Title: “Orphan Black Season 5 Episode 1: The Few Who Dare”
Genre: Science fiction, Drama
Platform: TV – BBC America
Director: John Fawcett
Writer: Graeme Manson
Rating: TV-PG
Release: June 10 , 2017
Cast: Tatiana Maslany, Dylan Bruce, Jordan Garvaris
Feature image: Source
[SPOILERS]
Previously on Orphan Black
Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany), Kira (Skyler Wexler), Siobhan Sadler (Maria Doyle Kennedy), and Kendall Malone (Alison Steadman) are hiding out in Iceland. For the first time in ages, Sarah is at peace with her family. That is broken when Neolution agents show up to capture them. They escape and return home. The show has flashbacks to Beth Childs (Tatiana Maslany) and we see her last days from her viewpoint. Many characters from the first season are in her flashbacks. They introduce a new clone, MK (Tatiana Maslany), a hacker who lives off the grid and escaped being killed by Ferdinand Chevalier (James Frain) in the Helsinki event. The new big bad of the season is Evie Cho (Jessalyn Wanlim) who is the director of BrightBorn Industries. She wants to wipe out the Leda line. Sarah discovered a bot in her cheek. Evie plans to use the bots to alter people’s DNA. Cosima Niehaus (Tatiana Maslany) and Sarah arrange with Susan Duncan (Rosemary Dunsmore) to remove Sarah’s bot by sharing Kendall’s genome. The crooked detective Marty Duko (Gord Read) kills Kendall. Siobhan avenges her mother and kills Duko. A recording of Evie admitting that BrightBorn euthanizes deformed newborns brings her down. The board of directors have her killed. Rachel Duncan (Tatiana Maslany) started the season as a prisoner/guest of her mother Susan, on the island. Rachel recovers from her injuries and puts in motion her ascendancy to the top of Neolution. Sarah goes to the island to rescue Cosima. Delphine Cormier (Evelyne Brochu) is alive and on the island also. Rachel steals the cure Cosima found for the Leda line, and stabs Susan and Sarah.
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We pick up immediately from last season’s finale with Sarah struggling on the beach. She builds a fire and attends to her wounds. A rabid man attacks her. She fights him off until he leaves. Sarah calls Felix Dawkins (Jordan Gavaris) and Ira (Ari Millen). She tells Felix that Ferdinand has Siobhan and Kira. Felix can tell Sarah is hurt, but she won’t admit it. Felix puts Ira on speakerphone so he can tell her where the boat Cosima and Charlotte (Cynthia Galant) are going to is located. He tells her near the village. Her phone goes dead. Felix: “Ira, what village!”
Sarah makes a spear to help her walk and defend herself. Cosima awakens in the infirmary. A young woman named Mud (Jenessa Grant) tells Cosima the village name is Revival, and it has been off the grid since 1908. Delphine left Cosima a note telling her to follow her lead. Mud shows her around. The village looks like a rustic commune. The founder, PT Westmorland lives in the big house on the hill; he is 170 years old. Cosima reunites with Charlotte. Delphine hides Cosima’s cure in the infirmary.
Felix goes to the store to check on Siobhan and Kira. He nearly hits Art Bell (Devin Hanchard) with a pan. Felix: “Oh my god! I almost hit you with a pan!” Art: “Yeah, well, I almost shot you, so we’re even.” Art tells him to call Alison Hendrix (Tatiana Maslany) and tell the Hendrixs and Helena (Tatiana Maslany) to stay put. Felix calls and asks them to stay put. With Sarah on the island, Siobhan and Kira kidnapped by Ferdinand, and Cosima missing, she tells Donnie Hendricks (Kristian Bruun) to pack; they aren’t staying put. Back on the island, Sarah hears armed men say they can’t stop their search until they bring the other one to Revival.
“Helena was out murdering God’s creatures, and my husband abandoned me!”
Alison —Orphan Black
After the men leave, Sarah struggles to walk. Delphine treats a little girl from Afghanistan named Aisha (Sirena Gulamgaus). She is there for the fountain. Felix, Ira, Scott (Josh Vokey), and Hell Wizard (Calwyn Shurgold) are looking over satellite maps. Ira says he doesn’t know that much about Revival. Felix doesn’t believe him. Felix: “Ira, Rachel has forsaken you. So for god’s sake, pick a bloody side.” Art’s new partner, Maddy Enger (Elyse Levesque) is a Neolution agent. She threatens Art’s daughter. Some Neolution agents grab Alison. Donnie sees this and sneaks away to find Helena. Mr. Frontenac (Andrew Moodie) picks up Felix. Felix asks him which faction of Neolution is he a member of, he tells Felix there aren’t any factions now. The Neolution agents take Alison to Maddy and Art. Maddy asks her where is Helena. Alison: “Helena was out murdering God’s creatures, and my husband abandoned me!” Maddy tells her Rachel has ordered them not to hurt any clones, she puts her gun up to Art’s head and asks where Helena is again. Alison swears she doesn’t know. Maddy doesn’t shoot Art and tells the Neolution agents to take Alison home.
“I mean, think about it. If you want to genetically improve the human race, life extension is the first principle. Delphine —Orphan Black
Sarah finds a tower that has game on it. Charlotte reads a book about Revival to Cosima. The book, Rival’s Story reads, “We are all Revival’s children, chosen for a brighter future. Where our frail bodies become so much stronger, and death and aging haunt us no longer.” Charlotte thinks this place is scary and Cosima agrees. Delphine finds out from the Messenger (Geza Kovacs) that she is being shipped to another Neolution facility in Sardinia. She is able to talk to Cosima before she goes. Delphine tells her something about Revival. Delphine: “I mean, think about it. If you want to genetically improve the human race, life extension is the first principle. This place… This is the heart of Neolution.” She tells Cosima where in the infirmary she hid the cure. They kiss and bid farewell. The Neolution agents on the island have dogs searching for Sarah. They see a carcass; it has a spear in it and has a big chunk bitten out of it. The agents become scared and head back to Revival. (I’m guessing the rabid man, or creature Sarah fought off might have done this.)
“She created me. It is time to be brave. To sacrifice. The fruits of nearly 200 years of Neolution science are now within our grasp.” Rachel —Orphan Black
Mud annoys Cosima and Charlotte at dinner. Cosima tells Charlotte to ignore her. Crazy music comes on over the loudspeakers. Rachel walks down from the hill from PT Westmoreland’s house. She addresses the villagers. Rachel: “Like you, I was selected. I know now his hand guided my entire life. I know Susan Duncan, my mother, once stood here, as I am, appointed to move the future forward. And she did. She created me. It is time to be brave. To sacrifice. The fruits of nearly 200 years of Neolution science are now within our grasp. And we, here, shall drink from the fountain first.” Rachel has a calm and benevolent expression on her face after meeting PT Westmorland.
“There’s no need to be afraid anymore. He wants you to be part of this. You and I are going to cure us all.” Rachel —Orphan Black
Donnie runs to his car. One of the Neolution agents pulls his gun on Donnie. Helena attacks him, and Donnie punches him. Unfortunately, a tree branch stabs Helena in her stomach. Later that night, Cosima sneaks over to the infirmary to get her cure. Sarah sneaks into the village and finds Cosima. After hugging, Cosima treats Sarah’s wounds. The messenger awakens Mud who was on guard duty; they discover that Cosima is missing. Cosima tells Sarah she plans to stay in Revival. She thinks she can find the answers they need. She wants Sarah to get back to Siobhan and Kira. Sarah gets out of the infirmary before Rachel arrives. Cosima is trying to give herself a shot of the cure when Rachel arrives. She thinks Rachel is going to try to stop her, but she gets a different response from her fellow clone. Rachel: “There’s no need to be afraid anymore. He wants you to be part of this. You and I are going to cure us all.” Cosima: “Just hit me, Rachel.” She gives Cosima the shot.
“It’s a new day Sarah.” Rachel Orphan Black
Sarah gets to the boathouse. Before she can leave a Neolution agent shoots her with a dart in her neck. As she is passing out, Rachel walks up to her and says, “It’s a new day Sarah.”
After Rachel stabbed Susan and Sarah, she gets everything she wanted. She is the face of Neolution. She only has to answer to PT Westmorland. Sarah is on the run on the island, suffering from Rachel’s stab wounds. Neolution picks up everyone who is a member of Clone Club (except Donnie and Helena) and places them under custody. It is a dark day for the ‘Sestrahood’. Cosima, who is in Revival, is in the heart of Neolution. Since she is a scientist, she is probably useful to them. After meeting with PT Westmorland, Rachel looks like she has had a religious experience. She orders her minions not to harm the sestras. It seems they won’t harm the non-clone members of the Clone Club unless they can use them as leverage to control the sestras. Still Helena is out there, and that is like having a nuclear bomb on the loose. So maybe all hope isn’t lost yet.
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Clone MVP: Rachel
It is the final season and they have gotten rid of all the groups like the Proletheans, Dyad, and the Castor clones (accept Ira), and are only facing off with Neolution, and its founder, PT Westmorland. He wasn’t introduced this episode, but that is coming in the next episode. Therefore, the battle lines are drawn, the enemy is clear, and the final confrontation can begin.
It was a good episode to start the season. We know where everyone is for the moment. Revival is one freaky place. It definitely has a cult vibe. I wonder if the creature on the island is an experiment that went bad. I think it is a safe bet it is. The new characters don’t stand out yet. The new dirty copy, Maddy, is smug; I hope her death is painful. Mud seems annoying, can’t tell if she’ll become an ally or if I will hope for her painful death soon. They have pushed Clone Club in a big corner to start the season and it will be fun to see them fight their way out of it.
Clone MVP: Rachel, she got everything she wanted. We will see if she got more than she bargained for.
Grade: B+
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