NOTE: There will be spoilers.
Another big “thank you!” to the Tatiana is Everyone Podcast for some of the ideas included in this review.
After Episode Five I was left wondering the following:
“If Sarah and Kira are the center of this universe, what happens if that sun splits and goes supernova?”
At the time, it seemed like the show was hitting an apex leading up to a showdown between Rachel and Sarah. Episode Six, “To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings,” once again proved the first rule of Clone Club, because that looming showdown theory looks to be very wrong.
I have started thinking of this show as a chess board balanced on the head of a pin. At any moment the entire game can be tipped over completely, no matter how stable it might seem.
If I had to summarize this episode in a single word, it would be “children.” Specifically, children as associated with the cloning project are one of the few constants throughout this episode.
- Helena wants children.
- Alison remains in rehab “for [her] kids.”
- Siobhán is “the Mom,” protecting her children.
- Ethan Duncan mourns the loss of his daughter.
- Some unknown, but related, child has provided the stem cells that are being used on Cosima.
“If you knew where Swan Man was, you would leave me behind.”
The episode picks up with the “Seestrah Road Trip” that began last episode. Throughout the first part of the episode we see a gradual “humanizing” of Helena. Her interactions with Sarah, either via shadow puppets or singing “Sugar!” loudly and out of key, show a softer, more child-like side to Helena. For all intents, she is letting her guard down and trying to bridge the gap between herself and Sarah. She admits to being intentionally oblique with regards to Duncan, but it doesn’t feel like a malicious act. Helena just wants to make the most of her time with her “seestrah.”
An aside, the shot of Sarah and Helena lying in opposite positions, ala a yin-yang, was a brilliant bit of visual storytelling.
Helena talks to Sarah about what it’s like to be a mother, and wonders if she, Helena, might be able to have children as well. This is another dimension of the more “human” Helena and, unfortunately, one that will be later exploited by the Proletheans.
“He took my babies from me.”
How many times has Helena come face-to-face with people who have tried to kill her?? She is almost disarmingly congenial towards Gracie. Helena actually offers Gracie sympathy regarding having her mouth sewn shut, based on Helena’s own experience. Gracie tells Helena that they are sisters and, while she doesn’t agree, Henrick thinks Helena is special and he was able to “save” Helena’s babies. Gracie, perhaps coached by Henrick, plays beautifully on Helena’s emotions and feelings of loss. Sadly, the Proletheans are able to manipulate Helena’s humanity for their own ends, and her “vacation” is ended almost as quickly as it began.
“We’re clones Victor, what do you think of that??”
Alison makes her return this episode along with Sarah’s ex, Victor. Vic manages to win over Alison and claims to be “following the way of the Buddha.” However, as is the case with this show, things are not what they seem. Victor is working inside the facility to feed information to Angie with regards to Alison. At this point we still don’t know whose interests Angie is serving, but it does appear that Alison’s stint in rehab is anything but coincidence.
In many ways Alison’s plight echoes that of Helena’s. Currently both women are basically prisoners whose children are being used as leverage to keep them detained. Their separation from the others also manages to weaken the group as a whole. The Clones have only just begun working as a single unit, as Sarah tells Cosima, “we’re stronger together.” Keeping them apart is in the best interest of the various factions working against them.
“We’re just poking at things with sticks.”
One of the few certainties regarding DYAD is that things are not what they seem. What we don’t know is full range and reach of the company and just how misled Cosima might be. For example, Leekie, and Delphine, after appearing to act in Cosima’s best interest, brought Scott on to the project without Cosima’s knowledge. Delphine also implores Scott not to tell Cosima about his discovery regarding the origin of stem cells.
It also seems that DYAD is a company with many facets. Last episode we saw a clear line being drawn between the goals of Rachel and Leekie. In this episode Ethan Duncan refers to “the neolutionists inside DYAD” as a splinter group inside the larger organization. Siobhán makes an offhand comment about DYAD being a “hydra” (continuing the trend of greek mythology references?). This is where the chessboard begins to sway, as it seems that Rachel represents one DYAD’s many faces.
“What you see here won’t leave you.”
The Cold River turns out to be an Institute, not a geographical location. More specifically, it’s the progenitor of both Project LEDA and DYAD. Sarah learns that Ethan Duncan has been there going through the archives and was apparently involved with Cold River at some point. She is able to discover that Duncan is going by the name Andrew Peckham by cross referencing information from the archives with information that Felix and Art were examining from Maggie Chen.
“The question is, who do you trust?”
The discovery of Andrew Peckham/Ethan Duncan is what finally flips the chessboard over completely.
Sarah arrives at Peckham’s house and is greeted by a gun-wielding Siobhán. Siobhán, who doesn’t seem all that surprised to see Sarah, informs Sarah that Duncan has been living underground after switching sides. He has been providing Siobhán’s people with inside information regarding Project LEDA/Cold River and, notably, Sarah’s mother, Amelia. She grants Sarah five minutes to talk with Duncan while she quickly goes to confront/dispatch a not-so-covert Paul.
We still don’t have much to go on with regards to Siobhán’s motivations, aside from her being “the mom.” It appears that she has a history of resistance against Project LEDA/DYAD/Cold River, but the particulars are still unknown. She also appears to have an uncanny knack for being a few steps ahead of her enemies, in this case being able to leverage Paul with her knowledge of his past and the events in Afghanistan. While I want to believe she is acting in Sarah’s best interest, her actions are anything but clear.
Duncan is a bit confused, older, and definitely scared. However, it does appear that he trusts Siobhán. He recognizes Sarah as a clone and seems to recall her name. He tells Sarah that Project LEDA was a proof of concept and his wife Susan was the brains. The goal was to create cloned human embryos, to create “babies, little girls.” He also explained that DYAD was a contractor that hijacked the project when the military shut it down. Duncan very much loved Rachel and genuinely misses his daughter. We learn that he and Susan were planning on going public with their findings and they intended to raise Rachel as their own. Unfortunately, Leekie had other plans. Duncan says that it was Leekie that killed Susan and it’s Leekie that he has been in hiding from for all these years.
And, just like that, Swan Man is not only revealed but his confession manages to distort everything that seemed certain at the end of Episode Five.
Here’s where we stand Post-Duncan:
- Alison and Helena are separated from the other clones.
- Alison is being watched by Angie, for reasons not yet clear.
- Helena’s desire for motherhood is being exploited by the Proletheans.
- Cosima is being treated with stem cells from an unknown family member, and is being kept in the dark about that fact.
- Leekie’s Neolutionist movement represents a sub-group inside of DYAD who might actually be more threatening to DYAD itself.
- Rachel might be an unwitting pawn in Leekie’s plan, as opposed to the leader that she presents herself to be.
- Paul apparently lives at the corner of Rock St. and Hard Place Ave. Is there anyone not pulling this guy’s strings??
- Somehow, children, their creation or lack thereof, are a key component in the plans of DYAD, the Neolutionists and the Proletheans. I predict that Kira’s life is going to get a LOT more difficult.