Warning: A non-numeric value encountered in /home/psychodr/public_html/wp/wp-content/themes/valenti/library/core.php on line 1104 NOTE: There are gonna be a LOT of spoilers here, as well as speculation. First, my apologies for not having a full review of Episode Nine online. Iโll be covering it some in this episode and in a full Season Two review coming later. I am writing this immediately following my viewing of the season finale, โBy Means which have Never Yet Been Tried.โ Suffice it to say, a lot happened in this episode and I wanted to get a review/response while it was still fresh in my mind. โMy name is Sarah Manning and this my unconditional surrender.โ This episode started with an absolutely frenzy. Before the title sequence was a series of rapid cut scenes of Sarahโs interrogation and her argument/discussion with Siobhan. The pace slowed down just a bit after the title sequence, but the tension built by the opening was palpable right up to Sarahโs rescue and escape. I think we can add a second rule to to Clone Club, โnever underestimate Kira.โ Weโve seen her do things that indicated maturity and cognitive abilities that seem to be well beyond that of a normal eight year old. As of this episode she is probably no more than a day or so removed from the bone-marrow extraction, but she doesnโt show any signs of pain or discomfort from such a serious surgery. Her extremely rapid healing system seems to be at work again. She also flawlessly picks the nurses pocket and plays a vital role in her own rescue when she calls Cal. โShe had the best care, you took it away.โ Alas, poor Delphine. I had long faulted Cosima for being blinded by her love for Delphine. After Episode Nine I revise my opinion. I think Cosima willingly turned a blind eye to Delphineโs monitor status, but Delphine seems to have legitimately let her feelings for Cosima get in the way of her monitor duties. Sadly, that made her the perfect pawn for Rachel. However, it also meant that Rachel underestimated Delphine, which would prove to be a painful mistake. Delphine being duped was a pivotal part of Kiraโs abduction, but it also proved to be a pivotal part of Kiraโs rescue. Kiraโs call to Cal kicked off the activities outside of DYAD and Delphine took care of the activities inside. Arguably, Rachelโs hubris led her to assume that Delphine would just accept her reassignment to Frankfurt and remove her from the equation. If Rachel hadnโt been quite so flippant she might have realized that keeping Delphine in play at any level would leave a huge vulnerability. Instead of leading to the downfall of Clone Club, Delphine was able to become the catalyst for their reunion. โA lot has changed since I came back in.โ Quite a few loose ends and diverging plotlines were drawn together for this episode. In some cases, older plotlines spawned entirely new angles. This would be the case with the return of Paul. We know that Paul was essentially an indentured servant for DYAD in exchange for covering up the โfriendly-fireโ incident while he was in Afghanistan. We also know that he and Siobhan began working together shortly after he was appointed Rachelโs monitor/lover/toy/slave. We havenโt seen much of him since turning over Duncan to Rachel. It seems odd that, after having been out of the military for a while with Afghanistan hanging over him, he was able to return to the military, become involved in Project Castor and rise in rank to Major in a relatively short time. However, that actually creates fewer questions regarding Paul and more questions regarding Siobhan, since it seem that Paulโs destiny changed drastically after meeting with her. โThis is project Castor.โ Alarm bells went off in Episode Nine when we learned that Mark was AWOL from the military. Earlier this season Mark told Paul that he didnโt have any military training or background. Not only was that a complete misdirect from Mark, but based on the reveal of Project Castor, we now have to wonder what Paul might have known at the time. Was Paul questioning Mark to gauge Markโs level of awareness or did he legitimately not know? Furthermore, what does Mark know and how did he get mixed up with Henrick and Company?? As an aside, Mark was not initially supposed to be the male clones. According to an interview with the showโs creators, the original idea was for Mark to be killed off earlier in the season. However, the character made such an impact on the story that they decided to keep him around. The creators also note that the introduction of the male clones was a deliberate choice and it opens up the puzzle quite a bit. โNow weโve got two sides. Weโve got the LEDA side โ the female clones โ and the Castor side โ the male clones. Theyโve been operating without knowing anything about one another. But now, because Paul was deep undercover for the military, the boys know a hell of a lot more about the girls than the girls know about the boys.โ Graeme Manson, co-creator of Orphan Black The quote notes that Paul was deep undercover inside the military, and we know that he was acting as Siobhanโs behalf. Also, during Calโs chat with โSwan7โ the other person, most likely Marian, tells Cal to ask Siobhan about โCastor.โ So, again, weโre left wondering exactly what Siobhanโs role is in all of this, and how she knew about Project Castor. โIโm very impressed by you Sarah, you and your mother.โ Marian references Sarahโs mother on two different occasions. Itโs just not clear which mother she means. Based on her relationship with Siobhan and how she references her relationship with Charlotte, it seems likely that Marian was talking about Siobhan. However, itโs also possible that she meant Amelia, albeit for reasons we donโt yet know. Apparently Marian works in the belly of the hydra, for a company known as Topside. It occurred to me that her appearance, the fate of Leekie, and Rachelโs ascension almost echoes what Rachel had done to Delphine. It appears that Marian worked to position Rachel, manipulating her, to remove Leekie, while gaining Rachelโs trust, giving her the freedom to pursue her own agenda while Rachel was busy running DYAD. At the very least, Marianโs arrival set Rachel off on a descent into madness, culminating in a pencil to the eye courtesy of Scott, Cosima and Kira. โDonโt despair my dear, donโt despair.โ Ethan Duncan is a brilliant man. Sadly, he knows that this makes him more of a liability than an asset. Therefore, in order to prevent further abuses, the likes of which he saw at Project LEDA and, possibly, Project Castor, he takes his own life. It does seem like the choice to commit suicide was a last resort. He doesnโt actually drink his poisoned tea until after Rachel refuses to treat Cosima. Unfortunately, his fate is sealed when Rachel attempted to leverage Cosimaโs life to get what she wanted. There have been theories that Rachel is not the original Rachel Duncan, but a clone who has taken Rachelโs identity. Seeing her interact with Ethan and her claims about not being able to remember being loved by Ethan and Susan seem to lend credence to the idea. On the other hand, Ethan seems to recognize her straight away and would be very difficult to fool given his level of involvement with the project. To that end, it seems more likely that Rachel is Rachel and the cold-nature she has as an adult is a result of the influence of the Neolutionists. This point was driven home for me when Duncan uttered his last words, telling Rachel that she no longer deserves him. This scene was wonderfully done and the contrast of the old video footage with the current events actually said more than the dialogue. The images of young Rachel showed just how much has changed between then and now, as well as layed the groundwork for the introduction of Charlotte at the end of the episode. We also have an idea of why Ethan left his copy of Island of Dr. Moreau with Kira. Doing so meant that the notes for the cipher would not die with him. It does seem that Cosima now has the cure to her disease in her hands. โAfter bar fighting, he had to go to war and become a tow-truck driver.โ As usual, everything about Helena is amazing. From the wicked smile she gives Felix when she lies about burning down the farm to the crazy thrashing that passes as dancing with her other โseestrahs.โ Interestingly, I feel like there is a degree of similarity between Rachelโs rapid loss of humanity, becoming a one-eyed out of control monster, and Helenaโs growing humanity, from a wild animal-like killer to a member of a family. It was pure joy to finally see all of Clone Club come together (also, it was quite a testament to the technical crew when we saw all four clones dancing around each other in a single scene). Unfortunately, this season didnโt end much better for Helena than the first season. On one hand, we at least know that Helena is alive. On the other, we have no idea where she is going nor how long she will survive (but, it is Helena, so sheโll almost certainly break out and burn the place down). Once again, we see the hand of Siobhan, with regret and sorrow, but making the play to have Helena removed from the game. Depending on where the aircraft takes her, is it possible that Jesse will make an appearance with the military? What are the chances that their meeting in the bar was anything but chance?? So, after 10 episodes and a massive season finale, hereโs what we know: Marian has adopted the only surviving recently successfully cloned children. Cal knows a lot about DYAD. Rachel will probably be sporting an eye patch next season. Ethan Duncan is actually dead this time. Cosima has Duncanโs notes from the novel, potentially leading to a cure. Helena has been abducted by the military. Siobhan is working for ???? and his a lot more pull than we might realize. Mark is a clone from Project Castor. PROJECT CASTOR! MALE CLONES!! Iโll be doing a full review of the entire season to map out what we knew and what we now know. Needless to say, the First Rule of Clone Club holds firm: โWhatever you think you know, youโre probably wrong.โ (Visited 99 times, 1 visits today)Orphan Black 2.10 "By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried"5.0Overall ScoreShare this:TweetShare on TumblrLike this:Like Loading... Related