Orphan Black 5×05 Review: “Ease for Idle Millionaires”

Orphan Black loves its mysteries. In fact, this show is built around them, but the best feeling is when they finally reveal the truth about something. (The satisfaction of the truth bomb is everything.) We have gone four and half seasons wondering about Kira, and what makes her so special – this mystery has caused so many debates in my life. Kira is different. You know it, I know it, Tumblr knows it. But now we know why Neolution wants her.

Harvesting Kira’s eggs and placing them in surrogates around the world is completely messed up. She may have a special gene to regenerate and create the next phase of human evolution, but Kira is a child – she needs to be protected and kept away from Rachel and P.T.! Overall, this was a shocking twist. It doesn’t completely explain some of her other traits, like her sensing the life force of the other LEDA clones, but it does shine the light on something specific about her that ties these experiments together.

What I am worried about now, however, is what Neolution is going to do to get her. They’ve figured out that this gene is hiding away in the offspring of clones, and Mrs. S/Delphine/Sarah/Cosima are going to do whatever they can to protect Kira. And even if Kira does hide away, they’re going to search for Helena and her twins. There are five episodes left of the series – this could be a dangerous fight. P.T.’s health is deteriorating and he’s going to want anything to stay alive.

Speaking of P.T., he is a monster! I knew he was an egomaniac, but I didn’t expect him to be a murderous sociopath too. He enjoyed toying with Cosima’s mind during the dinner and using Delphine to chip away at her armor. He knows exactly what he’s doing. A round of applause to Stephen McHattie for his performance during this episode – this was his moment to shine. He brought out the true side of P.T. and made him into a menacing, calculating villain who has a killer side to him.

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The set designs used in “Ease for Idle Millionaires” were perfection. There wasn’t an overabundance of places that characters explored, but the key areas that were chosen, like the living room, the mansion and the basement lab, felt completely lived in and suited the mood of the story. My favorite of the night had to be the conservatory where Susan Duncan and Rachel were having their chat. The glass walls highlighted the moody weather of the island. It perfectly symbolized the stormy relationship between this mother and daughter. And the fact that the colours were predominately white and grey made it that much more beautiful. Kudos to the set and costume designers!

Did anyone else feel like Sarah was hustling Kira? I got that vibe during Kira’s explanation of joining Clone Club and using Rachel. She was giving up a lot of information during their family time at the house. Let’s be real here, Sarah was subtlety manipulating her daughter into explaining what Rachel wanted from her and it almost worked. It didn’t end up working since Delphine told Mrs. S the truth, but it was nice to see Sarah, Kira and Mrs. S together again having sweet family moments. After all the drama with Neolution, we sometimes forget that family plays an important part of this show.

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The same goes with relationships. Though, Cosima and Delphine’s relationship is a major roller coaster. I can never tell if Delphine is being upfront and honest with Cosima or if she’s using her again. There were many times that I questioned Delphine’s motives. It seems that she’s on the level and working with Clone Club – which is good because I’m rooting for Delphine and Cosima. However, she must know more than she’s letting on. Delphine is always hiding something from Cosima, and this could seriously hurt their relationship.

We learned the truth about the monster in the woods, and I think it was a good explanation. This creature isn’t simply a random experiment – this is the FIRST experiment that connects it all in the LEDA timeline. I’m not heartbroken to see the creature go; we barely got any screen time with him. However, I am worried about Cosima and Mud. P.T. killed the experiment in front of Cosima and he’s now holding her prisoner; he could easily get rid of her if he so chooses. Mud, on the other hand, no longer has a responsibility on the island. The experiment is dead and P.T.’s health is deteriorating fast – he doesn’t exactly need her anymore. Mud needs to get Cosima, Charlotte and their allies off the island before she’s the next victim.

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“Ease for Idle Millionaires” was an exposition episode that revealed a lot of history and true motivations. I’m glad that we got the answer to some looming questions that have been up in the air since the first season. And there were plenty of memorable moments that will live on, like the entire dinner scene and the conservatory chat. However, there are only five episodes left in Orphan Black. The story needs to start tying itself together, and there isn’t that much time left to do it.

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