SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read on unless you’ve seen the Season 3 premiere of Orphan Black, titled “The Weight of This Combination.”

We’re back in Clone Country, and things are just as complicated … perhaps too complicated. The plot and goings-on in the Orphan Black Season 3 premiere are somewhat muddled, and at times it feels like we’re being over-explained to. To be fair, there’s a lot happening with the clones (now both male and female), Dyad, Topside, Mrs. S., Paul, the “cleaner” Ferdinand, Delphine, and some strange plotline with school board trustee Marcie and our favourite suburban couple, Alison and Donnie.

Thank goodness for the Orphan Black humour and visuals, otherwise this would have been a very tough slog. Underneath all of the exposition thrust upon us, there is a simple thread to follow, one that I intend to focus on rather than all the extraneous information that doesn’t really matter in the end. The bottom line is this: Rachel, Topside, Dyad and Project Castor are out to destroy the Project Leda clones, and the sisters have to band together in order to stop them. There. Easy, isn’t it?

The bizarro baby shower dream opening scene is one for the ages: saturated colour, reference to ox liver, Felix at the barbecue, pregnant Helena in her Sunday best. I didn’t believe it was real for one second, but hey, it was still entertaining. And only Helena would have a talking scorpion feeding her encouragement. This is the kind of fun I want from Orphan Black, but don’t always get.

Going by the ads and commercials, I was expecting this episode to dedicate more time explaining Project Castor, their motivations, and who each of the male clones were. While we saw them all, except for Mark (Rudy talking to Sarah and doing naked yoga/exercise, Seth beating up Mrs. S., and Miller freeing Helena)—we didn’t really get much. The show is still focusing on (and trying to make clear) the whole Topside debacle, along with the revelation about the Helsinki slaughter in 2006. I have a feeling Episode 2 will delve deeper into the guys’ backstories.

But for now, we get a lot about Cosima and Delphine, which I don’t mind. Their break-up scene was a heartbreaker, and hearing Tatiana’s crushing “I love you,” complete with cracking voice and tears, was enough to make my chin quiver. For the first time (to me, anyway), Delphine was awesome, concocting elaborate schemes and pushing down on Rachel’s empty eye socket. I was squirming away during that scene.

Straight-up, I’m worried that Rachel will kill Delphine. In fact, I’d bet money on it; but not before she and Cosima have their reunion. Their break-up seemed kind of unnecessary anyway, but I accepted it because Delphine is probably just trying to protect Cosima.

Alison and Donnie’s school board trustee story is out of left field. At least it’ll provide a less-intense side story when things heat up among the clones. It also brings us the glory of Kristian Bruun and his Donnie character, which I suspect is why they’re doing this story in the first place. No longer a monitor, Donnie needs to be integrated into the plot somehow. Also, Marcie? She looks so evil, she’s either A) involved with Topside somehow, B) involved with Project Castor somehow, or C) is both. Whatever the case, don’t trust her.

And I know I’ve said this before, but can I just shout out one more time to Tatiana? I never tire of watching her play a clone playing a clone. She masters it, from the walk to the tone to the accent, and it is a marvellous display of acting. Bravo. Just never play Tony again.

Next week, one of the Project Castor clones has Xs over his eyes. WHY? Can’t wait to find out.

Clone of the Week: Helena. Hands-down, she is the most entertaining clone, from the scorpion-talking to the dream sequence. More, please.

Random Thoughts:

• Felix: “Delphine has your number? We definitely need new clone phones.”
• Alison: “Holy diddle, here we go!”
• Big nerd props to Scott’s periodic table of elements T-shirt. Not gonna lie, I kind of want it.
• Donnie: “They took the Taurus.”
• Another clone! Crystal Goderich, blonde, sexy, seductress … hope we get to see more of her.
• Felix: “Don’t these people know you didn’t even finish high school?!”
• Ari Millen didn’t have much to do in this premiere, aside from looking crazy and doing naked pull-ups, but I especially liked his Seth character (the moustache). I think he has the most depth, and I enjoyed his mini-breakdown in the kitchen with Mrs. S.
• Wherever Sarah and Felix go drinking, down by that river—does NOT look appealing. Time for a new spot to set up the lawn chairs and talk clone.

Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on Space.

Canadian actor Ari Millen is poised for great things. From one viewpoint, his position is enviable: he’s playing the new male clones (all four that we know of!) on sci-fi TV zeitgeist Orphan Black and is the focal point of Season 3. Looking at it another way, it’s downright terrifying—his performance(s) will be a make-or-break scenario for the show, and he’s stepping into some gigantic shoes after castmate Tatiana Maslany expertly played more than six different clones for two seasons.

TV, eh? spoke with Millen in a dark-lit apartment in Toronto. Simply put, Millen is an absorbing man, very passionate about his roles, and his eyes have that thing where they stare directly into your soul. His gaze never wavers, and his slow, deliberate tone foreshadows what’s most likely going to be an intense season of Orphan Black.

Trained in classical theatre at Toronto’s Ryerson University, Millen brings a solid repertoire along with his striking look. Yes, he’s not just a pretty face. Maslany, also schooled in theatre and improv, transcends the typical TV actor in the same way. Together the duo are a formidable pair, and on screen they deliver the goods. There is a tangible exchange between the two, and Millen did his best to learn the tricks of playing multiple clones from his predecessor.

If they were the Seven Dwarves, Seth would be Dopey. I look like my maternal grandfather with that moustache, it’s kind of scary.

“I sat in on the clone dancing party shoot in the Season 2 finale, just to get a taste of what that sort of scene is like, where you play different characters,” says Millen. “No one spoke to me about how to do it, I kind of learned through osmosis. All actors have different ways of getting into things, but I definitely learned from watching Tat.”

It is quite the challenge. Millen is playing four Project Castor clones—probably more as the season progresses—and like Maslany’s characters, they vary wildly. There’s Mark, who we already know, who’s run off with Gracie. Rudy, who we saw in the Season 2 finale, is the “alpha-male peacock” (Millen’s words) with the scar, always looking to push somebody else’s buttons. Seth is the moustachioed clone, the goofball.

“If they were the Seven Dwarves, he would be Dopey,” laughs Millen. “I look like my maternal grandfather with that moustache, it’s kind of scary.”

Perhaps the most intense and multi-faceted character Millen is going to play this season is Miller, a military-minded clone who lost his leg in the field. He is sharp, refuses to take any pity, and still resolves to be the best soldier he can be. Despite his disability, he yearns to be top military brass. From these four characters, it’s apparent there is a wide spectrum of personality traits Millen has to hit.

“For me, the whole process was done completely in reverse,” he says. “Normally I would develop the character after reading the scripts and figure out who the person was. When the guys were introduced, the two ones at the end of Season 2, I don’t even know if the writers or producers knew who they were, as characters. I only had visuals on them for most of the summer leading up to shooting. I knew Mark, obviously. For Rudy, Miller and Seth, it wasn’t until I sat in the makeup chair and they adjusted the hair or added the scar or moustache, then I could figure out who they were.”

Millen has been appearing here and there in a number of projects over the past couple of years. (“I died six times last year!” he jokes.) Again, like Maslany, who starred in several independent films before making waves at Sundance and ultimately getting the gig on Orphan Black, Millen has appeared in several TV shows (and a couple films) in small-yet-diverse roles, often starring next to some of Canada’s finest talent.

I was so excited to get to play more than one character, sometimes in one day. I can’t wait to explore different parts of my personality, and make them bigger.

He played The Shadow King in Reign alongside Megan Follows, deliciously chewing the scenery as a fraudster. He played former CIA analyst and whistleblower Adam Wexler (think Edward Snowden) in 12 Monkeys, and had bit roles in both Nikita and Rookie Blue. Film-wise, he appeared in retro-horror movie Hellmouth and the as-yet-released werewolf flick Hunter’s Moon, which stars none other than legendary actor Colm Feore.

Weirdly, Millen’s acting trajectory looks very similar to Feore’s, and that is not lost on him.

“Colm Feore is definitely someone whose career I admire,” says Millen. “If I could emulate his career, I would count myself very lucky. That, for me, is the pinnacle of making it —someone who can do a healthy balance of film, television and theatre. And it’s on the world stage too.”

All of Millen’s experience culminated for Orphan Black, and he poured himself into the roles with every single ounce of energy.

“It certainly is a challenge unlike any other that I’ll encounter in the acting world, but it’s been nothing but exciting,” he says. “I was so excited to get to play more than one character, sometimes in one day. I can’t wait to explore different parts of my personality, and make them bigger.”

He still considers himself somewhat of a rookie in the industry, and is set to do what is probably the right thing—ignore the Internet—when it comes to comments or blogs about the show. Knowing how rabid Orphan Black fans are, and how critical they can be, Millen doesn’t want it to colour his performances in any way going forward.

“I’m going to ignore a lot of it,” he says. “Positive or negative. Thankfully we’re done shooting. The danger might be, if I read it, if it was positive, I’d be like, ‘Yeah I’m doing great!’ and then lose sight of what I’d found. If it was negative, I’d start changing the way I approached it. I’m not going to go looking for it, that’s for sure. I’m too green. I haven’t built up a callus yet. I need more time in the industry before I can laugh it off.”

But he couldn’t be happier being a part of Orphan Black. As most of the cast and crew have attested, the feeling on-set is one of harmony, a collective group giving their all to deliver.

“It’s very seldom that you get the entire package,” he says. “This is one of those projects where everyone across the board is equally enthused about bringing the product to life. It’s never going to work on Orphan Black unless everyone is invested. It’s a very good, supportive and healthy atmosphere.”

And what can we expect from Season 3?

“It’s a really exciting season. The introduction of Project Castor is forcing Project Leda to batten down the hatches and become more cohesive. It’s really challenging Sarah and her sisters. They’re nobody to mess with!”

Orphan Black returns Saturday, April 18, at 9 p.m. ET on Space, CTV, Bravo and MTV.