BBC America's Orphan Black may not have the most characters of any show on TV — that honor undoubtedly goes to HBO's Game of Thrones (which has a staggering twenty-nine series regulars) — but it definitely has the most characters played by a single actor (the delightful Tatiana Maslany). It's been over 10 months since the Season 1 finale aired, so as Orphan Black Season 2 approaches, you'll be forgiven if you're starting to confuse your Alisons with your Rachels... after all, they all look the same. So let's quickly recap where things left off for our favorite clones (before they start introducing even more):
Sarah Manning
Our British protagonist clone took over the life of American detective Beth Childs after the cop jumped in front of a train, but Sarah quickly found herself getting far more than she bargained for. At the end of last season, her foster mother Mrs. S introduced her to her birth mother, Amelia, who informed Sarah that she and Helena (the crazy assassin clone) were actually twins, both borne from the same womb — hence their intimate connection. Helena was outraged by this revelation and killed Amelia, so Sarah killed Helena. Very sad. We'll miss you, angry angel.
Sarah was on her way to sign a peace treaty with "proclone" Rachel when she realized that any deal was effectively a sham. She ditched the meeting and went to Mrs. S's, only to discover her missing, along with daughter Kira.
Cosima Niehaus
The dreadlocked punk lesbian scientist quickly became a fan favorite and so she's in the most obvious mortal danger as we start the new season. She struck up a relationship with sexy French Delphine, despite knowing that Delphine was her monitor. When she and Delphine cracked the code hidden inside the clones' genes, Cosima realized that the message imprinted inside all of them was in fact a patent. Ergo, no matter what Rachel promised, none of them would ever be free. As the finale wrapped up, poor Cosima began exhibiting symptoms of the same respiratory disease that also plagued Russian clone Katja Obinger before her death. And coughing up blood is never a good sign.
Alison Hendrix
The resident bitchy soccer mom first tortured her own husband when she thought he was her monitor, and then let her nosy neighbor Aynsley die right in front of her when she realized she was her monitor. But wait — it turns out her husband Donnie really was her monitor after all. Whoops. Alison was also the only clone to sign Rachel's deal, hoping for a chance for a normal life for herself and her children. No such luck, I fear.
Rachel Duncan
Unlike the other clones, Rachel was raised fully aware of her unique status, and is in fact working for the people responsible for their creation (called Neolutionists). It's unclear whether she's responsible for the kidnapping of Mrs. S and Kira, if Mrs. S absconded with Kira out of fear for the child's wellbeing, or if somebody else entirely is responsible for their disappearance.
Felix Dawkins
Sarah's fabulous gay foster brother is in a bit of hot water after cops Art and Angela realized he lied to them when he falsely identified Beth's body as Sarah's in the first episode. The two detectives are baffled by the identical appearance of the dead Beth & Katja and the living Sarah & Alison, but are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Paul Dierden
Beth's monitor and Sarah's lover works for Dr. Leekie and the DYAD institute (the Neolutionist research center). He is a former soldier who killed six marines in Afghanistan under mysterious circumstances, and was coerced into working for DYAD with a promise to cover up the truth. But when Sarah decided to ditch her meeting with Rachel, Paul vanished with her. Also, he looks like this, just in case you forgot:
You're welcome.
Get pumped for the premiere by learning what your favorite clone says about you and watching this intense trailer for the new season:
Images: BBC America (7)
