The beginning of the end is here, Clone Club. What started as the story of one British punk-rocker watching a genetic identical commit suicide has now evolved into a thrilling trip that has spanned five years. Orphan Black’s fifth and final season will hopefully deliver a satisfying and shocking ending to Sarah’s, Alison’s, Cosima’s, Helena’s (and essentially all of the characters) stories. But it all starts with the fifth season premiere.
I liked that the story picked up right after the events of Orphan Black’s Season 4 finale. After the cliffhanger we got with Rachel and Sarah, this didn’t deserve a time jump or bridging point. Sarah’s life was hanging in the balance after fighting with Rachel. This was the perfect moment to continue – I needed to know if she was going to survive or not! Sarah is one of my favorites on Orphan Black; she’s resourceful and a survivalist. This became perfectly clear when she found the tools in the woods necessary to stop the bleeding from her wounds. (Disclaimer: Never use duct tape and a tampon to stop a knife wound. This is pretty common sense…but don’t try that at home.)
Any predictions on who that mysterious man was in the woods? We didn’t get a great look at his face as he was attacking Sarah, but there was definitely something off about him. I have a feeling this has to do with Revival and the experiments being done on the island. The theme of evolution and scientific progress were strong during the Season 5 premiere, and it ties back to this theory. These believers aren’t simply living on the island and curing people until the next phase of life begins. They must be experimenting and trying their hand at creating the next phase in human evolution; similar to what the club members at Club Neolution were adding to their bodies. I bet there are more dangerous scientific subjects running around the island.
It’s great to see Sarah survive her wounds. Kudos to the writers for adding in the Kira hallucinations – these emotional moments broke my heart. Now I know that the last thing Sarah will see as she dies is her daughter’s face; if she ever dies, expect even more tears. However, visually they looked beautiful. It gave off the feeling of walking into the light.
Cosima and Delphine being reunited has been a long time coming. We got a few close scenes in the Season 4 finale, but this time we actually got them together…for a short time. Delphine being rushed off to another country is not surprising. Something always gets in the way between these two. Like, seriously, can’t they just have happiness yet?!
Though, we need to call out Delphine for a moment. She’s (yet again) holding back information from Cosima and not sharing all the important details that could save her life. Cosima is being held at Revival, watched by Mud (can we get a name change?), and being kept in the dark. Delphine should’ve given her all the key facts right away. But she did do well eventually by saving the cure and giving Cosima information that did help her in the end. Cosima deciding to stay at Revival is a curious case; she did it to not arouse suspicion, but there seems to be more to this reason. In the mean time, hopefully this injection will cure Cosima (and eventually Charlotte) – they’ve been sick for so long, we can’t lose them yet.
I don’t know what to make of this new side of Rachel. Sure, she’s still absolutely evil. Her ordering Ferdinand and the minions to kidnap Mrs. S and Kira, having them kidnap Alison and monitoring Art, and following Felix all seem par for the course when it comes to Neolution’s first daughter. However, it’s her attitude change towards the clones and the group that baffles me. She was so nice to Cosima and administered the cure herself – I would’ve never expected it. For a second, I was worried she would deprive Cosima of the cure! Whatever P.T. Westmoreland said to her, it must’ve been world changing. Everyone on Revival seems to be under his spell, including Rachel.
Speaking of Alison, I can’t believe Donny abandoned her. She was in mid-capture and he couldn’t have saved her, but still…he took off running. Helena showed more courage by saving him, even though she’s almost nine months pregnant. Hopefully the wound to her stomach won’t harm the babies; she’s made it this far and needs to deliver them safely. Though, I have the strangest feeling that Neolution will be going after her babies and her life will be in danger post-birth. This group is no longer hiding – they’re out in the open now and the organization is watching them.
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This was a first good start to Orphan Black’s final season. The writers kept up with the momentum from the previous season finale and heightened the drama for all of our favorite clones. I wish there was more to the story as the ending seemed to come up abruptly, but this may be due to the fact that I was hooked. I’m not worried for Sarah, even though she’s just been captured by Rachel. They need something from her and Rachel is being strangely civil with the Leda clones lately. Something mysterious is going on…more so than it usually is.
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