me), that they not be found because their very lives are in danger if they are found. Otherwise, why go through all of the cloak and dagger stuff in the first place?
And she's found. Just like that. And they let her go.
posted by patheral at 12:39 PM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]
Random thoughts and questions:
Didn't we see the maggot-bots briefly before? I can't recall any details, of course. Same with Mika in the Dolly the Lamb mask - the imagery seemed familiar. Maybe in one of Beth's home movies? Or maybe I just accidentally watched a season teaser.
I'd like to see the casting call for Felix; I'm sure that "must have a perfect ass" was high on the list.
I wasn't sure if the EMT people were Neolutiinists or another group. It definitely seemed that they were hunting Mika, not Sarah.
posted by kanewai at 4:06 AM on April 27, 2016
Didn't we see the maggot-bots briefly before? I can't recall any details, of course. Same with Mika in the Dolly the Lamb mask - the imagery seemed familiar. Maybe in one of Beth's home movies? Or maybe I just accidentally watched a season teaser.
I'd like to see the casting call for Felix; I'm sure that "must have a perfect ass" was high on the list.
I wasn't sure if the EMT people were Neolutiinists or another group. It definitely seemed that they were hunting Mika, not Sarah.
posted by kanewai at 4:06 AM on April 27, 2016
Oh man, Afrikaans! I'm also rewatching season 1 with my girlfriend; I'd forgotten about it, but Sarah and Helena's birth mother was from Cape Town.
posted by Vibrissa at 9:15 PM on April 27, 2016
posted by Vibrissa at 9:15 PM on April 27, 2016
Show of hands, who thinks Felix's birth parents are going to have some connection to the clones?
posted by amro at 3:38 PM on April 28, 2016
posted by amro at 3:38 PM on April 28, 2016
Show of hands, who thinks Felix's birth parents are going to have some connection to the clones?
I feel like this will happen, but I don't want it too. It would just feel too contrived.
posted by kanewai at 7:22 PM on April 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
I feel like this will happen, but I don't want it too. It would just feel too contrived.
posted by kanewai at 7:22 PM on April 28, 2016 [1 favorite]
The gender dynamics on this show are just unmatched anywhere else on television.
Not only that, the scene in Iceland where they're debating whether to leave the house has four generations of women (Kira - child, Sarah - 20s, Siobhan - 40s, Kendall - 60s) who all get treated with agency and respect.
posted by psoas at 3:21 PM on April 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
Not only that, the scene in Iceland where they're debating whether to leave the house has four generations of women (Kira - child, Sarah - 20s, Siobhan - 40s, Kendall - 60s) who all get treated with agency and respect.
posted by psoas at 3:21 PM on April 29, 2016 [2 favorites]
That debate scene was a little grating. Was Siobhan and Kendall's position really "hey, we're probably fine, let's just assume everything is hunky dory and go back to bed?" I mean, that's just stupid.
posted by axiom at 8:56 PM on April 30, 2016
posted by axiom at 8:56 PM on April 30, 2016
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
I said this in last week's thread but will say again, I am really enjoying (or I guess probably "enjoyed" is better at this point) Maslany's portrayal of Beth. MK, too.
Beth is such a sad, sad character. :(
posted by torticat at 10:34 AM on April 22, 2016