Kyle’s Review

“Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis” faltered a bit but Orphan Black’s good is still better than most show’s great.

I didn’t know it was possible, but Sarah (the show’s protagonist) got lost in this week’s episode. Sure, she was physically in the show but the male clones took over in the scenes with Sarah, causing her to react instead of plan or do much of anything else. This isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Ari Millen does a good job as the male clones but he doesn’t make his characters as different as Tatiana Maslany (the female clone actor) and I’m not as invested in his characters yet.

As with the female clones, the male clones have a fatal flaw in their makeup. I won’t spoil it here but this defect leads to a powerful scene. But the scene in question wasn’t as powerful as Millen’s final scene as the Prolethean turned lover boy on the run, Mark Rollins. Mark is one of the few male clones who does stand out.

As for Maslany’s clones, Helena sustains more abuse. I like that she doesn’t buy into her captors’ lies. She may not have had too much screen time but we got a nice taste of her character. Cosima makes a brief appearance too and it was memorable as she defied authority but the true female clone stand out this week has to be Alison Hendrix. She continues her bid for school trustee and found her edge over the competition. Again, I won’t spoil it here but she sure does know how to turn a situation on its ear. After she lost most of her money and anonymity, she became the forgotten clone but she made strides for her return as The Clone Club’s financier.

Speaking of money bags, Sarah’s beau Cal, who happens to be the formerly estranged father of her daughter, has deeper pockets than we might have guessed from last season. He had plenty of money lying around a year ago but apparently he has enough cash to purchase a gorgeous, new home. Cal, played by Game of Thrones’ Michiel Huisman, has a dark past of which Sarah has only scratched the surface. This might have played into Sarah’s diminished role but I see her clawing her way into the center of Cal’s past in the not-so-distant future.

Verdict:

A solid episode, “Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis” traded female clones for male clones to good effect. Orphan Black’s secondary female clones played well but Sarah needs more direction. I think she’ll have it soon.