TV Show Review

TV Review: ORPHAN BLACK: Season 2, Episode 3: Mingling Its Own Nature with It

Tatiana Mastany Jordan Gavaris Orphan Black Mingling Its Own Nature with It

BBC’Orphan Black Mingling Its Own Nature with It TV Show Review. Orphan Black: Season 2, Episode 3: Mingling Its Own Nature with It retains the continuous stream of thrilling emotions and adds more visual style and artistry to the bigger picture, also increasing the emotional impact of the story, adding more danger and greater threats. Even though our heroines are as badass and smart and beautiful as ever, prove that they are more prone to danger, that they are perfectly vulnerable and that is quite essential in order for genuine suspense to be created.

In episode one and two this wasn’t so apparent because after all in episode one Sarah managed to put the villain to a beat down and in episode two she rescued her beloved daughter, which was the source of the show’s suspense so far. Here, in episode three, however, the tension is reborn in a very efficient way and we are reminded that the bad guys are stronger. Even above that, the writers continue to surprise us, proving that apart from the tension-whether achieved through breathless pace or slow hanging suspense, what works best in Orphan Black is the shocks and surprises.

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Hands down to Tatiana Mastany because she shows greater diversity here than she does in the first two episodes combined. She plays the three main protagonists with uniquely distinctive shades and in addition she plays a Russian girl with a heavy accent and a fifth character, version of herself. This is an astonishing feat. Episode three presents us the main actress in every way imaginable-physical and emotional and she is always convincing.

The stories of the three main clones are this time even closer to each other in terms of quality. Cosima is struggling with fear of the seemingly inescapable and terrifying, Sarah is fighting both with survival and old heartbreaks and Alison offers a handful of suspenseful and embarrassing minutes at the big drama performance. Things spiral out of control very quickly in episode three following the seeming victory in the previous chapter. Before you know it, our characters’ fates are hanging by a threat and there is nothing visible for their future except insecurity and the feeling that something bad is about to happen.

The visual storytelling this time around is far better. The use of foreground background, the composition of the shots is much better. An example is the way a police car is distancing itself in the far background while our protagonist is hiding in a house and the arrival of an enemy in the background where a vulnerable character is walking far out of safety’s reach unbeknownst to our stronger lead characters. In addition, there is one particular shot in another storyline which is very heavily edited but very subtly so. The director is starting to take bolder decisions that work.

Violence and the attractiveness of Tatiana Mastany’s body are taken a whole level forward in this episode. This increases the raw feeling of the episode and the show and most importantly by surprising you it continues to solidify the impression that nothing is predictable in Orphan Black. The conclusion is ballistic and the very final shot represents the best cliffhanger in season two we have so far received.

The humor is diminished this time around and that is most obvious through Jordan Gavaris’ character more dramatic and serious presence, which is yet another clue that things are becoming deep, dangerous and uncontrollable. Our characters keep doing what they want and how they want but the unexpected and bad is stronger than them when it happens. They can’t stop it and so you as the viewer, knowing that, are always alert.

Leave your thoughts on this review and this episode of Orphan Black below in the comments section. For more Orphan Black reviews, photos, videos, and information, visit our Orphan Black Page, subscribe to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” us on Facebook

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Deyan Angelov

My name is Deyan Angelov and I am 25. I have written articles for FilmBook. I graduated from the University of London, Royal Holloway in 2014. I have worked as an air operator, sound recorder and camera operator for different TV stations. I have participated in a variety of internships at Nu Boyana Film Studios.
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