Orphan Black season 5 recap: “One Fettered Slave”

In its penultimate episode, Orphan Black shows that Helena is much more than “One Fettered Slave.”

Orphan Black (thankfully) didn’t pull any punches regarding the death of Mrs. S. Instead of indulging in a gotcha! moment and having S survive a bullet to the chest, the series took the more interesting route: exploring how bereavement will affect Sarah’s seemingly endless battle with Neolution. True to form, Sarah’s behavior is fairly unpredictable.

Sarah neither fully shuts down nor revs up after her mother’s funeral—she’s simultaneously passive and active. She balks at going to pump Rachel for information about Helena; Kira just lost her grandmother and shouldn’t be alone, Sarah says. Yet Sarah is more than ready to pose as Rachel when Helena’s whereabouts are confirmed and someone needs to go antagonize P.T. Westmorland. Sarah is able to give a eulogy without a waver in her voice, but can’t be left alone in her childhood home without wandering around, looking through Mrs. S’ things. She blames Rachel for her mother’s death but isn’t angry enough to exact revenge. More than anything, Sarah just seems worn out.

Grief is rarely just one thing; people are complicated. I’m happy that this episode didn’t take the easy way out. Instead of tantrums or breakdowns, we got (the way more compelling) numbness and exhaustion. It’s gratifying that Orphan Black allowed Sarah to mourn Mrs. S in this realistic way.

And now the other highlights from “One Fettered Slave”:

A girl like you

You know how much I like flashbacks, so Helena’s storyline was my favorite of the ep. As she is poked and prodded by Virginia Coady and induced into labor, she thinks back to her life before Clone Club. We first see her as a brunette who steals chocolate from the Reverend Mother’s office. And, as Helena witnesses for herself, gluttony isn’t the only Deadly Sin to which the nun is succumbing. After accidentally walking in on the Reverend Mother masturbating, Helena is severely punished. The nun slaps her, calls her the Devil, dunks her head in bleach (hence Helena’s signature shock-blonde ‘do), and locked in a closet. After that ordeal, who wouldn’t trust an apparently kindhearted gentleman who says you’re special?

And that’s how Helena crosses paths with Tomas, her Prolethean surrogate father. In a scene scored to The Troggs’ “With a Girl Like You,” little Helena plays with Barbie dolls, spits at them for “copulating,” and spouts Tomas’ ideology about the copies and the Original. You see, the copies/clones are an unholy aberration that must be destroyed, while the pristine Original woman is a servant to God. This is the origin story for season 1 Helena, the motorcycle-riding killer who took out German clone Katja and taunted Sarah with their special connection.

Helena seemed one-dimensional back in Orphan Black‘s first season, but “One Fettered Slave” allows her some retroactive nuance. After Helena kills her first copy—and finds out that the woman is a copy of her—she allows Tomas to comfort her but doesn’t let herself off the hook. She cuts herself, seemingly for the first time. Turns out Helena’s self-harm and violence towards others are linked: she cuts herself to repent.

That doesn’t undo the murders Helena has committed but shows she never fully bought into Tomas’ worldview. The compassionate Helena—the Helena we love—has always existed.

Mommy dearest

All this and we haven’t even gotten to Helena’s babies, who are finally coming. As she is strapped to an operation table for what feels like at least the fifth time in the series, Helena appeals to Coady as a mother. Coady has exploited children for science throughout her career. “Please not—not mine,” Helena begs, “they need their mother.” Being the terrible person she is, Coady counters that Helena is a murderer, an animal, unfit to be a mother.

That gets into Helena’s head. “My babies,” she says in Russian. “You deserve better than me. You will not be an experiment too. I set you free… My babies.” And then she plunges a pair of scissors into her wrist.

Of course, Coady wasn’t really talking about Helena. A scene or two earlier, Mother Castor euthanized her last living son, Mark, whom Westmorland deemed an “old liability.” That’s a classic case of projection, Dr.

“One Fettered Slave” takes the time to depict Virginia Coady as the antithesis to Mrs. S. At the funeral and throughout the ep, multiple references are made to Mrs. S’ “sacrifice.” She gave up everything—even her own life—to protect her children, Clone Club included. Coady, in contrast, is so fully committed to Westmorland and unethical science that she’s willing to treat her own kids as collateral damage. The real irony is that Coady ended up paying with her own life, too.

Art crosses a line

This is a relatively minor development in the episode, but the characters’ reactions to Art killing Neolution henchman Simon make it worth re-examining. After Felix and Art find what’s left of Neolution’s board (i.e. Hashem Al-Khatib), tensions escalate and Art ends up shooting Simon. Judging from Felix’s horrified jaw-drop and Art’s muttering of “Damn it,” actually using the gun was a last resort.

After so many deaths—and so many meh Art plotlines—I’m glad Orphan Black is treating a police shooting with genuine gravity. Simon is not a good guy, nor is he someone the audience had the chance to really care about. But in the show’s universe he was still a person who mattered—and the series treats him as such.

This shooting also echoes Beth’s killing of Maggie Chen. That act was more premeditated but still plagued Beth’s conscience. Since Beth was such an important part of Art’s life, I’m betting he sees the parallels there as well.

Misc.

I love that Helena continues to defiantly wolf down chocolate after the Reverend Mother locks her in the closet.
Okay, what was up with the funeral attendees? Cosima mentions at some point that the service is “for S’ people,” but why would Donnie show up and not Alison? I guess they didn’t have enough time to integrate multiple Tatiana Maslanys into that scene…
Speaking of Alison, I feel Orphan Black has really done a disservice to her this season. I love “Beneath Her Heart” and her new purple hair, but Alison deserves more. A lot more.
And here’s the proof: Alison calls Gracie “that bible-thumping little traitor.”
Even the characters can’t keep track of Orphan Black‘s mythology: “Last time we saw Gracie, who did she sell us out to?” Felix asks at one point.
With the Revivalists’ turn against him and Neolution’s fall, Westmorland is fading fast in health and power. I sort of hope that after all this buildup of tension, he dies next episode of natural causes. It would be a fitting, anti-climactic end to the charlatan.
A neat visual callback: Tomas repeatedly calls Helena “the Light” and the OR lights are reflected in Helena’s eyes as she looks up.
Helena as she bangs Coady’s head on a table and (probably?) kills her: “You are sh** mother.”

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