Orphan Black – S3E6 – Certain Agony of the Battlefield
Previously on Orphan Black, ‘Scarred By Many Past Frustrations’
Cosima
Delphine is back and she’s being rather salty towards Cosima. We later find out this attitude is motivated more by jealousy than Cosima and Scott’s poor attention to detail. Either Delphine herself, or someone she hired, was the one responsible for snapping photos of Cos and Shay on their date. While I’m not condoning Delphine’s stalker behavior, I do think there’s reason to be suspicious of Shay. I just don’t buy she knew about Sarah because Cosima was calling out her name in the night.
Scott and Cosima did miss something during their research though; the Castor brain they were examining has something in common with Gracie’s blood sample. To learn more about the connection, Felix brings Gracie into DYAD for further testing. What Cosima and Delphine end up discovering is that the Castor defect can be sexually transmitted, the effect of which causes ovaries to atrophy, leaving Gracie sterile. This breakthrough will surely have larger consequences in the greater scheme of Orphan Black, but for Gracie – who grew up thinking her entire life’s goal was to procreate – it’s kind of a huge relief.
Tired of waiting around for Siobhan’s “people” to find Sarah, Felix forces Scott to take him to Rachel. If anyone knows about Castor, Cyclops surely will. Though Felix’s attempt at torturing information out of her wasn’t overly clever – what did he really think painting on her eye-patch would achieve? – the way in which he got ALL UP IN HER FACE was extremely satisfying. I don’t think we’ve ever seen Felix take charge like this before and it was incredible. Unfortunately, Rachel doesn’t get him any closer to finding Sarah. However, she may have inadvertently helped Scott and Cosima get closer to understanding Duncan’s code. Before leaving her room, Scott notices symbols in Rachel’s paintings, which look identical to those in Duncan’s book. Whether she’s conscious of it or not, Rachel may already know the code.
Alison
The Hendrix’s have become Orphan Black’s comedic relief. With every episode, their storyline becomes increasingly disconnected from the main narrative, but somehow manages to remain just as engaging. The drug soap business is booming for Alison and Donny and they know just how to celebrate that fact, in style. In what could easily have been a scene from a Weird Al video, Alison and Donny dance around in their underwear, while throwing money and glitter all over one another. Why they didn’t bother to lock the bedroom door before doing so however is beyond me.
When Alison meets with Jason to discuss the future of their business, Donny shows up gleefully flaunting his new car, and it becomes clear he missed a few crucial details while watching Breaking Bad. They need a front for their illegal activities to ensure this conspicuous spending doesn’t raise any eyebrows. Alison has, of course, already been planning the next step. She has her sights set on Bubbles, the soap store where she used to work with her mother. It’s the perfect way to expand their current soap business and Jason agrees. Hopefully this means we’ll get to meet Alison’s mother!
Sarah
In a fevered state, Sarah dreams she’s been freed from her cell. The Castor base is empty, except for Kira, who’s calling for her mother to follow. Sarah runs after Kira only to end up seeing herself, undergoing a blood transfusion from Rudy. When she wakes to find gauze on her neck she realizes at least part of this nightmare was all too real.
Paul meets with his government contact to give him one of the Castor clones’ logbook. It’s evidence that Dr. Cody is performing unsanctioned, non-consensual research on women, but it’s not enough. Paul needs more information before his contact can make any moves, so he heads back to the base.
He arrives to find Sarah in the infirmary, her fevered state increasing. She tries to tell him about the transfusion, but Dr. Cody shows up just in time to totally deny everything. Sarah begs for Paul to get her out of there, but he turns his back on her, for now.
Trying to discern what happened at the base during his absence, Paul questions the Castor doctor. He reveals that, a couple of months ago, Rudy brought a woman with bloodshot eyes, dizziness, and a slew of other symptoms back to the base. Dr. Cody treated the woman and that’s when the science became secretive. The clones were asked to document all of their intimate relations, including stealing a lock of hair from each woman. The doctor doesn’t know what his tests are truly for, but he knows where Paul can find more information.
After realizing they share a common interest, Mark helps Paul gain access to Dr. Cody’s office. He quickly discovers dozens of folders containing the information of all the women the clones have been intimate with, including Gracie. This should be all the evidence Paul needs and he wastes no time in arresting Dr. Cody, and taking charge of the base. He confirms with the government contact that he has the necessary evidence and is promised the arrival of an extraction team within the next 6 hours.
As Paul learns Sarah has been infected with the Castor pathogen, thanks to Rudy’s blood, Sarah is falling ever deeper into her fevered state. This time she follows a younger version of herself (or any of the young Leda clones really) and ends up at Siobhan’s place, where Beth is waiting for her. Beth talks about the day Paul moved in, about how the fact that he only had two suitcases to his name should have sent off all the red flags. Beth thinks Sarah and Paul are perfect for each other; they’re both liars. Sarah admits she just keeps failing at protecting her sisters, no matter how hard she tries. Sarah clearly has a huge sense of guilt for taking Beth’s identity and her subconscious is having a field day with it. Just as her first fever-dream had important information to convey, so did this one. Beth encourages Sarah to “stop asking why; start asking who.”
When Sarah wakes, she and Paul question Dr. Cody. They learn the Castor and Leda clones have the same defect; the only difference is in its manifestation. It attacks the brain of the males and the epithelial tissue of the females. It turns out Mama Castor knew all along that Sarah would be able to beat the infection, thanks to her unique reproductive system. Dr. Cody stands her ground, convinced that her work has been in the name of protecting her boys, but Sarah makes the obvious problem clear: she’s infecting dozens of innocent women in the name of research. Paul starts to catch on though, this isn’t about finding a cure: it’s about creating a weapon. You see, Dr. Cody is so warped, she believes this pathogen could be used to stop wars, without spilling any blood. What’s clear however, is that if used on the masses, this pathogen could potentially create a very bleak, post-apocalyptic type society. One in which many of the men have died off and generations of women are left sterile.
Unfortunately, Paul’s government contact can’t be trusted. Rudy, who was out looking for the escaped Helena, gets a call from said government guy and heads back to take care of business. He hides under the truck while his partner distracts the troops so he can sneak back into the base. He immediately takes action, slitting a guard’s throat so he can bust out his fellow clone. Luckily for Paul and Sarah, Mark tells them of Rudy’s return so they know to get the hell out of there.
While trying to escape the base Paul is stabbed, several times, by a male clone. Paul manages to break the clone’s neck and helps Sarah into a tunnel that will lead to her freedom. Paul’s not going with her though, and as he turns to leave he admits it was never Beth he loved, it was Sarah.
Rudy rescues his mama and together they go to secure the Castor DNA, but Paul is waiting for them. He tries to reason with Dr. Cody one last time, “Cure them, Virginia.” She shoots him repeatedly in the chest, clearly showing her lack of interest in his pleas. Paul has the last laugh though because he brought a grenade to the party! The blast shakes through the base and into the tunnel, knocking Sarah out.
Earlier on, Helena realized she regretted leaving Sarah behind. Sick of her Scorpion pal’s bullshit, she eats her imaginary friend and heads back to retrieve her sister. In the most heroic timing, Helena arrives to help Sarah get back on her feet and escape through the tunnel.
While I believe Paul’s fate has been sealed – RIP, Dirty Paul – I’m not convinced this is the last we’ve seen of Dr. Cody and Rudy. I’ll be satisfied when we see their corpses.
