With the latest episode of Orphan Black putting Cosima on a new path, many seem to think that her new love interest isn’t what it may seem – but we sure hope it is.

Cosima Niehaus has had the short end of the stick since the ending of the first season of Orphan Black, when we discovered she had the same respiratory sickness that Katja suffered from.

Since then things have only gotten worse for the scientist, having to deal with the illness and the stress that came from trying to figure out her own genome to solve it. The only good thing that came from her scientific exploration was Delphine, and even then Delphine was poised to be her monitor – someone to watch her secretly for the DYAD Institute.

Luckily Delphine fell in love with Cosima, and vice versa, so Delphine was no longer a threat. But since the third season started Delphine has decided to end their relationship so she could help all of Cosima’s sisters, a decision we’re still trying to understand.

Now Cosima has no love, and while she was able to use Kira’s stem cells as a treatment for her disease the past few episodes have shown her coughing – which makes us think she is beginning to relapse.

The only good thing Cosima has going for her at the moment, besides her friendship with Felix and Scott, is this new love interest: Shay. Cosima met Shay through a dating app, and when the two of them met they seemed to hit it off.

Some say they hit it off too well, thinking that the person who is taking photos of Cosima and Shay is linked to Shay somehow. They think that Shay is a spy, someone who is ultimately there to cause harm and mischief, and while we understand why the fans think that we hope that they’re wrong.

Cosima needs and deserves an arc that just brings her true happiness away from all of this clone drama. Granted, she’s had true love with Delphine, and we’re sure Cophine shippers disagree with us, but Shay offers Cosima new opportunities to grow as a person and we have to say we’d love to see that.

Even if the happiness Shay brings Cosima is only momentary, it would give Cosima something other than genomes and boy clones to think about. Plus, this season we’ve seen Cosima think about the spiritual side of things more often, and Shay seems like the type of woman who could open Cosima’s eyes to more of that. These two seem like an unlikely pair, for sure, but they also seem like they would help each other learn more about the things they don’t understand.

Do we ship Shay and Cosima? Sure, definitely. Do we want them together forever? No, that’s where Delphine comes in – we’re Cophine shippers at heart. But Shay offers Cosima a way to grow and we seriously hope she’s not another spy or monitor – that would not only be predictable but also really disappointing.

‘Orphan Black’ fans: Do you think Cosima and Shay should be together?

Do you think that Cosima and Shay is a relationship worth exploring? Or would you rather Cosima stop talking to Shay all together?