The final season of Orphan Black is upon us! As we get ready to say goodbye to the clone club, Tatiana Maslany reminisces about the first time she met each of her characters.

Over the last five years, Maslany has played numerous characters: Sarah, Katja, Cosima, Helena, Beth, Rachel, Krystal, Alison, and more. But perhaps the most memorable, and interesting, clones from Project Leda that Tatiana has had to play is Helena: The Ukranian orphan who was raised to become an assassin.

In fact, Helena was originally envisioned as a villain of the show, but the cast, crew, and fans soon fell in love with her. But for Maslany, it was love at first sight. She said,

“From day one, I was like, everything for her is love — even the murders, it’s searching for love.”

She said she felt an emotional connection to Helena nearly the moment she saw herself in hair and makeup.

“I burst into tears because I was looking at this woman who wasn’t me but … I don’t even know, I can’t even explain what it was. There was something about it that I was like, Ugh, I feel that. I feel her pain, I know who she is. It was such a visceral thing.”

And her performance has certainly not gone unnoticed. Last year she scored an Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama.

Orphan Black season 5 airs on BBC America Saturdays at 10 PM.