I know we have an entire episode to cover but if I don't start off with the following, I will just explode. Dear writers of Orphan Black, I do not forgive you for what you did to Siobahn. More than the sestras, Siobahn knew the dangers Neolution poses but in many ways, she was the glue that kept everything together and now the sestras are all truly orphans.
Helena
Helena is still hiding out in the convent so she's seperated from the other sestras. Helena seems to welcome the arrival of Gracie, unaware that that Gracie is in cahoots with Mark and Virginia. Gracie, who will be a half sibling to Helena's children, provides a familial connection that Helena sorely needs at this moment. I believe that it's this connection that stops Gracie from admitting to Mark that she's found Helena. Unfortunately, Virginia is not inclined to trust Gracie.
Gracie is forced to come clean about her betrayal when Helena finds the cell phone that she used to contact Mark. Gracie pleads that Mark is sick and that Virginia promised them that she would find a cure for them. This does not drum up any sympathy from Helena. Gracie then reveals that while she did call Mark, she didn't tell him where Helena is. Helena is clearly relieved by this but this doesn't mean that they are out of danger. Helena quickly tosses the cellphone into the toilet and makes plans with Gracie to leave because the cellphone can of course be traced. Unfortunately, Helena and Gracie don't manage to escape because they are caught by Art's new partner Maddy and a group of Neolutionists. Gracie tries to apologise for not revealing Helena's location but Maddy simply shoots her in the head. It's cold and clearly meant to inspire fear in Helena. Maddy had better quit while she's ahead because she has no idea who she is missing with when it comes to Helena.
Rachel
Okay, Rachel is officially on the redemption train and I'm not sure that I agree given the fact that she was a sell out for so long. When we last left Rachel, she had yanked Westmoreland's fake eye out of her eye socket. Yes, it's as gruesome as it sounds. Fortunately for Rachel, Ferdinand shows up and takes her somewhere for medical attention. When Rachel awakes, she stunned to find Ferdinand and to learn that he has been working with Siobahn. Now we know who Siobahn's source is.
With Rachel on the mend so to speak, Delphine and Siobahn pop by for a visit. Now that Rachel is officially persona non grata with the neolutionists, this is the first time that Rachel's interests have aligned with the sesetras and the rest of clone club. What Siobahn and Delphine need is proof that the neolutionists are bribing foreign government officials to introduce legislation to get their populations to submit DNA, in order to aid the Neolutionists in their plan to market customized evolution to the super rich to increase lifespan. If that were not enough, anyone without the money to pay will be sterilized under Virginia's supervision. It's absolutely diabolical. What Siobahn and Delphine want to know is if Rachel was smart enough to steal a file of the Neolutionists dirty dealings before she left.
Rachel of course is one smart cookie and did indeed take away enough information to blow Neolution out of the water. The files which include: names, dates and payments, are all on a flashdrive that Rachel is wearing around her neck. This information excites Ferdinand because one of his main goals has always been to become rich, especially since MK, stole the fortune he had amassed. This puts Ferdinand in conflict with Rachel because after being a prisoner for so long, the only thing she really wants is freedom. Rachel wants to release the information to the public. When Rachel hands over the flashdrive to Ferdinand, it's the empty one.
Ferdinand goes to meet with what's left of the board. It seems that quite a few of the board members committed suicide after learning the truth about Westmoreland. A confidant Ferdinand pops the usb drive into the computer and of course, it's empty. The board quickly realises that Ferdinand doesn't have anything on him, forcing Ferdinand to kill board members and a few guards in order to make his escape.
Much to Rachel's surprise, Ferdinand shows up to confront her about the empty USB drive. Rachel makes it clear that she was upfront about what she wanted and that he simply chose not to listen. Ferdinand responds by choking Rachel but for some reason, decides to stop before killing her and leaves. Honestly, if Ferdinand had killed Rachel, it wouldn't have bothered me in the least. Yeah, I know shades of MK but in the case of Rachel it would have just been karma.
Siobahn, Allison, Cosima and Sarah
Kira has been freed from Neolution thanks to Rachel finally getting onside but now the problem becomes, how do they keep her safe and why hasn't Neolution done anything to recapture Kira? Sarah is in full on panic mode, convinced that this is not over but Siobahn suggests that perhaps Neolution has bigger fish to fry now that Rachel has gone rogue. It's decided that Kira and Charlotte will go and stay with Art's ex wife and daughter because Neoultion won't think to look for them there. It's cute to watch a slightly freaking out Kira realise that Charlotte looks exactly the way her mother and her aunties would have looked as children.
Felix and Adele finally get yanked out of the plot box and make an appearance bearing a shit load of cheese. The timing of their return is perfect for Felix because he is having an art showing that night. Felix makes it clear that the art show is important and that there's no room for sestra nonsense tonight. I really like Felix laying down the law because everything he does is in service to clone club. Sarah of course isn't quite sure if now is the right time for a party but Siobahn steps in to point out that with Neolution on the ropes, the timing is perfect.
At the gallery, the Hendrixs are hard at work preparing the space. On display are all the paintings that Felix has done of the different sestras, including Beth. I need a moment. It was so nice to see Beth remembered in this way particularly because without Beth, there would be no clone club. When an important gallery owner arrives, Felix begins to worry that his work won't be interesting enough or catch enough attention and so Allison suggests that Felix use the sestras to bring his work to life. Okay, I'm hitting the pause button right here. This is Felix's show and it's important to him yet once again, Orphan Black has made it all about the sestras. The showing quickly turns into performance art with Cosima, Allison and Sarah doing their part to sell it to those in attendance, who have no idea that clones exist.
Siobahn shows up at the party with flowers after he little visitation with Rachel. Siobahn has good news: they've got the got the goods on Neolution at last, including Virginia's plans to sterilize people. The honours of making Neolution's dirty deeds public falls to Cosima, who shares the event at home with Delphine. If you didn't tear up a little bit at this, you're not #teamcloneclub.
At the party, Felix gives a speech about how much Siobahn and Sarah mean to him. Felix includes Adele and thanks the women in his life for doing the nurturing work for him. It's a beautiful tribute, even if I did want this showing to be Felix's solitary moment in the sun. Because this is Orphan Black, a moment of celebration cannot go on for long. Siobahn gets a call from Rachel letting her know that Ferdinand survived his meeting with the board.
Siobahn doesn't tell anyone about Ferdinand and returns home to deal with him herself. Ferdinand and Siobahn play a game of of cat and mouse but it turns deadly when Ferdinand pulls out a gun and shoots Siobahn in the chest. Siobahn relishes telling Ferdinand that the files are going public even as they speak. Siobahn is beginning to bleed out but that doesn't mean that she isn't still as cool as a cucumber. Siobahn grabs her own hidden gun and shoots Ferdinand in the throat, saying that statistically women who have been shot, have a greater chance of living than men who've been shot. Siobahn watches as the light leaves Ferdinand's eyes. Siobahn then manages to grab a photo of Felix and Sarah, calling them her chickens, before dying. And this, is when I screamed at my television in pain. I know that Orphan Black has been kind and not killed off any major characters but the loss of Siobahn cuts deep.
I'm really glad that Felix and Adele are back and hope that they have a prominent role in the last two episodes of Orphan Black. Felix has been far too sidelined this season and I've missed him a lot. I also hope that Art will have more to do as well because his role has been equally small.
I was really moved by the different paintings of the sestras that Felix made. It's a reminder of just how distinct their personalities are despite being clones of each other. Felix managed to capture the essential truth about each clone, although when it came to Crystal, that couldn't have been hard.
The big showdown is coming. With Siobahn dead, this means that the sestras are truly on their own now. The timing is particularly bad because Helena has been taken captive. The sestras are going to have to come together to save Helena from the Neolutionists and I suspect that each of them will use their own unique skill to come together, particularly given that Siobahn took care to point out to Rachel that everyone does what they can.
