Orphan Black: Transitory Sacrifices Of Crisis

It's the second episode, and in it you can see the careful arrangement of all the myriad pieces being set-up for the season's overarching plot – though as ever, there's room for at least one Oh Crap moment (in which the survival of certain characters feels genuinely in doubt) and an early Put On A Bus departure for two central players. Okay, one central player.

Whereas last week we checked in with Delphine/Rachel/Dyad and were introduced to James Frain's Ferdinand, this episode catches up with Paul, Art, Cal and Mark (in other words, all the supporting male cast members, who had to wait until after the season premiere to be reintroduced).

We also get a little more on the Castor clones, specifically Rudy (scar face) and Seth (moustache). I'm still not totally sold on the inclusion of Ari Miller's Spear Counterpart to Tatiana Maslany's range of clones, but here at least we get some insight into what makes them tick. I had a sinking feeling in my gut when we opened on a disturbing scene in which Rudy brings a girl back to his apartment, only for Seth to slip in and take her jacket while her back is turned, and later to join them while they're on the bed mid-coitus.

Ewww. The poor woman is understandably freaked out, only for the scene to cutaway before the situation escalates.

Still, at least Orphan Black is self-aware. Though taken by itself, the scene felt exploitative, the follow-up puts it in greater context: we get to hear the woman's testimony, see the lasting effects the encounter has had on her, and even make crystal clear that her consent was given only to Rudy. That Seth joined in without her permission or awareness was explicitly identified as rape.

It all felt rather uncomfortable though, especially since the greater purpose of the scene was to a) demonstrate the relationship between Rudy and Seth, and b) reintroduce Art back into the storyline.

(As an aside, I worry that they're going to run out of material for Art – when you think about it his investigation of the Proletheans in the second season went nowhere, and Sarah's time as Beth in the precinct has certainly been played out. That said, shouldn't the police department be hunting down a woman who successfully impersonated one of their own? Not to mention the violent serial killer they were tracking for the entire duration of the first season?)

Between Rudy and Seth it's difficult not to draw parallels between Sarah and Helena. One twin is considerably more mentally stable than the other, leading to an attitude of care and protection in the former toward the latter. And as with Sarah/Helena, the relationship ends with the protector killing the "sick" one (the difference being that Sarah's shot was not fatal – though not through lack of intent).

This was a good shot.

The reasons for each shooting differ though, in a fairly significant way. Sarah shot Helena in response to the murder to Amelia and to indirectly protect her family; Rudy shot Seth (and held him while he died) to put him out of his misery. Sarah shooting Helena felt like the only logical course of action. Rudy's shooting came as a shock, because up until this point his rapport with his brother was one of teasing affection – the exact opposite of the one Sarah had with Helena. 

I'm reminded of Vanessa Ives on Penny Dreadful in her letter to Mina: "I love you enough to kill you."

Since the episode ends with Mark burning off his Castor tattoo, one suspects that Rudy's devotion to Seth is indicative that Mark's clear desire to leave behind his military past will cause some friction between the remaining brothers; which again can only be compared with Sarah's current stance on Helena: get her back no matter what.

***

And where is Helena? Oddly enough, it's in an environment in which she may thrive. We know little about her upbringing beyond the fact she hated the Ukrainian nuns and was kept in a cage by Tomas, but however her past may have broken her, it's probably also prepared her for the ordeal to come – as evidenced by her ongoing conversations with the scorpion (my current favourite character) an external portion of her mind that seems to be prepping her on how to handle things.

Helena is all out of fucks to give.

Of course it doesn't hurt that Helena is under the dubious care of one Doctor Virginia Coady, who simultaneously feels like a counterpoint to Marian Bowles, and a good candidate for the "Mother" that Rudy namedrops to Paul earlier in the episode. She puts a halt to the torture, though the fact that she refers to it as a "stress test" (possibly the most generous euphemism I've ever heard) and tries to sell Helena the lie that it was Sarah who sold her out, tells us she's not to be trusted any time soon.

Paul returns, complete with manly stubble, and we get a surprising new perspective on him. In season one we were led to believe that he was blackmailed into working for Dyad in the capacity of Beth's monitor due to unspecified events that occurred in Afghanistan. Now it transpires that he was a military spy the whole time, just as Mark was at the Proletheans' ranch.

The trouble with this show is that I'm finding the clone-conspiracy almost incomprehensible at this point, and for the first time I feel as though some retconning has occurred. If Paul has been a military spy this whole time, it suggests (though admittedly does not confirm) that he knew in some capacity that he was dealing with clones. Paul's obvious distress and confusion when he realized that "Beth" was really Sarah was the only bit of genuine acting that Dylan Bruce has done on this show – now it feels somewhat tainted; clouded by the fact that he might well have known more than he let on in that moment.

The real problem is that I don't know – and three seasons in I feel I should know. Paul's mysterious nature is wearing as thin as Kira's, and as the conspiracy storyline reels ever more characters and agendas into its web, I get increasingly confused as to what I'm supposed to know about it. There's a good entry over on Previously.TV:

One of my very few frustrations with this show is how unwieldy the conspiracy can be sometimes, and the character of Paul is a good example of that.  Layers are fine, not understanding everything at once is fine, but there's a fine line between twisty and layered, and convoluted and illogical.  Trying to match Paul's earlier behaviour with his current storyline is...difficult.  

Not making it easier - the writers gave an interview after the season 2 finale that confirmed exactly how much Paul knew and when.  Like, they weren't coy about it or treating it like a revelation to come, they just straight up said it.  But it hasn't been confirmed on the show, so people are still debating how much Paul knew back in season 1 and 2, and so I never know if I should treat what they said as canon when debating how Paul's past behaviour matches with his current. They really need to clear things up on air regarding that character this season.  He's hit his shelf life on 'mysterious'.  

That pretty much sums it up; how difficult it is to keep track of what exactly I'm supposed to even know about this conspiracy, and as such we're three seasons in and I've still very little idea of what Paul's motivation is. Was the dirt Dyad dug up on him even real, or fabricated by the military to give him a way in? I can only guess that his scene with Cal, in which he encourages his romantic rival to leave town with Sarah and Kira, was sincere, in which case it was also surprisingly touching – but because I understand so little about the man, I can't really appreciate it.

Come on show, it's time to clarify a few mysteries before introducing new ones. I live in hope that there is one big unifying principle behind all this current confusion, and before the show ends it'll all become abundantly clear. Please – not another LOST!

***

Just as quickly as Cal is reintroduced, he and Kira exit stage-left. It's a good decision. The show is undoubtedly getting overcrowded, Michael Huisman is needed over on Game of Thrones, Skylar Wexler is probably growing too fast to keep consistent with the show's time-line, and as much as I prefer Cal over Paul as endgame material for Sarah, his significance as a character was pretty much restricted to being Kira's father (no, I'm not particularly interested in the war profiteering that Paul mentioned).

This was a good scene between the two of them -
and probably the last time we'll ever see them interact.

Perhaps the nicest thing I can say about him is that I'm not even remotely concerned over the fact Kira's safety has been entrusted to him. They'll have a great time together.

Miscellaneous Observations:

It's probably not a good sign that Cosima and Alison have been relegated to the "miscellaneous observations" pile, though their storylines were transitory here. Cosima and Scott were cute together, and the intriguing subject of the clones' original genetic donors is raised for the first time. We've met Sarah and Helena's birthmother Amelia, though it was clear they had no genetic material in common, but now we're talking about the people on whom both the Leda and Castor clones were built. This feels big.

As for Alison and Donny, they've decided to supplement their finances by buying young Ramon's black market business, with the added incentive of knowing his clients will support Alison in the coming election. As much as I enjoy Alison's ever-growing deviousness, all this feels incredibly disconnected from the rest of the show.

They started with pink phones, moved to green, and now blue. Do you think this is going to be a season tradition?

Poor Mrs S. She did what she felt was in Sarah's best interests, only to find she seriously underestimated the bond between twins. Still, at least we got a lovely scene between her and Felix.

Another reason to like Cal; that in his confrontation with Paul, he immediately asked about Helena, knowing she was Sarah's biggest concern. I was sure Rudy was going to shoot him, so I'm glad the show forewent the obvious route of having him die in the defence of Kira, and instead made him the vehicle for removing her from danger.

Cal may have not been the most compelling character, but he came across as likeable and trustworthy – two rare things on this show.

Next week: it looks like more focus on the clones, Art, and hopefully some answers.