Orphan Black 3×3 Review: Formalized, Complex, and Costly

Well, this week was just bombshell upon bombshell upon bombshell. There were so many twists and turns, and my head is still trying to wrap around everything. But we did get a lot of good pairings in this episode, and it was good to see so many relationships start or return. Although this is meant to be a review, it will end up reading more like a recap just because SO many things happened.

The episode opened with Art showing up at Felix’s place just as Sarah and Felix are trying to figure out what to do with Seth’s body. This isn’t a good time for a cop to show up, and since Felix and Sarah didn’t try too hard to conceal the body, it was really their fault that Art immediately found out what was going on. Art wanted nothing to do with it, but seemed to believe Felix and Sarah when they said they had nothing to do with it and pleaded for Cosima to help them. Then we got to see Art and Cosima meet via web chat! I like that we are getting to see more Art this season so far because he was greatly underused in Season Two. Art and Sarah go out on their own to try to figure out what happened to Helena.

Meanwhile, Cosima and Scott travel to Felix’s to break down Seth’s body and take the brain for analysis. Cosima is very interested in why Seth was glitching. She figures that it is due to a neurological design flaw. The body in the bathtub scene was a bit gruesome but had some comedic relief in Felix and Scott. And the fact that Cosima called Scott “Igor.” I love them.

We didn’t get to see a ton of Alison this week but were briefly treated to her and Donnie on the campaign trail. Their strategy of taking over Ramon’s business seems to be working, and they are getting a lot of support, even though some parents outright say that they don’t want an alcoholic dealing with their children’s issues. Of course, the uppers that they are selling quickly change the minds of said parents. Marcy, do not underestimate Team Hendrix!

We learned more about Virginia (Mother) and the Castor clones this week. It seems that all of the testing and all of the covert operations to obtain the tissue samples really does stem from good: she wants get her hands on the original tissue samples to help circumvent the genetic defects in the clones (particularly the neurological defects that seem to plague the Castor clones). In fact, the reason they were testing Helena was not for torture or to make her a weapon, but to determine if she had the defect, and we learn that she does not. Yay!

Rachel very briefly showed up in the episode, mostly so that we could learn that she does not really remember much of anything, particularly words. I miss mean Rachel, but that incarnation may show up again at some point.

The focus of this week’s episode, though, was really Mark and Gracie. They have been on the run since Helena burned down the compound, and even though they got married, they are trying to keep a low profile. They even got around to consummating their marriage! For some reason, even though both of them are quite creepy and a little “off,” I find their relationship sweet. Mark confesses to Gracie that he was not actually AWOL from the Army but on a special mission to recover genetic data from the Proletheans and Gracie’s father. Even though Gracie is a bit put off by the secret-keeping, she declares that she knows who has the data and she is going to recover it for Mark. I quite like this new Gracie: getting stuff done! She is swiftly learning how the play the game, and I am loving another strong female to add to the mix.

Unfortunately for Gracie, Sarah discovers her at a diner shortly after finding out that both Gracie and Helena are pregnant. Sarah drops the Castor clone bombshell on Gracie who cannot believe that she is married to an “abomination.” Sarah tries to use the family card, but Gracie isn’t having it. After leaving the diner, with a lot of new information to digest, Gracie encounters her mother who basically calls her stupid and tries to sway her away from Mark. At the end of the episode, Gracie’s mom shoots Mark and apparently kills him. RIP Mark?

The last bit of bombshell comes just before Mark is killed. In a phone call from Cosima, Sarah learns that the Castor clones are biological brothers to the Leda clones. They are all really siblings! This was an interesting way to the end the episode.

In summation, this was a solid episode. We got a lot of great character interaction, particularly among Sarah with Art and Gracie, and for that I am grateful. I think we are all a bit weary of the constant introduction of new characters, so it was a nice change of pace to just learn more about our existing favorites. I also hope that we get to see more of take-charge Gracie, although I have no idea how her significance to the story line will end up playing out now that Mark is (maybe) dead. More Gracie, please! And it seems like we may be down to only one major Castor clone: Rudy.

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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