Orphan Black Season 5 - The Final Trip

[Christopher]

Just finished watching the episode this morning and it was good but it really did feel like setting up the finale. I really liked the funeral scene and Helena is always good but the flashbacks weren't all that revelatory and the fact that the child actress playing young Helena was not Charlotte was a little strange.

I don't think the flashbacks were meant to be new revelations -- more like reminders or retrospectives, similarly to how Alison's focus episode revisited threads from the first season like her affair with Aynsley's husband and her guilt over Aynsley's death, or the way Rachel's focus episode had her revisit the home movies of the Duncans that were important at the beginning of her story. As we near the end, they're tying it back to the sestras' beginnings, like the final movement of a symphony restating the leitmotifs of earlier movements.

It also helped to support the fakeout when it looked like Helena had killed herself -- like they were revisiting her past as a sort of farewell gesture. I was pretty scared there for a moment.

And they couldn't use the same child actress for Helena, because Charlotte is only supposed to be 8 or so, and Helena was taken into Tomas's "care" at age 12. So they needed someone a few years older.

I'm really curious how they are going to end this in a 45 minute span.

I was a little annoyed at the BBCA preview framing it in terms of "Who will make it out alive?" I think the tendency to reduce dramatic tension simply to who lives and who dies is overly simplistic; a story should be more than just a scorecard, and there are lots of ways to create dramatic stakes and tension other than just putting people's lives in danger. I'm hoping that's just promotional flack that doesn't represent the finale itself.

Still, there are a lot of people dying lately, so I guess it's a given that there will be at least a couple more next week.

The most disturbing one for me was Mark. The way Coady murdered him so gently, almost casually, without him even knowing he was being betrayed... that was squirm-inducing and hard to watch. Her pretense of motherly compassion over such a depraved and heartless act... it's nauseating even to think about it. And the fact that he was the last of his kind, as it were, that she was completing the extinction of the whole Castor line, gave it an added horror.

 

[tomalak301]

Agreed about Coady killing Mark. When Helena killed her saying "you're a shit mother" I almost cheered. That was a cool scene and nice call back to season 3.

 

[Borgminister]

Funny how a really good hook for the finale involves water breaking.

Gonna miss this show, although the bloodbath seems a bit contrived and rushed.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

My laptop died earlier this week and I had a very difficult (far too difficult) time getting the episode to download onto my iPhone but I finally was able to watch it this morning.

As I predicted earlier this season, Helena also got a fantastic episode focused on her and what a doozie it was. I was genuinely worried Helena would succeed in killing herself to protect her babies from a crueler fate, even if I didn't think the show go that dark (hell, for the briefest of moments, I thought she was going to stab her belly...I've had enough of that thanks to the Red Wedding). We also got great insights into Helena's upbringing and it was fun to see Tomas one last time. When Helena surprised killed her sister, I thought we were going to see Helena cut Irina's tongue out but I guess that was too obvious (and what they wanted us to think).

The intensity level in this episode was kicked up several notches. Not only was I worried for Helena and her babies, but I also feared for Scott's and Art's lives. Hell, Art looks like he's going to have an ugly and much-awaited showdown with Enger and I worry he's not going to come out the other side alive...especially with a murder hanging over his head.

I'm also very sorry to see Mark to die in the way he did, quietly betrayed by his "mother." The way Coady calmly told him he was rejoining Gracie soon was blood chilling. Helena's later beat down of Coady was all the more satisfying after that moment.

But on a quieter note, Siobhan's funeral was a beautiful moment and really set the tone for the rest of the episode. Her farewell message seems to confirm my earlier stated belief that she was going into this showdown as a sacrifice.

 

[Christopher]

hell, for the briefest of moments, I thought she was going to stab her belly...

Keep in mind that she already got impaled in the belly once before, and the injured fetus regenerated quickly. So that might not have worked anyway.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

True, but in the heat of the moment, one doesn't tend to think of that, both for Helena and the viewer. Besides, that was a single incision that was given time to regenerate. I doubt that the regeneration process could survive multiple stabs in short succession.

 

[Forbin]

I was thinking Helena slit her wrists as a ruse to get the docs and Coady in the room so she could kill them. It may still have been that, I'm not sure. If so - wow, the girl's got balls.

 

[Forbin]

Oh, also - dammit, Sara, if you're going to go for the throat, lean into it! How could she miss after all that?!?

 

[bigdaddy]

I'm currently watching the eighth episode and it's nice to have Felix back, he has been horribly underused for the last couple of seasons.

I'm glad that what's his name is a fake and not 170, and the 'monster' was just a crazy human. But I must say this season has been 'ehh' so far. I want some crazy fucking shit!

Also did the last episode air Friday in Canada?

 

[Forbin]

Altough, even though the immortality bit turned out to be untrue, we've got further evidence of magical telepathy (or at least empathy) with Kira sensing Helena's trouble.

 

[bigdaddy]

Altough, even though the immortality bit turned out to be untrue, we've got further evidence of magical telepathy (or at least empathy) with Kira sensing Helena's trouble.

True, but I've become numb to the stupid 'super hero child' sci-fi cliche.

And the 8th episode finally started feeling like the final season. The first half of the season was just so damn stupid.

 

[tomalak301]

Also did the last episode air Friday in Canada?

Final episode is tonight in both Canada and the US.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Wow... can't believe it's over.

Hey, random question...but did at the beginning of the show, were there people who had 'enhancements' like tails? Whatever happened to that?

Also, two other ones...

Did they ever say why the show is called Orphan Black?

So is Dyad, Neolution, and Topside (what was that again) all kaput? Seems like a big deal that was not shown on screen.

 

[tomalak301]

Hey, random question...but did at the beginning of the show, were there people who had 'enhancements' like tails? Whatever happened to that?

They were the beneficeraries of Neolution, kind of what the common person sees. Where the Leda's went was down deeper than that, basically the corporation root of that philosophy

Did they ever say why the show is called Orphan Black?

I know the answer to this but I always have a hard time explaining it. Sarah was an Orphan who wasn't brought up by the system and was hidden "In the Black" by Carlton only to be picked up by Mrs. S. The title basically refers to her, even though there was a moment in Season 5 where it seemed like the Title referred to all the clones but I forgot what that was.

So is Dyad, Neolution, and Topside (what was that again) all kaput? Seems like a big deal that was not shown on screen.

Dyad and Topside were all part of Neolution. Westmoorland, Susan, and Coady were basically Neolution themselves. Everything else branched from them.

 

[bigdaddy]

Did they ever say why the show is called Orphan Black?

So is Dyad, Neolution, and Topside (what was that again) all kaput? Seems like a big deal that was not shown on screen.

Someone should have waited until the end of the episode. :P

Yeah, Sarah was watching it on her phone. I mean how much more do you want to show a company go bankrupt?

I've actually been kind of disappointed with the finale and frankly the last few seasons as a whole. But it could have been a lot worse. I just think they should have skipped 7 bullshit episodes of the island lame shit and have more time at the end to explain what happens to Art and the corrupt police force. More so beause Beth was a cop.

 

[Christopher]

I wasn't expecting so much of the episode to be denouement, but I like it. It's nice that they didn't just do action action action, the end, but took some time to show the characters dealing with the aftermath. Even as it was, it felt like there could've been more.

I guess it makes sense that Sarah, who was directionless when this all started and found her purpose in unifying the others in this extended fight, is the one who has the hardest time moving on after the fight. Well, in a way the fight isn't over yet, but Cosima and Delphine are waging it now. I'm a bit surprised that they're not cluing the other Ledas in on their true nature and origins. Don't they have a right to know? Isn't that what this was all for? Hard to control your own life if you don't know the truth about it.

And I guess we'll never get any explanation of just what the hell Kira's abilities were, or whether Helena's twins will develop similar ones. It feels like a loose end, but an explicit acknowledgement that she had psychic powers would've been worse from my perspective, so it's just as well.

So this whole series has basically been Helena's memoir all along? Is that the takeaway? I guess that would explain the odd title. And evidently Alison wrote the musical score.

 

[tomalak301]

That was a beautiful ending. I think the writers tried to do so much as the series went and they couldn't wrap up everything but to focus the last half of the episode on the core sisterhood where this series absolutely shines, they stuck the landing.

I'm satisfied enough to say this is a top 5 Sci Fi series of all time for me that I have seen. Maybe number 5 (behind Farscape, the 90s trek series, and B5) but it was well worth the trip.

 

[bigdaddy]

I think the writers tried to do so much as the series went and they couldn't wrap up everything

That's my problem, they introduced all this island shit and went on for WAY too long and then kind of rushed everyone getting killed.

I do like how the writers had a sense of humour. 'The future is female' was a central theme throughout the show and more so the finale few episodes. Yet the twins were boys.

Whatever happened to the Castor who was on the island? I can't remember.

I'm just happy we didn't get the last scene as the twins both wink at the camera.

 

[tomalak301]

Ira died soon after Susan died. I actually agree with you about the Island. We spent too much time there when that story could have been wrapped up in episode four. Still I'm happy with what we got.

 

[bigdaddy]

Ira died soon after Susan died. I actually agree with you about the Island. We spent too much time there when that story could have been wrapped up in episode four. Still I'm happy with what we got.

Thanks! I complete forgot with all the deaths that happened towards the end.

I'm happy enough with the season and the show. But I doubt I will ever rewatch it. The creators talked about having the 5 year plan, and the plan for the island since season 2, but their plans should have changed because it was too much and I rather have more time with the other clones.

At least it wasn't as bad as Voyager or something.