Kyle’s Review

I can’t say enough nice things about Orphan Black. The previous two season were excellent (writing, acting, directing, and general awesomeness) and I keep waiting for the show to fall off. That didn’t happen with its third season debut episode “The Weight of this Combination” and it could have given how last season ended. Orphan Black’s second season ended with a microphone drop of sorts, introducing a series of male clones that could’ve upset the show’s balance.

I say balance because Tatiana Maslany is brilliant as the female clones and that was a lot for Ari Millen to live up to. He’s done an admirable job so far but the show hasn’t gotten away from what made it great the previous two season: Maslany.

It’s criminal that she hasn’t been nominated for an Emmy but Sci Fi shows typically don’t receive love come award season. Malany will play one clone, pretending to be another clone, and she nails it. She doesn’t portray Rachel in the scenes where Sarah infiltrates DYAD, she portrays Sarah pretending to Rachel. It’s just off enough, in the manner of how Sarah would be off when playing Rachel, so that other characters that know Rachel well can tell that she isn’t who she claims to be and close enough to fool characters who may not have been in contact with Rachel that much—and the best part is that the fans are in on it the whole time.

The plot is a tangled mess at this point – you’ll have to catch up with seasons one and two before watching this episode – but if you can binge watch this show in order to watch Orphan Black’s third season, I highly recommend it. It’s the best Sci Fi TV show on air and I’m going to stop waiting for the show to slip.

Verdict:

Orphan Black is the best Sci Fi TV show, period. You owe it to yourself to watch “The Weight of this Combination.” The opening sequence alone is a great one: we get to see the perfect world of one of the show’s least understood characters, Helena.