S02.E08: Variable and Full of Perturbation

[ElectricBoogaloo]

A new player in the clone conspiracy turns up at Felix’s door, sending him into crisis mode. With Cosima running out of options, Sarah struggles with the decision to surrender a crucial piece of leverage and make a deal with Dyad.

 

[OriginalCyn]

Judging from the end of Episode 7 and the previews for this one, looks like the silicone chip inside Rachel's head got switched to overload.

[Yitzhak]

I was wondering if the "new player" who shows up at Felix's door would be Donnie (post-accidental murder), but I'm wondering if it's actually the person in this trailer who is seeking Beth Childs. 

[millahnna]

I like that Beth is continuing to be a presence. We didn't know her very well (and haven't really gotten to know her well in hindsight) but several of the characters on the show did.  I like that the ripples of her life are still impacting them. 

[Cherokee2000]

I like that Beth is continuing to be a presence. We didn't know her very well (and haven't really gotten to know her well in hindsight) but several of the characters on the show did.  I like that the ripples of her life are still impacting them. 

 

I agree with your thoughts, millahnna. I, too, have been curious about Beth: how long had she been aware of the clone situation? Did she feel close to her clone sisters? What was the content of her conversations with the mysterious Maggie Chen? And did she make any interesting revelations to Art that might affect the development of the clone investigation?

 

After looking at the preview for this episode, I'm worried about Cosima. She's my favourite clone, and I don't want her to die!

[CPP83]

Holly bollocks what an episode. This Tony...wow. That very uncomfortable moment when your sister's transgender clone meets you at the door, and just might end up sticking his tongue down your throat, poor Felix, the boy just can't catch a break. I almost watched the kissing scene through my fingers, that was just taking things to a whole other level...

 

And I just have to say that if Tatiana can't even get a nomination this go around after her work for this season, after Tony, someone needs Helena sent after them, complete with killer barbies.

 

I just can't help but think that Rachel should have been German for some reason, it would have added just that extra layer to her. I always figured they were meant to be barren by design, but the scene of her losing control, that girl is mental on another plane none of the others are on, not even Helena.

 

I like Ethan for some reason, he seems so over it all, not afraid of anything or anyone, probably the only one who isn't, who truly feels and acts like he has nothing left to lose. I also had to chuckle at his complete confidence of knowing he could cure them all.

 

Alison and Donnie really do fit together, I liked how they both were trying to work through their marriage and the whole killing/not stopping a death mess.

 

And the plot thickens about dear ole Pauly, good news I think. And boy the ending...this bloody show.

[Valny]

I almost watched the kissing scene through my fingers, that was just taking things to a whole other level...

 

 

@CCP83-   Oh I was so uncomfortable watching that too. I was cringing and wincing,thinking,oh please don't go there, no!   Well at least Tony and Felix didn't do the nasty. I couldn't handle that.  I actually thought Felix was going to back away when Tony got that close to his lips,but it didn't look like it phased him.

 

What was everyone's first reaction to the teaser?  Mine was, Tatiana's a duuuuude! HOLEE SHIT! I'm glad he was transgender though, and not a boy clone.

Edited June 8, 2014 by maraleia

[OriginalCyn]

Wow....they sure don't worry about upping the squick factor for this show.  Fee's discomfort when Tony was putting the moves on him was palpable.

[possibilities]

Why is it so bad for Kira to make a bone marrow donation for Cosima? People give bone marrow all the time and it doesn't do any harm.

[Pyralis]

As if the whole reading "Moreau" to a 7 year old wasn't creepy enough, to find it was his secret notebook takes it to a whole other place.  I suppose it's now turned into Chekov's Book and we just have to wait until it goes off.

 

And while i think "Tony" was something of a stunt - even with his secret message - kudos to the writers for figuring out how to have a male clone in a completely different way from what I'd thought they'd do.  I like that the transgender part just adds a variable to the "what parameters were they messing with in the petri dish" to come up with as wide a range of personalities, abilities and issues out of the same basic genes.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Pyralis

[Ceeg]

Alison and Donnie LOL. I can't believe this show has somehow made me like Donnie and think he and Alison now make a good pair.

 

I LOVED Cosima actually getting to be happy and smiley and having fun again. And I'm choosing to ignore those last 2 minutes with her seizing and coughing up blood.

I wasn't surprised by the trans clone thing, because I've seen that spec out there for a while, and it fit with all the media talking this episode up and 'Tatiana can do anything'.

[OriginalCyn]

Why is it so bad for Kira to make a bone marrow donation for Cosima? People give bone marrow all the time and it doesn't do any harm.

 

I don't think it's so much the idea of being the donor so much as it is Sarah's fear of putting Kira into the middle of their shit.  It's easy to mask that under the pretense of concern about an invasive procedure.  Plus, who knows 1) exactly how much bone marrow would be needed, and 2) how many clones are out there who would require it.  

 

Not sure I'm digging the whole "criminal about to die whose partner just happens to be a clone *also* knows Paul."  C'mon, show....you're better than that sloppy kind of plot device.

 

I was cracking up that Alison was far more outraged and upset that Leekie's corpse wasn't wrapped up well than she was that Donnie actually, you know, *KILLED* him.  Though just about every one here called it that Eating Farting Donnie used her gun -- damn was she (justifiably) pissed about that.

 

So when Ethan was explaining to Rachel about how the clones were barren by design and that Sarah (and by proxy, Helena) was a failure of sorts because she was able to breed, were those cut-aways of her freaking out and destroying her office a flash-forward, or was that a cinematic device of her reaction to the news in her head?  

 

Scott is such a dork.  His shock at Cosima's revelation that she was 324B21 (or whatever the code is) to his awe and reverence was hilarious.

Edited June 8, 2014 by OriginalCyn

[ottoDbusdriver]

Would that mean that Tony's partner Sami was also Tony's monitor (someone with similar background to Paul -- ex-military -- that was recruited) ?

[CPP83]

What was everyone's first reaction to the teaser?

 

 

I know they'd been teasing about a transgender clone for some time so that's who I always figured the new clone would be. I wasn't sure if it would work however, but I think it did.

 

It certainly gave Tat a departure from all the others and I feel like she really embraced the role, from the voice to the way she walked and carried herself, though Tony seems likely to use sex much like Sarah does, so I am guessing they may want to make him the most like her, the male Sarah. Heaven help him if he ever comes across Helena, she isn't the friendly jealous type. Though that would have been a good bit of a twist, if Tony had been Sarah's twin instead, that would have certainly turned his coming onto Felix in a whole other direction.

 

I actually thought Felix was going to back away when Tony got that close to his lips,but it didn't look like it phased him

 

 

I am going backwards I know, heh, but it seemed like a head game was being played out between those two. If they had pushed for sex that would have ruined my night, but the kiss sort of came off like a game of chicken, though a bit of a queasy one for me, seeing who broke contact first. I was glad to see Felix pull back when Tony went in for seconds.

 

Why is it so bad for Kira to make a bone marrow donation for Cosima? People give bone marrow all the time and it doesn't do any harm

 

 

I think it freaks Sarah out that they can do what they can with the DNA taken from Kira's tooth, but giving them her bone marrow takes things to another level.

 

Giving Ethan that sort of genetic material to work with, who knows what the institute could or would do with it. I think her issue is that it's giving them a far larger, more important part of Kira to play around with, people who have done nothing but mess with genetics for decades, who cracked the code of cloning, to her I'd bet it's akin to giving Kira over to the devil just so he could clip a lock of her hair, for insurance purposes only of course.

[Valny]

Alison and Donnie really do fit together, I liked how they both were trying to work through their marriage and the whole killing/not stopping a death mess.

 

 It didn't even cross my mind that Donnie still had Leekie,let alone in the trunk of his car. I just thought he dumped him somewhere.  Alison-  "It's not at all well wrapped!....I'm going make a new liner." Ahaha! Love you Allie!  And oh crap, Donnie used her gun!

 

What did Tony say of Alison's painting?... she looks like a douche? Heh.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Valny

[Amethyst]

Well that was something.  This season is going all over the place.  I wish they had waited to introduce Tony next year, because the last thing the show needs right now is another character.  And that kiss between him and Felix was just weird, not sexy.

 

For once, I didn't hate Allison this week.  I can live with her and Donnie playing house while hiding their murderous secrets, because at least she admitted her part in Aynsley's death, instead of falling apart like she always does.

 

Rachel continues to baffle.  Did she have her freakout after Ethan left, or did she imagine it?  I guess she really wants to have children.

 

Poor Cosima.  I hope she doesn't die.

[DrSpaceman]

Cosima is an idiot to trust Delphine. May not matter now though

In fact though all the monitors seem to be playing both sides.

Oh and the most important information that the entire company and everyone wants is kept on FLOPPY DISKS? Seriously? He kept them on floppy disks in a shoebox, so they likely are ruined by now, and never bothered to update them to a new technology?

[Grammaeryn]

I was watching the attempted Tony Felix kiss through my fingers and hollering, "EWW!" I guess I have to be the dissenting opinion but I thought Tony was poorly portrayed from the voice to the makeup. I did not clue into him being trans until Art said so. Also, there are not many examples of female to male transgender characters on TV (and I don't know any IRL) so my opinion could just be lack of awareness.

 

I think I have reached new levels of Cosima love seeing her OWN D&D. I found it touching that Scott took the clone news in such a warm open way. Heck, he probably has a better idea of how sick Cosima is so finding out the sick subject is your lab manager/friend must be sobering.

 

I'm wary of Dr. Duncan because he called Kira the prize. When will Allison be brought into the loop about Cosima's illness? Those two are the ones left of the original clone club!

Edited June 8, 2014 by Grammaeryn

[CPP83]

I wish they had waited to introduce Tony next year, because the last thing the show needs right now is another character

 

 

At least they hurried him off on the bus at the end and didn't try to keep him around. I guess it's like having a clone ace in the pocket with him being off screen, but he's been introduced so they can have him pop back in without us being too "what the heck" about it. I am still trying to brain bleach the kiss scene from my mind though...sister kisser indeed.

 

Did she have her freakout after Ethan left, or did she imagine it?  I guess she really wants to have children

 

 

I think it was another jab at her cloneness that they made them barren. They didn't want her to have children, they didn't care about the idea of her wanting a family when she got old enough because she was born to prove a point, a clone is merely a duplicate itself so why would they need to reproduce. It's as if everything was taken away from her on purpose, from her family as a child to having her own kids one day.

 

ETA:

 

I was just thinking that Helena should have saved her "brother sistra" for Tony instead of using it on Felix.

Edited June 8, 2014 by CPP83

[Sarahendipity]

Tony looks just like Apolo Anton Ohno.

[Valny]

I found it touching that Scott took the clone news in such a warm open way

 

 I know, when he said he was honored, I got a little teary-eyed.  Oh shush!

[thuganomics85]

That was.... interesting.  I like the idea of transgender Clone, but I fully couldn't get into it, for some reason.  As great as I think Tatiana Maslany is, for some reason, this was the first time I actually kept seeing her, instead of the character of Tony.  All of the other Clones, even somewhat recent like Rachel, I automatically get into it, but I have to admit that a lot of times I was just like "There's Tatiana with a beard.".  I think my main issue though was that, despite the reveal over Paul, the Tony character almost felt like an one-off thing.  I guess they are setting him up to come back, but with the season approaching it's end, I just didn't find it as gripping as normal, and wanted to get back to all the other stuff.

 

Which, I loved!  Alison and Donnie are just hilarious and made of win.  I guess when one of you accidentally shot someone and another let someone else die because you thought she was a monitor, you might as well stick together!  And, of course, Donnie would be the one to leave the freaking body in the trunk AND put the weapon back in the gun closet.  Oh, Alison.  You are going to have your work cut out for you.

 

Glad the Cosima stuff is finally getting more interesting.  As much as I liked Leekie, I do think Rachel in charge is going to changes things for the best, plus Duncan being added too.  I'm kind of getting suspicious of him now; especially when it comes to Kira.  What was that book she was reading?

 

So, probably my least favorite episode this season, but I think things will get back on track these last two episodes.

[Jodithgrace]

It was the hair that bothered me, though in the "making of" segment they did explain that TM has so much hair that it would look stupid crammed into a boy wig, (though Rachel's hair is short and convincing) so they went with a mullet. It didn't look like a mullet to me, though..it just looked like girls' hair which contrasted oddly with the facial hair. She/he kind of grew on me, though.

[Valny]

Rachel continues to baffle.  Did she have her freakout after Ethan left, or did she imagine it?  

 

I took it as after he left. I just thought they were doing some creative editing.

[CatMack]

 

It didn't look like a mullet to me, though..it just looked like girls' hair which contrasted oddly with the facial hair. She/he kind of grew on me, though.

 

He.  Full stop.  Not she/he.  He.

 

Tony is male but doesn't appear to care about 100% conforming to all male coded gender presentation, hence the long hair and facial hair combo.  His was a mild version of it too, check out the real life Conchita Wurst (who is a drag queen, not trans, but point is having facial hair but also some "feminine" traits is definitely a way that real life people present).

 

I for one really like Paul, and I'm happy there appears to finally be some movement on his character.  Even if he was physically absent the whole episode, shit is about to go down it would seem. 

[beedub]

While I found the Tony stuff fun (laughed out loud when the "package" was revealed) and some great interaction with Felix, it did feel like a bit of a stunt. I was thinking it odd to throw him into the mix at this late point in the season. I agree the hair made it hard for the illusion to fully work, whether it made sense to the characater or not. And I'm not convinced Tony's brief (yes, pun intended) appearance was really necessary to the plot. If only to signal Paul's current status, it could have been handled otherwise. But again, much enjoyment.

 

Nerd Game Night was also a hoot. Loved the (literal) trash-talk: "Keep your junkyard moves out of the game". There were some serious instant Cosima-crushes happening around that table!

 

Also found it interesting to hear Ethan refer to Kira as "the Prize". Not surprising, but looking forward to seeing how that progresses.

[jjjmoss]

After seeing that AV Club found it the worst episode of the series so far, I was afraid I'd be in for some mediocrity.

But while it wasn't as good as some previous episodes, I don't remember any scene making me think "What is the point of this? Why is this on my screen?" while there are previous eps that did make me think that. 

 

I thought each storyline was at least good. 

Some strong moments from each: "Girl fights are mean," dominating at Rune Wars (and now I want to play it), "Scott it's me," the fit at the end

"Your silence is irksome," "I apologize for my show of emotion," throwing a fit

Pouring alcohol on Donnie, "Everybody hates my mother," "I'm going to have to re-do the liner"

The super Sarah-esque bits of Tony, seeing the shoe on the other foot with Sarah taking Cosima's introductory place, hopefully shutting down discussions of "Felix is a clone too"

[Valny]

  As great as I think Tatiana Maslany is, for some reason, this was the first time I actually kept seeing her, instead of the character of Tony.  All of the other Clones, even somewhat recent like Rachel, I automatically get into it, but I have to admit that a lot of times I was just like "There's Tatiana with a beard.".

 

 

 

I think I agree here. With the other clones, I think of them as individuals, I'm not really thinking it's TM as each one.

[barkley]

I agree that I just couldn't get into Tony. It seemed a little too self-indulgent, like "look how amazing Tatiana is, she can even play a dude!".

Definitely my least favorite episode.

[Souris]

Holy Tilda Swinton! "Orphan Black" just keeps. blowing. my. mind.

 

Add me to those watching the Felix/Tony kiss through a thick, cringing haze of "Eeew! No! Don't! Eeew!"

 

I don't keep up with the spec and spoilers for the show, so a transgender clone was completely unexpected to me. This show always finds interesting ways to do things.

 

And now Paul has disappeared and is "on it," whatever that means, and Tony's apparent monitor knew him. ::runs around in a circle screaming "What?? What???"::

 

The scene where Cosima told Scott that she's the test subject was heart-breaking. You could see that he KNEW how very, very sick she is. ::pets Cosima::

 

Is Kira going to be some kind of genetic savant who comes up with how to save her aunties?

[omgsowicked]

Well crap, I thought that was one of the best episodes...

 

- That Felix/Tony kiss, I was just like, "wow, they are going there". I'm glad he eventually realized the squickiness of the whole thing, at least keep it real if you're going to do it. But I'm glad they did it because 1) I was wondering if they would and 2) I appreciate that the show addresses these kinds of uncomfortable things (this, the Rachel/Paul sex... my memory fades after that), stuff that makes you question what you just saw and how it makes you feel.

 

I still think Tatiana is super-talented and needs every single award but I didn't love her portrayal of Tony... I agree @thuganomics85, it was the first time I felt like I was watching Tatiana act rather than just seeing the character. Plus, the hair and makeup put me off a bit (mostly the facial hair). Tony himself is very unlikable but I'm interested in how his story will affect everything, since he seems to bring everything full circle. He brought Beth back into the picture, the start of it all, and we're getting information on Paul, who just happened to be purposefully MIA this week. So according to Sami, Paul may be working against Dyad from the inside out? And they were both ex-military? Wonder how much of a past they had together...

 

@Pyralis, I agree, I like that they're tackling gender/sexuality and genetics with Cosima and now Tony. Ha, wait 'til Rachel finds out about him.

 

Oh! OK, I know nothing about hormones but I wonder if Tony taking testosterone would have an effect on the uterus/respiratory issue most of the clones have (if he's at risk for it, we don't know if he's been under the radar, too).

 

- Really enjoyed Cosima's story, glad to see some movement, some fun, and I liked their whole "I love you" scene, particularly that Delphine has to love all of them (because she's been quite shortsighted, though it's understandable). And even though I knew it was coming (from the promos), I freaked out big time over her seizure. If it hadn't been for next week's promo... no, I can't go there! But they were really setting it up, with her finally telling Scott (what a great reaction), making up with Delphine (what does she have on her that could ruin her career?), and Tony saying he'd probably get along with her. Ugh, this whole thing makes me so nervous.

 

- So Alison just comes on home... seems she took rehab seriously, after seeing Donnie with all those bottles. I'm relieved that they didn't drag out the Donnie/Alison/deaths thing because I don't think I could stand watching them keep quiet. And I get that they're the black humor of the show but it's getting to be a little much for me. Like, a trunk liner is what matters here? Nah, I didn't find it that amusing, unfortunately. Anyway, so how did Rachel know that Leekie had died, or was she just saying that because she kicked him out? And where was the new lady?

 

- And I love that this show keeps answering questions while raising many more; so the clones were meant to be barren? For what reason??? Why little girls and why unable to have children? And if it's such a failure, that Sarah can reproduce, why does Ethan consider Kira a prize? Or was he saying that she was Rachel's prize? Speaking of, Kira and the book, is that supposed to mean that Ethan kept some of the information off of those floppy disks (lol @ them having Rachel seem confused, so as to explain to the younger generation who truly ARE in the dark)? That book is going to contain the key to some crazy shit, I know it... another reason to snatch Kira up, lol.

 

ETA: Oh, and I forgot to mention how much I love that Felix and Art are working together now.

Edited June 8, 2014 by omgsowicked

[OriginalCyn]

I guess I have to be the dissenting opinion but I thought Tony was poorly portrayed from the voice to the makeup. I did not clue into him bring trans until Art said so. Also, there are not many examples of female to male transgender characters on TV (and I don't know any IRL) so my opinion could just be lack of awareness.

 

On the Inside Look segment, Tatiana said that they tried several different looks for Tony, arriving on this one as the best, but that gives me pause.  

 

For starters, I know they had issues with trying to cram her hair into a wig with a guy's hair, but if that was a mullet, my ass is a turnip.  I could see a single, low braid à la Willie Nelson along with the facial hair much more than the rats-nest of hair around the face pulled back and secured by a rubber band, but what they decided on?  Came of as lazy and/or not well thought-out.

 

Also, I do makeup for a living, and Tony's eyebrows were way too sculpted IMO -- it looked like all the artist did was use a crappy quality brow pencil to darken them rather than perhaps changing their shape or, more realistically, giving them no shape at all and more of an au naturel look.

 

Between the above and the wardrobe, which looked like he was cracked out of an ice block in Seattle circa 1992, Tony's overall look IMO both screamed of trying too hard and half-assing it, if that makes sense, and Tatiana ending up looking like someone dressing up as a guy rather than someone who is transgender and/or transexual.  Hell, Roseanne Barr's makeup and wardrobe did a better job in the Halloween episode when she masqueraded as a guy at The Lobo than they did in tonight's episode

 

That was.... interesting.  I like the idea of transgender Clone, but I fully couldn't get into it, for some reason.  As great as I think Tatiana Maslany is, for some reason, this was the first time I actually kept seeing her, instead of the character of Tony.  All of the other Clones, even somewhat recent like Rachel, I automatically get into it, but I have to admit that a lot of times I was just like "There's Tatiana with a beard.".  

 

ITA -- As wonderful an actress as Tatiana is, something about her portrayal of this clone seemed "off."  

 

In addition to the hair/makeup/wardrobe issues above, what was up with Tony's accent?  For someone who's supposed to be a low-level criminal from the US (was it Cincinnati?  That's the city of origin I thought Tony referenced, but that's not a two-day trip by car to Toronto, is it? Or is that time in the car supposed to feed into the "Generica" idea?), there were several times that his accent seemed to slip into one more British and very similar to Sarah's.  It was enough that I noticed it on the first watch, and during the second airing, I paid particular attention to it in the scenes with him, Felix, and Art.

Edited June 8, 2014 by OriginalCyn

[AlliMo]

I agree with all the reasons above as to why Sarah would be reluctant for them to use Kira's bone marrow. Aside from that, as someone who's been a bone marrow donor, it isn't without risks and while they use anesthesia when doing it, the recovery is painful. I'd be very hesitant to put my 7-year-old child through it as well.

[Wilson Cat]

Was Allison wearing pajama tops with an ant print?  Like termite size black ants, or the ants that love picnics?  And yeah, the best scene in the episode was Allison huffing indignantly over the poor wrapping job of Aldous Leeky's body.  Precious.  Tony grew on me, but at first I was like why is Sarah wearing a fake beard, and WTF did she do to her hair and who is that chunky guy she's hanging with who has a bullet through his spleen.  So that whole thing wasn't quite as seamless as all the other clone introductions, was it.  Then there was Rachel's inside her head tantrum about learning the news about her 'barrenness' which really didn't ring true because Rachel hardly seems like the kind of gal that is longing to love and nurture a child....  Even so, good episode if not quite totally great.  Saturday nights have become way too far apart since I started watching this show.

[Grammaeryn]

Hang on, how did Rachel know Leekie was dead if the body was still in Donnie's trunk? Did she assume DYAD goons did their job?

[Shriekingeel]

Alison's "Stupid Leekie with his big face" felt like a Max Headroom shoutout.

[possibilities]

I assumed Rachel didn't really know Leekie was dead, and was just saying that because as far as she's concerned, and from Dyad's perspective, he's dead (to her, to the project). But it's also possible they were watching Leekie, or Donnie, and saw what happened.

[Kara]

Tony looks just like Apolo Anton Ohno.

That is exactly what I was thinking!  I love the idea they had here.  And I think that Tatiana's acting was really good with Tony.  But the costuming was awful.  I was so distracted by the look.  I spent almost all of his screen time trying to figure out if he had the world's craziest mullet, or if the top of his hair was pulled back in a braid.   And the goatee was also distracting, because of the Apolo factor.  I did not see the making of segment, but I have a hard time believing that they couldn't have done a better job with it.  He didn't have to have a crew cut, but something less crazy would have been appreciated.  I understand that in real life, not everybody fits into neat little buckets, with those identifying as male having typically masculine hairstyles, but for the purposes of this show, where you want people to pay attention to the story, and not being distracted by crazy head and facial hair.    

[Indi]

Well, that was really something! Tatiana did a fine job, but I couldn't help thinking Tony was just Sarah in disguise. I wish they had gone for something different other than all that hair and weird make up. The facial hair was also awful. Unfortunately Tony felt too much like a stunt than a real character, used to exposit about Paul and disappear. I cannot blame the showrunners for being cocky about Tatiana's capabilities, but the show is already crazy enough without those tricks.

 

I think that the part that annoyed me the most was the exposition about Paul. I'm not a fan of his. I think he is the weakest link and he bores me to death, but giving him character development through a third party, while he's missing, it's not helping. He's a trustworthy "ghost" now. Great! How about showing and not telling? The actor is getting second billing. Use him!

 

The good: Alison/Donnie and Cosima's storyline. I'm so happy Alison is out of rehab and bonding with Donnie about their accidental murders! They are made for each other. Alison's shenanigans give me life! Cosima on the other hand... I'm really antsy about her fate. I haven't been as engaged with her story this season, because she has been so isolated from the other clones, but today's episode reminded me of the edgy, lively and funny Cosima of S1 and I don't want to lose her.

 

However, Rachel can go. I haven't warmed up to her and the season is almost over.

[CPP83]

I think some of the similarities Tony has with Sarah is because he appears to be such an outsider much like she is, the loner type, he's a thief as well, he also seems to not mind putting on the charm and using sex or making sexual advances on a whim if he feels in the mood for it. There's also the issue of not belonging to a family the way a Alison or Cosima or even Rachel have.

 

He is the male Sarah, imo, but I don't mind that because it's the first time two clones have seemed so similar. If Alison and Cosima and Rachel and Sarah and Helena weren't all so different I would feel like Tony is just another one trick pony, but to me it makes a little sense that there would be clones that share more similar traits and personalities, Tony is serving as a male mirror for Sarah but yet he still is separate.

 

I also thought the makeup job seemed to be tied into Tony's transition, from the hair both on his head and face to the voice, I think it was messy and imperfect but it fit the character's overall persona, at least what little was given: murky, secretive, and a little off-putting, overcompensating as well with how he decided to try and put the moves on Felix, a man he just met and mostly made fun of but he suddenly thinks Felix is someone to french kiss after a couple of beers.

[yellowfred]

So, I got the impression that Rachel's internal freakout had more to do with realizing that DYAD was just beta testing the whole clone thing with her and the others, rather than the actual fact of not being intended to reproduce.  Saying that they'd never wanted the clones to be fertile is essentially saying that, if they messed up their genetics too terribly, at least it wouldn't proliferate to the general population.  She might have been raised with the knowledge that she was a clone, but she was told that in the context of her being a huge scientific achievement.  Now, she's hearing that she's basically a test run.  I feel like that revelation, for her, is probably on par with Helena finally realizing that she's not the original.

 

Also, I really liked Cosima's stuff this week, so I'm choosing to ignore all the "she's gonna die" vibes coming off of it.

[millahnna]

 

She might have been raised with the knowledge that she was a clone, but she was told that in the context of her being a huge scientific achievement.  Now, she's hearing that she's basically a test run.

 

Oh that's interesting.  I swung out a different direction with this but I could see a layer of that, too, now that you mention it.  That woman has a lot going on under the hood. 

 

I'd been thinking of it as being about about the loss of choice because she's a total control freak.  I mean I don't want kids either (love the little rugrats but I'm a fantastic crazy aunt, not a mom) but if I suddenly found out I was infertile by design I think I'd still be kind of put off by that loss of choice at the will of another (/understatement).  I mean really it's the most pinpoint example of the threat the clones are under at large; losing all agency over their own lives because they are property. 

[shapeshifter]

So, I got the impression that Rachel's internal freakout had more to do with realizing that DYAD was just beta testing the whole clone thing with her and the others, rather than the actual fact of not being intended to reproduce.  Saying that they'd never wanted the clones to be fertile is essentially saying that, if they messed up their genetics too terribly, at least it wouldn't proliferate to the general population.  She might have been raised with the knowledge that she was a clone, but she was told that in the context of her being a huge scientific achievement.  Now, she's hearing that she's basically a test run.  I feel like that revelation, for her, is probably on par with Helena finally realizing that she's not the original.

Yes, but also, she was 7 when she was yanked from her loving parents and placed in a lab environment, and there was still a part of her that remembered those loving parents, as demonstrated by her emotional response to seeing Duncan. Now he reveals that she really was just an experiment after all. That's pretty anger inducing information.

But my belief in the narrative was a little suspended by the planned sterility reveal, since I was under the impression that sterility in clones like Dolly the lamb is an undesirable side effect, no?

I assumed Rachel didn't really know Leekie was dead, and was just saying that because as far as she's concerned, and from Dyad's perspective, he's dead (to her, to the project). But it's also possible they were watching Leekie, or Donnie, and saw what happened.

Did she send someone to watch? I don't recall. Maybe. If not, she may be assuming he got away. She did try to spare his life last episode, kind of like the Huntsman in Snow White. Even though Leekie seems responsible for Rachel's pathological Ice Queen-ness, he still apparently filled the parental unit hole left by the absence of the Duncans. Allison better not blab in the future to Rachel about Donnie's role in offing Rachel's mad doctor kidnapper, or Rachel might splatter Donnie's brains like Leekie's in retribution.

Since tall, dark, and handsome still slays me, when the message for Beth was finally revealed to be that Paul was a good guy, I thought aloud, "I knew it!"

Why did Tony have a "package"? Was he born that way, or did he have transgender surgery?

[rlc]

I was so confused during the opening scene. Thought it was a flashback of Sarah disguised as a man while committing a crime. Definitely not their best episode yet.

[Agent Dark]

http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1184235/playing-rune-wars-with-cosima - Link to some BTS stuff from one of the extras in the scene where Cosima and Scott are playing Runewars.

 

The scene where Cosima revealed she was the clone to Scott  was quite well done.  You have Scott's reaction to modern science miracle - a real live functioning human clone - but also his reaction to a friend who he now knows has serious medical problems.  And then the end... I don't think I'm even ready to see Cosima in a coma or whatever, let alone worse.  Please don't die Cosima :( 

Edited June 8, 2014 by Agent Dark

[JodhaBai]

I think the show really sucks this season.  Huge drop in quality from S1

[SNeaker]

Other than Alison and Donnie, I thought that was basically terrible. Like others, this was the first time I really did not "believe," so to speak, in a clone. Even with Rachel's distractingly terrible wig, I still believe in Rachel as an individual character. Tony was Tatiana with fake facial hair, a prop penis, and a silly accent. It felt very put on. I like the idea in theory very much, but unfortunately when they can't pull something off, it just seems gimmicky, as others have pointed out. The entire thing also felt like a huge unnecessary distraction this late in the season, all to give us some cryptic message about Paul? Eh. I'm one of the few who likes Paul (or at least I did last season), but if they wanted him to seem important and have us care either way, they probably should have done more with him this season than having him play Lurky the Lurkmeister and get sexually assaulted by Rachel.

 

I don't dislike Cosima, but I've never found myself really caring about her, and I think it's partly because her story is isolated. That made sense more last season since her character was physically in another place (and I found her story of falling for Delphine knowing she's probably her monitor much more compelling than "science, cough, cure, cough, science"), but even now she's still isolated in that lab. I don't want her to die, but...I won't cry if she does. Her whole story hinges on a level of investment for her that I've never had.

Edited June 8, 2014 by SNeaker

[Petunia846]

Definately not a fan of Tony. I agree with others who said it was too much like a dog and pony show, 'Oooh, ahhh, look what Tatiana can do now!" The "look" they made up didn't work for me, but I think my problem with it was the eyebrows. They looked way too primped and sculpted and, well, girly and I doubt that's something Tony would have been keeping up. I think that's why to me it felt like they'd just slapped some fake facial hair on Tatiana or Sarah and messed up her hair. The acting was good, but the overall effect didn't work for me. Interesting that Tony's parents said the IVF clinic made a mistake. Is that just because of his gender, or was there something else?

 

Also, was it just me or did Tony say, "You're damn right," at one point with the exact same tone and intonation that Beth said it in that video Sarah used in the Pilot to copy her?

 

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm super excited to see Helena again next week.

[beedub]

I was kind of hoping that Cosima would be cured by the combination of helium and marijuana, but, no.

Found it amusing that Rachel uses an iPhone like a Nazi smokes a cigarette - all backwards and affected.

I have to say, one of my favourite Maslanyisms is the thing she does when one of her characters is speaking to someone, then stops, then says their name, as its own sentence. Like, if Sarah said something like, "We're going to find you a cure. Cosima." Or if Alison said, "I know what you've been up to. Donnie." Or Rachel, "It's been a pleasure knowing you. Aldous." You know, like that.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Tony looks just like Apolo Anton Ohno.

Ha, totally!

 

Even though I know that Jordan and Tatiana aren't really related, as soon as I saw Tony moving in to kiss Felix, I cringed. I liked that Tatiana didn't try to pitch her voice too low when playing Tony. There's this uncomfortable throaty sound when people try to scrape too low in their vocal range that sounds really obvious (and awkward) to me so I liked that although Tony's voice was lower in pitch, it still sounded natural, not like someone who was deliberately trying to speak in a much lower voice.

 

One thing I liked about Tony is that he is similar to early Sarah - he's a hustler and a thief. He kept going through Felix's stuff every chance he had. Once he found the painting of Sarah, he didn't tell Felix right away so he could try to get more info out of him. He uses his sexuality to shock/charm people. The great thing is that because he's so similar to Sarah, Felix had his number right away and he knew exactly what Tony was doing.

 

The show has emphasized the differences between the clones but with Tony we finally got to see some major similarities. One thing I think they all have in common is their focus and their drive. Each of them uses it on different things (Cosima has her research, Alison is OCD about everything, etc) but it's there in all of them.

 

 

 

Why is it so bad for Kira to make a bone marrow donation for Cosima? People give bone marrow all the time and it doesn't do any harm.

I don't think it's the bone marrow donation itself that Sarah is opposed to. She doesn't want to just have over her child to Dyad and let them have access to her. I wouldn't trust them either if I were Sarah. Even if they let her stay in the room to supervise, who knows what they could inject into her or take out of her?

 

Alison's reaction to Donnie's confession was so Alison. At the beginning she was so encouraging and understanding as he talked about his anger. Then she got so peeved that Donnie hadn't wrapped Leekie's body up well before dumping him in the trunk of the car. And then she really lost it when she found out that he was dumb enough to use one of her guns and then put it back into her gun locker. I could practically see the thought bubble over her head saying, "I could murder someone way better than Donnie - he's terrible at this! I'm always cleaning up his messes, sheesh."

 

Loved Cosima interrupting the nerds to correct them and then joining the game and totally winning. It was totally in character and provided some much needed humor in an otherwise somber episode. When Scott found out that Cosima was the clone whose DNA he had looked at, I initially thought his reaction was because he had seen something else really bad in the sequence and he didn't know how to break it to her.

 

When Kira first arrived at the house, I got really creeped out by the way Duncan was looking at her but I loved that he gave her the copy of The Island of Dr. Moreau that he used to read to Rachel covered in his notes to decipher like a puzzle.

 

 

 

how did Rachel know that Leekie had died, or was she just saying that because she kicked him out?

 

 

Hang on, how did Rachel know Leekie was dead if the body was still in Donnie's trunk? Did she assume DYAD goons did their job?

Rachel was supposed to have Leekie killed, per Marion's orders. Rachel let him go and thinks he is still alive but she still needs everyone else to think he's dead.

 

 

 

I'd been thinking of it as being about about the loss of choice because she's a total control freak.  I mean I don't want kids either (love the little rugrats but I'm a fantastic crazy aunt, not a mom) but if I suddenly found out I was infertile by design I think I'd still be kind of put off by that loss of choice at the will of another (/understatement).  I mean really it's the most pinpoint example of the threat the clones are under at large; losing all agency over their own lives because they are property.

ITA - it's not necessarily that Rachel wants to have kids but learning that the option was deliberately taken from her by design. Leda/Dyad/Duncan CHOSE not to allow her or the other clones to reproduce. She had no say in this. They just decided to take that away from the clones. I think Rachel is also upset because she has been self aware since she was very young but they never informed her of this not so minor detail, so she knows that they are withholding information from her.

 

Found it amusing that Rachel uses an iPhone like a Nazi smokes a cigarette - all backwards and affected.

I've seen a lot of people use their iphones like that when they're on speakerphone (you see this particularly if you watch reality tv shows where the cast members have to have their phone conversations on speaker phone so the cameras can hear the other person's side of the conversation). I'm not sure why people feel compelled to hold their cell phones parallel to the floor when they're using the speakerphone. The microphone is in the same place whether you hold the phone up to your ear or put it on speakerphone.

Edited June 8, 2014 by ElectricBoogaloo