Orphan Black 2.07

[selenak]

Some parts of this episode felt a bit like a "greatest hits" reprise, to wit, Sarah impersonating Alison and telling Donnie how to treat his wife, but other than that, events continue to develp fast paced. I appreciate that they didn't drag out Alison discovering the truth about Vic; what I didn't expect to happen was Donnie finally being confronted with the truth about the clones. Though I'm not surprised he didn't know; Paul didn't, either, while monitoring Beth for years, and he is smarter than old Donnie; Cosima said that the monitor generally would be kept in the dark, too, so he doesn't influence the data he delivers. Donnie being recruited in high school under the pretense of a sociology experiment and never questioning this works with Donnie's general level of cluelessness, but just when I was about to remark that Donnie as comic relief is one of the flattest characters on the show, the show pushes its murder in the suburbs angle one step further and has Donnie accidentally kill Dr. Leekie. Mind you, this requires handwaving - i.e. Donnie managing to find Leekie in the first place just after Leekie has been kicked out of Dyad - but bizarrely, the result is that Donnie and Alison for the first time since eons would have something to bond over. Though Alison killing Ainsley was far more intentional. Mind you, my stronger guess is the show will use this to write Donnie off the series in a way that avoids killing him (any death of Donnie would make Alison a suspect, between their documented marital crisis and her recent breakdown) and will leave Alison in custody of the children.

Much as I usually love Alison, the most interesting parts of the episode for me were the ones involving Sarah, Mrs. S., Rachel and Leekie, in various combinations. The show continues to play around with assumptions and questions about Siobhan's loyalties in her scene with Leekie before revealing that it was her way of testing whether her or Sarah's guess as to Rachel's state of knowledge was right; generally it strikes me that Mrs. S. treats Sarah more like an equal in this episode. Sarah and Mrs. S. as daughter and mother are a parallel/contrast not to Rachel and Dr. Duncan, but to Rachel and Dr. Leekie. Which the show emphasizes by keeping the reunion between Rachel and Dr. Duncan in the background - with Sarah and Mrs. S. in the foreground having dialogue - , whereas the later scene between Rachel and Leekie is played out with no distractions and full focus.

There's another play with assumptions, about power this time. As mentioned before, the first season rather broadly identified both the Proletheans and the Dyad Institute as forces of the patriarchy and made their faces middle aged/old white males. This season put Rachel in the hierarchy of Dyad above Leekie but also made it clear he does things behind her back and ultimately thinks he's in charge. In this episode, he continues to scheme behind her back and makes moves to dethrone her, so to speak, while introducing a new player who outranks both him and Rachel, Miriam, and we expect him to suceed because of the previously established Evil Patriarchy As The Ultimate Foe connotations. Instead, however, it turns out Rachel can go behind his back for a firing move just as well as he can go behind hers, and that Miriam sides with her, Leekie having outlived his usefulness. The Dyad Institute symbolizes the cuthroat union between commerce and science, after all, and that is gender neutral. Though note: between Miriam, Rachel and Delphine, all the Dyad Institute people with important parts now on the show are female.

Rachel's reactions to her two fathers was another great acting showcase for Tatiana Maslany and deepens Rachel as a character. For all that it was backgrounded into a Sarah and Mrs. S. scene, it was clear that finding out Duncan was alive (and how and why her adopted mother died) affected her deeply. With Leekie later, there was a cool rage in her but it showcased also her smarts - she doesn't talk with Leekie until after already having made the moves to turn Miriam against him, instead of demanding answers immediately and thus giving him the chance to outflank her -; moreover, I thought she was sincere and not bluffing when saying she gave him the chance to run because he raised her. (Though of course as a move to impress Leekie with the need to leave right away instead of trying to make a stand and maybe turning the tide again in his favour, it also worked.) There was an emotional connection there though neither of them would put it above their own interests. "I can see where Sarah gets it from" Paul says in the episode to Mrs. S., and he could also say it about Rachel and Leekie, who had Siobhan's position in Rachel's life for the majority of it.

Kira continues to be adorable and brave - pulling out a tooth to help Cosima, no less -, after Cosima, while taking finding out Delphine lied to her (again) re: the stemm cells as badly as one could expect, can't help but ask Sarah for help. I do wonder, though: Leekie was the one who okay'd the treatment behind Rachel's back. Cosima probably couldn't manifacture the treatment on her own, even with Kira's tooth at her disposal, without the Dyad labs. With Leekie dead, will she even be able to use Kira's help right now? After all, it's not like Rachel quit her job or turned against the Dyad Institute.

Lastly: no Helena this week, which I'm okay with given everything else going on, but they could at least have let Sarah make a phone call to Art in order to find out whether he was able to help. (After all, Sarah doesn't know the Proletheans have gotten Helena off.)

Comments

[lilacsigil]

Other media has taught me that women fight each other and There Can Be Only One so whenever this show does the complete opposite and has the women working together for their own ends I'm shocked and delighted! Rachel and her boss Marion disposing of Leekie made a lot of sense - if Marion backed him, she'd have an uneasy ally at best, but allowing Rachel to get rid of him after finding out he killed her mother gives her a solid ally in Rachel. I think it's a big shakeup at the Dyad Institute right now (Delphine might end up science director?) so it's hard to say what Cosima will be able to do next episode.

I think Sarah has rid herself of Helena quick smart - heartless, but very Sarah. Her family consists of Kira, Felix and Mrs S (even though she fights that one) and everyone else is of secondary importance, largely ranked on their usefulness. If Kira wasn't in danger she might spare a thought for Helena with her connection through Art, but she only went to help Allison with Vic because Felix asked her, so I don't think she's too troubled about Helena, sadly.

[nenya_kanadka]

Yeah, I think you're right about this. I am very concerned for Helena (much as she seems to want babies, the Proletheans are creepy fuckers) and also Gracie (even though she's not a clone or main character). I was interested in the awkward sort-of-alliance/maybe-friendship that we got hints of with Sarah and Helena's road trip, and was hoping for more of that--but it makes a lot of sense for Sarah to be prioritizing the way she is, even if I'm not completely happy with it.

I'm also curious about DeAngelis and just what she is doing or thinks is going on; I like that she's doggedly investigating when Art won't tell her anything--but it kind of points up how this whole mess is largely taking place off the radar of law enforcement etc. And she may end up becoming an antagonist through ignorance. It's interesting.

Vic covered in glitter was an amazing visual, and given that I didn't trust his "reform" an inch, it was weirdly reassuring to see him revert to his old ways re: Sarah.

It was probably bad of me to laugh at Leekie's death scene, but the way it was played--wow. I can't quite believe he's gone, either.

On a final note, Michelle Forbes! <3!