Orphan Black 2.02 & 2.03

NOTE: There will be spoilers.

NOTE the SECOND: In order to get caught up to the season this review will cover both episode 2 and episode 3.

As we learned in the previous review, anything we think we know is probably wrong.

Here’s, approximately, where things stand after the season premier:

1. Alison signed over her genes to Dyad.
2. Cosima has joined Dyad to research the disease that is killing clones
3. Donnie is a dolt.
4. Rachel is the corporate face of Dyad.
5. Tomas’ status is questionable.
6. Kira and Siobhán are missing, but were NOT taken by Dyad.
7. Helena is alive!

“Sugar packs, lollipops, shot point blank in the chest and walks in?”

The second episode picks up right where the first left off and we see Helena being treated in the hospital. She’s certainly worse for wear, yet somehow still alive. She’s like some kind of super clone!

“I can’t believe you let a cop into Clone Club.”

Here’s a new certainty to add to the list: Kira is the bravest seven year-old on the planet. She might also be one of the bravest characters we’ve met on this show. She’s actually a brilliant addition to the show for unexpected reasons. Usually, when a child is involved in a storyline, they provide motivation for the protagonist to do work towards some sort of noble goal, be it protection, rescue, etc… However, Kira’s character has much more agency than simply being a child in distress; she’s much more than a standard archetype. Kira provides a rather significant dose of honesty and innocence that works as a means to reflect the true nature of the people around her.

Her phone call to Sarah demonstrates more than a few interesting things about Kira. First, she’s a seven year old who knows how to use a landline phone AND knows her mother’s phone number. This is no mean feat in the age of smartphones and contact lists. I’d argue that the number of children under 15 who have seen, let alone used, a landline phone is a very small sample. On its face, it’s a detail that is easy to overlook but, in context, I think it speaks volumes about Kira’s life up to this point.

“Because they might track us.”

The contrast between Kira’s understanding of life on the run and Felix’s is as astounding as it is sad. When I was seven I’m pretty sure that I thought credit cards were those magic things my parents used to buy my Christmas presents. I think most of America has only become aware of how much can be tracked via your credit card, and that’s mostly due to any number of cop dramas. She also distracts a store-owner and helps run a short-con on him like a seasoned pro. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kira holding her own pistol and helping Cosima with her research.

Which begs the question, does Kira have a unique and adult skillset because of her circumstances? Or, is there something particularly unique to the offspring of the clones? Up to this point I had assumed that Kira was a desirable asset simply because none of the other clones could procreate. But what if Kira is somehow the next level of the cloning project?

“Who’s side are you on S?”

I initially attributed the breadcrumb-like trail of laundry to a very clever Kira. However, those breadcrumbs were actually bait for Sarah, who seemed equally hopeful to find Kira on the other end of the trail. Apparently, this ruse was all devised by Siobhán and her friends, The Bird Watchers. Siobhán reveals that she tossed the house and made it look like an abduction in order to provide cover for her and Kira to escape.

Siobhán has a wicked poker-face; I’m still not sure what side she’s on. The weapon she’s carrying looks very comfortable across her shoulders, and we later discover that Siobhán, the stepmother, is actually Siobhán, the former gun-runner involved in labour strikes in Ireland. The Bird Watchers are old friends who worked with Siobhán during that time period. While Siobhán claims those days are long over, she doesn’t appear to have lost much of a step. She quickly dispatches Brenda and Barry, the Bird Watchers, to allow Sarah and Kira to escape. In spite of this, it’s impossible to get a true reading of Siobhán’s intentions and allegiances. Was she looking out for her adopted daughter and granddaughter? Or is she playing higher stakes than those with which the Bird Watchers were playing with the Proletheans?

There is certainly no shortage of complexity from the characters of Orphan Black. There also seems to be a running thread of friends becoming enemies and vice versa throughout the show. Monitors have switched sides, clones have been tricked into complacency and longtime allegiances like the Bird Watchers have been destroyed at the hands of religious extremists (which seems a bit ironic when you consider the religious underpinnings of the struggles throughout Ireland).

Siobhán tells Brenda that Sarah and Kira were Project Leda, which, in spite of what she told Sarah, Amelia’s warnings to Sarah had merit. Does this also indicate that perhaps Siobhán wouldn’t be a stranger to Dyad? What, if any, correlation is there to Project Leda and the various work being done by Leekie?

“Full contact reading.”

At the risk of sounding like a snob, as someone with a BA in English, the idea of “full contact reading” being a clever name just strikes me as being a very suburban thing. It’s a very generic, strip-mall blend of clever that you’d expect to find in an Old Navy ad. However, my opinions aside, it’s a nice touch to show just how insulated Alison’s world can truly be. The gossiping masses represent one end of this world, while Sarah #2, from the musical, is a foil from the other end of the spectrum. Watching Alison respond to both ends shows just how much her insular world has rapidly expanded without her consent. While other folks go through the motions of mourning Aynsley’s passing, Alison is preoccupied with hiding her role in Aynsley’s death and what that means with regards to being monitored. That question is answered and exacerbated by the discovery of Donnie the Dolt’s “work” phone. Oh Donnie, you had ONE JOB.

I have a working theory that Alison’s role in Clone Club is “A New Hope” era Han Solo. She is a gun-running smuggler who finds herself involved in a massive crisis despite being quite content with just keeping to herself and doing things only on her own terms. I think, at best, Donnie might be Greedo in this comparison. I was tempted to equate him with Lando Calrissian, but I know Lando Calrissian and Donnie is NO Lando Calrissian.

Alison and Fee’s plot to catch Donnie is brilliant in its simplicity. Naturally, Donnie falls for it and gets busted. As a result, we get a unique view into his relationship with Dyad. Hearing Leekie say “Donald, stop talking” only proves my point with regards to Donnie being a dolt. However, I do have to wonder if there’s not more to Donnie or if he really is the most two-dimensional character in this menagerie. Although, a strong argument could be made that, aside from Delphine, none of the monitors are particularly adept. Perhaps the weak willed or easily malleable make the best monitors? Are they just as disposable as the clones seem to be? Perhaps more so?

“You would have never helped me unless you were wrapped up in it too.”

Unfortunately, the expansion of Alison’s world is much faster than what she can handle. As she sings each of her lines, both during rehearsal and the performance, she sounds less like she’s reciting lines and more like she’s having a cathartic moment of confession. Paradoxically, the only times she’s able to be completely honest is when she’s pretending to be someone else. Sadly, that might prove to be her demise. Although, I can’t help but wonder if Fee didn’t go from being Sarah’s emotional support right into doing the same for Alison, particularly given his knowledge of Donnie’s monitoring.

Side Note: The musical “Blood Ties” is an actual musical. Hat tip to Reddit for that discovery.

“I just want to make crazy science with you.”

Cosima’s testament against against Sarah does an admirable job of matching the duplicity of Delphine and Leekie. Scientific facts might be the only truth being shared by that triumvirate. To that end, we meet Jennifer Fitzsimmons, a 28 year old teacher, clone and victim of the same disease plaguing Cosima. I’m not sure which is more disturbing, the thought of performing a post-mortem on your clone or that Leekie played the grand hero by “admitting” Jennifer to Dyad for “treatment.” In this case, it truly seems as if the supposed cure was worse than the disease.

Jennifer’s demise offers as many new questions as it does answers. Cosima and Delphine notice that the disease appears to originate in the uterus and then manifest as polyps in the lungs, somehow creating an autoimmune response. Cosima notes that the growth in the uterine lining could account for the clones’ infertility. If that is the case, then is Sarah immune to the disease and a successful clone, or, is she the genetic source??

“My sexuality is not the most interesting thing about me.”

Cosima, meet Rachel. Rachel, meet Cosima. I don’t think those two will be friends any time soon. It’s interesting to note that the original DNA is no longer available but they do have a full, but redacted, copy of Sarah’s genome. Assuming that all clones share the same DNA, why wouldn’t Cosima just use a copy of her own? This wrinkle seems to indicate that there is something particularly unique about Sarah, even more so than her ability to conceive.

“We are your instruments in the war for creation.”

Tomas lives! At least, he does for a little while. Henrick, the presumed leader of this particular Prolethean sect, had dispatched Genetic Purist Cowboy #1, aka Mark, to bring Helena to their farm where he provides shelter for both Tomas and Helena. Henrick solves the riddle about Helena’s uncanny ability to survive a gunshot wound to the chest. Apparently, Helena is what is known as a “mirror” twin (note: an actual thing. Helena’s heart is on the OPPOSITE SIDE of her body. Tomas believes this makes Helena even more of an abomination, but Henrick seems almost giddy at the prospect of “God opening a whole new door.”

Henrick represents a new age of Proletheans, one that embraces science, unlike Tomas and the old ways from “Europe and the Dark Ages.” Regardless, Henrick and Tomas manage to settle their disagreement in a good old fashioned, Old Testament “bring down my wrath” way, with Henrick having Tomas killed via bolt gun.

With Tomas gone, Henrick proceeds to bring Helena into his family. He claims her soul for God in some sort of odd marriage ritual, much to the disdain of his oldest daughter Grace. From the looks of the farm and the twisted religious motivations of Henrick, I’m not entirely sure that Helena is his only wife.

It should be safe to assume that Helena is the only “mirror” so far. Cosima would have noticed on herself and most likely during her autopsy of Jennifer, and Alison has probably had regular checkups. Therefore, working with the theory that there is something particularly special about Sarah, her sister (per Amelia’s testimony) being a mirror must have some sort of significance. Yet, it doesn’t appear that Leekie and Co. are nearly as interested in Helena and the Proletheans as they are in Sarah and Kira. There’s no doubt that there is more than a mere biological connection between Helena and Sarah, but at this point what that might be is anyone’s guess.

“You know you’re letting down two partners now, right?”

Angie is like a pitbull with a new chew toy and her angle is by far the most confusing. It’s hard to discern if she’s legitimately interested in what happened to Beth and intrigued by Sarah, Alison and Helena or if she’s there’s a bigger game afoot. We know that Paul was Beth’s monitor; could it be that Angie is another type of agent from Dyad? Could the high-risk involved in police work warrant a second monitor be placed on Beth??

It’s hard to tell from Alison’s response if there’s any merit to Angie being an agent of some kind. Unfortunately, Alison is just as likely to think the tree in her yard is a monitor as this point. However, Angie does have an uncanny knack of discovering facts about the clones -such as Helena showing up at the hospital- that casts some doubt on her simply being an overzealous police officer. She’s also nothing short of ruthless when it comes to Art, which places Art firmly in the middle of his partner, Dyad (via the lawyer, Daniel) and the Proletheans. It would make sense for Angie to be affiliated with either Dyad or the Proletheans, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if she represents some third-party, governmental organization.

“Those are gonna be some fat chickens.”

The introduction of Cal was brilliantly done, and very believable in spite of the all too convenient circumstances. Given what transpired with Siobhán, it was a massive risk for Sarah to choose to show up at his cabin unannounced.

However, the most interesting thing about Cal is not that he’s Kira’s father, but that Cal made drones. He tells Felix how he developed them for helping bee populations, but jumped ship when his partners sold the technology to the military for battlefield applications. Cal developed a technology to address a biological need that became weaponized. Up to this point, that might be the scenario that best encapsulates the focus of this show; the ethical applications of technology and who bears responsibility for its uses.

After all, how much would Dyad serve to profit if, instead of arms, it could supply an endless amount of soldiers to a country?

“Just Drive.”

Daniel doesn’t appear to know anything about Project Leda but it sounds like he expects that the person on the other end of the phone (Rachel?) does. Before Sarah or Daniel can provide any more exposition they’re t-boned by what appears to be a large truck. Is Siobhán to the rescue? A Prolethean intercept? Is Daniel more expendable than we thought? Is the name “Project Leda” some sort of trigger word?

This show is a hydra, for every question answered it seems like three pop up in its place.

Here’s where our certainties stand at the end of Episode 3:

1. Alison signed over her genes to Dyad. – CHECK! She is also completely paranoid and probably seriously injured (unless the alcohol and drug cocktail helped with the fall)
2. Cosima has joined Dyad to research the disease that is killing clones.
3. Jenny Fitzsimmons is dead and her corpse may hold answers for Cosima. – NEW!
4. Rachel is the corporate face of Dyad. – CHECK!
5. Donnie is a dolt. – CHECK! Either that or he’s the most secretly brilliant spy ever.
6. Tomas’ status is questionable. – RIP Tomas
7. Kira and Siobhán are missing, but were NOT taken by Dyad. – CHECK. Siobhán had orchestrated the appearance of an abduction and took Kira to what she thought was a safe place.
8. Siobhán helped Sarah and Kira escape, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’s on their “side.” – NEW!
9. Helena is alive! – CHECK. She’s also now “married” to Henrick and officially part of this particular Prolethean sect.
10. Felix has left Sarah and Kira in order to go help Alison. – NEW!
11. Kira’s met her father, Cal. – NEW!
12. Cal made drones, but got out when his partners sold out to the military. – NEW!
13. Kira is safe with Cal ?? – NEW!
14. Sarah and Daniel are ???? – NEW!