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Orphan Black Season 3 Premiere: Catch Up With the Clones in Us Weekly’s Refresher!

Orphan Black
Sarah talks to Rudy in the season 3 premiere of Orphan Black.

In the case of Orphan Black, it takes two (or three or four). So Us Weekly is here to clear up the spiderweb of clones, conspiracies, and romances before season 3 of the BBC America thriller premieres on Saturday, April 18. 

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Whether you’re a Dyad newbie or a lifelong member of the Clone Club, everyone could use a refresher, especially on a show this intricate.

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Season 1 revealed the conspiracy surrounding a whole host of badass female clones who were created for a super secret experiment called Project LEDA. When the show began, British drug dealer Sarah Manning (the incomparable Tatiana Maslany) had no clue she was part of this massive science project. 

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But after seeing a woman who looked just like her fling herself off a subway platform and commit suicide, Sarah quickly stole the woman’s identity and eventually learned she was one of the many clones borne of a top-secret experiment and soon teamed up with her pseudo-sisters, who span all different professions, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. 

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Sarah gets some help from her flamboyant foster brother Felix (Jordan Gavaris), her sweet-yet-intuitive daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler), and her foster mom Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy), who we still don’t know if we can trust. 

Here’s what you need to know about where each of the clones left off at the end of season 2: 

Sarah Manning
Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning.

Sarah Manning

After stabbing Rachel in the eye with a pencil, Sarah broke free of the Dyad institute and grabbed her daughter Kira. Because Sarah is the only clone known to be fertile, the Dyad scientists monitoring the LEDA clones wanted to do experiments on her ovaries, but she busted out before that happened. The mysterious (and powerful) new Clone Club ally Marion, then introduced Sarah to her youngest “sister” Charlotte — a new clone who is only 8 years old. But that wasn’t the only revelation. Marion also told Sarah about another human cloning experience that focused on males: Project Castor. In a disturbing final shot, we learned that the creepy former member of the religious cult, Mark (Ari Millen), is one of this new group’s “brothers.”

Beth Childs
Tatiana Maslany as Beth Childs.

Beth Childs

Though Beth died in the pilot, she still lives on in her police partner Art (Kevin Hanchard). He knows about the clones and has worked closely with Sarah to help. Her boyfriend Paul (Dylan Bruce) is actually a double agent, moonlighting for Dyad while actually being a member of the military who works with Project Castor. It doesn’t help that he still seems to have the hots for Sarah, who has returned to Kira’s father Cal (Michiel Huisman). 

Rachel Duncan
Tatiana Maslany as Rachel Duncan.

Rachel Duncan

When last we saw the clinical, unfeeling clone, she was writhing on the ground with a no. 2 pencil shooting out of her eye. Her adoptive father, Ethan Duncan (Andrew Gillies) — the Project LEDA mastermind — killed himself in front of her very eyes, taking with him the sequence needed to produce more clones. Basically, she’s not having the best time. And if we know Rachel, she won’t let this one go without a fight. 

Cosima Niehaus
Tatiana Maslany as Cosima Niehaus.

Cosima Niehaus

Brainy, kind-hearted Cosima is constantly on the brink of death, having come down with the same illness that has taken the lives of several other clones. She was working closely with Dyad to find a cure when her double agent girlfriend Delphine (Evelyne Brochu) was forced out of the country. She helped Sarah escape, but unfortunately Kira’s bone marrow (her supposed cure) was destroyed by Rachel and won’t be ready again for weeks. Cosima did, however, uncover Dr. Duncan’s secret code in an old story book he gave Kira, which could change everything for the clones. 

Helena
Tatiana Maslany as Helena.

Helena

From psychotic murderer to cult mother to lost sister, Helena has by far made the biggest transformation. The curly-haired Russian even fell in love with a trucker named Jesse (played by SuitsPatrick J. Adams). But just as she was heading out to meet him (leaving behind a tank of Nitrogen in Felix’s apartment?), she was kidnapped by the military and taken onto a plane. We last saw her exiting onto a tarmac where Castor clones waited. No details on her current status, but considering she’s made it this far, she’ll likely be running the government in no time. 

Alison Hendrix
Tatiana Maslany as Alison Hendrix

Alison Hendrix

The uptight suburban soccer mom with a drinking problem finally has some calm in her chaotic life. Ironically, it only came after her husband Donnie (Kristian Bruun) accidentally killed Dr. Leekie (the man who ran the Dyad experiments) in his car, and the pair finally found common ground burying his body and keeping their secret. Now maybe someone can take care of those cute kids she adopted!

Rudy
Ari Millen as Castor clone, Rudy aka Scarface

Project Castor

This set of male clones includes the newly married Mark, an unnamed army officer, and a clearly deranged prisoner of Marion with a scar on his face.  We most familiar with Mark, who was a member of the heebie jeebie cult the Prolethean — the group trying to impregnate Helena. He ran off with fellow cult member Bonnie and they married in last season’s finale. All of the male clones will be played by actor Ari Millen, who, like Maslany, is new to a lead role. Season 3 is sure to focus on this new faction of brothers, so keep an eye out. 

The synopsis for the season 3 premiere reads, “Sarah pursues the missing Helena who is held in a faraway compound. Sarah must use her wiles — and acting chops — to deter a Topside investigator who threatens the LEDA sisters’ lives. Meanwhile, Cosima appears to be rebounding from her illness, while Alison and Donnie face newfound financial woes. But when the menace of Castor rears its head once more, Sarah and her entire family must come together to survive.”

So gather up your favorite pals (whether they be identical or not) and get ready for another twisted season!

Orphan Black premieres Saturday, April 18 at 9 p.m. ET on BBC America.

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