Orphan Black season 5 recap: “Guillotines Decide”

In a heartbreaking episode of Orphan Black, the Ledas take a back seat, Neolution has its own Black Friday, and Mrs. S goes out in a blaze of glory.

Siobhan Sadler is a one badass mother. The woman can take a fatal bullet and somehow manage to kill her own murderer, spout stats about the high levels of pain tolerance amongst women, and lovingly gaze at a picture of her children before checking out herself. It’s possible that next week’s cold open will see Sarah busting in and saving S, but for the moment it looks like the Ledas’ den mother is really gone. It’s sad to see S go but I’m so pleased that she took Ferdinand and Neolution down with her.

Plus, I’m happy to report that I was dead wrong about S possibly being in cahoots with Gracie, Mark, and Dr. Coady. Siobhan’s dealings with Ferdinand and Rachel definitely fall in a moral gray area, but she did not betray Helena again. For that, I am proud of S and happy for Helena (not that she doesn’t have other problems).

Let’s talk about the other highlights of “Guillotines Decide.” (What an appropriately violent episode title, huh?)

Felix and his “galaxy of women”

Oh, Felix. I’m thrilled you got your moment in the sun and finally got to show the world the paintings you’ve been working on since Orphan Black‘s start. Truly, seeing Felix present his Leda artwork was a great payoff—how many times has the audience seen him (sans clothes) painting one of the clones? “Guillotines Decide” lets Felix be his own character, someone independent of Clone Club’s drama. He is a scene-stealer and often comic relief, but in this episode Felix is also an artist with professional goals and a romantic prospect. Sarah and the other Ledas are the inspiration for his work, but this is Felix’s show.

Class act that he is, Felix takes a moment and thanks the “galaxy of women”—Sarah, Adele, S, and Kira—that surrounds him. “[They] taught me that we are all mysterious works of chance, of choice, of nature versus nurture,” Felix tells the crowd. The message is clear: Felix would be nothing without the women in his life. The beauty of “Guillotines Decide” is that it reminds us that the women would be nothing without Felix, either.

What now?

Before the episode’s final act, Cosima and Delphine have released the damning Neolution records to the public. Cosima is cured and is working on an inoculation for the rest of the Ledas. Rachel has officially broken ties from Neolution and P.T. Westmorland. Alison is in a good place in her life and in her marriage. Until Helena’s abduction, things are falling into place for Clone Club and the Ledas are looking forward for the first time. In other words, they are starting to think about who they are besides Leda clones. Unsurprisingly, they are a little bit at a loss.

Rachel knows that she wants to be free of Neolution and life as a science experiment. She doesn’t fit in Clone Club or in Westmorland’s boardroom anymore. As she reveals in this episode, she’s willing to give up “obscene wealth” if it means hanging out with Ferdinand on the beach. Unfortunately, Ferdinand isn’t into it and Rachel has to emotionally invest in someone else.

Cosima and Delphine talk about the future for all of 20 seconds while dancing at Felix’s show. Much more affecting is their reaction once they publish Neolution’s financial documents. They are giddy, giggling with excitement. And then Cosima’s laughter slowly turns into sobs of relief. Their scene ends with Delphine holding Cosima, whose shoulders heave as she weeps. This moment of unburdening was truly touching, a rare instance of catharsis for the characters of Orphan Black.

As for Alison, she’s just working really hard to not care about whether Donnie tucks in his shirt or not. That might sound anti-climactic, but it’s downright radical for Bailey Downs’ resident clone. And I wholeheartedly support Alison’s decision to keep the purple dye job. It is glorious.

The Orphan Black death toll rises (again)

Again, S could still be alive, even though she looked pretty dead when “Guillotines Decide’s” credits rolled. Even so, the episode sees both Gracie and Ferdinand meeting their fates.

Gracie was executed by Art’s partner, Maddy, who is still in the pocket of Neolution and laughably evil. It’s unclear how Maddy and her goons found Gracie and Helena—either they traced Gracie’s phone or Coady sent them—but they swept in with orders to take Helena and her unborn children to the Island of Dr. Moreau. The irony here is that Gracie doesn’t sell Helena out. Instead, Gracie remembers that her father raped Helena and has a crisis of conscience. She lies to Mark, tells him that she hasn’t found Helena. Poor Gracie. As far as I can tell, her death is a tool to remind us of how awful Neolution is and to motivate Mark to turn against Coady for good.

As for Ferdinand, he might have succeeded in killing Mrs. S, but she always gives as good as she gets. Bleeding from the chest, S asks Ferdinand to hand her a framed photo of Sarah and Felix. Jerk that he is, Ferdinand takes the picture and deliberately drops it. S chooses that moment to draw a hidden gun and shoot Ferdinand in the throat.

It’s worth noting here that Ferdinand was on a murderous rampage because Rachel refused to give him access to Neolution’s files. By doing so, she ruined his chances of “squeez[ing] whatever we want out of those Neo pricks” and put him at risk of being torn apart by a bunch of suicidal board members. In true Rachel fashion, she made a meal of screwing Ferdinand over. She was serious about her desire to punish Neolution and live a simple life with him—too bad Ferdinand scoffed at it. S might have pulled the trigger but I’m counting Ferdinand’s death as a win for Rachel as well.

Misc.

Ferdinand turned out to be Mrs. S’ super-secret Neolution informant. Sarah is aghast that S would work with MK’s murderer but really, at this point, who can keep track of all the double and triple crosses? He killed S but at least Ferdinand proved useful in destroying Neolution.
Felix’s speech serves as a lovely series send-off for Mrs. S: “We are who we are because she carried two little London urchins on her wings to Canada.”
Okay, when is Helena’s due date? She’s been pregnant since season 2—it’s time for us to finally meet her babies.
Adele’s announcement when she and Felix return from Switzerland: “We’ve got a shit-mountain of cheese.”
Before going to kill Mrs. S, Ferdinand attempts to choke Rachel to death. He only stops when she manages to croak, “Daddy.” Ewww.
The Ledas’ Special Connection strikes again: when S is shot, Sarah immediately knows something is wrong.
Mrs. S as she shoots Ferdinand: “That’s quite enough out of you.”

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