Orphan Black - Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things - Review: "Alison's Wonderland"

Last night's episode of BBC America's Orphan Black gave us a much needed break from the darkness and mystery of recent weeks, and called on the humor and creativity used extensively in its freshman season to give the audience a good laugh.

"Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things" focused primarily on the most useless, yet the funniest of the clones - Alison. She hasn't played a significant part in the storyline over the past few weeks but it was her turn to stand in the spotlight this week. Her temporary home at New Path Wellness Center was on show, and last week we saw Alison recruit Vic in anticipation of the event. The growing bond between the pair was almost immediately demolished following Alison's eavesdropping on a conversation Vic was having with the less often seen Angela Deangelis.

A panicking Alison called in the man of the hour, Felix, to get him to help solve the problem. A spiked drink was all that was needed to turn Vic the Dick's lights out, with gravity assisting in sending him face-first into a glittery table. There was something very satisfying to be felt when that happened, and I'll willingly confess to rewinding and watching that face-plant a couple more times.

The ensuing chaos saw Sarah swap with Alison, with the former being forced to make a speech, then role play with "Dummy" Donnie while the latter escorted a clumsy, Vic-laden Felix away from the crowd of people while cleverly throwing Deangelis off their trail. This was a beautifully designed sequence of events that I thoroughly enjoyed, but it didn't end there, thanks to Donnie's abrupt entrance to Alison's room which also contained Sarah, the one he had been humiliated by in a role play a few moments earlier.

Despite being the most memorable scene of the episode, it wasn't all that happened. Among other moments, an unusually emotional Rachel found out that all she thought she had known could now be a lie upon reuniting with her father, and Cosmia's treatment for her illness progressed, and led to a fallout between her and Delphine. Siobhan played some interesting games with Dr. Leekie and Rachel in an attempt to secure the wellbeing of Kira and her mother once more.

We also saw Cal Morrison wrap up his story arc for now. Upon reuniting with Sarah he most likely went his own way in light of his computer being compromised. Kira continues to mystify me. She has some sort of ability but the creative team are doing an excellent job keeping that under wraps.

Perhaps the biggest plot twist of last night's episode was the accidental death of Dr. Leekie thanks to "Dummy" Donnie. I really didn't see this coming at all, and it surprised me further because in the end it was accidental. Dummies and guns clearly aren't a good mix. Leekie's death puts several storylines in jeopardy, chiefly Cosmia's treatment which had been spearheaded by Leekie.

Notably absent from last night's episode was Helena, Art, and the Proletheans. I have to say this helped immensely with the enjoyment factor of the episode. Though their storylines are important, taking them out of the picture was the correct decision for an Alison-centric episode.

Thanks for reading! What were your thoughts about last night's episode? Hit the comments with them below.
Jimmy

About the Author - Jimmy Ryan

Jimmy Ryan lives in New Zealand. He is an avid follower of drama television and has a keen interest for television ratings and statistics. Some of his favorite shows right now are Person of Interest, Scandal, House of Cards, Orphan Black, The Blacklist, The 100, and Castle. You can visit his television ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com or follow him on Twitter, @SeriesMonitor.