‘Orphan Black’ season 3, episode 9 reaction: Show boss on Kendall Malone surprise

There were a few moments of Saturday night’s “Orphan Black” episode that were particularly interesting. Helena’s spree of violence for one caught our attention, even if we actually did not see everything that she did on-camera. (Some of it remains in our imagination, and suffice it to say that it is not particularly pretty.)

Also, what about that Kendall Malone surprise? It turns out that she is a woman, Mrs. S’ mother, and at the same time also the Castor original at the center of just about everything these days. That’s a whole lot of story crammed into a single character. Why make these moves in particular? Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, executive producer Graeme Manson explains how this allows this allows so many different things together, and how we now have higher stakes in the finale because of it:

“We thought it was an intriguing way to put the original as the ultimate goal of both Castor and Leda and put us on a collision path towards our finale. And also, it was important to us to draw, for Sarah, some deep understanding and a little bit of closure with her own past—that’s her own family’s journey with Mrs. S and the reason they went to London in the first place.”

Anytime that you get a twist this late in the season, you worry that it is going to undo the momentum of everything that was before it. Luckily, that didn’t happen this time, and we’re actually starting to feel like we’ve had the best two episodes of the season in a row! Ultimately, we feel pretty lucky to be able to say that.

If you do want to get even more good updates on “Orphan Black,” head over here to preview the big finale! Also, you can sign up now if interested in getting some other TV news sent right over to you weekly, and courtesy of our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: BBC America.)