Orphan Black - S3E7 - Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate
Previously on Orphan Black, ‘Certain Agony on the Battlefield’
This episode was a breath of (messily plotted) fresh air after a season over stuffed with complex mythology. Following an extremely intense episode which culminated in the explosive death of Paul (there must be a Hot Paul joke in there somewhere), episode 7 was back to basics. We got some good sestra bonding as Helena and Sarah wait for Mrs. S in a Mexican cantina. Helena being Helena, she ends up gambling with what looked like a Mexican sheriff to get some food money.
Mrs. S sure knows how to make an entrance, strutting into the bar like someone out of a Western. She has little success winning Helena over, after having betrayed her to Project Castor, and the two spend the episode trading wisecracks, punches, and, eventually, hugs.
Back in blue-tinged suburbia (And can TV shows please stop using yellow lighting as shorthand for Mexico? We get it; it’s sunny down there.) we finally get to meet the elder Mrs. Hendrix, and suddenly everything about Alison makes sense. She is hesitant about selling her soap shop to Alison, mostly because she’s not keen on Mr. Chubs being the co-owner. I think if I was Donnie I would have taken Alison’s last name too, Chubs is not the greatest maiden (?) name.
Shay and Cosima’s nice morning together is interrupted by a knock at the door from Delphine. She brings with her intense awkwardness and a request for urine. The height difference between Shay and Delphine is absurd.
Alison and Donnie meet up with Jason for drug dealing shenanigans and unnecessary testosterone fueled displays. Donnie and Jason set off for what should be a very simple exchange of money for drugs, but they, naturally, fuck up completely, and Alison is left to clean up their mess whilst attempting to keep her campaign together. Luckily, Cosima was swinging by to borrow some urine (a sure sign that you’re making a bad life decision, FYI) and she is able to fill in for the absent Alison at the behest of campaign manager Felix. Cosima does not have the same knack for deception as Sarah, to say the least.
Alison sends Jason to distract her mother, and he manages to convince her to sell the shop to Alison. He celebrates by attempting to kiss “Alison”, which Cosima is not too thrilled about.
Coming off the high of a really well done speech, Alison convinces Cosima that she needs to take her health seriously. She also tells her mother that Cosima is her clone, but her mother, as old white people are wont to do, gets distracted by the dreads and assumes that Cosima is “mulatto”.
Cosima heads back to Shay’s house for a bath, but starts to bleed into the water. (I was honestly more upset about the fact that Shay’s bathtub is in her living room)
Scott brings Rachel upstairs for some board games and code cracking, but she will only reveal her findings to Sarah. Her face when Scott offers her a pencil is priceless.
I never in a million years thought I’d say this, but I think I ship Scott and Rachel??
It was nice break to have an episode without a single Castor clone in it, just good old clone mix-ups fueled by one woman’s quest for a cup of pee, even if it was a little disjointed. It’s a serious show about bodily autonomy and scientific ethics, I swear!
Best moments:
- Cosima’s almost slip up as Alison: “As a lesbian … supporter”
- Shay vs. Delphine: Shay: “Whatever this is it’s not cool.” Delphine: “I don’t care.”
- Donnie and Jason’s pathetic competition over Alison: “Consider your territory pissed on.”
- Helena’s plans for her and Jesse: “Together we will drive tow trucks and make a home for our baby.”
- If the trailer is anything to go by, next week we might be getting a new clone!
