There's a lot happening in this second episode of the final season. Our favourite clones are in a lot of danger and though they've been in precarious situations before, because this is the final season, the writers have amped up the situation and now the struggle for autonomy is quite literally between life and death, as at least one clone discovers this week. Central to the story line is who the Leda clones are and what there purpose is. Rachel believes that at least for her, it's to lead humanity down a different road genetically; whereas, Cosima isn't interested in being a subject in petri dish. Kira may not be a clone herself but being a daughter of one makes her connected. Kira may be young but she's reached the point where she's unwilling to run and wants some answers. Rachel sees Kira's search for the truth as a betrayal because it means that Kira's willing to go with Rachel. Helena, perhaps the fiercest clones, is going to save her babies at all costs.
Cosima
Cosima and Charlotte are in Revival and seem to be settling in. This however doesn't mean that Cosima is ready to take the mystery vitamins that they are given with their food. The first chance Coisma gets, she decides to speak to Aisha about her illness. Cosima learns that Aisha was told by PT that she has a Wilms Tumour. Cosima has to pretend that she's educating the kids when Mud interrupts to say that PT wants to see her.
This is a huge reveal for Orphan Black because PT is behind the creation of everything. PT's home really screams about how relevant he sees Cosima because it's filled with animal skeletons stuffed under glass. Cosima is just another one of his experiments over his very long life. There are pictures of Westmoreland with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1894. PT credits his long life to his unique genetics and of course Neolution and suggests with luck the same could be true for Cosima. I don't know about you, but I began hearing Queen's Who Wants to Live Forever in my brain. Westmoreland kind of reminds me of Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood. Westmoreland reports that the results of Cosima's treatment seems promising and suggests that she might want to stay and follow the science after she is cured. It's clear that this isn't as much an invitation, as an order.
Allison
Last week, Allison was abducted by Engers when Donnie abandoned her while Helena was out killing God's creatures. Yes, I'm still so much in love with that line. Allison has been taken home and she's being guarded by Engers and her unwilling accomplice Art. Rather than fretting about her situation however, Allison is more concerned that she's been usurped as the chair person of her church's fall fair. Yes, it's typical Allison.
Helena
I know it's bizarre but Helena, though she is creepy as all get out, has become my favourite clone. Last week, my big rallying cry was save Helena's babies. As promised, Donnie has taken Helena to the hospital. Fortunately, the surgery was a success and the tree branch has been removed from Helena's womb, though the doctors are still concerned that at least one of the twins might still be in danger. Helena is immediately concerned when the nurse talks about bringing in a neo-natal specialist to talk to her, causing Donnie to promise that neo doesn't mean what Helena thinks it does. Helena is super suspicious and resistant to having a nurse examine her and so it's Donnie who has to pull down her blankets. It's a sign of how far they've come that this scene is actually somewhat tender.
When an ultra sound reveals that the wounded twin is actually quite fine, this fascinates the Doctor, who at this point I'm starting to believe is a secret Neolutionists. The Doctor decides that Helena needs an amniocentesis, thus setting off alarm bells for Helena. Helena whispers to Donnie that she is going to escape and warns him that on pain of death that the only person he can tell where she is is Sara. Donnie is then taken away by security, who want to interview him regarding Helena's injuries. The moment she's alone with the doctor, Helena stabs the doctor with the amniocentesis needle. It is brutal and violent, yet somehow funny. It speaks of how far Helena has come that her violence is now acceptable and we root for her to succeed. Helena makes her escape from the room with her bare arse hanging out, in what proves to be the funniest moment of the episode.
Sarah and M.K
When Sarah awakes, she finds herself locked in a room and so she starts screaming for Rachel to come and see her. Instead of Rachel, it's Ferdinand who pays Sarah a visit. Ferdinand is in full on smarmy mode, even though on orders of Rachel, he's not supposed to hurt any of the clones. Ferdinand plays a video of Cosima, Allison and Art, all explaining that there's nowhere for Sarah to run now and that she should turn herself in. Ferdinand then plays a video of Kira and tells Rachel that she can go home if she promises to be good. Without no viable options, Rachel agrees to play along.
Kira, Sarah and Siobhan are returned home. Ferdinand makes it clear that Sarah will take Kira to school but when Kira's school day is over, Auntie Rachel will be picking her up for testing at Dyad. Of course, Rachel is not happy about this at all and determined that Kira not end up with Rachel. Siobhan tells Sarah to go along with it for now because Felix has a plan. Felix has been in contact with M.K., who has spent years on the run. A reluctant Sarah takes Kira to school and she's followed the whole way by Dyad's people.
Of all the clones this week, MK is the one I feel I know the least. We know that she's some sort of tech genius and has been on the run all of her life. This week however, MK decides that she's done running. After being contacted by Felix she decides the perfect place to hide is Felix's loft because amazingly enough, no one is actually watching it.
Unfortunately, MK is very sick and is suffering with the same respiratory illness that seems to affect all of the Leda clones, with the exception of Sarah and Helena. Although MK's illness is serious, her primary concern is that Rachel wants to restart the cloning program at Dyad. Through video chat, MK tells Sarah this and that her network can help her and Kira escape, if Sarah can get away from her Dyad handlers. This is the break that Sarah needs if she is going to escape because Siobhan's network has all been burned.
Sarah dresses up as Rachel and heads to the school to pick up Kira. Unfortunately, the real Rachel shows up looking for Kira, putting the escape plan into jeopardy. Fortunately, Siobahn is in the halls and she manages to get away with Kira and Sarah makes her way to her own car. Once in the car, Sarah makes contact and learns that MK never went to Scott's lab. Sarah is determined that no sister gets left behind and heads to Felix's loft to pick up MK, completely unaware that she is being followed by Ferdinand.
MK is all too aware that she is dying and at this point, she's tired of running. Despite Sarah's insistence about not leaving MK behind, they are out of options because Ferdinand is making his way up to the loft. MK offers to masquerade as Sarah to give her the opportunity to escape. By the time Ferdinand breaks in, Sarah is long gone and MK has armed herself with a knife. Because MK is so weak from illness, she's easily overcome by Ferdinand, who's actually happy to see that the person he has captured is MK and not Sarah, since MK is the one who stole all of his money. A defiant MK tells Ferdinand that he cannot hurt her anymore but determined to prove that he's an evil fucking villain, Ferdinand stomps repeatedly on MK's chest until she dies.
MK's death is horribly sad despite the fact that she's the clone we know the least about. In five seasons, we've seen all of the Leda clones struggle to varying degrees to try and win some kind of autonomy. Some moments have been quite successful and others not as much but we haven't really lost a Leda clone since Beth, who died in the first episode of the show. This ups the ante on the last season and brings home the fact that Dyad is playing for keeps. Every clone that we know and have come to love is in jeopardy.
When Sarah finally meets up with Siobhan, Felix and Kira, Kira makes it clear that she doesn't want to go into hiding, despite Sarah's insistence that she is trying to keep her safe. A frustrated Sarah tries to pick Kira up and put her in the van but Kira blocks each and every attempt. Kira is certain that MK is dead and she can feel the loss, despite Sarah's insistence that MK is fine. It's Siobhan who finally suggests that Kira wants to know why she can do the things she can and has a right to know what and who she is. A reluctant Sarah gives in and Siobhan sends MK's people away.
Ferdinand reports back to Rachel having killed MK and she's not impressed to see him. Rachel is loving the power of her new position and has become someone that Ferdinand cannot relate with any longer. Not only does this mean that Ferdinand is cut off from violent sex, he's also escorted from her office because he broke her promise that no Leda clones would be harmed.
A smug Rachel shows up at Siobhan's home to collect Kira, leaving a clearly anguished Sarah behind.
Later that night, Siobhan is up alone, having a tea, when there's a knock at the door. It's Delphine and she wants to speak with Siobhan alone. It seems that Delphine has discovered something crucial but she doesn't believe that Sara should learn about it. Siobhan's guard is completely up and she makes it clear that she doesn't trust Delphine but she invites Delphine in regardless.
The death of MK was a really hard blow because as aforementioned, we've never really lost a clone before. Granted, it would have been worse if it were Helena, Cosima or even Allison but it still represents a complete loss for the Leda girls. It's brutality was particularly harsh to watch and it cements Ferdinand as a villain, even if he has in the past aligned himself oh so temporarily with the Leda clones.
I know that I should support Kira wanting to know who she is but I was irked by that kid in the moment. I know that Kira has really not known a lot of stability in her life. She's been shuttled from place to place and hasn't had a stable home, let alone the chance to go to school and make friends. I suppose any kid would be tired of this but at the same time, it all seemed so infantile. Perhaps if Sarah had spent less time sheltering Kira and more time being honest with her, Kira would realise the true danger she is in by agreeing to go with Auntie Rachel. Ugh..Auntie Rachel just sticks in my craw.
Cosima is the closest to the beast because of where she is living. On one hand, Cosima's life absolutely depends on finding a cure for the respiratory illness that Leda clones are prone to and on the other, just being there is putting her life in jeopardy. Westmoreland is creepy as fuck and his home displays exactly the level of importance he gives to his creations. Cosima is going to have to do a very careful dance to get out of this situation safely.
Delphine is back to keeping secrets. I don't care how cute she and Cosima are together, I simply don't trust Delphine. All she's ever done is deceive Cosima and the rest of the Leda clones. I know that people would be heartbroken but I really just want Siobhan to shoot Delphine on the spot so that we can all move on.
