Orphan Black is back for its final season and the season premiere didn’t disappoint. It jumped immediately right back into the action where the prior season ended. There was no time for any of the characters to catch their breath before things continued to spiral out of control around them. The only clone not in some perilous situation was the very one betraying all of them. It also set up the bizarre compound known as Revival aka The Heart of Neolution. A lot of old storylines were continued while new ones were developed to fuel the season. The final adventure is just beginning and it's off to a powerful beginning.
This whole wild adventure started with Sarah and appropriately so the final season began with her. After surviving Rachel’s attempts on her life at the end of last season, Sarah is determined to find Cosima. It was a journey fraught with unseen perils and Rachel loyalists trying to track her down. On multiple occasions, the only thing that kept her going was the image of Kira that kept coming to her. That was very symbolic in and of itself given that she had to burn Kira's picture in order to build a fire to warm up by. Though, that would ultimately only provide her with a little warmth before she was attached and squashed the fire out in the process. But even without the picture, Kira was never far from her mom's mind. Even when they are apart, Kira gives her mom immense strength to persevere through whatever horrors come her way. Kira brought Cosima back from the brink once by appearing to her in a vision and now she aided her mom. It’s always been obvious that the young girl is something special, but this was an exemplary example of how far reaching her influence is with her mom and her mom’s sisters. Also, it needs to be said that Skyler Wexler is an absolutely phenomenal young actress. She can do so much with the short amount of time she’s allowed to work. When she’s older, if she stays in the industry, and hopefully she will, it’s almost a guarantee that she’ll one day be headlining her own show. She possesses talent well beyond her years. Working with an unparalleled actress like Tatiana Maslany has probably really helped her develop her own skills if there is anyone for a young performer to learn from its Maslany. It’ll certainly be interesting to watch the final chapter of Kira’s story unfold.
But before Sarah could work on finding her daughter, she first had to find Cosima, a task which she was successful at, except the latter didn’t want to leave. Given how incredibly creepy Revival is most sane people’s first instinct should be to run as far and as fast as possible. There is clearly some truly shady stuff going on there, but Cosima is a woman of science and she’s determined to track the science all the way to the source himself and she’s too close to stop now. It was disappointing for Sarah, and the audience who had to watch what Sarah went through, but it isn’t unexpected that this was what Cosima wanted. With the cure ready, the two of them could have easily grabbed Charlotte and made a quick exit. Though, it ultimately didn't matter much since both Cosima and Sarah ended up in Rachel's custody anyway. What was incredibly unfortunate in all this is that neither Delphine nor Sarah were able to stick around long enough to administer the cure to Cosima. That left her at the mercy of psychotic Rachel, but surprisingly, she did seem to actually help. However, that doesn’t mean that anyone should trust her anytime soon. She has not done anything but deceive and betray from the moment she first appeared, so there is no reason to believe that suddenly her intentions would be pure. However, if she does anything to harm Cosima or Sarah or any of the sisters, there are very few places on the planet she’ll be able to hide from the wrath of the sisters, their friends, and Delphine.
They’ve all been through hell together, but no matter what they keep fighting. At any given time most of the non-clones have had their loyalty to the sisters questioned. Perhaps none more so than Delphine. She made Cosima a promise that she would love all of the sisters and that is a promise she has taken seriously even if she's had to deny her own heart in the process. It has almost cost her the love of her life more times than can be counted and she almost paid the ultimate price with her own life. She has gone through hell for the sisters and continues to be a knowing pawn in the ultimate plan for the simple mission of saving the woman she loves and her family. It’s clear that she wants nothing more than to remain with Cosima and help her, but alas, the time for their permanent reunion hasn’t yet come. Delphine is ordered away on a research mission, but not before giving the love of her life a parting gift. She covertly prepared the cure and secured it away. She once again risked everything in order to do the right thing. It'll be interesting to see how she finds her way back to Cosima or what will ultimately reunite them because it's basically a guarantee that she'll find her way back.
Throughout the run of the series, there have been a lot of short-lived romances, but Cosima and Delphine have always been the primary romantic relationship. Even when Delphine was believed dead, the love these two shared was still a driving force for them both. They were apart for a very long time yet the moment they reunited last season it was as if no time had passed. Cosima collapsed into the solace of the arms of the woman she thought she’d lost and Delphine wasted no time pulling her close. Delphine even went as far as to strip down to her underwear in order to share body heat and give Cosima a chance at surviving her hypothermia. Though Delphine seemed to be grateful for any reason to snuggle up against Cosima, however, she probably had hoped their first snuggle would have been a tad less life or death. They share a powerful bond that ensures that no matter how the universe tries to split them apart, they always find a way back together. Every time they’ve been separated they’ve each clung onto something or some memory of the other to give them the strength to keep fighting. When Cosima sought out Delphine's bullet wound scar and gave it a kiss, that moment was symbolic of what they can overcome to find one another. They said their goodbyes and sealed the moment with many desperate kisses, but it wasn’t goodbye. This was just the start of the final chapter of their epic love story. Where will it end? Hard to say. Will they both survive the final season? Who knows, this show is insanely unpredictable, but hopefully. No matter where their story ends there is no questioning the powerful love that has dominated their story and the immense chemistry Tatiana Maslany and Evelyne Brochu have been able to infuse into their characters.
They aren’t the only couple in the series, though, and the Hendrix’s share a strong love too. Though, their love is very different. Donnie has made sacrifices, but none quite as drastic as Delphine. However, that might change before the season is out. He’s got his hands full now that Alison has been kidnapped and Helena has a serious abdominal wound that could be putting the babies at risk. Which, by the way, she got being a heroic badass and saving Donnie in the first place. There might still yet be big sacrifices and heroic moments to be told in his story. He had a moment to be the gallant hero and try to save his wife, but no matter how hard it was for him to do nothing he actually made the right choice. He is no good to her dead and that’s what would have happened had he intervened. Right now, he is the sole person watching over Helena. He’s also the only person who knows that Alison has been grabbed.
Well, Art knows too, but he’s more or less a prisoner himself. At the mercy of his new partner, Detective Enger (Elyse Levesque) there isn’t much he can do other than try his best to keep her off the trail of the sisters. He clearly didn’t like telling Alison she has to cooperate and he certainly didn’t like being a pawn in Enger’s plan. However, Art isn’t a man that is okay sitting idly by, so you can just about bet that he’s going to make things exceptionally hard for his new partner. With any luck, Art will be able to find some way to exploit this partnership to help his friends and keep as many of the sisters safe as he can. That won't be an easy task, especially since Enger seems determined to use him as a punching bag to bring the sisters into line, but he'll keep fighting her right until the end.
While Art is keeping Enger and her minions occupied, it’s giving Felix, Scott, and their team a chance to try and help the sisters. They don’t have much to work with besides blurred out map images and a semi-cooperative Ira. With Kira and Siobhan still missing that alone will keep them occupied. Felix will not stop until he can find a way to bring them home. Then there is the fact that none of them know what has ultimately happened to Sarah or Cosima. They are a brilliant brain trust, so together they might just be able to find all their missing friends and family in time to help them. Felix's drive, courage, and determination in this episode was inspiring as he fought to try and help those he loves. Jordan Gavaris continues to deliver snark and brilliance in his every scene.
The episode ended with Cosima possibly being cured and Sarah being caught by Rachel. The stakes have never been higher than they are now. Hopefully, Rachel will reunite Sarah with Kira and Siobhan sooner than later, but she’s a bit sadistic, so she’ll likely take her time. There is no telling what she has in mind for Cosima if the cure is proven to work. Then there is young Charlotte who Cosima is also responsible for and there is no guarantee she’ll be able to protect her young charge from Rachel’s tyranny. And, as of the end of the episode, Helena and the lives of her babies are in danger while Alison is in Neolution custody. All of these sisters ended the episode in precarious situations. It has definitely served to excite for what is set to come next.
This season is clearly going to be one big massive rollercoaster ride of emotions. The characters will certainly be tested like never before and perhaps the big mysteries surrounding P.T. Westmoreland will finally be answered. This is the final chapter of this series, so anything could happen and likely will happen. Hold on and prepare for the final high-speed race before the series comes to a final end.
Don’t miss the next episode when it airs next
Saturday, June 17th at 10/9c on BBC America.
Hit the comments with your thoughts about this episode. What were your favorite parts? What do you hope will happen in this final season?
