Orphan Black 1.7: Lessons In Changing The Control Group

[Full episode recap with a side of review!]

Three genetic identicals are working together: Alison, Cosima, and Sarah. Alison and Cosima have monitors, but no one is really sure who they are. The dead identical, Beth, had a monitor, Paul, who unknowingly was monitoring Sarah. Now Sarah and Paul have a somewhat honest truce, even with Olivier playing  puppeteer. Helena, the mentally imbalanced clone, is alive somewhere, waiting to pop out of the woodwork and wreak havoc. Alison and Donnie are at a couples retreat (WHAT!) repairing what Alison dented with a golf club.  “Parts Developed” reveals a few answers, only to expose an even larger mystery. It’s masterful.

Buckle in. There’s so much going on, this is a long recap.

As the episode begins, it’s Sarah and Cosima video conferencing. Sarah cautioning Cosima to stay away from Delphine (fat lot of that happening), and she’s all shades of worry over Paul who, having gone to see Olivier, hasn’t returned. Paul is being questioned by Olivier about Beth’s behavior eight months ago; Olivier is monitoring the monitors, and he’s learned that someone is killing his subjects and Paul isn’t the informant. Uh oh.

Sarah, one to preach caution, isn’t much of one to practice it. She drives Felix to the club where Paul went to meet Olivier. While they wait for Paul to emerge, the foster siblings discuss the genetic sameness of clones, which instantly cuts the scene to Beth’s precinct, where Art is learning that the dead woman from the quarry is an identical dna match to, dun dun dun, the killer in the bathroom: Helena. Imagine being a detective on that case. Art isn’t convinced Beth has anything to do with this, but fact digging is about to commence.

Elsewhere, Helena awakens. And Thomas, the religious clone sect… leader?, is taking care of her. He asks Helena why she let “it” (Sarah as Beth) live. Helena feels they have this connection, one she cannot explain. When she shares this, along with Sarah having told her that she is not the original, Thomas loses his control; it’s clear his benevolence comes only with absolute obedience. “The path to the shepherd is through the sheep.” The sheep are the clones – who, or what, is the shepherd? Where Olivier is science, Thomas is religion. The difference and distinction having been hinted upon is made crystal clear. He hands Helena a razor blade, bidding her to find the imposter and bleed it. He leaves, and Helena commences carving upon herself once more. The next morning, Helena leaves what we now know is a barge, saying what can be assumed to be their catchphrase, “I am the original, I am the light” as she exits. Why and what is Thomas?

At the club, Felix enters and we find out it’s called Neolution, linking Delphine, Dr. Leekie, and Olivier all in one swift move. Also, the ingenious use of the power switch as the Neolution logo is staggeringly good. Inside, he chats with who we’ll come to know as Astrid and we learn more in a few short sentences than we’ve learned in a long while: Self directed evolution, augmentation, techno-progressives, body mods, neolutionists; all these things are what Olivier trades in. Why or to what ends is still a giant question mark. Also, Olivier has a tail.

Paul, done being interrogated, exits through the club where Felix spots him, following him outside. Side note: Felix, take me clubbing, please. Anyway. It’s Sarah who saves Felix a thrashing, but what is she thinking, even being outside of her car where she can be recorded or seen? Sarah drops Fee off at home, and returns to Beth’s apartment where she and Paul have a chat. What’s distressing here is that Paul is working half blind, and knows, from what Olivier told him, that someone is cutting down the subjects. I did NOT want to like Paul, but here we are. Sarah, who knows more of everything still only fesses to knowing about Beth and Alison. Paul, trying to save his own beefy bacon, is also trying to keep Sarah safe, telling her to drive his car. I get the deception, but it’s maddening.

In the garage, before Sarah can get in Paul’s car, Helena materializes. That’s not even the strangest part of this visit, it’s that Helena wants lunch. With Sarah. At what we’ll loosely call a casual meal, Sarah learns Helena grew up in a convent in the Ukraine, where she neither denies nor acknowledges that she killed the other European clones. Except she then demands Sarah tell her where the other clones are by midnight, or she’s dead next. Funny, I don’t believe Helena’s come up against a clone as physically able as Sarah.

Back at Olivier’s office, guess who’s calling? Not Paul. Dr. Leekie. The guy has gone over Beth’s (Sarah’s) latest medical examination, and knows it’s not Sarah. Olivier, when he asks which one she is, is told by Leekie, “That’s not your concern, just bring her in.” Up the clone hierarchy we inch. Olivier and Astrid are waiting for Paul as he gets out of the shower at the apartment, Olivier informing him that Beth is not Beth. They leave to go back to the club where Olivier tells Paul that the imposter is killing their subjects and has Paul call Beth’s imposter.

At Mrs. S’s, where Sarah’s visiting, there’s finally some back story on Sarah’s youth. There was a group of social workers that hid children when needed. Sarah was one of those kids, and Mrs. S didn’t ask why, even when a member of that group asked her to hide Sarah as deeply as possible. Which is how she ended up in the states. The love and concern Mrs. S has for Sarah is writ large and heavy. She has nothing to do with what’s going on. Score one for the good guys.

Frenzied clone and monitor action commences from this point forward. Do try to keep up.

Cosima has dinner with Delphine, which eventually includes Dr. Leekie. Leekie thinks Cos is cheeky and invites him to work for him. At Cosima’s apartment, she feels unsure about this, but is willing to totally hit on Delphine, who leaves flustered. Sad to say, we don’t see Delphine and Leekie together like the promo promised. Sneaky move, guys.

Sarah receives the incoming call from Paul, who, in one of the most gasp-worthy moments to date, tells Sarah, “They know you’re not Beth. Run.” and proceeds to get taken out by Astrid.

Sarah, unable to leave someone behind, goes back to the club. Fee tries to talk her out of it. Might as well talk to a brick wall. She’s called Helena in also. After handing Fee Art’s card, Sarah goes in. She eventually gets taken to Paul and Olivier. Paul’s intense relief to see Sarah is… heartwarming, confusing, and it’s almost like Sarah’s his absolution for whatever Neolutions is holding over his head from Afghanistan.

That aside, wow does Olivier have the most incredible creep gene ever; he’s so taken with Sarah, having never seen one of the clones in person. He wants her in a disgusting, ‘I own you and want to do things to you because I need to,’ kind of way.

Sarah tries to explain that there’s another one of them, the blond, but Olivier isn’t listening. He instead offers to show her his tail [shudder], only to be interrupted by Leekie calling [thank god]. He wants Sarah prepped for transport in the morning. Sarah, bagged and cuffed, is led away, only to have a certain blond whacko also come to the club. Helena removes Astrid from the equation, moving on to strangle Sarah until she gets a name. Helena is all about removing all the sheepie clones. Apparently Sarah gives her something, because when Olivier notices Astrid out cold on the floor, he leaves Paul and comes to Sarah. But once he takes the bag off her head, it’s Helena.

Helena has zero compassion for Olivier, restraining him in moments, and when she asks to see his tail, it’s really there.  And to send a message, she blithely cuts it off, leaving us with a screaming Olivier and Helena dancing in the club, knife in hand. I can’t have been the only one to notice that she tossed the knife away?

Safely at Fee’s loft, Sarah explains that she gave Helena her name, it’s that info which saved her and Paul. Paul, now free to care for Sarah who is definitely not Beth, has his true feelings plastered all over his face. Sarah seems to share them and Felix, smiling ever so slightly, leaves them to it.

Detective Angeline gets the second results of Katja’s fingerprints back. What’s amazing to her and Art is why they’re connected to one Sarah Manning and why does she look just like Beth? You know those cops are thinking: WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!

Next week shows Sarah introducing Alison to Mrs. S. Alison is confronted by a possible crazy lady monitor. Delphine is shown working with Dr. Leekie. And Art comes investigating Sarah Manning.  It’s like that teapot ride at the carnival, only there’s no getting off.

What the what?
1.  Whatever happened to the message Sarah left on Art’s phone a few episodes ago? That gaping plot hole was completely left unresolved.
2. Dr. Leekie’s Dyad Institute… Dyad: meiotic (understatement, or, something like mitosis, aka clones) chromosome after separation of the two homologous members of a tetrad (a group or arrangement of four). Nice.
3. Mrs. S knows a bit more than she’s letting on, but I’m convinced she doesn’t know the specifics.
4. I propose that Olivier is turned on by Sarah/the clones, more because of how they are made, more than anything else. Science is sexy, but this is squicky.
5. Is the guy in Mrs. S’s photos, Carlton, the one who gave Mrs. S Sarah, the same guy from Paul’s photos from Afghanistan? I’m doubtful, but the timelines say it’s possible.

Orphan Black airs on BBC America on Saturdays, 9/8C

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