Orphan Black S01E02

Thoughts on the episode:

• They go to great lengths to make Felix's apartment look shitty, but it's still huge. No way an artist/drug dealer could afford a loft that big in Manhattan without a trust fund.
• The swapped identity thing would be enough to carry these first episodes, but the sci-fi/international intrigue angle makes it even meatier. Or is it the other way around?
• I feel like Vic Mackey could wipe the floor with Art. Art wouldn't even make it through the first round of a dirty TV cop battle royale.
• "Don't you want to know what's in the briefcase?" When has anything good EVER come from a mystery briefcase??
• I wonder if Tatiana Maslany looks to Eddie Murphy for inspiration in playing all the characters. Are any of the twins Tatiana in a fat suit?
• Tatiana Maslany is like Barbie - she can pull off any look. I want Orphan Black fashion dolls.
• A string of implausible coincidences can make for good, clever comedy. (See: Arrested Development). For it to make good drama, I have to really buy it - at least within the parameters of the show.
• For instance: Sarah spent time practicing an American accent to do a convincing Beth, but she breaks the German accent for Katya out of nowhere. I'll let it slide because one of the givens of the series is that she can think on her feet.
• I think it was Mark Twain who said that thing about telling the truth so that you don't have to remember anything? "Beth" going over her account of the shooting with Art unwraps a nuance there. The story she was telling, which she got from her previous statement in the file, was the truth as far as she knew. It wasn't HER truth - she isn't the person who did the shooting - but it's what she knew to have happened. Then she found out that her true lie was actually a lie, a cover-up. Is it easier to tell a lie if you think it's the truth?
• It's kind of refreshing that there's only one storyline - no subplots around minor characters. But I have a feeling that the main plot will soon get complicated enough that it would be futile to try to delve into any other characters.