Orphan Black: Parts Developed In An Unusual Manner, Review
We have found a new Orphan to adopt. And she's got the eye of the tiger. Lion? Wolverine...? She's cool.
Ok Orphanites, we have our Wolverine. Clone assassin Helena has seemingly, kinda, maybe joined the side of the angels, saving Sarah from the clutches of Olivier. Helena (who I have been mistakenly referring to as the squirrel shit crazy Russian clone assassin, she is actually Ukrainian, so I will be now referring to her as the squirrel shit crazy UKRAINIAN CLONE ASSASSIN) started out as the foil to Sarah. She was the clone that went wrong. Like Wolverine, she serves the plot as a living weapon with an unclear path and shadowy motivations. As clones, Sarah, Alison, Cosima, and the rest represent the future of humanity. They represent a type of forced evolution, types of tomorrow people, if you will. Yet, when we first meet S.S.C.U.C.A . Helena, she rejects her nature as the potential genetic future of the human race, rather she punishes herself for being something beyond God. She is something not mentioned or imagined in the Bible, and therefore, she is an abomination. This episode, we meet the man who has abused Helena to the point where she lives in perpetual state of violent self-loathing, the man that handed her the razor she uses to slice in her own back in atonement for being something unnatural. In the war between Sarah and those who created her and the Orphans, it seems that Helena will be the living weapon that could turn the tide.
One of the biggest questions currently in the series is whose side is Paul on? Is he lulling Sarah into a false sense of security with his loyalty, or does he truly love her despite the fact that she tricked him into believing that she was his cop girlfriend, Beth? This episode starts off with the usual sense of paranoia as Felix and Sarah follow Paul to a club frequented by cyber freaks obsessed with body modification. Paul is revealed to be working for Olivier, an enforcer of Neugenetic pioneer Dr. Leekie, who may be responsible for the clones.
Olivier is purported to have a tail, whether or not that is true is revealed later in the episode, what he does possess is a swarmy and slimy attitude towards the clones. He forces Paul to make a call to entrap Sarah, but Paul finally reveals his true loyalties by warning Sarah to run. By doing this, he risked his own life, which further forced the world weary Sarah to reexamine her trust issues towards others. It also makes Sarah’s past sins a bit more pronounced, as Sarah once attempted to con Paul by making him think she was Beth, she essentially raped him by seducing him under false pretenses, but Paul sees the good in Sarah despite her machinations, and effectively saved the life of Sarah, Felix, and Sarah’s daughter, Kira. How will this change Sarah’s world view?
Speaking of Sarah’s world view, we get a peek into her past as an orphan refugee rescued by Mrs. S (and why do I see something sinister in her not having an actual name?) This revelation extends the theme of being an orphan, of having no familial connections or obligations, how it keeps a person on a road of mistrust and self-serving behaviors. This is what Sarah was when the show opens. She has no bonds, other than Felix, and he seemed more a partner in crime than a brother, but now, Sarah has become the caretaker of her clones. Wherever she goes, Sarah improves the life of her genetic sisters. She helps Alison with her marriage, she is helping Helena discover her lost humanity, and she tries to warn Cosima to stay away from Delphine, a French beauty who may be Cosima’s watcher.
It’s hard to imagine that Sarah is the selfish little girl who began this journey into conspiracy by trying to run a con. Now, she is the hero, the protector, and the inspiration for her duplicates. She is such an aspiring figure that she seemingly convinces Helena to help her rescue Paul. Or does she, as Helena finds Sarah in her most desperate hour and only agrees to help Sarah if Sarah reveals a name of another clone. It is left ambiguous whether Sarah gave this info, but this can spell trouble for Alison or Cosima.
It looks like the next few episodes will deal with Sarah trying to find the key to her past. What will the ramifications be for the other clones if Sarah revealed their identities to Helena? The stakes are continuing to rise, as in this episode, Helena went from an effective antagonist to a force of nature threatening to sweep away any and all participants.
By the way, in order to free Sarah and Paul, Helena confronts Olivier in the episode’s climax. He did have a tail. Had.
The good:
Always great to see Matt Frewer in anything.Sarah’s continuing heroic journey.Helena’s adorable big innocent eyes.
The bad:
No Alison.No one tortured Vic this episode.
The ugly
Helena’s adorable big innocent eyes as she flagellates herself with a razor.Olivier’s piggy tale.Den Of Geek Score: 4 Out Of 5 Stars
Written by
Marc Buxton is an English teacher/private tutor by day,and a super-hyper-uber geek by night. Marc spent six years on the frontlines as a comic retailer before…