Orphan Black: Why is Alison’s story arc kept separate from the clone intrigue?

Out of all the Leda clones on Orphan Black, Alison Hendrix (Tatiana Maslany) makes a most unexpected and unusual impression. She’s someone who can easily be underestimated, often pigeonholed for her appearance and socioeconomic status. Alison’s various roles/monikers are simple enough: mother, wife, soccer coach (and keep in mind alcoholic, adulterer, drug peddler and occasional murderer can also be tagged on)…but who is she? And why does her storyline seem separate from the clone intrigue? Is she simply providing comic relief, as many viewers seem to think?

Often when Alison is on screen, she’s either in her suburban home, especially the garage, on the soccer field, or in her minivan, with her blubbering husband, Donnie (Kristian Bruun), not far behind. Her location is interesting to note considering her other sister clones are usually in an urban setting, even imprisoned in labs and military bases, which provide quite a contrast to the safety of suburbia. Other than the first episode of the current season, Alison seems to have almost escaped the hazards of Proletheans, Castor clones, and corrupt labs only to thrust herself into danger of her own design. No one has forgotten Alison’s obsessive quest to find her monitor, and the severe consequences that befell her wrongly accused friend and neighbor, Aynsley (Natalie Lisinska). Nor can anyone forget real monitor Donnie accidentally shooting and killing Dr. Leekie (Matt Frewer) for his many deceptions.

As separate as Alison’s story may appear, the clone intrigue still finds its way in. Inadvertently, she and her husband exterminated one of Dyad’s power-playing scientists, and so far appear to have gotten away with it. As Alison and Donnie take on the new role of “pharmaceutical entrepreneurs,” dealing drugs via neatly wrapped soap packages so Alison can blackmail her way to school trustee, one need only remember that Dr. Leekie is buried just under their feet, beneath the garage floor. Alison can do her best to bury Dyad, the Proletheans, the Castor clones and whatever other deadly threat that may come her way, but the reality of the danger she faces is always there, no matter how squeaky clean the surface may be.

Alison is an enjoyable and funny character, so it’s understandable that viewers associate her odd sayings and quirkiness with comic relief; it’s obvious her presence is meant to elicit laughter. But by solely viewing her as a clown, were overlooking her complexity, charm, vulnerability and unexpected resolve. These, after all, are what make Alison shine. Noam Cohen of the Observer shares this train of thought: “It is always tempting to treat Alison’s life, so separate from the intrigue surrounding her sisters, as a kind of comic relief sideshow. But her scenes are always so cleverly and subtly written that it’s a mistake to do so; her world is always reflecting, distorting or underlining what’s happening in the rest of the show.”

It’s possible that a good part of Alison’s place on the show is to provide some lightheartedness, a break from the dark, brooding seriousness. It’s also possible that Alison’s character may offer a different perspective on how a mother and wife struggling for normalcy deals with an extraordinary set of circumstances. She’s juggling more than just traffic, dinner and her kids’ soccer games; she’s a clone, and her battle for her own safety and survival and that of her family’s will not be easily won. Much like the play she was in that went disastrously, Alison continues to put on her own show, keeping even herself at bay from the true danger that lurks so closely. Once things get serious for Alison, it’s doubtful there will be much room for laughter.

Orphan Black: Will the relationship between Castor and Leda clones change now that they’re family?

The male Castor clones (Ari Millen) have been a pain in the Leda clones’ (Tatiana Maslany) sides for much of Orphan Black’s new season. For the most part, the Castor clones’ presence hasn’t seemed to be much more than an annoyance for Sarah and her sisters, albeit a dangerous one. Still, it seems like this has the potential to change now that one crucial fact has been unveiled: the Castor and Leda clones are siblings (the mythology behind these names has hinted at a connection). Will this revelation change the way the Castor clones view Sarah and her sister clones? Might the siblings form a type of alliance later on this season?

There’s already been a brief introduction to Sarah forming a type of alliance (though quite brief) with Castor clone Mark, actually going as far as to save his life from Gracie’s (Zoe De Grand Maison) Prolethean, rifle-wielding mother, Bonnie (Kristin Booth). If Sarah lacked the gumption to drag Mark’s bullet-riddled body through that corn field, Bonnie would have undoubtedly executed her daughter’s new husband without hesitation. This raises some interesting questions about Sarah, like would she have saved Mark even if Cosima didn’t alert her that they’re related to the Castor clones? It’s difficult to say with certainty.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marisa Roffman points out that “while Sarah has fiercely embraced her new sisterhood, the discovery [of her being related to the Castor clones] will lead to her own mixed feelings on the matter.” Co-creator John Fawcett further stresses that “it certainly adds a massive layer of complexity for Sarah, especially.” This also brings a new outlook on family to Sarah’s life, as she’s gone from being an orphan to discovering she has quite a lot of siblings, some she may prefer not to be related to. But even if the Castor and Leda clones remain at odds, it won’t be long before they realize they’re all they have, and no one will ever understand their predicament better than they do.

A great example of this empathetic connection occurs when Helena stumbles upon a lab located in the desert military base where she’s imprisoned, somewhere in Mexico. An unfortunate Castor clone is fastened to a chair, wired up to devices, with his brain exposed. He looks at her pleadingly and begs her to kill him. Fully understanding the pain he’s going through as she too has endured tortures and guinea pig abuses, she punctures his brain, killing him. At this point, both sets of clones seem to be on an even playing field, both victims of their own genetics, trapped in worlds filled with mad scientists and terrible danger that they must fight to escape and survive. Castor and Leda clones needn’t be enemies; it’s the corrupt corporations, religious groups, and abusers of science they need to keep an eye out for.

If Leda and Castor clones do ever decide to work together or simply call a truce, it’s not something that will be an easy adjustment. Understandably, there’s plenty of distrust and confusion holding them back. It’s not like the Castor clones will be winning over Sarah and her sisters with their charm; it’s becoming difficult to count how many times they’ve held Sarah at gunpoint. As bad as the Castor clones may seem, though, there’s always another enemy who plays far dirtier, like Dr. Coady (Kyra Harper), who’s got the Castor boys wrapped around her finger and may not have their best interests at heart. Co-creator Graeme Manson notes the challenges of Leda and Castor clones uniting, as the Castor clones “have not acted like family to this point, and we’ll have to wait and see if they learn to.”

Orphan Black: Are Project Castor clones stealing the limelight from Sarah and her sister clones?

The last episode of Orphan Black’s second season made it very clear that the male Project Castor clones (Ari Millen) were going to be a bigger part of the show’s third season. As a result, the male clones are getting a lot of attention, whether it’s at their military base, firmly under Dr. Virginia Coady’s (Kyra Harper) command, or hunting Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) in hopes of getting their hands on the Castor original so they can remedy their life-threatening defect.

Many welcome the addition of the male clones, like Andrea Towers in Entertainment Weekly, claiming it’s “the answer to getting the show back on track” from its muddled moments in the second season. While others, like Jonathon Dornbush in same Entertainment Weekly debate, have concerns that “the show [is] spreading itself too thin. The male clones will undoubtedly inject some new personality, but that could also make it an even more unwieldy series to follow.”

Both sides of the male clone debate are valid, but another worry is plaguing some fans: Will the male clones unjustly rob Orphan Black of its female-driven narrative? This seems unlikely. While the male clones are indeed threatening and quite a hindrance to Sarah and her clone cohorts, they lack the charm, personality and emotional grab that Sarah and her sisters have. And as the boys follow Dr. Coady’s relentless lead and surrender themselves to science in hopes of curing themselves, their agenda doesn’t seem to have the power or immediacy to steal our interest away from the girls who’ve already won our hearts.

Even Mark, the one male clone who stands out amongst his malicious soldier brethren and dares to love ex-Prolethean Gracie (Zoe De Grand Maison), isn’t strong or commanding enough of a presence on his own to steal the show from Sarah and company. How could anyone really stand toe-to-toe against Alison, the drug-peddling soccer mom; Helena, the lethal and abused assassin; Cosima, the bisexual and brilliant scientist; and, of course, Sarah, a troubled young mother and small-time criminal? Worrying about losing such dynamic characters is understandable, but viewers should remember that dynamism is why they’re here to stay.

In an article for Slate, Jessica Roake goes so far as to chastise all hetero men when compared to the indomitable female presence in the series: “The straight men of Orphan Black are stupid, weak, simple, unethical, violent, buffoonish, and easily manipulated. They are purposefully one-dimensional sketches denied the layers and complex motivations given to the female characters.”

It’s not necessary to take it as far as Roake here, but she does have a point: the male presence displayed in Orphan Black is far too emotionally, morally and strategically weak to pose a threat to Sarah and her sisters. While the Castor clones may keep the girls on their toes, they won’t have them stumble off their pedestal any time soon.

Orphan Black: Do you think the project names Leda and Castor provide any clues to the clones’ origins?

At this point in Orphan Black’s third season, we still have more questions than answers (as expected). Despite the dark secrets and the increasingly complicated conspiracy, one thing is certain: Sarah and her sister clones (Tatiana Maslany) are special, special enough to hunt, protect and lie to. So that begs the questions: how were they made and why? Are the answers just based on the Neolution Movement, enabling human beings to gain control of their evolution through science? Why do Leda clones appear to be more valued than Castor clones, who are strictly controlled and abused by some sort of military-run operation? It remains to be seen if the actual project names Leda and Castor could provide us with any clues to the clones’ origins.

Following Greek mythology, Leda was wife to Spartan King Tyndareus. Zeus, taking on the form of a swan, seduced Leda the same night she spent with the king, resulting in the births of Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, and twins Castor and Pollux, who all hatched from two eggs. It remains uncertain as to which children hatched from which egg, making some of them half-immortal or simply mortal. It’s commonly accepted that Helen was Zeus’ daughter, endowing her with divine perks.

If the names Leda and Castor intimate how the clones were created, what does this mean? It means Sarah and her sisters could be even more important than meets the eye. Whatever genetic material was used to create the Leda clones may not have been completely human, dare we even say alien. Consider Sarah Manning and her twin sister, Helena (we could easily say Helen of Troy; in season three she’s been kidnapped, and a war is brewing as a result), and how they’re both able to conceive while all the other clones are sterile by design. And not only that, recall what happened to Sarah’s daughter, Kira (Skyler Wexler), when she was hit by a car in the first season. Kira’s life-threatening injuries all but vanished shortly after the accident, possibly revealing she’s inherited some special abilities from her mother.

Perhaps Project Castor and Project Leda received their names in the same respect sailing vessels, cleaning products and cars are named after Greek gods and heroes. But it’s also quite possible that these project titles provide a nudge in a direction viewers should be looking. Prolethean leader Henrik (Peter Outerbridge) was so convinced of Helena’s special genes that he not only impregnated Helena, but made his daughter, Gracie (Zoe De Grand Maison), a surrogate for Helena’s offspring. The Proletheans do questionable things and follow an even sketchier path, but they do so because they claim to have a higher purpose, as stated by Gracie’s mother. They almost seem to understand the clones’ origins better than most despite dubbing them abominations.

What remains apparent is that Sarah and Helena have a uniquely desirable genetic makeup, constantly thrusting them and their loved ones in harm’s way. They’re not supposed to be able to conceive, yet Sarah has Kira and Helena is pregnant. It’s also clear that Kira is no ordinary child; she can rapidly heal from serious injuries and probably holds the key to curing Cosima, who appears to be recovering from her illness in season three just by being around Kira (and of course her stem cells). It’s hard to say who or what created the clones at this point, who/what Leda, Zeus and Castor may represent in the equation, but it seems safe to assume the truth may turn out to be as mind-bending as the series thus far.