On last week’s episode of “Orphan Black” we witnessed the destruction of Cosima’s hard word and the murder of Kendall by the evil Evie Cho. Can Sarah repair the damage? Can Cosima find a cure? Can Alison and Donnie survive a birthday party?
Tatiana Maslany
Before I even do the review for tonight’s episode, I have to take a moment to give praise to a young lady who has the monumental job of playing many clones with many personalities and she does it so flawlessly. Last week’s episode has only proven just how talented and amazing Tatiana Maslany is. This year we were introduced to yet another clone, Mika, a clone with her own quirks and mannerism. Our favorite clueless clone, Krystal, was given a chance to interact with Felix and Donnie which led to one hell of a kick-ass comedy routine. How does Tatiana do it? How does she seem to slide into each clone character and, does it so convincingly that she has us believing that the clones are actually separate entities?
Last week’s episode dealt with Cosima learning about the death of Delphine after Evie Chow destroyed all the work Cosima had done to find a cure for the Leda clones. Cosima was also forced to watch Kendall’s murder. I often wondered if it bothers Tatiana when one of the clones that she plays gets into trouble. It does. Chris Roberts, one of the writers and co-producers of “Orphan Black,” posts on The Hive, a writers room blog for the series, that the scene was so raw and realistic when Kendall dies that Tatiana broke down and cried. What Roberts confirms is what I’ve always suspected about Tatiana Maslany. She is a professional, talented actress who is able to do the impossible. Tatiana is able to make the Seestras real to the fans of the show, so real in fact, that we all have our favorite clone that we cheer on.
Leda
Rachel has been working hard at regaining her health, but who has left her door unlocked? Susan is there with news about Kendall and Evie Cho. How and when did Neolution begin? Susan tells Rachel that the theory of Neolution had begun during Victorian times and the industrial revolution with Percy Morland, a man interested in Darwin and eugenics.
The building that Rachel is staying was built by Morland in his quest for the perfect human. Susan teasingly calls the area the ‘Island of Doctor Moreau’ and she ain’t kidding. What with Ira, Charlotte, and Rachel living there, one wonders what other experiments are going on. Rachel thinks there is still a chance to find the cure, but she doesn’t know just how wicked Evie Cho is.
Guilt
Sarah and Cosima are both feeling guilty over Kendall’s death and both sisters try dealing with this traumatic event in their own way. Ms. S feels betrayed because her mother was used as a pawn in a chess game that was stacked against the Leda Clones. While Sarah runs off on a drinking spree leaving Kira alone again, Cosima wants to find a way to use the maggot bot she stole from Evie. Although Cosima is having flashbacks of Kendall being killed and Evie telling her that Delphine is dead, she has the support of Scott and Wizard. Can they reboot the information that was lost after Evie hacked into their computer? Cosima comes up with a crazy plan to use the bot on herself.
Sarah’s self-awareness began when Sarah witnessed Beth’s suicide. What has made this season, in my opinion, one of the best of the four seasons was the fleshing out of the Beth character. We’ve learned so much about the clones through Beth’s eyes. We were given a hint to Sarah’s wild past in season one, but on tonight’s episode, we witness just how wild Sarah could get with drinking, doing lots of coke, to sex on a bar stool with a perfect stranger. She even hit on Dizzy, but when he asked her how she got the maggot bot out of her cheek, she took off. Sarah was out of control and following Beth to a final solution. Would Beth’s ghost be able to talk some sense into Sarah?
Alison
Alison is falling apart because of Kendall’s death, but she still wants to have Gemma’s birthday party.
Poor Donnie, is it just me or does Donnie get along better with the mad hatter, Helena?
Evie
Jessalyn Wanlim is doing one hell of a job playing her Evie Chow as the wicked witch of Neolution. Evie is all about curing herself even while planning the demise of all the Leda Clones. She tells her doctor that she has shingles. You get that with a compromised immune system. I almost felt sorry for Evie because I had suffered a bad case of shingles that attacked my sciatic nerve. Shingles can be horrifyingly painful. My pity lasted about one minute because Evie then tells Susan and Rachel that all the self-aware clones will be destroyed. Why didn’t Rachel think that meant her, too?
Conclusion
Whenever I hear the word eugenics, I get really uncomfortable especially when it’s about racial cleansing and the creating of a pure race. This is why the science that is shown on Orphan Black is so important to opening our eyes to what is and what can happen when we try to tamper with our genome. Can we create the perfect child? Do we want to? Is this why the clones were created? Are the Seestras the final step in eugenics? If Evie has her way, it might be.
After Art tells Ms. S about Duko, it was cool to see her cleaning that rifle. Art may have gotten a few kicks in with Duko, but Neolution has the upper hand and they send the cops to arrest poor Donnie in the middle of a cool ghost story at his daughter’s party.
Jordan Gavaris played a big part in tonight’s episode when his Felix character not only had to play mother to Kira after Sarah took off, but he also had to save the day both with Cosima and Sarah. Luckily he talked Cosima out of planting that bot in her cheek by telling her that Krystal thinks Delphine is alive. Felix also found Sarah before she could leap from the bridge thanks to Kira’s special visions. Beth may have jumped because she was all alone. She had no family. Sarah has Felix and although Felix is pissed at Sarah, he still loves her. That’s what families do.
As Sarah and Mrs. S eat breakfast, Rachel tells Charlotte that they are doomed to die. Later Rachel sees a swan. Is it a computer glitch from the Neolution eye she has, or is it a clue for the Leda Clones? I’m hoping it’s a clue. See you next week, my little clone club.
