Things are getting complicated for the clones – relationships are starting, ending, and getting stronger. If you happen to be Sarah, who may be the original from whom all the clones were created, then things are starting to look up. Sarah’s bad girl persona is a thing of the past; she has a new, handsome boyfriend, and she’s re-building the relationships with her daughter and her foster-mother. If you’re Alison, your picture-perfect suburban dream is falling down on your head. Alison’s trip to couple’s camp with Donnie is a complete failure, and she decides they should divorce. She is paranoid that her friend Aynesley is her monitor and makes the rash decision to have sex with Aynesley’s husband in a parked car.
Cosima isn’t doing much better. She starts a sexual relationship with the woman who she thinks is her monitor, Delphine. Despite her previous plan to “monitor her monitor,†Cosima seems to be buying into the Neolutionist mumbo jumbo propagated by the morally questionable Dr. Leekie. As for Helena, her religious ealotry has transformed her into a murderous psychopath, but her exterior toughness is showing signs of weakness.
While clone interpersonal relationships are also taking a hit, Leekie’s behind the scenes maneuvers indicate bigger dangers are on the hori on for them. He knows about the clones and may have had something to do with their creation. He takes things too far, though. He has no qualms pimping out Delphine to Cosima in order to get information. While snooping through Cosima’s belongings, Delphine comes across a clone family tree. She gives Leekie all of the clones’ names, but she doesn’t mention Kira to him. This indicates that Delphine’s loyalty to the cause has some cracks that may be exploitable in the future.
When Delphine reads the names to him of the different clones, his interest is the most piqued by Sarah and Helena. Those two are significant for some unknown reason. We’ve only gotten a peek at Leekie’s ruthlessness. He has Olivier killed once he no longer needs him. Delphine must know this side of him, which is why she asks him to promise that he’s not going to hurt Cosima and why she doesn’t mention Kira.
As we’ve seen in past episodes, Helena has been tasked by some religious order with killing the clones. This week Helena discovers the existence of Kira and finds her way to Mrs. S’s home. It doesn’t take much to lure Kira away, but Helena isn’t prepared for the sweet innocence of the girl. Sarah chases after the two and finds them in an alley. Helena lets Kira go and as the girl crosses the street, she is hit by a car. Given the important role Kira has in the story as the only biological offspring of a clone, there is no way that they are going to kill this little girl. What is more important here is that Helena was profoundly shaken by her encounter with the child. There may still be a chance for Helena to redeem herself.
Some of the best moments of this episode come from Alison. Once Alison lets go of her inhibitions, she becomes an unpredictable, hot mess – which is really fun to watch. After smoking pot in the car with Aynesley’s husband, she moves him to the back seat and guides him “into the end one.†Who would’ve thought the perpetually proper soccer mom had it in her? Even better is when she is confronted by Aynesley and puts the beat down on her in the middle of the street.
Orphan Black succeeds on many levels, but its heart is really with the personal relationships between the characters. One of the sweetest moments this week is when Sarah and Felix hang out in his apartment. Sarah keeps stretching her socked foot out and placing it near Felix’s cheek, while he keeps yelling for her to get her foot out of his face. This is exactly the type of exchange you would have between siblings. It’s such a small moment, but an important one because it helps reinforce the credibility of the relationships.
There is still a mountain of unanswered questions as we head into the final two episodes of the season. Is it possible that Leekie, the man supposedly concerned with who is killing the clones, may himself be a clone killer? Who did actually create the clones? The person who may have the answers to such questions is Carlton – the man who initially gave Sarah to Mrs. S. Will we see Carlton before the end of the season? I hope so, but Orphan Black is exceptionally good at creating cliffhangers, so I’m not counting on it.
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Orphan Black Season 1 Review “Entangled Bank”
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