Orphan Black 5×2 Review: Clutch of Greed

As we are saying goodbye to Orphan Black, I think it is fair to say that most fans knew we would have to say goodbye to some of our favorite characters, but “Clutch of Greed” was extremely hard to watch. The stories are definitely winding down, but right now, we don’t know who to trust, and I have to admit that the writers really pushed my emotional limit with this week’s shocking death.

It was great to see MK again and get a final amount of contribution from her before her horrific death. I always liked MK and felt that her story was extremely tragic, so it was even more devastating to see her death come so cruelly and to be shot so graphically. I really was not prepared for the emotional reaction that I had to that scene, and I think a lot of it had to do with the directorial choice to show it the way it turned. So often in film in television, we see the anger and spite in the face of the murderer, but it is rare that we get a wider shot showing the entire scene, and even more rare to see the face and shock of the person whose life is being extinguished. This is a scene that will haunt me for a while. RIP MK.

Another big surprise for me in “Clutch of Greed” were the actions of Kira. One of the central themes throughout Orphan Black has been about bodily consent, and our clones have fought hard to rid themselves of Dyad, Neolution, and others who would have control over their bodies. This week it was Kira who made a stand for her body. This whole time we wanted to believe that Sarah was doing what she believed to be right for Kira by keeping her away from Dyad, but after Rachel offered Kira an offer too good to refuse, she stood up to her mom and admitted that she was okay with being studied. It turns out that Kira may be the biggest contribution to Leda, and she was able to give her own consent.

I was really intrigued by Rachel this week. I thought after her actions at the end of season four that she would end up being the main villain in the final season, but that is turning out to not necessarily be the case. Of course we have a lot of story left, but after her meeting with PT Westmoreland, she genuinely seems to want to keep her sisters safe. Sure, she seems to want to start human cloning again, but I think she is finally understanding her role in Neolution.

Although “Clutch of Greed” ended up being much darker than I anticipated going in, there were a couple of bright spots in the episode. The first being Cosima’s meeting with PT Westmoreland. What a character! It is easy to see how so many people can easily fall for such a person: he is intelligent, charismatic, and logical. It sure felt like Cosima was falling under his spell a bit, so we will need to keep an eye on her actions. She also is doing a great job of keeping an eye on Charlotte, which is also a treat. Tatiana Maslany does a great job acting with children.

The other bright spot was Helena and Donnie (shocker, I know). Helena is safe from her stick injury, and even though the stick pierced one of the babies, it appears that the twin healed herself from inside the womb. It would seem that the babies are special, and maybe even more so than Kira. Of course, Helena was nervous that the doctors would find out that the babies are special and deliver them prematurely and run scores of tests, so she is once again on the run, but not before letting Donnie in on where she could be found.

Overall “Clutch of Greed” was an extremely emotional episode, but it was once again beautifully shot and technically marvelous. Even though MK was a relatively minor clone in the grand scheme of the show, her death has affected me deeply and I will really need to take some time to process how everything fits together. Hopefully we will continue to get answers as the series winds down, but I hope you will all join me in trying to be better prepared for potentially brutal final episodes.

Author: Erin

Erin has reviewed many shows over the years including Orphan Black, iZombie, Penny Dreadful, and Killing Eve. She has a keen eye for on-screen chemistry, and loves to tackle the subject of casting. She is also our horror aficionado. She live tweets shows, and loves to share her feelings. Erin has a BA in History, and likes to analyze the lore behind historical fiction. She attends San Diego Comic Con every year and has also attended C2E2 and WonderCon.

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