Orphan Black Season 3 Episode 9 Review: Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow
Lindsay MacDonald
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Talk about your surprising turn of events! I feel like I'm watching Once Upon a Time, with how often new characters are turning out to be related to our original cast!
This week, Orphan Black Season 3 Episode 9 finally delivered on the question raised at the beginning of the season. Who are the original DNA donors for Project Leda and Castor? The answer was something you probably never saw coming!
Siobhan's mother! And the male twin she absorbed in the womb!
Okay... I get that this is a sci-fi show about clones and government conspiracies and all that, but tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this particular revelation went a little too far? The twin absorbed in the womb part was definitely odd, but the fact that all of this leads back to Siobhan's own mother? Far-fetched seems like a tame word for this particular twist.
As for the rest of the episode, let's break it down into the good, the bad, and the ugly.
The Good
As always, Helena showed up ready to entertain tonight, with murder and eye-gouging galore!
After taking a liking to Donnie, Helena would probably have kicked some ass on his behalf without much prompting, but when you steal her babies? All bets are off, even if they are just fertilized embryos.
You should not threaten babies.
Helena
The strange chemistry cropping up between Donnie and Helena is interesting, but also a little worrying. When you factor in Alison's recent romance with Jason, it's beginning to look like the Hendrix's are headed for a breakup. I'm not sure I'm ready for a world without Alison and Donnie!
On the other hand, Donnie is such a sweetie, he might benefit from someone less... intense than Alison.
The Bad
As stated above, the twist that the Leda DNA came from Siobhan's mother and the Castor DNA from her absorbed twin was a little bizarre.
But it kind of makes you wonder... is Siobhan's mother an exact DNA match to Sarah and her sisters? Is Sarah looking 40 years into her future? I wouldn't say the likeness is negligible, but it also doesn't look like a perfect match to me. There might be more to this "Original DNA" than we know...
Ferdinand's reappearance was also most unwelcome. The way death and violence is doled out on this show has reached ridiculous proportions, to the point that it's not even phasing most viewers anymore. Terrance got beat to death? Cool. The cab driver got his throat slit? Yawn. Orphan Black could benefit from parceling out their gruesome moments a bit more sporadically to make it shocking again instead of par for the course.
The Ugly
Delphine certainly showed an ugly side of herself, and I'm beginning to wonder if she didn't get a personality transplant this year. A distinctly Rachel-like personality.
After Cosima started to suspect Shay, it seemed like a rational step to get Dyad involved to get to the bottom of it. And I have to admit, there were quite a few things about Shay that definitely didn't add up.
Once, she asked about Sarah. Apparently I said her name in my sleep, but I don't sleep talk! Sleep talking is creepy as shit.
Cosima
Delphine's tactics were creepy but effective. Filling up the bathtub while fingering a razor blade and reminiscing about suicide methods? Yeah, Shay most likely wants to break up with Cosima as soon as possible now. There are "crazy ex-girlfriend" stories, and then there are "psycho-crazy-fear-for-your-life ex-girlfriend" stories.
As for the rest of the episode, the one thing that made my heart leap was Gracie's reunion with Mark. I just can't quit those crazy kids. Plus, finding out that she was the Castor spy all along? Icing on the cake. Also icing was Siobhan's impromptu musical number and all the family feels between her and her kids. Sarah calling Mrs. S "mum" will forever go down as the cutest thing to happen in Orphan Black History.
Next week's season finale has quite a few questions to answer, so you better be ready for them!
Will Sarah get Kendall back to Dyad, or will Topside and Castor steal her away? Can her DNA help cure Cosima? And where in the world are we headed next?
Be sure to catch up on the whole season when you watch Orphan Black online via TV Fanatic!
