by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief

Should human cloning be legal? Would you like to clone yourself? What rights should human clones have? Can Mrs S be trusted? Which Seestra is your favorite? How can anyone take the Emmys seriously after completely snubbing this show two years in a row?

Orphan Black Season Two brings up a lot of questions, but thankfully keeps leading us to the answers while drawing us deeper into the Dyad cloning conspiracy. Season One ended with Sarah, Allison, Cosima, and wild Helena now knowing who their monitors are or were, and more or less teamed up to learn more about themselves and recover Kira.

-SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW-

Orphan Black Season Two starts fast and with the exception of a few pauses to catch its breath, keeps running to the last shocking scene.

Episode Highlights

S02E01 – “Nature Under Constraint and Vexed”
Sarah opens the season under attack in a diner. Alison fights off more goons with pepper spray. Tatiana Maslany (Alphas) keeps proving that she’s the most versatile actor on television today.  Felix (Jordan Gavaris – Degrassi: The Next Generation) wears leather.

S02E02 – “Governed By Sound Reason and True Religion”
Sarah is reunited with Kira (Skyler Wexler – Alphas, Warehouse 13) by Mrs S (Maria Doyle Kennedy – Dexter, Downton Abbey), who may have just put a fork in the question of her allegiance. We meet the frighteningly normal-seeming leader of the Proletheans, Henrik Johanssen (Peter Outerbridge – Millennium, Fringe). Cosima gets smoke blown up her skirt by Leekie (Matt Frewer – Max Headroom, Eureka) and Delphine (Evelyne Brochu – some undoubtedly awesome French language stuff) and then she and ice-clone Rachel whip out their DNA to see whose is the biggest (SPOILER: It’s a stalemate – they’re clones – duh).

S02E03 – “Mingling Its Own Nature With It”
Sarah brings Kira and Felix to hide out at a supposedly random vacation cabin, then the owner Cal (Michiel Huisman – Game of Thrones, World War Z) shows up to play house. Creepy T-1000 Daniel Rosen (Matthew Bennett – Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1) tracks our otherwise happy family. Cosima examines a recently deceased clone and doesn’t get any good news about their shared illness. Helena marries into the Prolethean cult and then things get worse for her. Alison blows it on opening night of her play and Sarah’s abduction is interrupted.

S02E04 – “Governed As It Were By Chance”
Mrs S does the nasty in public with her old friend and refugee smuggler Carlton (Roger Cross – X2, Eureka, Arrow). Helena escapes the Prolethean compound and runs past our old pal Art (Kevin Hanchard – Suits) who has been staking the place out for a while. T-1000 Daniel catches Sarah after she’s broken into Rachel’s apartment, and is hung up in the shower for casual torture. Helena shows up and does her thing. Seestras hug it out.

S02E05 – “Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est”
Second-bill Dylan Bruce (Unstoppable) actually shows up for work and his character Paul gets a sexy examination by his new domme Rachel. We fall further in love with batshit crazy Helena. Younger Proletheans Mark (Ari Millen) and Johanssen’s daughter Gracie (Zoé De Grand Maison) have a sweet moment of sympathy over the graphic punishment she received for aiding in Helena’s escape.

S02E06 – “To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings”
Roadtrip singalong with Sarah and Helena! Helena picks up a guy in a bar (Patrick J. Adams – Suits) and of course gets in a bar fight, then is talked into returning to the Prolethean compound by Mark and Gracie in hopes of reuniting with her date-rape embryos. Sarah finds Rachel’s father Ethan Duncan hanging out with Mrs S in birdpoopville. Alison meets Vic (Michael Mando – Lost Girl, Better Call Saul) in rehab who is a puppet of Detective Angela (Inga Cadranel – Lost Girl, The Strain) and sadly neither Vic nor Angela are killed this episode, sorry.

S02E07 – “Knowledge Of Causes, And Secret Motion Of Things”
Tatiana plays Sarah playing Alison playing Donnie (where is that Best Actress nom?) It’s a “public flagellation holiday” at rehab and Alison’s family arrives just in time to witness the glitter explosion. Speaking of explosions, it turns out we were right about Donnie (Kristian Bruun) in more than one way, as powerfully demonstrated in his clandestine meeting with Leekie. Kira may be the key to things and stuff. Marian Bowles (Michelle Forbes – Battlestar Galactica, True Blood) empowers Rachel (like she needed any encouragement!).

S02E08 – “Variable And Full Of Perturbation”
“Holy Tilda Swinton,” there’s a trans-male clone now. He and Felix kiss. Ethan gives Kira a copy of The Island of Doctor Moreau with a treasure hidden inside.

S02E09 – “Things Which Have Never Yet Been”
Everyone wants Kira for their own reasons. Helena gets a baby implantation procedure, then turns the tables as only Helena can. Gracie and Mark run off with the rest of the embryos and Helena shows her appreciation for Proletheanland. Alison and Donnie bury the past and seal their make up.

S02E10 – “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried”
CLONE CLUB DANCE PARTY! Also: Admiral Cain has a younger clone? Who else has clones? Seriously? Cosima weaponizes mundane items to save the day. Rachel may be cosplaying as Ravager in Season 3.

Special Features

• Making of the 4 Clone Scene and Extended Version of the dance party! – Learn how Tatiana, her body doubles, and the crew put multiple clones on screen simultaneously.
• Orphan Black: “The Cloneversation” – Wil Wheaton fanboys so hard all over the cast and invites some other celebrity fans to join in the gushing.
• “Clone Club” – Character Profiles – Who’s who among the lookalikes
• The Two Clone Smackdown – Two clones enter, one actress walks away. …With her body double.
• Script to Screen – Breaking it down.
• Hair and makeup featurette – Dressing up the seestras.

Overall

With plenty of sex and violence to titillate, plenty of drama and mystery to engage, all set in a sci-fi premise that asks hard questions about science and society, Orphan Black is not only the most ambitious acting endeavor in an ongoing series, it’s one of the best shows on today. Orphan Black Season Two answers some of the questions from the first season, and dives deeper into the mysteries and conspiracies surrounding our beloved clone sisters. This Blu-ray presentation brings home not only all 10 episodes of Season Two and loads of gorgeous special features, but it’s probably in far higher quality than we could have seen in on TV. If you don’t see Orphan Black The Complete Second Season in 1080p, how will you really know who’s your favorite clone?

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Orphan Black Season Two 5 out of 5 surprise clones.

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