“Orphan Black“ is prone to episodes like “Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate”, the seventh episode of its third season. An episode that uses eye-roll inducing sitcom tropes to force a few of its clones into the same space to allow for slapstick switcheroos and misunderstandings. I can see why episodes like this would cause some people to tune out. I can also see how when a fan of the show describes it this way, people who haven’t tuned in would be less inclined to give it a chance. But still, buried deep inside “Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate” are all the things that make the show great, you just have to look a little harder to find them.
The episode opens strong. After the explosive conclusion of the last episode, Sarah and Helena (Tatiana Maslany) take refuge in a bar. They are together but miles apart, Sarah is dealing with losing Paul (Dylan Bruce) while Helena plots her revenge against Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy). The performances in this scene, especially on the Helena side, are incredible. So many minor thoughts and emotions flash across Helena’s face in about half a second – anger, savagery, fear, insanity, and love.
When Mrs. S does arrive at the bar, a confrontation with Helena simmers just under the surface. The way that simmering tension is defused (while it does involve a few punches to the face) is rather interesting. Mrs. S hugs Helena. Yes, she does this to pin Helena’s arms so she can’t punch anymore, but more importantly, she does it as a gesture of acceptance. Everything we know about Helena’s past indicates she’s never had real acceptance from anyone other than her sisters. The writers of “Orphan Black” have such command of their characters, even when they get stuck in a weaker plot, as Alison and Cosima do this week, there is always some deeper truth to find.
Alison campaigning for school trustee takes up a majority of the episode. It eventually devolves into silliness when the real Alison gets called away and Cosima has to pretend to be her. The show has gone to this trope many times, but the mechanism that spurs this switch is pretty trite. Alison gets a medical emergency call from her mother, which she knows is fake, but leaves a very important event anyway. And of course there are two identical envelopes that get switched, one containing the signatures Alison needs to be able to run for school trustee, the other with $30,000 for her drug supplier.
What saves these scenes is the pairing of Cosima and Alison. These two clones are absolutely nothing alike in appearance, mannerism, or personality but they know each other so well that Cosima is able to convincingly fill in for Alison with the general voting public. The brilliance of Tatiana Maslany’s performance is how the viewing audience can always tell it’s Cosima pretending to be Alison, even if they saw the scene out of context. Cosima can’t wear her glasses when portraying Alison because, of course, Alison doesn’t wear glasses. Maslany squints ever so slightly and blinks a little faster than normal whenever Cosima is Alison. It’s subtle and non-distracting but such a vitally important and true detail to keep the world real and prevents the clones from becoming caricatures.
Alison’s mother, Connie (Sheila McCarthy), also comes to the forefront in this episode. At first, she is a caricature – the mother of a Type-A character will always be more of a Type-A and constantly belittle their overachieving and successful child. However, the more Connie speaks, the less she seems like she’s Type-A and the more she seems completely delusional. When Alison reaches her breaking point at the end of the episode and reveals the clone conspiracy, Connie finds multiple reasons not to believe it.
This is where the entire storyline becomes important. A character like Connie sets up an entirely new threat for the Leda clones. For three seasons they’ve been hunted and controlled by corporations, religious cults, and military programs. All of these organizations have been nefarious to be sure, but they’ve also operated under a shroud of secrecy. Now with someone like Connie in on the conspiracy, the second she starts looking for answers, that secret could become much more public.
While a weaker episode overall, the Connie revelation could have repercussions for the future of the series as large as the death of Paul. Episodes like this are a bit like the clones themselves, on the outside they may look like something you’ve seen before, but look underneath and you’ll be surprised by their uniqueness.
What did you think of Cosima playing Alison? Is Cosima in mortal danger because of her medical condition? Do you think Connie knowing about the clones could be a new threat? Let’s discuss!
