Photo Credit: BBC America
One thing about this show is that none of our beloved characters can have a good happy moment and expect it to last. Last week’s episode ended with Delphine (Evelyne Brochu) putting on her Rachel hat and neutralizing Ferdinand and the whole Helsinki plot, and things were finally starting to look up for the Clone Club. But, of course, that was short-lived, and Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) and her extended family are once again torn apart by a new imminent danger.
The episode begins on a good note with the return of Cal (Michael Huisman), and he’s got a surprise for Sarah. Not only is he back, but he appears quite ready to settle down with a nice house picked out already and everything. However, as Sarah is quick to point out, the new pad seems a little out of his budget given he’s a lumberjack, which Cal immediately downplays. Hold that thought, folks, as we’ll revisit that later. But, as we would expect, Sarah’s fairy tale in-the-making quickly begins to go south. Rudy (Ari Millen) and Seth are back, and they are definitely up to something. Rudy invites a girl, Patty, over for what she thinks is a tryst with a soldier in Special Forces. But it doesn’t take long for Seth to show up to spoil that fantasy for the poor girl, and what’s more, they seem to be interested in more than just having a 3-way. Before they let her leave, they copy the personal information from her driver’s license and take a sample of her hair. Okay, what in the hell is that? They seem to want her DNA for something, but to what end? One good thing that does come out of this is the girl reports the incident to the police, and guess who’s back on the job and catches the case? Yes, Detective Bell (Kevin Hanchard) is officially back, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. After comparing notes with Sarah on the case, he learns the 2 men who had assaulted Patty are, in fact, two of the Castor clones. We still don’t know what their angle was with Patty, but at least we have Art looking into it police-side.
Photo Credit: BBC America
The real action with the Castor clones goes down when Rudy breaks into Felix’s (Jordan Gavaris) loft while Sarah and Kira (Skyler Wexler) are staying there for the night. Rudy has Kira at gunpoint and is totally wigging out, demanding that Sarah tell him where the tissue samples of the original Castor clone are located. Seth is also there and has a gun on Cal, but fortunately, he has some sort of attack that completely incapacitates him. Seth’s screams are enough to cause Rudy to back off of Sarah and Kira so that he can assist his brother who is obviously in great pain.
What comes next is completely shocking, at least it was for me. Instead of trying to help his brother, he instead shoots him and cradles him in his arms as he watches him die. What is even more shocking is after Seth is dead, he points his gun at Cal but doesn’t pull the trigger and just leaves. Why in the world would he do that? Thinking in terms of a soldier, Cal is a witness and most certainly would need to die. Who knows, but one thing for sure is we now know why the Castor boys have such a great interest — actually almost an obsession — in the Leda clones. Obviously Seth was suffering from some disease/defect that is the result of the cloning process — basically the equivalent of Cosima. And, just like Sarah and her sisters, Rudy is desperate to find the tissue samples, or any of Duncan’s research for that matter, in the hopes of finding a cure.
Regardless, the close call with Kira is enough for Sarah to listen to Mrs. S’s advice (at least partially) and send Kira away with her father. Sarah is obviously a target by those working on the Castor Project, and Kira staying would only make her a target as well. On the surface, this sounds like a great plan, but then we learn that Mr. Perfect, Cal, has a secret like all the rest of the characters on the show. Remember how Sarah wondered how Cal could afford their new house? Well, apparently the guy is already rich. As Paul reminded him, Cal used to design weapons, made a killing off of it, and made it clear that he didn’t think Sarah and her sisters would be very fond of the idea. Now, don’t get me wrong, I think Kira is completely safe, and I certainly don’t think Cal would ever do anything to hurt his daughter. But, I still wonder how his secret past will fit into all of this and whether it will come back and haunt him in some way.
Photo Credit: BBC America
On a positive note, some of the other characters actually did have a good day. We get some great news from the Cosima home front. For reasons that Scott can’t understand at all, Cosima’s condition is actually improving quite a bit, and so much so, that she’s ready to go back to work. We immediately see that the little spitfire is definitely back to her old self when she quickly sits Dr. Nealon down on his ass after drilling him about the tissue samples of the original clones. Cosima is my favorite of the Leda clones, and I sure hope this improvement lasts. The poor girl’s life was absolute shit all last season, and if anyone deserves some peace and happiness, it’s her.
Things are also looking up in the Hendrix household. With Donnie (Kristian Bruun) getting fired and the Hendrix’s being strapped for cash, the scheming Alison decides to capitalize on a nice little opportunity that virtually fell into her lap. You know, I had actually forgotten about Ramone, the town’s local drug dealer that Alison used back in her pill-popping and booze-binging days. Well, Ramone is officially closing shop and heading off to college, which means he needs someone to take over the business. Ramone has his doubts, but you can leave it to Donnie to set his mind at ease.
Don’t doubt our stones. We have ample stones — Donnie to Ramone
LOL. Well, say “Hello” to the town’s new prescription drug king pins, Donnie and Alison Hendrix. And, it gets even better. With most of the town’s influential residents on Ramone’s client list, this also gives Alison an added advantage in her run for Trustee. God, how I love this couple! Ever since the murder of Dr. Leekie amped up these 2’s sex life to super-max levels, I knew they were going to be big on this show — and they are! I absolutely cannot wait to see where this storyline goes.
One big question that remains unanswered in this episode is what in the heck does Project Castor want with Helena. With the scorpion AKA “Pupok” torture and the repeated logic questions and drills, they appear to be putting her through the same rigorous training that the Castor clones were put through, but why? And, why did Dr. Coty become even more interested when she discovered Helena was pregnant? I’m sure all of this is going to make for a fantastic season, and I absolutely cannot wait.
Orphan Black airs on Saturdays at 9/8c on BBC America.
