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The AfterEllen.com Huddle: Twinning

Who doesn’t love a good set of twins? This week we are celebrating the pairs (or, in some cases, multiples) that we cherish or are, in some cases, a little freaked out by.

OK, go!

Valerie Ann: It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with Orphan Black, so my answer is Tatiana Maslany and every iteration of Tatiana Maslany. It’s unclear how many of the clones were actually birthed as twins, like Helena and her seeeestra Sarah, but I love them all. I even love the ones we haven’t met yet. Heck, I even love the evil one, because it’s still Tatiana Maslany. And just a friendly reminder: If anything happens to Cosima, I will not be OK.

Dana Piccoli: The answer is obvious! In honor of All My Children‘s cancellation, it’s got to be Frankie and Maggie Stone! Bianca’s first tragic love (Frankie) and one half of the epic best friend-turned-lover love story BAM (Maggie). Elizabeth Hendrickson played both roles beautifully.

Heather Hogan: I’m a big fan of that trope where one twin grows up to be a kind of hero and one twin grows up to be a kind of nutso villain. Like, Sarah and Helena’s relationship was my favorite on season one of Orphan Black because on the one hand Helena was in love with Sarah and on the other hand she wanted to wear Sarah’s skin around as a suit, which is especially creepy considering that their skin-suits look exactly alike.

But my favorite use of this trope is Kate and Beth Kane. Kate grew up to become the goddamn Batwoman, and Beth grew up to become the psycho super villain Alice. Right, but they’re still sisters and Kate still feels that draw, even though Beth (as Alice) tried to murder her/destroy Gotham City about a hundred times, so when Beth died and came back to life (a second time; oh, comics!) Kate risked literally everything to rescue her and bring her home. She lured Batman into a trap and tried to unmask him! That’s how much she loves her wackadoodle twin! (Of course we’ll probably never get to see how that story plays out because DC Comics is LIFE RUINER.) Anyway, I’m going to start calling this trope SEESTRAS.

Kim Hoffmann: I miss the batshit crazy twin dynamic between Skins‘ crimson redheads, Katie and Emily Fitch. Obviously, I liked Emily far more because Katie was a homophobic twat who wore too much makeup and cheetah print. Also, Katie was frequently violent and out of control-punching out Effy, slapping Emily. She even tried to make sure Emily and Naomi didn’t happen at one point. THE NERVE. No one messes with Naomily. Over the course of Series 3 and 4, Katie and Emily’s relationship went through a major strain, Katie was always battling Effy, doing it with boys, and acting super upset that her sister was a big ol’ gay. After Naomi cheated on Emily and Katie saw how wrecked Emily was, the two definitely got closer, if only for their cute “Twin Speak” but in the case of the yin and yang of identical twins, these two were always up to something.

Marcie Bianco: Barbara Smith and Beverly Smith, both lesbians and activists and writers. Also both co-authors (along with Demita Frazier) of the Combahee River Collective Statement!

Ali Davis: Can I choose the multiple “twin” Cylons from Battlestar Galactica? Because they’ve given me more bone-chilling joy than the Wonder Twins ever did. Every time you find out a character has a double-no, I can’t tell you who, it will spoil everything-you suddenly know that OH, HOLY CRAP, IT’S A CYLON. And sometimes even the Cylon in question doesn’t know that. But often they do. And when they do, they are out to make big, mind-blowing trouble. I don’t know when I’ve had more fun freaking the hell out while watching TV with friends.

Dara Nai: The biggest bang for your twin buck comes courtesy of real-life conjoined twins, Abby and Brittany Hensel. These girls played softball, drive a car and attended college, even though they each have a separate head and joined bodies that are so symmetrical, they look like one two-headed girl. Since Abby controls her half of their body and Brittany controls the other, they have to coordinate everything they do, from walking to swimming to riding a bike. When an interviewer asked them what happens when one wants to go out, but the other doesn’t, Abby answered drolly, “Then we don’t.”

Lucy Hallowell: One of my favorite set of twins is Phoebe and Ursula Buffay. I loved that Ursula was a character they brought over from Lisa Kudrow‘s stint on Mad About You and that they made her Phoebe’s not exactly evil, but not very nice twin. Any time you can find a way to give us double Lisa Kudrow, it’s never the wrong choice.

Chloe: Lilo and Lilo in The Parent Trap. She was so charming 🙁

Jill Guccini: Fred and George Weasley. Why are you worrying about You Know Who? You should be worrying about U No Poo!

Nicole Schultz: When I hear twins, I think The Shining. Nothing is more disturbing than children in a horror role and this film doubles down on the creep quotient. Thanks to them I am now afraid of hallways, hotels and little girls in powder blue dresses. “Come and play with us Danny. Forever and ever and ever.”

Grace Chu: By the power of Grayskull, She-Ra and He-Man. An added bonus: She-Ra rides a unicorn with rainbow colored wings.

Trish Bendix: Kim and Kelley Deal are so fun to watch play together that even when Kim was live with The Pixies, I wished I Kelley could be there, too. Luckily with The Breeders coming back together last year there’s been much more of their twinning on tour.

Hit us with your Tegan and Saras and other pairs you appreciate!

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