'Orphan Black' Recap: "Clutch of Greed"

Sabrina Petrafesa ’18 / Emertainment Monthly President
This week’s episode of Orphan Black did not stop to let viewers take a breath. Sarah wakes up in Dyad dreaming about Kira and Mrs. S telling her “You’re gonna have to let go, Sarah. You need to listen to her.” Which is foreshadowing for the Sarah’s whole journey this episode. Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) has been trapped at Dyad for an indeterminate amount of time and when she leaves her cell to go speak with Rachel (Maslany) she discovers that everyone in her life has bent to Rachel’s will and are following the neolutionists.
Thankfully Siobhan and Felix had a plan all along. This part of the episode follows Felix (Jordan Gavaris), Siobhan (Maria Doyle Kennedy), and Sarah attempt and succeed in kidnapping Kira from school. The attempt includes an amazing scene where Sarah has disguised herself as Rachel to get Kira (Skyler Wexler) out of the school. Maslany layering her characters like this no longer surprises, but still astonishes. Maslany’s ability to not lose the core clone will be a feat of amazing acting that will be missed when Orphan Black makes its departure at the end of the season.

Only two episodes in to Orphan Black’s final season Rachel appears to have turned over a new leaf. Claiming PT Westmoreland has given her something she’s never felt in her entire life. Her interactions with the other clones have become significantly less hate filled, she no longer wants (or needs) to engage in BDSM with her boyfriend, – although boyfriend doesn’t seem to fit a man like Ferdinand (James Frain) – and she truly seems to care about Kira. Rachel’s feelings towards Kira have always seemed to have stemmed from jealousy that Kira wasn’t hers to curiosity over her abilities to lab rat. Now, Kira is a lab rat but Rachel seems to truly be trying to help her. Kira wants to stay with Rachel and even has taken to calling her Auntie Rachel. When Kira realized her mom was trying to take her away forever Kira fought back. She wanted to stay to understand her own abilities.
Which brings us to one of the more staggering twists in the episode. MK (Maslany) comes back to assist and tell everyone that she’s sick. Sarah and Felix try incredibly hard to save her, but MK doesn’t want to be saved and when Sarah circles back to MK in the middle of kidnapping Kira she takes Sarah’s place when Ferdinand shows up. When Ferdinand finds MK he goes crazy. In one of the creepiest moments in the entire series he goes back and forth calling MK by her original name Veera and Rachel while he beat her to death. It was horrifying, creepy, and bloody, and while that is happening Kira felt it happening. Kira knew the moment that MK died and that was the moment everyone knew that maybe testing Kira wasn’t such a bad idea.

Cosima (Maslany) had one of the best moments in the entire episode. Since Delphine left the village Cosima’s been spending her time with Charlotte (Cynthia Galant) – the only clone that Tatiana Maslany doesn’t need to play. Now, she’s finally going to meet PT Westmoreland (Stephen McHattie) and when she does she gives him the proper response when he offers her things that seem too good to be true, “Uh, no disrespect, but I know you created me, and I have no interest in being part of your collection, so what the hell is the point of all of this.” Cosima brought Orphan Black to its core in this scene. Cosima is her own person. She wants to follow the science but she does not want to be anyone’s play thing.
Next week’s episode will certainly be interesting. Especially when Delphine (Evelyn Brochu) is asking Siobhan to keep secrets from the rest of the clones at the very end of this episode and Helena (Maslany) finding out her babies heal fast like Kira. This episode was a crazy ride. Season five is not letting up and hopefully won’t until the very last episode.
Episode Grade: A+
Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 10PM on BBC America