Orphan Black – Let the Children and the Childbearers Toil

By: Michelle Lopez

In Westmorland Manor, P.T. (Stephen McHattie) wakes Susan (Rosemary Dunsmore) to give her a pair of slippers as a peace offering. He ignores her comment on him turning her daughter against her in favor of explaining the method used to save her life. Susan knows Westmorland is keeping her around become of some breakthrough he’s made, but she’s done with him. Westmorland’s not prepared to throw in the towel on their partnership just yet and has Ira (Ari Millen) brought in as a second peace offering.

Over some tea in the manor’s greenhouse, Ira expresses his disbelief of Susan’s history on the island with Westmorland. Susan and Westmorland were partners in the Neolution vision, but he found someone who was willing to do things Susan wasn’t, so they parted ways. Ira doesn’t understand how Susan can be around the man who led Rachel to stab her, but her issues are with the approaches used to achieve the goals of Neolution, not the concept itself.

As a Family
While Kira (Skyler Wexler) gets ready for school, Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) tries to learn what Rachel’s been doing during her time with Kira. She doesn’t like sharing her daughter with her nemesis and needs to make sure Kira’s not hurt. All Rachel did was take blood, clip Kira’s nails, talk about science stuff and gift her with a mouse. Sarah’s relieved Kira’s talking so she gives her a hug until Kira pulls away in pain. Kira’s got a huge cut on her upper arm, which Sarah assumes is Rachel’s doing. Kira runs downstairs to escape questioning, but when Siobhan (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and Felix (Jordan Gavaris) see the cut they want answers, too. Rachel didn’t cut Kira — she did it to herself as an experiment to see how fast she heals. Siobhan sends Kira to get some bandages while instructing her kids on the game plan. Felix is watching Kira after school and waiting for a mystery visitor while she and Sarah follow a lead that should help with Kira’s situation.

At the comic book hideout, Scott (Josh Vokey) fills Siobhan and Sarah in on what they’ve found on Westmorland. Aside from his published works and presumed death in 1898, they don’t have much. Hell Wizard (Calwyn Shurgold) hands over some information Siobhan requested so she and Sarah leave to follow up on that information after instructing Scott to piece together what P.T.’s been up to in the last hundred years.

Siobhan brings Sarah to a hotel bar where they’re going to pull a con on a woman, Dr. Elizabeth Perkins (Sarah Orenstein), to steal her ID. Sarah’s reluctant at first since she doesn’t know the plan, but she can’t resist a good con. Perkins has a lousy relationship with her daughter so Sarah starts a loud argument with Siobhan, which ends with her throwing a drink in Siobhan’s face. Perkins takes the bait and invites Siobhan to join her after Sarah storms off with Perkins’ wallet.

While Sarah is in the bathroom rummaging through the wallet, Perkins offers Siobhan some free therapy about her issues with Sarah. Upon Siobhan’s questioning, Perkins explains that she’s in town for a case study for her book and offers to give Siobhan her business card. Before Perkins can notice her wallet is gone, Sarah comes back to let Siobhan know she’s leaving, returning the wallet. Siobhan chases after Sarah, leaving with Perkins with the bill.

At Felix’s loft after school, Felix tries to check on Kira’s cut, but she doesn’t want any more attention on it. After some pizza, Felix gets Kira to sit for him to draw. When Kira sees the drawing, she comments on how much she looks like Sarah. Felix points out that Kira’s also been stomping around like Sarah. Kira has been trying to help her mom by acting like a brat because she thinks Sarah’s overreacting about her visiting Rachel. Felix reminds Kira that no matter how Rachel is acting they can’t trust her because they don’t know what she actually wants.

In the car Siobhan finally fills Sarah in on the plan — there is a Neolution defector being held in a psychiatric facility that Perkins has an appointment to visit tomorrow. They’re going to visit tonight, find the defector and get them to spill on Westmorland. Since they’ve got some time before their unscheduled after-hours appointment, Sarah’s decides it’s time to visit a convent.

At the convent, Siobhan leaves Sarah to herself while she goes to prepare for her role as Dr. Perkins. A mute nun leads Sarah to a room where she finds her twin sestra working on her memoirs. Helena (Tatiana Maslany) senses that Sarah is torn up about something and invites her to share. Sarah can’t give Kira the answers she wants and it’s causing her to physically harm herself. Helena suggests Sarah tell Kira the truth about their situation, but Sarah wants to protect Kira. This conversation leads Sarah to admit that she wasn’t a good sestra to Helena. After they stopped trying to kill each other, she ran away because she was scared of the connection she felt to her. She didn’t believe in it until she was dying on the island and Kira called to her and saved her. Their connections are the true gift and Sarah’s going to do everything in her power to keep it from Rachel.

Felix’s surprise guest finally arrives and it’s his sister, Adele (Lauren Hammersley). Siobhan has initiated her into the clone club and given her a mission. She was disbarred for embezzling money, and they need her skills to track down a corporation in Switzerland.

While Sarah and Helena spoke, Siobhan changed into her “Dr. Perkins” outfit and perfected her new accent. While driving to the hospital, they both put the final touches on their alter egos. They have thirty minutes to infiltrate the facility and get the information they need before Perkins’ contact Dr. Nimritz (Doug Murray) shows up. The admin, Neal (Varun Saranga), buys their lie about mixing up the day/time of their appointment and signs them in. He hands over passes and the instruction to not interact with any patients. They enter and quickly find the patient they’re looking for who happens to be the former head of Castor, Virginia Coady (Kyra Harper). Sarah loses her cool when she sees her (since Virginia did try to kill Sarah a few times), but Siobhan reins her in. Susan had Virginia admitted under a false name and drugged into a stupor. They wake her up and demand information on Westmorland. Susan and Westmorland recruited her before they started cloning humans. Their first subject was a child they found with a unique genome. They experimented on him so much to the point where he became the monster that haunts the woods outside Revival. Susan wanted to stop the testing before it went that far, but Westmorland and Virginia were dedicated. The outcome drove a wedge between Susan and Virginia, which is why each was given their own branch of the clone project and Westmorland kept them far apart. Dr. Nimritz arrives and senses that something’s wrong. Virginia “loses it” and attacks Sarah as a diversion to steal Sarah’s visitor’s pass. The scene distracts enough people that Siobhan and Sarah escape without notice.

Back at home, Siobhan thanks Adele for her understanding and willingness to be an active part of their messed up family. She’s sending Felix and Adele to Switzerland to follow the money and find the Neolution subsidiaries registered there.

Stay out of the Woods
In Revival, Charlotte (Cynthia Grant) and Aisha (Sirena Gulamgaus) discover that one of the baby pigs, Daisy, escaped the pen so they wander into the woods looking her her. They follow the sound of squealing and find Daisy. She’s bleeding and nibbling on some mostly eaten vegetables lying around. Charlotte finds a tooth on the ground moments before Mud (Jenessa Grant) finds them and rushes them back to the village. As they’re leaving they hear an ominous growl/scream.

In the clinic, Cosima (Tatiana Maslany) is finishing up Charlotte’s checkup when she notices the tooth Charlotte found earlier. Charlotte explains her early morning pig hunt and almost run-in with the creature in the woods. Mud insists it’s a bear, but Charlotte thinks it’s an ogre. Cosima jokes around about ogres not being real while identifying the tooth as human.

Cosima’s decided she wants to get to the bottom of the “bear” in the woods so she confronts Mud about it in the mess hall. Mud insists that it’s a bear, but Cosima’s not buying it. She seems to get Mud to open up to her about the insanity of the island when Mud claims that “it’s not his fault.” As soon as the words leave her mouth she backtracks and doubles down on the creature being a bear.

Cosima follows Mud around the village and sees her get questioned about the “bear” by a group of hunters. They want to know where he hides so they can go take care of him. Mud claims to have no idea what they’re talking about and storms off. Cosima keeps tailing Mud and eventually follows her into Westmorland’s manor. She follows Mud into the basement where she discovers horrible evidence of the conditions Virginia and Westmorland kept their first subject in. Mud finds Cosima lurking around and kicks her out before she’s discovered by anyone else.

When Mud finally leaves the manor, Cosima’s outside ready to follow. Mud takes a jacket to the woods and calls out to the creature. Cosima watches from the distance as the creature approaches cautiously. When it gets close enough to grab the jacket, it roars at Mud and runs off with the goods.

Deal with the Devil
Susan explains to Ira that she imprisoned Virginia to keep her and her questionable ethics away from Westmorland. Virginia’s absence is the reason Susan’s still around. Westmorland made a breakthrough having to do with Kira and he needs her scientific knowledge to capitalize on it. She’s going to use her position to keep herself and Ira safe.

Over a glass of port, Susan agrees to work with Westmorland under the condition that she has complete access. Rachel gets to be the figurehead of Neolution, but she’s going to handle all the science. Westmorland agrees and they toast to the future.