Siobhan Sadler aka Mrs. S

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'll admit that at the beginning of S1, I didn't suspect Mrs. S of anything but trying to get Sarah to be more responsible. I loved the reveal with the photo of her - DUN DUN DUUUUUUNNNNNN!!

[DioxinBlues]

I'm not entirely convinced that Project LEDA photo was of Mrs. S. Or, if it was supposed to be, they sure could've found someone who looked more like her. My suspicions - based on exactly nothing - are that she's somehow tied closer to the Prolethians, even if it was just some crazy ass cult she briefly joined in her wild, misspent youth, only to break away when she realized how dangerous they really are and maybe take Sarah and Felix with her, which, yeah, doesn't exactly mesh with what she's said about Carlton and Sarah (and Felix) being "in the black," but I've never bought the idea that someone as radical as Siobhan Sadler would've been a scientist. It doesn't fit with her personality, at least that we've been privy to see at this point. 

Finding out more about Mrs. S - and getting to see more of Maria Doyle Kennedy - is one of the things I'm really looking forward to in Season 2. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I can imagine two possibilities:

(1) she was undercover at the lab trying to gather information for a radical group she was part of

(2) she was a scientist, recruited to some sort of lab, and what she saw is what caused her to become a radical

[DioxinBlues]

Ooooo, undercover. Hadn't thought about that one. Interesting. 

Well, one way or another, she's got a lot of 'splainin' to do in Season 2. 

[thuganomics85]

Well, that's a hell of way to come back for the new season.  Reminded me not to piss her off, when there are carving knifes and serving forks near-by.  Well, really, just don't ever piss her off.

Edited April 27, 2014 by thuganomics85

[OriginalCyn]

One thing's for sure - I'll not be inviting Mrs. S. over for Thanksgiving any time soon, unless I knew for a fact she was my ally -- in that case, I'd personally let her carve the turkey.

Edited April 27, 2014 by OriginalCyn

[RachelKM]

Holy Hell Mrs. S!

 

That scene elicited the first audible shriek from me of the season.  It may be a while before I'm comfortable serving anything that requires carving utensils.  

 

At this point, I think Mrs. S is genuinely trying to protect Sarah and Kira, but isn't being totally honest with them. I think that was what Kira was sensing, in Mrs S.  That she's still hiding something and that she knows more than she is saying.

 

I think she let them go at the end because she felt she was no longer in a position to help. Her whole argument was "Have I ever made a misstep where Kira is concerned?"  And that Sarah didn't have a real plan.  We now she realizes her plan was an error and so she stepped aside to let Sarah do what she needed to do.  

[Carrie Ann]

Mrs. S was great here, but she also lost my sympathy. I had a strong feeling she'd made off with Kira herself, so that wasn't a surprise. But her attitude toward Sarah w/r/t Kira has started to really bother me. Whether Mrs. S believes she knows best or not--Kira is Sarah's daughter, and I think she's proven that she cares about her above everything else. I understand that Sarah is in a dangerous position, but she should be the one making decisions about Kira, and at the very least, she deserves the full truth if Mrs. S wants her to follow her plans.

[Ceeg]

It wasn't very long ago that Sarah was MIA and left Kira alone for 10 months to go on some kind of drug-related criminal escapade with an abusive boyfriend. I get that Sarah is Kira's mom, but I also get that Mrs. S. is still wary of Sarah's level of responsibility re: her daughter.

[Carrie Ann]

No, I understand Mrs. S's motivations and her reasoning; I've just stopped sympathizing with it. She hasn't seemed to reevaluate her thoughts about Sarah, or considered that maybe going through all this crazy clone shit would make her realize that all that matters is keeping Kira safe. And especially because Mrs. S has been mixed up with this all along--while raising Sarah, who was apparently a difficult child, which she manages to throw in her face at every opportunity, like who are you blaming for that?--she can jump down off her high horse anytime. Plus, she seriously misjudged and misplayed this situation, because her options were to continue to lie to Sarah and just demand her trust or to tell her the truth and hope she would agree that her plan was best. I don't think she has any respect for Sarah, and that irks me. Like she doesn't deserve the truth. Not to mention that Sarah is not a trusting person, so lying was just not the smart choice.

[RachelKM]

To me, the moment where Siobhan watched them leave was her reevaluation of both Sarah and herself.

[mjforty]

She hasn't seemed to reevaluate her thoughts about Sarah, or considered that maybe going through all this crazy clone shit would make her realize that all that matters is keeping Kira safe.

I don't agree.  First off, not that much actual time has passed since Sarah re-appeared on the screen and it seems evident that pre-clone knowing Sarah was not someone who could be relied upon.  So, I don't think there was anything wrong with Mrs. S. not trusting Sarah's judgment.  It's not like Sarah hasn't made mistakes in judgment post-clone knowing, as well.  Also, yes, Sarah wants to keep Kira safe but that doesn't necessarily mean that Sarah has the knowledge or the contacts to do so.  Wanting something and being able to actually do it are two separate things.  Sarah's enemies are obviously powerful and well-connected.  Sarah has no idea or resources on how to fight that.  Her behavior has been all instinctual.  Plus, Sarah's been in this situation for a few months.  Mrs. S. has been living this life for decades.  On paper, it only made sense for Mrs. S. to trust her abilities over Sarah's.  But the moment it becomes apparent that she made the wrong decision, she takes out the immediate threat to Sarah and Kira and let's them go.  These are not the actions of an unsympathetic character to me.

her options were to continue to lie to Sarah and just demand her trust or to tell her the truth and hope she would agree that her plan was best...

I read that as someone who has survived by letting people know as little as possible about what she was doing and where she was going.  Maybe the less Sarah knows about the situation, the harder it would be for Sarah to give whoever shows up information about where Mrs. S. and Kira may have gone.  

Edited May 2, 2014 by mjforty

[Carrie Ann]

I don't agree.  First off, not that much actual time has passed since Sarah re-appeared on the screen and it seems evident that pre-clone knowing Sarah was not someone who could be relied upon.  So, I don't think there was anything wrong with Mrs. S. not trusting Sarah's judgment.  It's not like Sarah hasn't made mistakes in judgment post-clone knowing, as well.  Also, yes, Sarah wants to keep Kira safe but that doesn't necessarily mean that Sarah has the knowledge or the contacts to do so.  Wanting something and being able to actually do it are two separate things.  Sarah's enemies are obviously powerful and well-connected.  Sarah has no idea or resources on how to fight that.  Her behavior has been all instinctual.  Plus, Sarah's been in this situation for a few months.  Mrs. S. has been living this life for decades.  On paper, it only made sense for Mrs. S. to trust her abilities over Sarah's.  But the moment it becomes apparent that she made the wrong decision, she takes out the immediate threat to Sarah and Kira and let's them go.  These are not the actions of an unsympathetic character to me.

 

I read that as someone who has survived by letting people know as little as possible about what she was doing and where she was going.  Maybe the less Sarah knows about the situation, the harder it would be for Sarah to give whoever shows up information about where Mrs. S. and Kira may have gone.  

Maybe, but my point is that Mrs. S could try to tell Sarah something to that effect, but she doesn't because she doesn't respect her. Instead, she just gets to hold all the cards and deal them out as she feels. Part of the reason Sarah doesn't have "the knowledge" to protect Kira is that Mrs. S won't give it to her. And it's the way she presents it. It's not like, "Please let me help you and Kira." It's "This is what's happening to your daughter. You don't have a say. And you don't deserve to have one because you were an awful kid and you turned into an awful adult." And that's after running off with Kira and then acting shady and lying. Can't imagine why Sarah wouldn't just go along with the plan.

 

Part of this is just that I feel protective of Sarah and Kira, and suspicious of anyone trying to keep them apart, even if they claim it's for their own good. But I'm going to take back my statement that Mrs. S lost my sympathy, because that's not entirely true. I do understand where she's coming from and I still like her, but where I approved of most of her actions last season, I just didn't anymore in S2E2. We'll see what the rest of the season brings.

[Saradactyl]

So...we're calling her Mrs. S.  Who is Mr. S?  I wonder if that will ever come into play.

[Sarah-phile]

Maybe, but my point is that Mrs. S could try to tell Sarah something to that effect, but she doesn't because she doesn't respect her. Instead, she just gets to hold all the cards and deal them out as she feels. Part of the reason Sarah doesn't have "the knowledge" to protect Kira is that Mrs. S won't give it to her. And it's the way she presents it. It's not like, "Please let me help you and Kira." It's "This is what's happening to your daughter. You don't have a say. And you don't deserve to have one because you were an awful kid and you turned into an awful adult." And that's after running off with Kira and then acting shady and lying. Can't imagine why Sarah wouldn't just go along with the plan.

Part of this is just that I feel protective of Sarah and Kira, and suspicious of anyone trying to keep them apart, even if they claim it's for their own good. But I'm going to take back my statement that Mrs. S lost my sympathy, because that's not entirely true. I do understand where she's coming from and I still like her, but where I approved of most of her actions last season, I just didn't anymore in S2E2. We'll see what the rest of the season brings.

I agree. There certainly is a sense of entitlement to Mrs. S regarding Kira that kind of bugs me too.

On a related note, I loved that Sarah asked Kira's opinion about whether Mrs. S was lying and if they should leave.

[ShaggyDog]

I have noticed that entitlement vibe too. One of my many ongoing ruminations about this is that unlike Sarah, Mrs. S. might have large ideological motivations as well. That is, Sarah loves Kira as her child, but Mrs. S. loves Kira as a child but also knows she could be a pawn in a Neolutionist/Corporate philosophy to which she is vehemently opposed. We have had reference (from Brenda)  to Mrs. S. being involved in a radical group(s) in the past. From our own eyes, she seems no stranger to violent militancy as well. That sense of entitlement might come about from her not only defending an individual, but protecting a fiercely held  anti-LEDA anti-DYAD personal philosophy as well. And in some instances Sarah's rights/feelings might take a back seat,

Edited June 4, 2014 by ShaggyDog

[Zuleikha]

Mrs. S probably feels entitled to Kira because she's been doing the actual work of raising Kira and being a mother to Kira while Sarah ran around conning people as well as doing and dealing drugs with Vic. At this point, who even knows what the legal status of the relationships are (if there is a legal status!). 

 

Also, Sarah hasn't demonstrated much ability to protect Kira whereas Mrs. S has successfully kept both Sarah and Kira off the Dyad radar for a long time. The Birdwatchers betrayed them, but Mrs. S. figured that out whereas Sarah had no clue that she was tracked to Cal's and to the church and to Swan Man's. 

[Emily Thrace]

I keep trying to puzzle out Siobhan's background and I keep going around in circles. The simplest answer is that she was IRA (given the era and her accent)  and had to leave that for one reason or another went over to England and got caught up in the labor movement there. However if there ever was a show where the simplest answer is the wrong one its this one. I also wonder if she wasn't MI-5 and switched loyalties at some point, they have been accused of infiltrating the labor movement in England more than once.  She definitely has some kind combat training, she moves like a soldier and has the discipline to go with it. Something more along the lines of the IRA makes sense though because she always attacks sideways which would go with a terrorist mentality. In any case she's one of my favourite characters and the thing that made me tune in initially. I loved Maria Doyle Kennedy on The Tudors (the first two seasons that were good anyway) and I figured she wouldn't be doing anything too awful.

[Zuleikha]

I love Mrs. S but I am so over not understanding her role in all of this. I really need the show to lay it out straight for me about who she is, how she's connected to Dyad, and what her role is now. I feel like the show thinks it's told me, but it's been too fragmented and I can't put the pieces together. 

[Amelia]

I love Mrs. S but I am so over not understanding her role in all of this. I really need the show to lay it out straight for me about who she is, how she's connected to Dyad, and what her role is now. I feel like the show thinks it's told me, but it's been too fragmented and I can't put the pieces together. 

This! I feel like it's a puzzle made up of all sky pieces and I put together the edges, but I can't figure out what goes where in the middle.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Amelia

[Ankai]

Yeah, I was not really fond of the twist of her having a past with the clone project in the season 1 finale. I was fine with her being a foster mother. I was fine with her having had a past in some underground movement that brought Sarah to her. I may have been fine with some of the stuff she did this season if her actions were the result of her finding things out through her channels rather than already knowing about most of them. She just seemed like the answer to everything, but she was not saying anything for reasons that she also would not say.

[Sarah-phile]

For some reason Mrs. S's secrets didn't bother me. She's one of my favorite characters, so maybe that's part of it. I loved the scenes of her and Sarah - and Felix - working together. I thought Sarah was kind of harsh on her, suggesting she couldn't be trusted. I feel like Mrs. S has put Sarah and Kira first and hasn't, with one pretty big exception, screwed Sarah over - the exception being when she planned to take Kira to London with her and without Sarah.

[Fallon]

Any one else curious just how much S knew before Sarah joined Clone Club and how much she's learned since the pilot? From 3x09 we learn who the Original is and Mrs. S really seems surprised to find out who it was, but we know she knew what Leda and Castor were and That her people his Duncan...

[NutMeg]

Isn't the picture of "Mrs S." mentionned at the beginning of this thread the one (of Mrs S's mom?) seen in her mum's place this last episode?

 

Or am I completely off base here?

 

And while I'm on this thread, let me shout out for Mrs S. - singer, fighter, unconventional mum, and just plain awesome person :-) When I grow up, I want to be her. And when I'm very, very old, I want to have lived as many lives as she has so far. 

[xaxat]

I would say that Mrs. S is my age appropriate TV crush. . . except for the fact that she scares the crap out of me.

 

So I'll just say that Maria Doyle Kennedy is a total babe.