OK, look, I’m just going to be honest with you. I’ve seen the first episode of the second season of Orphan Black, and there is literally no way to prepare you for it.
BUT I love you guys, so I will try. I have been collecting posts and interviews and clips all week, and have enough tidbits to tide you over until tomorrow night. A lot has happened since my last information roundup; BBC America’s social media team does not mess around. If I ever go missing, send THEM the BOLO, they’ll get the message out faster and wider than any police force.
First up:
THE CLONEVERSATION
Last Saturday, the cast and creators joined Wil Wheaton, Patton Oswalt, and Orlando Jones-the three of whom I’m pretty sure were only invited because they’re superfans-to chat about Season 2. Some highlights:
1. Patton Oswalt had the appropriate fangirl response to seeing Tatiana: He tried to take off his clothes.
2. Tatiana had some really great things to say about normalizing the female lead, being proud of the show. She loves that they represent many different shades of different personalities, and don’t feel the pressure to represent every type of person.
3. Tatiana also said Cosima was the easiest for her to relate to, her passion and focus, her tendency to fall for the wrong people, and her lightness.
4. They aired a fan video by Jenna Mason-Brase that said, “I came out when I was in high school and it didn’t go well at all. Orphan Black was a rabbit hole, a window into the world I dreamed of when mine was out for blood. Thank you for letting me see that world, it has completely changed the way I think.”
5. When asked if Delphine really loved Cosima, or if it was a con, Evelyne Brochu answered, “I think she’s telling the truth. I mean, Cosima, how can you not?” Wil Wheaton and I were very relieved to hear that.
6. Evelyne also talked about how the Delphine/Cosima dynamic is much more complex in Season 2. It’s lovers, it’s coworkers, it’s patient/doctor, it’s experiment/scientist. And one of the best things is that love is love, their issue isn’t about being two women. That’s the non-issue. The issue is literally everything else.
7. When asked about their chemistry, Tatiana admitted to fangirling over Evelyne when they first met, and when Evelyne was talking about Tatiana, I swear she swooned a little.
8. In Season 2, Delphine interacts not only with Cosima, but with Rachel, and Evelyne talked about how that was different for her, saying she was comfortable with “TatianaCosima” but was a little awkward around “TatianaRachel.”
9. Tatiana credited her fellow castmates with being able to do the insanely amazing things she does. She says without them, it would be all acting with tennis balls. Which I would still watch, lezbehonest.
TATIANA MASLANY ON CONAN
That stint was brief, but Tatiana is the most engaging person I’ve ever seen be interviewed, no matter who is interviewing her, no matter what she’s talking about. This time, it was about really creepy and scary German fairy tales. Also about how the difference between Canada and LA is that in LA people are talking about the boobs their dad gave them. Over the course of this interview, she spoke German and did a perfect valley girl impersonation, because SHE CAN. Also she didn’t even cringe when Conan creepily purred at her. She’s a champ.
THE REAL COSIMA
BBC America posted a video about the real Cosima. The clone Cosima was named after a real life scientist, who acts as a consultant on the show (and also helps come up with the episode titles).
I would like to think that even if they didn’t want a scientist on a show, they would have named someone Cosima, because it’s a pretty amazing name.
JOHN FAWCETT ON DELPHINE
EW talked to Orphan Black co-creator John Fawcett about Proletheans and Neolutionists and now no one can be trusted and no one is safe. He also talks about Cosima and Delphine, saying, “Now, Delphine and Cosima are in love, but Delphine’s kind of trapped in the middle. She does some bad things. But she does good things. She’s in love, but she’s still doing bad things. And trying to discover if there is a cure for Cosima is a big plot issue with Season 2.”
COSIMA PROFILE
Space, the channel that airs Orphan Black in Canada, also released a “CloneRecap” profile of Cosima, in which they show a clip of Cosima and Felix in Season 2. Felix says, “I smell lesbians in my bed last night” and Cosima responds, “I’m not going to apologize for my heart, okay?”
Because Cosima is all heart. Well, no: She’s heart and she’s brain. But the two forget to talk to each other sometimes. Which is, for me, the most relatable thing about Cosima. Being able to give really great advice but then not be able to follow it. To know something might not be the best idea but be unable to stop yourself from doing it anyway.
So, to recap one last time before Season 2 officially begins, let’s look at where we left all of our clones.
CLONE STATUS REPORT
Helena: Shot in the chest. Sarah’s to blame. (Helena gave love a bad name.) Fallen angry angel. Poor seestra.
Alison: Killed Aynsley. Well, passively. Let her die, because she thought she was her monitor. Patched things up with her sneaky husband, because she thought he was not her monitor. Both of these thoughts were incorrect. Signed her life away to Leekie in order to protect her family and her suburban life she likes to keep wrapped up like one of the ribbons in her craft room of torture.
Sarah: KIIIIIRAAAAA! On the heels of finding out that her body is patented, that she has been manipulated by someone who shares her face, she comes home to find her foster mother and her daughter missing. She is a mama bear without her cub. Everyone involved better watch out.
Cosima: Unsure if she can trust Delphine, but sure she can help her, Cosima and Delphine make crazy science together to learn about clone biology. Together, they learn about the patents, which is good news because they learned something, but bad news because their bodies are not their own. Also, Delphine’s duplicitousness seems less important now that Cosima knows she’s sick. She just wants her science girlfriend to heal and comfort her.
Everything is insane, everything is stressful, and everything is awesome.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it:
1. Watch Season 2 of Orphan Black tomorrow night at 9 p.m. on BBC America.
2. Tweet along using the hashtag #clonesbians to find your fellow AfterEllen readers. (Also use #CloneClub so the Orphan Black official folks can find you.)
3. Check back here on Monday for our Orphan Black recap and tweet roundup.
4. Check back here next week for my writeup on the amazing Orphan Black fan screening event I attended last night. I talked to Evelyne Brochu and Jordan Gavaris, and they had some really excellent things to say about Delphine and Felix (respectively), playing gay characters, and the fan response to those characters.
Get it? Got it? Good.
Adios, dragsters!
