Denisa and I decided to give Orphan Black a shot two weeks ago. We finished the first season last night. Honestly, that probably sums up my thoughts on the show more than anything else. Good enough to finish the first season relatively quickly, but not good enough to blaze through it.
It’s got a cool sci-fi premise: the main character (Sarah) sees a woman who looks just like her, and then that woman jumps in front of a train. Sarah is desperate for money, so she swipes the dead woman’s purse and finds car keys and an apartment just waiting to be used, and people who all assume she’s the dead woman. Her initial goal is to cash out all the money the woman has in her bank and then disappear, but things get messy.
Also, clones are involved.
Okay, so that last bit could be viewed as a significant spoiler, but at the same time, it’s something that’s key to deciding if you want to stick with the show or not. Much of the “engine” the show runs on is the interplay of these different clones, all (naturally) played by the same actress, who does a marvelous job making each one feel unique, with her own mannerisms. That’s one of the strengths of the show for sure. It’s got science fiction and spy elements, as well as a strong mystery theme weaving through the whole show. Good on Big Plot, for sure.
So what are the weaknesses? These are likely more important to me than they might be to everyone, but I felt like a lot of the actual plot mechanics felt very forced, designed to up the ante as much as possible, while not always making sense. Characters do things that raise the stakes, but I really question why and if anyone would ever do the thing they do. I can’t get into detail with my biggest gripes, because those would be massive spoilers, but they’re significant enough that I’ve rolled my eyes more than a handful of times and even paused the show to complain to Denisa now and then. That’s . . . not a good look.
Will I continue with the show? I’m honestly not sure. I think it’s good, but not great. Maybe if I hear good things about the later seasons, I might keep going, but then again, there are enough other shows out there, that I might just move on. I’d give it a 7/10, with a few episodes peaking to 8/10 and some more like 6/10.
Have other people watched the whole thing? What are your thoughts?