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One of Orphan Black’s favourite twists to pull off is the reveal that there’s yet another layer to what it has been telling us is the complete picture. It’s done this a couple of times over, which makes it all the more impressive that it continues to work so damn effectively. Admittedly, here it’s peeling back a layer … >
After the dramatic events at the Castor compound in the sixth episode, the seventh feels like it was definitely designed as a breather. It’s a pacy episode with a lot of racing around and a lot of focus on Alison’s storyline, but it never intends to get you to be too worried that anything big is going … >
Before this point, Orphan Black has been a show that is happy to subject its central characters to all kinds of emotional pain and agony, but it has not been a show that has pulled the trigger on killing anybody in a main role. Of course, there are many shows where this is not necessary, but arguably this one … >
In its third and fourth instalments, the third season of Orphan Black puts a great deal of its focus on Mark. Developing this character is important, as we already know and feel like we at least slightly understand him, and to some degree it’s going to be an uphill battle getting to know the other male clones as they … >
After the bombshell ending to the second season of Orphan Black revealed the existence of a line of male clones, Season 3’s opener, ‘The Weight of This Combination’, doesn’t take long to start introducing us to them more formally. The Castor clones are, unfortunately, not as immediately distinctive or enjoyable to watch as the originals though, and … >
Like the best episodes of Call the Midwife, Season 4’s finale is at once uplifting and heartbreakingly sad. And, really, if there’s anything the episode is about, it’s how the good always comes with the bad; it’s most explicitly stated in a single, brief conversation between Tom and Trixie: she on the way back from delivering a child, … >
The idea of two babies being accidentally swapped and given to different mothers is a nightmare scenario for new parents and the last thing you’d expect the diligent midwives of Nonnatus House to do. But a water shortage and a fire in the maternity home lead to exactly that happening here, and the weight of the … >
Easily the most compelling story within Call the Midwife’s sixth episode of the season is that of Paulette (Nell Hudson). A 17-year-old diabetic who discovers she is pregnant and is presented with the possibility of a dangerous pregnancy or a legal abortion (rare at the time but available because having the baby could harm its health and … >
It’s unusual for a one-hour drama to feel rushed, but this week’s Call the Midwife does juggle a little more than it can manage to. The pacing is just a little off, even if the story beats are still moving and compelling. While we remain without any sign of Chummy, and Sister Evangelina has been gone … >
Even more than a regular episode of Call the Midwife, this instalment is about the roles that women play in public life. Whether it’s Trixie being silenced by an important bishop, prostitutes dealing with getting syphilis so that they don’t lose clients or the worries of a man who thinks a daughter couldn’t carry on his family … >