Whitney Pierce

Staff Writer

As a proud member of the Orphan Black “Clone Club”, I could not be more excited to give you guys the low down on the most recent interview that the creators, John Fawcett and Graeme Manson, did with Entertainment Weekly. Oh, did I mention there is also a sneak peek photo that was also released?

Photo Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

It looks like the bold Sarah Manning is getting up close and very personal with the Neolutionist pro-clone, Rachel Duncan. If you’re new to the show or just are having a bit of memory lapse, at the end of season one we were introduced to the Proclone, who was working with lead Neolutionist, Dr. Aldous Leekie. Leekie and Rachel contacted all of the clones and propositioned them by offering them protection and freedom of their monitors in exchange for regular testing and experiments to learn more about the clones.

So, that’s where we left off but where will we be picking up in the season two premiere? Fawcett says that the leading framework for the second season is a war between Rachel and Sarah. While those two are definitely not getting along at this point or possibly ever and there is no denial that Rachel is a villain; Fawcett and Manson say that just like the rest of the characters on the show, not everyone is exactly who they seem to be. “For us, using Helena as an example, it was very interesting to draw a character that began really as one thing — for example, a serial killer — and then through the course of a few episodes become able to add layers and add flesh to the point where you could understand her and be sympathetic to her. So, to me, that was about creating a really dynamic deep interesting character that wasn’t just a cartoon. And I think we feel the same about Rachel. I think you could probably tell from the end of season 1 that Rachel’s got a little bit of heavy to her. And I think what’s interesting to us is that we’re having fun creating a new character this season who isn’t just a heavy. There’s other aspects to her. And that’s been a really fun developing a new girl” says Fawcett of the newest character.

While not everyone has a possibly unhealthy addiction to Tatiana Maslany and Jordan Gavaris like myself, Orphan Black writers have promised the story flowing throughout season two will hold onto old viewers while bringing in new ideas and conspiracies to perhaps snag some new ones. “Right off the bat we’ve really hit the ground running. We left a lot up in the air, so it’s been a lot of fun figuring out how and when and where those balls land and how they land in unexpected ways. As for Rachel, we did leave last season knowing that Rachel was a child of Neolution, therefore much connected to the origins of the experiment. So I think Rachel is going to help to open a window for us and we’re going to begin to understand a lot more about the conspiracy,” says Manson.

The show itself has a huge following but it’s very safe to say that the fan favorite clone is Cosima. She was in the list of things from last season that were left up in the air and we’ll definitely be finding out more about her and the illness in season two. Fawcett states that it is a very pressing part of the drama but it’s not exactly straight ahead. “It’s got a lot of mystery to it. It’s got a lot of twists and turns to it and it is thematically a big part of season 2 also,” he says. Manson goes on to add, “t’s a genetic mystery. It’s a genetic biological mystery and it feeds into some of our body horror and it feeds into our science mystery.”

We knew and assumed from the conclusion of season one that there would be more clones in season two. Fawcett confirms that it is safe to assume that we will see more clones, and that’s what is really exciting about the show is that they can always have more clones, and when they do bring in the new ones they want to do it in a manner that’s unexpected and at a time when it’s unexpected.

My excitement for the new season of Orphan Black has just been multiplied by infinity! It seems like the season will be filled with suspense, drama, excitement, undoubtably some laughs, answered questions, new questions and possibly some tears. While the show has recently been showing in new countries all over the world, season two will debut on April 19, 2014 on BBC America for us US residents and on Space for those in Canada. Be patient Clone Club, it’ll be here before you know it!