Late to the Party Review: Orphan Black Season 1

Late to the Party Review: Orphan Black Season 1

I'm not sure why I hesitated to watch this show when it first came on back in 2013. I'm into clones, and freaky sci-fi stuff, but I guess with limited time this one wound up on my "B" list—the stuff that I say I'll watch "eventually." Whatever the case, I finally wound up catching it over the last week, and I've found myself oddly intrigued.

I say "oddly" because right off the bat Orphan Black hit one of my big pet peeves when it comes to sci-fi: they got a very simple scientific fact wrong (concerning twins/clones and fingerprints). It grated on me, but not enough to make me drop the show, so I kept watching... and found myself wrapped up in the story... So, I finished out the end of the season where yet another strange, playing with reality/mind-grating plot point came up, this time it was a legal one (concerning ownership of persons and copyright of genes- this only gets partially explained in Season 2, which I've started now). Again it grated, but not enough to make me want to spend my time elsewhere, and so I continue to watch more.

I can see why the show's been successful. It's got that entertaining-yet-frustrating quality that keeps people like me coming back because we all just need to know what happens next. As I mentioned, I'm often frustrated by it, but I admit I'm trapped, I can't stop now. I want to know what's going on with the clones. I want to know why someone did this, and where it's all going. The frustration only adds to the emotional involvement, and that's why I can understand the show's success—I'm just not sure it's a good thing. I mean, it feels a little bit like an abusive relationship, but then and again, so does Game of Thrones, so I can't criticize it that much I suppose. Whatever the case, I'll continue to watch, and we'll see if I wind up too frustrated to continue or if Orphan Black will keep me coming back for more.