Friday, June 3, 2016

Orphan Black, Season Four, Episode Eight: The Redesign of Natural Objects


The Hendrixs are back and as expected, Donnie is not doing great in jail.  He does manage to find himself a seat at chow time, only to quickly start running his mouth about why he was arrested, posing like he's hard. It's obvious right from the start that Donnie is going to be someone's bitch. He's not in prison a New York minute before he realises that Neolution has someone on the inside waiting for him.

Allison looks completely out of place in the visitor waiting are but luckily for her, Felix's sister is a lawyer though she is on suspension.  It looks like once again, Felix has come through in a pinch. Felix does however warn Allison not to tell Adele too much because she's not in the loop yet. Somehow, I think that Adele is on Evie's payroll because her appearance just feels suspicious. While visiting, Allison learns that her beloved Donnie is in trouble when he points out the Neolutionist who's giving him the hard eye. Unfortunately for Donnie, he was arrested on a Friday which means that he will have to wait until Monday for a bail hearing, thus leaving him at the mercy of the Neolutionist.

After leaving the prison, Allison heads to see Duko, who proposes that Allison drop a dime on Sarah, promising that if she does so, he will leave her family alone.  Allison swears up and down that she doesn't know where Sarah is but Duko isn't buying it.  What Allison doesn't know is that she is being watched by Mrs. S, who followed Duko with the clear intent of taking his ass out.  Duko never should have messed with Siobhan.

Allison then heads to the church where she is so flustered she actually swears in front of a priest. In desperation, Allison calls the comic shop to find out where Sarah is but Felix claims that Sarah is out though she is sitting right next to him.  It's clear that with Donnie in prison, Allison is compromised and they're not sure if they can trust her right now, though Felix is certain that Allison is not a rat. Allison however does manage to convince Felix to come to her practice session for Jesus Christ Superstar.

Duko isn't done with Allison yet. He actually shows up at the practice session and hands her a phone. Donnie explains that unless Allison reveals where Sarah is, the Neolutionts is going to put a shiv through his eye.  In desperation, Allison tells Duko about the comic shop. Nooooooooooo Allison, don't do it.

Allison goes back to her rehearsal, even as Donnie is struggling with the Neolutionist in prison.  It's really a bizarre montage to watch. Duko is certain that he has the upper hand when he walks into the comic shop, only to find out that he has been set up.  He's quickly taken out and forced to call the prison and call off the hit on Donnie.  Felix receives a text that Donnie is in the clear and gives Allison the thumbs up sign, causing her to throw herself into her performance.

Sarah was there for Allison this week, even snarking that genetics are thicker than water.  She's still very much suffering from a hangover but her sisters need her.  M.K. reaches out and though Sarah is not impressed that M.K. used Kira as her way in, Sarah lets M.K. back into clone club.  M.K. picked up on Susan's conversation with Evie Cho last week and reveals that Evie's plan is to let the non aware clones die but to take out the self aware ones like Sarah and Cosima.  M.K. gives up everything she has managed to find on Duko thus far.  When M.K. ends the call, she coughs up blood into her hand. Clearly, getting back in touch with her sisters has little to do with altruism.

Mrs. S uses Sarah's distraction to grab her gun and head out. Siobhan may have forgiven the clones for their role in Kendall's death but that doesn't mean she isn't going to get her pound of flesh. Sarah is in a video conference with Mommy Dearest and Cosima when she is interrupted by Kira, who totally rats out Mrs. S. Sarah heads to see Art to explain what is going on and he wisely points out that killing a cop would bring down the heat, even if Duko is dirty as all get out.

When they do finally capture Duko, it's Mrs. S who tortures him to get the information that they need. It seems that Evie is planning on putting her bots into millions of people but Duko doesn't know why.  Duko explains that he is only involved because Neolution threatened his niece and that he took money to keep her safe.  Duko may have a reason for what he did but Mrs. S is well past caring. Mrs. S goes calmly to her fun and informs Duko that she is doing this for her mother, before shooting him dead. There's a part of me that couldn't help but wonder if Duko wouldn't have been more use alive but the scene with Mrs.S was awesome.


While the shit is going down with Duko, Cosima is talking with Mommy Dearest.  Unsurprisingly, both Ira and Rachel want in the loop but Cosima is not having it given that Rachel has already sold them down the river once.  Cosima shares her information with Mommy Dearest and they discuss the limitations of using Kira for creating a suitable genetic example. They stumble on the idea that with a Leda egg and Castor sperm, they can bring together both elements of Kendall's DNA.

Since Helena is missing, the only Leda clone with viable eggs is Sarah.  This is a big ask and Cosima knows this but Sarah agrees to having her egg fertilized by Castor sperm though she is reluctant as hell. Cosima is absolutely convinced that this is the breakthrough that they have been waiting for. Cosima hops on a helicopter and makes her way to the island where Mommy Dearest, Ira and Rachel are waiting for her.

Even as Cosima makes her way to the island, what is certain is that Rachel is not going to allow herself to be cast aside.  Rachel is determined to not only to find a cure but to get Susan back into power so that she can reclaim her position.  For his part, Ira is creepily happy about his contribution to the new plan.

Even though Rachel has a plan in mind, her eye is still acting up.  She sees a vision of a swan as well as Mommy Dearest's husband.  It's clearly throwing her for loop and she has no idea what it all means. When Rachel does the big we can do this speech to Mommy Dearest, Rachel sees the swan again but this time, the swan has been beheaded.  Clearly this is a bad omen.

Even though the time Allison spent on stage singing was oddly creepy because it was juxtaposed to Donnie's torture, I must admit that I am so happy that Allison didn't sell out clone club. I really thought that she was going to do it. Allison may have tortured Donnie a few times but it's clear that she really does love him.

Clone Club is gearing up for a big confrontation with Evie and I think that Evie really bit off more that she can chew.  I really want to see Cosima come up with a cure for the Leda Clones and set Ira adrift cause he is one of the creepiest Castor clones.  The fact that Cosima has been sick for so long really worries me because this show would simply not be the same without her.

Just as Felix said in the last episode, Sarah really is the glue which holds clone club together.  This week, Sarah was there for all of her sisters and it was great to see.  I liked watching her concern for Mrs. S and her acknowledgement of Siobhan's pain.  It's a great reminder that there really is a parent child relationship between these two because  it sometimes gets lost with everything going on.

Felix is back into servant mode on a full time basis it seems.  His rebellion, predictably, was short lived. Watching him once again be a spectator at Allison's little community production served as a reminder of how little any of the clones ever do for him.  I cannot remember the last time any member of clone club has made him a priority or come running at his beck and call.  Yeah, I want Felix to be an important member of Clone Club but also, I want to see someone caring for Felix for a change.

Art is just as much of a token as Felix.  This week, Sarah turned to Art when she learned about Duko's threat to Donnie.  Art is pretty much always there for Sarah when she calls.  He's clearly driven by his feelings for Beth and the fact that he was unable to help her.  Like Felix, Sarah never bothers to consider Art's feelings, or even ask him anything personal.  We know that Art has a daughter now and I cannot help but wonder if Sarah knows that? Despite depending heavily on Art, Sarah has never really taken the time to get to know him.  Art is a walking talking token; there for inclusion cookies.

Okay fellow members of clone club, we have two episodes left for the season.  I feel like it's all going way too fast.  What are you hoping for the Leda sisters? Do you want to see Delphine and Cosima reunited? How about a cure of Cosima?  Do you want to see Evie get hers or Allison shine as a success in community theater?  How do you think this season is going to finish off?