Greetings, Clone Club! Are you as stoked for Saturday’s premiere as I am? Well, a more accurate summation of my feelings would be excitement mixed with infinite sadness. Infinite sadness in that this is the final season of our beloved Orphan Black. Excitement in that, of course, freakin’ Orphan Black is returning! Like a fond reunion with an old friend from your college days. While the wait has been longer than usual, I can appreciate the fact that our trusty show runners want to give us the best sendoff possible.
Now, June 10th is right around the corner. If you’re anything like me, I can scarcely recall what I ate for breakfast, so I need to brush up on all things Sestra-related before Saturday’s premiere. I’ve made the executive decision to drum up this handy dandy Season Four guide to prep you for The Final Trip. Well, and prep myself, so honestly this article is mutually beneficial. Just how I like ’em. So, strap in Clone Club, and let us take a trip down memory lane into the vast, science-y recesses of Orphan Black Season Four. Just please, don’t touch Helena’s babies. She’s very territorial of them.
Clone Club:
I’ve taken the liberty of breaking down the events of Season 4 by clone. Well, the main ones anyway. Which is pretty much all of them, due to Tatiana Maslany being a beast of an actress.
Sarah – Our main protagonist had quite the adventure in Season Four. Sarah is contacted by a mysterious figure named MK, who informs her that vehicles are quickly approaching her hideout in Iceland. She takes Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and Kira (Skyler Wexler), returning home.
Later, Sarah is attacked by Neolution paramedics who mistake her for MK. Sarah escapes said attack and discovers she has a bot implanted in her cheek. Sarah enlists in Cosima’s help to examine the bot in her cheek, but Cosima’s findings come up short.
Then, Sarah visits a dental clinic to have the bot removed. She meets a dentist who mistakenly identifies her as Beth. Said dentist pierces the bot instead of removing it, claiming if Sarah moves the toxins will spread and kill her. This poor girl can’t catch a break!
Later, Ferdinand (James Frain) swoops in and kills the dentist. So, in return, he convinces Sarah to help him decrypt files Rachel sent him. However, Sarah decides to turn to MK for assistance in that. MK, who has a personal vendetta against Ferdinand, discovers Sarah is colluding with him and tries to settle her score.
Sarah has her bot removed by the new Head of Neolution Evie Cho (Jessalyn Wanlim) after learning that the bot is rewriting her DNA. It’s also attempting to isolate the gene making the Leda clones sick by activating certain genes in Sarah. Fun science-y stuff! Sarah discovers that Kendall Malone (Alison Steadman), Mrs. S’s mother whose cell line may contain a cure for the clones, has been kidnapped. She destroys samples from Kendall that were intended to go to Neolution for curing purposes. Later, she learns that Kendall was murdered by Evie Cho, and thus begins her downward spiral.
We see Sarah spiral out of control the way Beth did – drinking, drugs, partying. She goes to the same train station where Beth killed herself and has a conversation with her dearly departed sestra. Felix (Jordan Gavaris) arrives on the scene. Sarah contemplates jumping and he, along with Beth’s ghost, talks her out of it.
Later, MK helps Sarah and Cosima make contact with Susan Duncan (Rosemary Dunsmore), who seems to genuinely want to help the Leda clones survive. Cosima takes Sarah’s eggs to the Island, where Susan is located, and the two work towards a cure.
Then, we see Sarah and Rachel team up to bring down Evie Cho. Sarah confronts Ira (Ari Millen) about Rachel, who reveals that the latter is with Evie, attempting to bring the Neolution head down herself.
After Evie’s downfall and Rachel’s rise to power, Sarah flies to the Island were Susan lives to save Cosima. Sarah engages in a bloody fight with Rachel. As Sarah lies bleeding she learns that sneaky Ferdinand captured Mrs S. and Kira, and now works for Rachel.
RELATED: Watch The Official Trailer For Orphan Black Season 5
Cosima – Cosima also had it rough this season. She’s mourning the disappearance and potential death of her girlfriend Delphine (Evelyne Brochu). On top of that, she’s still dealing with the seemingly insurmountable sickness that might kill them all. Cosima and Scott (Josh Vokey) set up shop in the basement of a comic store after fleeing from the former Dyad Institute. She examines the bot in Sarah’s cheek and discovers its purpose is to rewrite DNA. Later, Cosima and Scott stumble upon an informational video about Brightborn Fertility and are introduced to Evie Cho.
Then, Cosima goes undercover at Brightborn with Donnie (Kristian Bruun) as a surrogate mother, to investigate their labs. She witnesses a baby being born in a maternity ward with shocking deformities. Basically, Brightborn is up to no good. Cosima runs into Susan, who offers Cosima the opportunity to collaborate with her for a Leda clone cure, using the original’s (Kendall) genome.
Later, Cosima and Sarah take Susan up on her offer. Cosima works to isolate the Leda cells from said genome from the Castor cells. Unfortunately, all is not well as Cosima is taken hostage by Brightborn in response to Susan’s kidnapping by Sarah. Brightborn then wipes out Cosima and Scott’s research, and prepares to burn Kendall. After Kendall’s murder, Evie reveals to a heartbroken Cosima that Delphine was shot and didn’t survive.
Cosima takes Sarah’s eggs to the Island where Susan lives. However, with Rachel back in power, Cosima is no longer safe. Charlotte (Cynthia Galant), the child Leda clone in Susan’s care, helps Cosima escape. Cosima, victim to a severe bout of sickness, is unable to continue. Fortunately, a mysterious man leads the duo to a camp where a living Delphine is located on the Island. Cosima informs Delphine that she has the true cure for our sestras.
Alison – Alison and Donnie endured quite the ride in their little suburbia. Our favorite married couple digs up Dr. Aldous Leekie’s body in the hopes they can extricate a bot similar to the one in Sarah’s cheek for Cosima to study. Unfortunately, the police arrive to investigate the murder of Pouchy’s drug circle (you know, the crime lords Helena killed in Season Three). They found “Vote Alison Hendrix” campaign material at the scene. Helena swoops in and impersonates Alison. I always love it when the sestras impersonate each other.
Later, Helena buries her nitrogen eggs after seeing how emotional Alison was about her infertility, and leaves the Hendrixes. Then, Alison throws a birthday party for her daughter Gemma to retain some normalcy in their chaotic lives. This won’t end well. Donnie is arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking. Detective Duko (Gord Rand), Evie Cho’s lackey, threatens to kill Donnie in prison unless Alison reveals Sarah’s location. Thankfully, Donnie is released from prison after being attacked by Neolution plants in prison.
Meanwhile, Duko receives the kiss of death from Mrs S, prompting yet another Neolution lackey to kidnap Alison and Donnie. He’s about to implant a bot in Alison’s cheek when our feisty sestra Helena saves the day.
Helena – She’s having twins! Our favorite sestra couldn’t be happier. Unfortunately, the happy news causes Alison to long for babies of her own. Seeing how depressed Alison is prompts Helena to cut and run from the Hendrixes. Well, she spends most of the season in a little camp she’s crafted in the woods. Very Cast Away, minus the volleyball. Thankfully, we’re given a savory morsel of Helena’s kick-butt antics when she saves Alison and Donnie from their potential deaths at the end of Season Four. She mercilessly slaughters their kidnapper, who was a Neolutionist, in only the way Helena knows how. With pizzazz. It must be in Tatiana Maslany’s contract that she has at least one Helena murder scene per season.
Rachel – Our favorite clone we love to hate also has an interesting journey this season. After Dyad’s fall and her unfortunate incident involving a pencil through the eye, Rachel recovers in a mysterious location known as the Island (homage to the Island of Dr. Moreau). Ira, a Castor Clone raised by Susan Duncan, consistently examines Rachel’s slick new prosthetic eye. Rachel is in the constant company of Charlotte. She learns that not only was Charlotte cloned from herself, but she’s also very sick a la Cosima. We learn that Rachel is secretly corresponding with Ferdinand.
Meanwhile, Rachel begins seeing visions in her fancy new eye – visions of a majestic swan. Said visions evolve as she also begins seeing a mysterious man. She begins work on restoring Susan as head of Neolution.
Later, Rachel reluctantly tag teams with Sarah to bring down Evie Cho. This turns into a coup d’etat worthy of Napoleon himself when, instead of reinstating her mother as the Neolution head, Rachel overthrows Evie and crowns herself Queen. Rachel is now back in power, baby. Her first order of business? Attack mommy dearest, of course. Susan tells Rachel the man who created her prosthetic eye is P.T. Westmoreland, the founder of Neolutionism. After a big showdown with Sarah, Rachel waits to meet the Neolutionism creator, who is apparently still alive centuries later.
Honorary Clone Club Member:
Felix – Felix had his own story to tell in Season Four. When Sarah returns from Iceland, he reveals that he’s searching for his birth family. Initially Sarah protests at this, but relents. He discovers his birth sister Adele through a sister company owned by Brightborn. We see a rift forming between Felix and Sarah, as the former spends more and more time with his real sister. Just remember, Felix, Sarah is your sestra. Felix of course pops in to give his favorite clones a pep talk when they need it most, like when Sarah was about to jump after Kendall’s death. Or when Cosima was heartbroken about Delphine and wanted to implant Sarah’s bot in her cheek. Our Fe not only reconnected with his genetic family, but in the end strengthened his bond to the Clone Club.
Big Bad:
Evie Cho – New Season of Orphan Black, new Big Bad in town! Evie Cho is now the Neolution head after Dr. Leekie’s unfortunate demise. Her mission? Destroy the Leda clones at all cost. She is the founder of Brightborn Fertility, a “clinic” under the guise of helping families artificially inseminate when natural fertility is lacking. Unfortunately, the clones discover she is harboring a secret: she is implanting bots into millions as a way of rewriting DNA. Babies are being delivered with severe deformities. Can we say malpractice lawsuit? She seems to remain one step ahead of our heroes throughout the season, but there is one person she underestimated: Rachel Duncan, who overthrows her in the end when she reinstates herself as the head of Neolution.
In Memoriam:
Kendall – We said goodbye to our gruff yet beloved original clone Kendall Malone this season. She was the mother to Mrs. S, and it was revealed that she had cancer, and it was terminal. Once Susan Duncan discovered that the original’s genome could save our sestra’s from the same sickness Cosima had, I knew her fate was decided. Unfortunately, Neolution got their grubby paws on her. Sarah destroyed the samples they had from Kendall in retaliation to Evie Cho kidnapping the older clone. Thus, Evie acted by having her lackey Detective Duko burn Kendall to death, so no one has a shot at a cure. Her death scene is nothing short of heartbreaking, as Cosima, who was also kidnapped by Evie, says her goodbyes to Kendall. Kendall died as she lived – like the strong, take-names woman she was. Mrs. S. avenges her mother’s death by taking out Duko herself.
New Clone We Met:
MK– MK, a clone who usually appeared wearing a sheep’s mask, alerts Sarah of the Neolutionists on her tail when in her Iceland hideout. From that point on, she was the clone who remained in the shadows, occasionally popping in with a wellspring of knowledge. We learn that MK’s real name is Veera Suominen, and she narrowly escaped the fires in Helsinki. MK targets Ferdinand, who had a hand in the demise of her friend Niki (another Leda clone) and many other lost lives. However, just when she’s about to make Ferdinand go boom, Sarah steps in and saves him. MK also worked very closely with Beth before she died, helping our fallen sestra unravel the clone mysteries this show’s universe.
“Ah!” Moments:
Well, Delphine being alive is certainly at the top of my list. Her reuniting with Cosima was too sweet for words. Also, Kendall’s death had me in tears, followed with Evie informing Cosima that Delphine was dead (which obviously wasn’t true). Krystal had a fun little arc this season, and her discovering the clone mystery only to think it’s a “stem cells in cosmetics” conspiracy is golden. Alison and Donnie digging up Leekie’s body. Getting more backstory for Beth and seeing how she precipitated the clone story, and her final moments. Observing how Sarah begins to mirror Beth in her downward spiral. Honestly, every moment in Orphan Black is an “Ah!” moment for me.
Hopes for The Final Trip:
Well, for it not to end, for starters. But if I’m being serious (and I seldom am unless it’s related to television), I hope we see more of MK. Also, were was Tony last season? I loved seeing Maslany hash that character out. I hope Cosima is cured of her illness, and the cure she crafted with Susan can be used to save them all. Also, give us the Cosima/Delphine wedding we’re all craving. Perhaps we can see Cal return and settle down with Sarah and Kira? P.T. Westmoreland will give us more answers. Scott and his cat live happily in the basement of that comic shop. Honestly, I just want my Clone Club to escape unscathed and receive the happy endings they deserve. Well, except for Rachel. She betrayed my sestras.
Alright, folks, that’s all she wrote! Be sure to stick around as I recap Season Five of Orphan Black. I promise it’ll just be 2,000 words of me gushing about how talented Tatiana Maslany is.
Orphan Black will air its final season Saturday June 10th at 10pm on your BBC America affiliate.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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