The Case for clones

Tatiana Maslany stars in “Orphan Black” Saturdays on Space: The Imagination Station.

Tatiana Maslany stars in “Orphan Black” Saturdays on Space: The Imagination Station

Space’s thriller ‘Orphan Black’ is back for its fifth and final season

Space’s thriller ‘Orphan Black’ is back for its fifth and final season All good things must come to an end – even one of the most acclaimed science fiction thrillers this nation has ever produced.

That’s right, the clock is ticking for “Orphan Black,” which airs Saturdays on Space.

Now in its fifth and final season, it’s time for critics and fans alike to start pontificating about what the series meant, whether we’ll be able to go on living in its absence, and whether or not producers were able to wrap things up in a nice little bow.

“There are definitely a lot of questions answered that we have been posing since season one,” says Emmy- and Canadian Screen Awardwinning actress and star Tatiana Maslany of this final season. “But the way our show works is that every time a question gets answered, it poses three more or opens the door to something new. So there is a satisfying element to it, but if you wanted a nice little bow, you’re not getting it.”

But short of the final episode featuring a planet-killing asteroid hitting earth or Bob Newhart waking up from a dream, we should all assume that even if we get a wee bit of satisfying closure when the final credits of the last episode air, there’s always going to be some wiggle room that’ll leave some of us praying Sarah and sister clones could one day return. That’s just show business.

“What’s really cool about looking back is that there are so many different characters and storylines that people have related to,” says the 31-year-old Maslany. “I hope that the same way (viewers) have responded to individual characters, that they have an individual response (to how it ends).”

But co-creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett knew this time would come eventually and even began conceptualizing how to bring the story to a proper close years ago.

“The plan has been to wrap up the series in five seasons,” says Maslany, a Regina native. “And, as much as it hurts my heart, it makes sense to not have the story go on without having a reason for being there. We wanted to go out telling the story the way we wanted to tell it and not overstay our welcome. I think going out before we hit our expiration date (is good).”

And after how last season ended, the timing feels right for the sisters to regroup and plan for a long march consisting of kicking ass and taking names (not necessarily in that order). And that’s probably what we’ll get – assuming the word “satisfying” means what we think it means.

So whether you love Maslany’s Sarah, or her Helena, or Cosima, Alison, Krystal, Rachel, et al., or prefer Donnie (Kristian Bruune), Delphine (Evelyne Brochu), Felix (Jordan Gavaris) or Mrs. S. (Maria Doyle Kennedy), you can appreciate that the series went above and beyond to create a space where a small Canadian science fiction show took the world by storm for five glorious seasons.