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Orphan Black: The Scandal of Altruism

“I know everything.”

I have no idea where to begin.

So let's just pick it up here: Delphine Cormier is not dead. “But Evie said she was dead!” So what? No body, no death. Them’s the rules. Not to mention, Krystal told Felix she saw Delphine “get shot” not “die.” Semantics are important. And also, if it really was the truth, wouldn’t they have shown a flashback to it? “Maybe they couldn’t get Evelyne Brochu back to film it!” They could’ve used footage from last season combined with new footage of a tall, blonde body double. Orphan Black knows how to use body doubles. And anyway, who shot her? They deliberately didn’t show that last season so I feel like her shooter’s identity is important. If they were revealing the answer to a big cliffhanger, why so stingy on details? And so, I repeat Delphine Cormier is not dead.

And I do have authority here. After all, my off-the-wall desire for Clone Club and Susan Duncan to join forces to produce a cure turned out to be reality. Well, almost. You knew going into this alliance that things weren’t go smoothly because things going smoothly means a boring episode of Orphan Black and we’ve never actually experienced that particular phenomenon. At least Sarah got the worm out of her cheek. Although I’m still unclear on when it got put there and what exactly it does besides releasing a poison that kills her instantly for…some…reason?

We’ve got a new big bad and I’m underwhelmed by Evie Cho’s promotion. She’s just not…menacing. Plus it feels a little cheap to have built up Susan Duncan so much only to have her undermined almost instantly. It even might be a little retconny. Evie is the reason Beth committed suicide? (more below) She’s been driving so much of this story through her desire for power and we’re just finding out about it now? It sort of reminds me of Angel season 4 when Skip the demon insisted that everything in the series had all been designed by a greater power to bring about a particular end. I didn’t like it then and I don’t like this now.

And the whole Beth committed suicide to save her sisters is really not sitting well with me. They put so much time and effort into creating this character who we loved despite not really knowing, who was so obviously terrified and desperate enough to kill herself and then take that away and make her organic human weakness a noble act of self-sacrifice. And the idea that Evie is going to spare Sarah, Cosima, Alison, Helena, MK, Krystal and who knows how many others because of a promise made to a dead woman is frankly ridiculous. She just murdered a woman with terminal cancer, clearly she’s not low on ruthlessness. And what about Rachel? Shouldn’t she be going after Rachel, her rival’s daughter and an almost too perfect symbol of the vision of Neolution she’s rebelling against?

Krystal was, as always, a highlight. With Adele gone, Felix was free to assist Clone Club once more, this time by being a plaid-clad Inspector Dawkins of the Yard (Scotland). Adele being gone is weird too. Did they just create this whole story line to drive a wedge between Sarah and Felix? Are we going to get any kind of resolution here?

Not since the first season have I been so anxious for answers to my many, many questions. But now it’s less of a “so excited to see the next episode” and more of a “very frustrated and slightly confused.” Maybe it was just that the episode felt so much like a season finale my brain thinks it’s a season finale. Shhh, brain, it’s okay. We still have four more episodes.

Keeping up with Clone Club

No Alison or Helena this week. MK appeared in flashbacks. Ira tried to kill himself after seeing his lover/sort of mother (shudder) was willing to sacrifice his cure for half the original genome.

Neolutionist Bits and Proleathean Pieces

Ira says he’s a Libra. If his brothers have birthdays close to him, that makes them all several months older or younger than the Ledas, most of whom were born in March and April.

We FINALLY got the information that Cosima and Shay have broken up.

Krystal gets her very own clone phone.

Clone Quotes

Art: “Does Leda mean anything to you?”
Krystal: “Yeah, I love their eyeliner.”

Felix: “This is a hare-brained scheme. Who would buy it? Actually…Krystal.”

Felix: “International intrigue lacks flair.”

three out of four living Delphine Cormiers
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sunbunny, who is probably not played by Tatiana Maslany

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