Orphan Black season 4, episode 5, “Human Raw Material,” gave us some incredible insight into some of the more scientific parts of the fandom.
When you get down to it Orphan Black is really all about the science, and how a human cloning experiment is possible. Throughout the past four seasons we’ve delved deeper into the science of it all and taking a look at what Neolution has done to make things possible, but in tonight’s episode we saw the horrors of what could happen if it all went wrong.
This episode should’ve come with a graphic content warning
I really just have to get this out of the way, but when Cosima witnessed the birth of a deformed Brightborn baby, I was disturbed, worried and concerned about what all of this might mean. Not only for that poor human being whose life was most definitely going to be terminated and torn away from its mother, but for Cosima and the clones and anyone else involved in Neolutions’ delusions.
Gene editing in the way that Cosima had pointed out and that Susan Duncan had admitted to is extremely tricky, and illegal in most countries. And seeing the product of that editing proves why — it’s toying with the life of human beings just so they can figure out how to make the perfect one, and that’s just wrong.
It also concerns me that Cosima is being persuaded by Susan to work with them to figure out how to get the gene editing just right and to do that they need Kendall’s genome. They’re playing at her weakness, and pointing out that they have what she doesn’t — all the equipment and resources they need to work with Kendall’s genome to get the right gene therapy.
I know that Cosima likely won’t help them, but the fact that she’s even bringing it up to Sarah in the preview for next week makes me worried that she wants to give them the genome. It’s survival and self-preservation and it makes sense, but if she has to sacrifice herself to keep the genome away from Susan Duncan, I think she should.
The Manning family just got bigger
The absolute best part of this episode, hands down, was the bonding moments between Sarah and Kira. The mother/daughter relationship between them is something that we’ve been missing for so long now, and to finally be able to see Sarah be a mom again was so gratifying.
Kira’s obviously aware of everything that is happening, and while she may not know the specifics about the situation she’s upset by it. The clone stuff is getting in the way of her and her mom, her and her dad, and really in the way of the entire family. She’s more perceptive than anyone realizes, and we get this more when she tells Sarah at the end of the episode that she can feel each clone and how they feel.
I think Kira’s intuition is more than just intuition, and that somehow because she’s the child of a clone she may have a mental connection with every single one of them that allows them to connect and to not want to hurt her.
…but did it get better?
On the other side of that, though, there’s Adele. Proven to be Felix’ biological sister (again) by Sarah and Scott, we now have absolute proof that she’s blood related. …but does that mean that Sarah’s distrust for her is unwarranted?
Sure, it can absolutely be a coincidence that Adele and Felix met through GeneConnection which is also owned by Neolution, but what are the odds of that? Adele explains that she doesn’t know why she picked GeneConnection and she goes on to sing a jingle of an (apparently) popular GeneConnection commercial that Kira also knows but I just don’t believe it. Maybe I’m jaded and have been tricked too many times into thinking people are innocent when they’re not but there’s just something off about Adele.
I don’t doubt the blood relation, that was proven by science. What I do doubt, though, is Adele’s intentions. It’s just so convenient that Adele would come into Felix’ life in a moment that is so pivotal to the safety and survival of not only Sarah Manning but also the rest of the clones. The jury is still out on Adele’s true intentions, but I’m going to go ahead and call her guilty right now.
Hello, BBC America? Yes, I’d like more Krystal
Krystal Goderitch stole the show. From the opening sequence to the end where she freaked out after seeing another Castor clone, Tatiana Maslany’s performance of the bleach blonde clone was perfect.
It’s so refreshing seeing a clone that’s so oblivious to it all, but also to see a woman who wants to defend herself and get herself into the nitty gritty. Sure, she’s a little dense and has absolutely no idea what she’s getting herself into (I mean she thought this was about people growing eyelids out of their teeth) but that’s what I love about her! She doesn’t care that she’s in the dark because she has an instinct to find out what’s going on, and she’s going to learn and do anything to figure it all out.
If there’s anything I’m looking forward to this season it’s going to be Krystal finding out she’s a clone. That is, if she doesn’t die first…
Special mentions
And in the category of “I don’t have time to vent about this”: Seeing Susan make-out with a Castor clone was beyond disturbing, and Alison and Sarahs’ friendship (or lack thereof) is starting to seriously worry me. I hope they makeup soon because I hate when they call each other bitches!
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