This week’s episode was a little more scattered and toned down, but I think it’s more a buildup before a long, intense sprint towards the finale. The storylines were more isolated with each clone trying to deal with their own problems. Also, many familiar characters were missing to tighten to focus—I miss you Paul and your smoldering eyes!
Felix the newly crowned President of Clone Club has his hands full with his new clone filled life with some artistic play dates thrown in. Felix reminds me of myself: dry, sassy, and creatively bothered (If only I was British too). He bought new phones for the clones and reluctantly accepts Art knowing the truth. His main focus this episode was calming down Alison.
Alison is still hard at work at the community theatre, which are some of the funniest scenes in the show. Most of Alison’s scenes are hilarious, but her internal struggle combined with the actual wackiness of Blood Ties makes Alison pure gold to watch. I am a musical theatre nerd but haven’t heard of this crazy/fun? show. Aynsley’s death is weighing hard on Alison and coupled with growing suspicions Donnie is her monitor make for a lot of tension. I feel Alison is a few episodes away from imploding, and I hope it’s not like serious (a la overdose). Alison sure is pounding the alcohol and pills, but Felix seems to have a close eye on her. He helped her escape the pervy hands of the show director and set a plan to catch Donnie acting monitor-y. Alison has Felix acting as her band-aid; unfortunately, he’s a little busy now running away with Sarah.
Sarah was FINALLY reunited with Kira and Mrs. S. I always thought there was something shady with Mrs. S. Tonight, Mrs. S was the one that “kidnapped” Kira to take her to her Bird Watcher underground network friends then flee the country. Sarah was able to intervene, some questions were answered, and now more questions. Mrs. S’s friends are now traitors and killed by Mrs. S, allowing Sarah and Kira to escape. I thought Sarah would reunite Kira either in the finale or this soon. Unfortunately, an early reunion probably means more trouble. Mrs. S knows something about Project Leda, despite denying it to Sarah, and I’m not sure if it’s good or bad. Adorable yet intuitive Kira even gets a funny feeling about Mrs. S. I’m going to guess Mrs. S was maybe with Project Leda in the beginning but something with the experiment took a dark turn, and she wanted out fleeing with Sarah and Felix.
Cosima got set up with her new lab at Dyad Institute. The best part was Cosima came face to face with Rachel, and it was catty. I love the multi clone scenes if not for the sheer talent on display by Tatiana Maslany. On any other show, these scenes could become gimmicky, but I find it essential to have at least one pro-clone scene per episode. The flawlessness in performance and editing is incredible, especially for cable tv. Cosima stood strong and tall against Rachel and wasn’t taking crap. If you thought Bully Eater had they’re hands full with the 9 Dragons, than they haven’t dealt with Dyad and Rachel Duncan. She is all business and will do anything for answers. I think Rachel is not so loyal to Dyad but more just herself; she may even join Clone Club if it will get her closer to the answers she wants.
We learned a little bit more about the Proletheans—and none of it seems good. They live at what seems to be some creepy farm commune. Cowboy Mark is a quiet lackey for Henrik, the leader. He brings Helena back to the farm to heal where Tomas lurks over her bed. Henrik berates Tomas for abusing Helena and relies heavily on science over religion. I can’t help but feel sorry for Helena due to the torment from Tomas growing up. Thank god, Tomas is killed at the end of the episode—but are these new farm people any better or safer for Helena? I smell some kind of religious/science cult. The word cult never ends well either. An interesting tidbit was revealed regarding Helena. She is a mirror twin, meaning her organs are reversed, which explains being able to be shot in the “heart” and survive. Art and Angie now know Helena is alive. I don’t think they will be running to rescue her though.
This episode was all about darkness brewing. The clones are trying to cement themselves in beneficial positions, but the enemies are growing and coming from all sides. A new clone is going to pop up next week under unfortunate circumstances. What if the episode was just a 180 road trip adventure with Felix, Sarah, and Kira? It would be hilarious and full of zingers. But we seem to be getting more serious. There are no happy endings in the world of Orphan Black only fleeting smiles.
By Kasey Michael-–a lover of all things entertainment. Born and bred in North Carolina, she has a degree in Film Studies and can usually be found in front of a screen.
