Orphan Black, S4 Ep7, The Antisocialism of Sex

In the aftermath of Kendall’s death, things slow down this week and get pretty depressing. In addition to blaming Sarah for putting her mother in the line of fire, S. also blames herself. Sarah’s guilt pushes her to fall back into her old habits and run. Cosima feels guilty for pushing Sarah and the others into Evie’s trap. Even Alison, who wasn’t directly involved with the plan, breaks down crying while writing S. a sympathy card, and falls to her knees as she prays for hope. If there’s any hope on the horizon, it’s hard to spot in this week’s episode.

When S. essentially disowns Sarah (“You came to me an orphan. That’s all you’ll ever be.” And man the look on Sarah’s face after that hurt), Sarah decides she has no reason to stick around. S. isn’t letting Sarah take Kira, though, so Sarah runs off alone. Falling into old behaviors at a bar – alcohol, drugs, and sex –  she then ends up at Dizzy’s place (MK’s hacker friend). All the while, she’s catching glimpses of Beth alongside her own reflection in mirrors. But while Sarah’s just looking to have some fun and forget, Dizzy keeps asking questions about the implant – he was friends with Ed Capra, the guy who was buried way back in episode one this season. Frustrated and not wanting to talk, Sarah storms out.

I really wasn’t too interested in Sarah’s storyline this week until she ended up on the bridge, talking to Beth, and debating whether or not to jump. Felix arrives in time to talk her down, and even Beth ultimately had some supportive words: “Bring us together, Sarah. We need you.” Though it still bothers me that the tension that was so thick between Felix and Sarah the first half of the season has now just been swept aside. Obviously Felix wouldn’t be focusing on their fight right now when it’s literally a matter of life and death, but I hope we’ll eventually see some sort of real resolution between them.

Despite Scott’s attempts to help Cosima keep moving forward, her despair over both Kendall and Delphine lead her to desperate actions of her own. She has the robot maggot that Evie removed from Sarah, and they know it was looking for the gene that controls the clone disease. So in a last ditch effort, Cosima prepares to implant it in herself, hoping maybe it will switch the gene off in her. Felix again saves the day, calling Cosima to tell her what he learned from Krystal: that Delphine might still be alive.

(Was anyone else watching Scott yell at Cosima to answer her phone, and thinking how much easier it would have been for Felix to simply pass on the news through Scott? Or at least told Scott he had news on Delphine? Really they’re lucky Cosima took the time to answer her phone.)

With the death of the original, Susan has now given up and accepted that Evie has taken over. In a video chat to discuss the transition, Evie says the naïve clones will be simply cut loose, but those that are self-aware “won’t get such humane treatment.” And so the threat from Neolution lives on.

Rachel now has free rein of the house, but the most interesting part of her storyline this week was the strange swan she sees at the end of the episode. The way it glitches in and out of her vision implies a technical explanation – likely tied to her replacement eye – as opposed to it simply being in her head. But still, why she’s seeing the swan, and what significance it has, I’ve got no theories yet.

With everything going on, Donnie suggests to Alison they cancel Gemma’s sleepover, but Alison insists that the party goes on (“There are hot dogs in the freezer, mister, I’m putting my foot down!”). If she was simply hoping to use the party as a distraction to keep her mind off of clone club, she’s got something else to focus on now: Cops showed up right in the middle of the sleepover to arrest Donnie for selling drugs. But why wasn’t Alison arrested too, when they know she was also involved? Unless Duko is somehow orchestrating it, with some ulterior motives for keeping Alison out of jail?

Lastly, MK makes a brief return at the very end of the episode, hijacking Kira’s computer and introducing herself as a friend. Hopefully Helena can finally make her return in the next episode? I was sure we’d see her again by now, but instead she doesn’t even get a mention. Obviously everyone has a lot on their plate right now, but you’d still think that someone would be concerned about Helena being who knows where, pregnant and alone.

Ideas on what’s up with the swan? Have a lot of feelings after seeing everyone spiral downward this week? Let us know what you thought in the comments!