Orphan Black S04 E04: From Instinct to Rational Control

Maggot Bots and premonitions! On last week’s episode of “Orphan Black” Kira had a vision and Sarah had a maggot bot? Did Helena trick the detectives? Can Ferdinand be trusted? Things get interesting when Felix and Donnie join forces to infiltrate a Neolution fertility clinic. Now what could go wrong with this plan?

MK

It is a dangerous world that we live in and there are people playing with our genetic code. We are left to wonder what tweaks they have planned for the human race. The one thing that I love about “Orphan Black” is that it makes you aware of what can be, or what is already happening in the real world. All you need to do is read the latest on the future of genetic manipulation to scare the bejesus out of you.

MK is the most mysterious of all the clones and except for knowing that she is the Hacking Queen of all the seestras, we are kept in the dark. There is only one way to contact her and that is through Dizzy, but the man is tired of being kept in the dark. I didn’t know if I could trust Dizzy but he gave Sarah his car keys after finding out that MK and Sarah are clones.

Sarah is depending on MK finding Susan Duncan because she might be the only one who knows how to remove the maggot bot from her cheek. But, MK has her own agenda and when she learns that Sarah has joined forces with Ferdinand, she goes postal. Why does MK hate Ferdinand? What connection does he have to the photo of MK’s friend Niki?

Alison

We are learning so much more about the seestras in this season than we thought was possible. As the layers are peeled back and the personalities revealed, we realize that the clones are just as screwed up as us regular people. When Donnie is with Helena, he seems much more relaxed then he is with Alison, but I think it has more to do with Alison’s need to control every situation.

Alison is the Ninja Soccer Clone, but even though she is able to multi task: taking care of her kids and wiping out enemies without messing up her manicure, there is a situation that she has no control over. She wants to have a baby; her baby, but clones, except for Sarah and Helena, can’t have children. Helena, who in the first two seasons was portrayed as the Mad Hatter, is really the most sensitive of all the clones. Helena loves children. Helena relates well to Donnie and Alison’s adopted children because she is, after all is said and done, a big kid herself. Helena has become my favorite clone because she is not selfish. When she learns that Alison is jealous of her pregnancy, she leaves the Hendrix home, but not before burying her frozen embryos in the garden.

Babies R Us

I have friends who spend thousands of dollars and go through painful injections in order to have that one chance of having their own child; their own flesh and blood. Some are successful… some are not. While Alison and Sarah Stubbs talk about community musicals and sing a song from “Jesus Christ Superstar” Trina mistakes Alison for Beth. Trina, who is the girl that Felix and Sarah were searching for in Club Neolution, slips out that she is a carrier and it has something to do with Lifespring Fertility Clinic.

In one of the funniest moments on this episode, Alison convinces Donnie and Felix to play the happy gay couple looking to conceive. Felix telling Donnie that he flunked “Gay” was hilarious. I love Felix, but Felix and Donnie working together is freaking awesome. Given a specimen cup, Donnie needs help to fill it, so he calls Alison to play their favorite sexy game, “Air Italia.”

This show is crazy and I often wonder if the set is one continuous party especially with all the crazy plots between Tatiana, in all her clone personalities, and the fellow cast members. When Alison finds out that a Portia Grossman is now pregnant, she arranges to bump into her to get more information and learns about Brightborn and Dr. Bosch.

Rabbit Hole Autopsy

Now that Cosima and Scott have Leekie’s head, they are able to remove the maggot bot, but this is one scary science project. The maggot bot is able to change DNA with gene editing. Had it changed Leekie’s genetic code? Will it change Sarah’s if it’s not removed from her cheek?

Conclusion

James Frain has, in the past, played his character, Ferdinand, as a bad man and someone who was out to hurt the clones. This season, Frain has added a bit of humor to his character as we watched Ferdinand whip up a frittata and wearing an apron. Now, he wants to help Sarah and the clones. He wants to find Rachel because he loves her and wants to live on some deserted island with her. But, our past has a way of catching up to us.

MK would only speak with Sarah via Skype. She had a mission and it concerned Ferdinand. MK or Veera, which is her real name, is angry over the loss of her friend and fellow clone, Niki. Helsinki was a place of slaughter and many clones were killed. MK was severely burned and left for dead. She tricks Ferdinand into coming to Beth’s apartment where she has a bomb and gasoline waiting. Helsinki is a codename that all the Leda clones fear. MK is a character from the Orphan Black comic books which tells the backstory for each clone, especially about their childhood. I will definitely be picking these comic books up. Sarah has saved Ferdinand for now, but MK/Veera is gone. She won’t trust Sarah ever again.

Neolution is in the game of mainstream reproduction gene tweaking. They want to make better babies. It’s a little like GMO babies. Will these babies be healthy? As Cosima recognizes Evie Cho as the Founder of the Brightborn Group, Felix and Donnie visit Dr. Bosch and request some Brightborn promotional material.

Susan tells Rachel that she is leaving and that she knows about the messages that Charlotte has sent out. Rachel has to decide if Charlotte lives or dies. The child is more valuable dead than alive, but can Rachel do it? Susan tells Rachel that she is leaving and that she knows about the messages that Charlotte has sent out. See you next week when the Clones vs. maggot bots.