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'Orphan Black' Season 2, Episode 2 Recap: You Can't Go Home Again

'Orphan Black' Recap: Call My Clone Phone!
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*** SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read on unless you've seen "Orphan Black" Season 2, Episode 2, titled "Governed By Sound Reason And True Religion." (Unless you like spoilers, then go right ahead.) ***

You can't go home again. At least, you can't if you're a character on "Orphan Black."

That's what Sarah, Mrs. S., Alison, and to some extent (poor) Tomas discover in Episode 2: people you once trusted are no longer trustworthy. What was once a safehouse is now a pit of vipers, most obviously depicted by Barry and the Birdwatchers in the country house, and more subtly by Alison's confirmation that Donnie is indeed her monitor. (If I've learned anything from TV so far this year, it's that idyllic, peaceful farmhouses/warehouses/homes are usually anything but.)

Sarah has spilled the whole clone story to Art, who now seems gung-ho for the cause. Take that, Angie! After Kira makes a brief call to Sarah, Art traces it and it's off to the races, but not before Felix issues "clone phones" -- I want one -- for each of the clones, as well as one for himself. They can all stay in touch, safely, without fear of being traced.

Art and Sarah trace Kira's call to a rundown motel, and while Art is distracted by Daniel, Sarah's kidnapped by character actor Julian Richings (the first of two random Canadian actor cameos in this episode), forced into a trunk and driven into the country. Before we have enough time to actually start worrying about Sarah, it's revealed that Benjamin (Richings) is working with Mrs. S. I think the kidnapping move is a bit excessive, even though Mrs. S. assures Sarah that she's "always on [her] side." Together they go to the country house, where Sarah reunites with Kira in a cute exchange. (I'm a big fan of Skyler Wexler, the young actress playing Kira -- haunting yet adorable.)

Can I just say my sole reason for living now is to watch any Alison scenes? Even something as dark and twisted as Aynsley's funeral, with the overly cheesy Sears Portrait photo and the catty women giving Alison side-eye the whole time. It's amusing how there's no actual mourning going on, and everyone's playing their part -- not the least of whom is Donnie, ever the dutiful husband. When Alison spies the cryptic text messages on his cell phone, you can literally see her world crumble. To add insult to injury she has to stare at Aynsley's saccharine smile, knowing full well she watched her die, thinking she was the monitor.

Alison has lost the husband she thought she knew, as well as a friend, albeit an annoying, invasive, suburban one. When we see her take that swig of wine, we know Alison has lost whatever grip she had on rationality; but in a weird way, she's the most hardcore of them all. Who else has a gunrunner friend named Ramone?

But hey, at least Aynsley's funeral is enjoyable (don't take that the wrong way). Things turn to dark dark when the show has a Meet The Prolethians segment. After being introduced to them, we don't want to know them: creepy Mark with the pervert eyes, leader Henrik (Peter Outerbridge) with that calm, terrifying demeanour, and oh my goodness is that one-time sex-symbol Canadian actress Kristin Booth as the abused, mousy, brainwashed wife? I barely recognized her! Now that I write that, I bet she's not abused or brainwashed and is probably the nucleus of the organization. On "Orphan Black," everything is opposites.

Anyway, they do something to a cow (don't wanna know, don't wanna know), abduct Helena from the hospital, bring her back to their creepy cult farmhouse, and then heartlessly kill her keeper, Tomas. Poor guy didn't look very happy anyway, what with the endless self-flagellation. (Remind me about the benefits of this "religion" again?) Now Helena is totally under their control, which spells trouble for just about everyone, including her.

It seems the Prolethians managed to get to Barry, Brenda and the Birdwatchers, too, because they turn on Mrs. S. and Sarah, claiming that Kira is special. Luckily, slippery Sarah sneaks Kira out of the house and takes off in an old truck with the help of a shotgun-armed Mrs. S. That was a suspenseful scene, no? WHAT. IS. PROJECT. LEDA. Also, I'm always a fan of forks through the hands.

The Cosima storyline is concurrently chugging along, at a pace that can only be described as glacial. Also, holy cheeseball. In fact, the Cosima/Delphine love story has borne the worst dialogue so far in Season 2; from Episode 1, Cosima: "I won't apologize for my heart!" and from this episode, Delphine: "I just want to make crazy science with you in our new lab." Barf. Worse, she says that line in front of Leekie. Awkward! So yes, Cosima is given a lab at Dyad to conduct her research with Delphine -- but as with the rest of the other not-clone characters, we simply don't know who we can trust yet. I find it hard to believe that Leekie and/or Delphine have Cosima's best interests at heart.

Thank goodness Rachel and her bitchiness glide into the new lab to grill Cosima. "So. You're gay," she deadpans to Cosima after catching her making out with Delphine. It was fun to watch this Cosima duel with Rachel, who so obviously doesn't want to deal with her bespectacled clone. If anything, Rachel gets straight to the point, which is something I can appreciate on a show full of ambiguities. She wants to know why Sarah can have a child, but the other clones can't.

So Sarah, Felix, and Kira are on the run, leaving Alison to her own drunken defenses (which is dangerous on its own). Cosima is paired up with Delphine and Dyad, and the Prolethians are on the hunt. Where everyone ends up is a total guessing game. It all comes down to trust, which is in very short supply.

The Golden Clone:(I'll be awarding the best clone of the week) Again, it's Alison. She's singing, she's dancing, she's boozing it again, and she's coming up with crafty plans to trap Donnie. And succeeding!

Random Thoughts:

  • Clone phones. Those green phone cases are going to be the must-have item at this year's Comic-Con.
  • Felix's naked painting, and even more man bum. Jordan Gavaris, what does your mom have to say about this?
  • Oh, shut up, Angie! Stop being irritating! (From the previews for next week, it looks like she goes undercover and befriends Alison. No likey.)
  • So, what do we think about Mrs. S.? Is she good, bad, or selfish? Or all three? I think we can conclude that she's not a Prolethian, but nearly every word out of her mouth sounded like a lie.
  • Donnie in the cemetery was priceless. With each passing episode, I become a bigger fan of Kristian Bruun.
  • A gigantic THANK YOU to recap reader EvilsGood, who let me know that Alison's musical is called "Blood Ties." Each song-and-dance scene is an immense pleasure.
  • The creepy theatre director: "That's anxiety residue."
  • Again, as I said last week, the Alison/Felix scenes are the best:
  • "Got any ideas or just want to keep drinking?"

    "I think I need to keep drinking for a while, and then I'll have an idea."

Beth

"Orphan Black"

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