Orphan Black #CloneClub Recap: “Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis”

Honey, we’re home!

Welcome to this week’s Orphan Black #CloneClub Recap! Episode 2 of the season, “Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis” focuses on the theme of Family: what it means (for clone and non-clone alike), and what one is willing to do to protect it. Let’s dive in!

“Sarah, will I ever be more than just the Keeper of the Clone Phones?”

S3, Episode 2 – The Basics:

• Sarah (Tatiana Maslany), Cal (Michiel Huisman), and Kira (Skylar Wexler) attempt to play house in the aftermath of Delphine warning Sarah off Dyad, and for a second, Sarah is willing to put her search for Helena on hold in the interest of having a semblance of a normal life. But that doesn’t last long. Art (Kevin Hanchard) is back, and he calls Sarah asking her about the new male clones. Just when she thinks she’s out, they pull her back in. Turns out, Rudy (Ari Millen) and Seth tried to have an ill-advised bro threesome with a woman, and when she wasn’t receptive, they stole her personal info and her DNA (in the form of a hair follicle), causing her to fear her safety. Sarah’s interest in pursuing Helena is renewed, so she goes to Mrs. S (Maria Doyle-Kennedy) for help, but Mrs. S has a different idea of what Sarah needs to do. And after a scary run-in with Rudy, who breaks into Felix’s (Jordan Gavaris) apartment and holds Kira at gunpoint while looking for Professor Duncan’s genetic samples for the original Castor clone, Sarah decides to take Mrs. S’s advice. She sends Kira off with Cal to keep her safe, then decides on a new mission. Find Helena…by finding Mark the Prolethean.
• Rudy is on a mission to find the original genetic material used to create the Castor clones, and now we know why. Seth is “glitching,” his brain seems to be short-circuiting at shorter and shorter intervals, and for the first time demonstrates family loyalty before loyalty to his mission. When Paul (Dylan Bruce) checks in on the Castor clones and orders Rudy and Seth back to their base, Rudy disobeys orders and goes to Felix’s. Meanwhile, Paul approaches Cal—bringing up the fact that Cal is apparently a war profiteer—and asks him to warn Sarah to stop her pursuit of Helena for her own good, because the Castor clones are coming after her. Cal tries to get to Sarah at Felix’s to warn her, but is intercepted by Seth, who is standing lookout as Rudy is upstairs with Sarah and Kira. Cal is prepared to defend himself against Seth, but he doesn’t need to. Seth starts glitching and seizing, and his screams attract Rudy, who comes downstairs to find his brother convulsing. Rudy puts Seth out of his misery by shooting him. He lets Cal go as he runs off.

Defending his bro.

• Cosima continues to be on the mend, and she seems to be allowing for a spiritual component to her condition (remember that near-death experience she recounted last week?) by saying that she is “open to different perspectives on The Void.” She and Scott go to Dyad and learn that Project Leda started as a military experiment headed by the Duncans. Dyad recruited them, and learned that they had sourced two lines of clones, male and female, Leda and Castor (who, by the way, is a warrior horseman, hence the tattoos the Castor clones share). They are told that the Leda and Castor originals are lost, and Cosima and Scott are inwardly all We have the cypher, na na, na-na, na!
• Meanwhile, Alison really, really wants to be School Trustee. So much so that she’s willing to become Walter White to do it! She and Donnie agree to buy a drug business (product and client list) off of Ramon, the kid who used to sell her her her drugs, for $32,000, which they’re taking out of their retirement fund. Why? A really loyal voter base, that’s why!

“Where are the mangoes?”

• Helena is being held in a (really fake-looking) Middle East-type location (maybe?) by the military and a Dr. Virginia Coady, who seems very interested in what Helena is made of. So interested, that she was willing to put Helena through the “stress test” of waterboarding before realizing Helena is pregnant. Yes, Helena’s still hanging with her scorpion friend. And the scorpion loves to eat as much as she does! Dr. Coady tries to play Helena against Sarah, telling her that Sarah sold her out, but Helena doesn’t believe her. Still, Dr. Coady says “You got so much, and we’re going to find out how.”
• Lastly, Felix tells Mrs. S that—despite her guilt over Helena—she doesn’t “get to sit this one out.”
• Oh, and Mark the Prolethean burned off his Castor tattoo as Gracie (Zoe de Grand’Maison) listens from outside the bathroom door, fulfilling the episode’s Ick Quota.

No, Donny. “Fist me” is not the correct thing to say when requesting a fist bump.

The Awesome:

• Whereas last week’s episode was more about plot, this one was more about character, and I loved that. Just about every single character in this large and talented cast (made up mostly of Maslany and Millen) had a moment where they got to shine and deal with very personal stories.
• Of all of these moments, the one that stands out the most is the moment when Rudy shoots Seth. For the first time, I really felt his pain for his brother. Yes, the Castors are self-aware clones, but that doesn’t make them any less individual than the Project Leda clones. Millen played the scene beautifully, carefully balancing sadness and anger, and it was truly heartbreaking.
• Alison keeps getting more and more interesting. I love that, even though she’s removed from the immediate Clone Club goings-on re: Dyad and Project Castor, she has plenty of adventure in her own life. I also love what a team she and Donny have become. They’re corny, ruthless, and endlessly fascinating in their relentless suburban-ness.
• Heartbreaking Moment #2: Helena continues to be my favorite clone, and when she was being tortured, I wanted to PUNCH ALL THE THINGS. However, I love that no matter what, Helena always manages to find some humor, even if it’s through a scorpion. The “Mangoes” scene was priceless and played to perfection by Maslany. As was Helena referring to the Project Castor clones as the “Mark-faced boys.”

Mommy needs you to chill out right now.

• It was great to see characters like Art and Cal, whom we didn’t see in the first episode of the season.
• Heartbreaking Moment #3: Sarah letting Kira go with Cal. Ugh. SO MANY FEELS.
• I love that the Project Castor clones aren’t easily dismissed as villains. Much like Early Helena, they seem initially threatening, but there’s more to them than all that, and I think that we’ll soon find them and the Project Leda clones on the same side. Sarah seemed to start going in this direction when she was talking to Rudy about Seth. “Your brother’s sick, right?” She seemed thisclose to connecting that to Cosima.
• Also interesting: the fact that both Rudy and Dr. Coady herself refer to Dr. Coady as “mother” to the Project Castor clones.
• I’ll admit it—I’m a big fan of Naked Ari Millen. That potential threesome between Mark, Seth, and that woman would’ve been amazingly hot had it been, you know, consensual. As it was not, I’m very glad it didn’t happen. Still, I can dream about what could’ve been, right? *sigh*

The Not-So-Awesome:

• Two episodes in, and Felix is criminally underused. I love the character, and I hope that the season will give him more to do that simply be The Gay Best Friend. He needs to be a more active member of Clone Club.
• The revelation of Cal’s having been a war profiteer seemed like a last-minute add-on plot device to give Paul something with which to threaten him. Meh.

Well, that’s it for this week! Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 9PM EST on BBC America. If you missed last week’s recap, CHECK IT OUT HERE. Also, make sure you’re reading our Orphan Black Science Recaps, which walk you through the plausibility of the science of each episode! See you next Monday! Til then, go look for those mangoes. (Images courtesy of BBC America)

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