While we love Orphan Black‘s plot twists and characters (not to mention Tatiana Maslany’s amazing performances), one of our favorite parts of the show is the clone swaps.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what’s so exciting about the clone swaps. It could be the way the characters play heightened versions of each other. It could also be the uncanny way that the clones can easily disguise themselves as one another. But it’s probably the fact that one actress is playing one clone, who’s acting like another clone (that she normally plays as well).
While we’re positive that we’re forgetting about a clone swap or two (because they’re all so seamless and, well, it’s a show about clones, so we’ve gotten scarily used to seeing the same face portray a variety of characters), below are our favorite Orphan Black clone swaps (so far).
(Not so) spoiler alert: The majority of our favorite Orphan Black clone swaps are with Sarah doing the clone swapping. The main reason for this is that Sarah is the unofficial main clone of the series. She’s the one we’re following and learning information alongside. She’s at the center of everything.
The other reason why she’s all over our list is because she’s just so good at impersonations, thanks in part to her previous life as a con artist.
Related: What your favorite Orphan Black character says about you
Sarah as Beth (season 1, episode 1)
Via pugsnotdruggss.tumblr.com
This was clone swap that started it all. The one that showed us a glimpse of what Tatiana Maslany is capable of. It’s really interesting to watch Sarah’s method in becoming Beth by analyzing her photos, watching videos of her, and going through her personal belongings. While we should feel like she’s invading Beth’s space, we’re just really intrigued by her. And then there’s the fact that Sarah keeps up the Beth ruse for days. Now that’s talent.
Rachel as Sarah (season 2, episode 9)
Via sarah-manninq.tumblr.com
We think it’s pretty safe to say that 85% of us had no idea that it was actually Rachel walking into the hospital to see Kira in the penultimate episode of Orphan Black‘s second season. (We’re saying 85% because while we were fooled, we know that some of you probably saw right through it.) The fact that Rachel would go to those lengths to kidnap Kira isn’t surprising. It’s just that her portrayal of Sarah and some of Sarah mannerisms was crazy good, especially for someone as uptight as Rachel.
Sarah as Alison (season 1, episode 6)
Via clubclone.tumblr.com
One of our favorite things is watching Sarah imitate Alison. She always takes Alison’s quirks and really emphasizes them (if that’s even possible). Her performance at Alison’s house party and short interactions with the neighbors are a great example of that. Most impressive is Sarah’s ability to firmly question Donnie while remaining in character. Plus, we just really love seeing Sarah in soccer mom clothes. So. Much.
Helena as Sarah as Beth (season 1, episode 1)
Via rachel-the-one-eyed-pirate.tumblr.com
This clone swap has three levels to it. THREE. Tat as Helena as Sarah as Beth. How crazy impressive is that? Okay, it could admittedly be a normal two level swap because you can argue that it was just Helena pretending to be Beth. However, since Helena never had any real interaction with Beth (that we know of), it’s safe to say she took inspiration from Sarah’s portrayal. Anyway, Helena’s clone swap performance is definitely the creepiest that we’ve seen on Orphan Black so far.
Sarah as Alison (season 2, episode 7)
Via youknowwobbles.tumblr.com
Have we mentioned how much we enjoy watching Sarah impersonating Alison? When we found out that there was going to be a “family day” at the rehab center, we knew it was going to be entertaining. After all, Donnie was still in the dog house with pretty much everyone and he was cordially invited. However, the fun of Family Day was turned up to 10 when Sarah had to impersonate Alison and go through a role play exercise in front of the rest of the rehab’s attendees. SO good.
Bonus! The clone swap in the ‘Orphan Black’ season 3 premiere
Via cloneslayer.tumblr.com
It’s not a spoiler to tell you that clone swapping happens in this season’s very first episode. We won’t tell you the extent of it or who’s involved, but what we will tell you is that it’s wonderful and, while we’ve only seen it once, it’s already our favorite clone swap of the series. And that’s saying something.
While we were looking into all of the Orphan Black clone swaps that have ever happened, we came across this short video from 2013 of Tatiana talking about what clone swap she’d most like to see. We think you’ll love it!
What has been your favorite ‘Orphan Black’ clone swap?
Related: Tatiana Maslany talks ‘Orphan Black’ season 3, more clones
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