Orphan Black: One Fettered Slave
August 5, 2017 1:37 PM - Season 5, Episode 9 - Subscribe
A devastating loss is suffered; Sarah learns that Helena has been kidnapped; Clone Club bands together to find Helena before her babies are born.
We got home late and only managed to see the last 20 minutes or so...basically Helena trying to off herself and her bebbez. That was so hard to take for both of us.
I didn't notice it in the soundtrack...Did they play the Helena theme at all when she was dealing with Cody? I don't believe they did, which reveals a little something. She was acting clearly and with thought, and not caught up in the fog of wherever her head goes when she goes postal on someone.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:16 AM on August 6, 2017
I didn't notice it in the soundtrack...Did they play the Helena theme at all when she was dealing with Cody? I don't believe they did, which reveals a little something. She was acting clearly and with thought, and not caught up in the fog of wherever her head goes when she goes postal on someone.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:16 AM on August 6, 2017
I was really distracted by the fact that young Helena was played by a different actor. Writer Alex Levine gives the reasoning for the switch in this interview:
Cynthia Galant played young Rachel in Episode 507. Why was Habree Larratt cast as young Helena for this episode? Cynthia was cast to portray young Rachel, and we love her in that role. She’s composed and obedient and restrained. She’s a wonderful young actor with great chops. But in portraying young Helena, we wanted to be sure we had an actor who could explode emotionally, who is wild and untameable. And Habree really blew us away during the auditioning process. Her portrayal gave us the confidence to expand the scenes with Young Helena.
posted by Pendragon at 5:57 AM on August 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cynthia Galant played young Rachel in Episode 507. Why was Habree Larratt cast as young Helena for this episode? Cynthia was cast to portray young Rachel, and we love her in that role. She’s composed and obedient and restrained. She’s a wonderful young actor with great chops. But in portraying young Helena, we wanted to be sure we had an actor who could explode emotionally, who is wild and untameable. And Habree really blew us away during the auditioning process. Her portrayal gave us the confidence to expand the scenes with Young Helena.
posted by Pendragon at 5:57 AM on August 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
From the AV Club review:
posted by Thorzdad at 6:34 AM on August 6, 2017
• Hope you all listened to the credits.Well, I would have had BBCA not played a freaking ad for another show over the credits. What did I miss about the credits? I assume they're referring to the music choice over the credits.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:34 AM on August 6, 2017
Helena sang along with the Troggs song heard earlier in the episode.
posted by plastic_animals at 6:55 AM on August 6, 2017
posted by plastic_animals at 6:55 AM on August 6, 2017
Coady telling Mark that he'd be one step closer to Gracie, oof.
I still don't think Helena is going to make it (although I was sure she was gone this episode, so).
Art descending those stairs in the dark and extending his baton (not a euphemism). And Scott! Oh, my heart.
posted by minsies at 7:44 AM on August 6, 2017
I still don't think Helena is going to make it (although I was sure she was gone this episode, so).
Art descending those stairs in the dark and extending his baton (not a euphemism). And Scott! Oh, my heart.
posted by minsies at 7:44 AM on August 6, 2017
Writer Alex Levine gives the reasoning for the switch in this interview:
Nice interview. Could someone help me out with this part: "John was always eager to show her first kill, and the twist of her not knowing she’s a clone really made it sing"?
I missed something there. Who did Helena think she was killing if not clones?
posted by torticat at 10:02 AM on August 6, 2017
Nice interview. Could someone help me out with this part: "John was always eager to show her first kill, and the twist of her not knowing she’s a clone really made it sing"?
I missed something there. Who did Helena think she was killing if not clones?
posted by torticat at 10:02 AM on August 6, 2017
Clones, but she didn't know she herself was a clone.
posted by Pendragon at 10:28 AM on August 6, 2017
posted by Pendragon at 10:28 AM on August 6, 2017
I didn't notice it in the soundtrack...Did they play the Helena theme at all when she was dealing with Cody? I don't believe they did, which reveals a little something. She was acting clearly and with thought, and not caught up in the fog of wherever her head goes when she goes postal on someone.
Just rewatched. Helena definitely got her music when she disposed of Coady. Holy shit!
(Sarah who is no slouch at doing what needs to be done is also so perfect in that scene.)
posted by torticat at 4:38 PM on August 6, 2017
Just rewatched. Helena definitely got her music when she disposed of Coady. Holy shit!
(Sarah who is no slouch at doing what needs to be done is also so perfect in that scene.)
posted by torticat at 4:38 PM on August 6, 2017
Clones, but she didn't know she herself was a clone.
Got it, on rewatch. I'm kind of impressed by anyone who picked up on that the first time around, though!
posted by torticat at 4:42 PM on August 6, 2017
Got it, on rewatch. I'm kind of impressed by anyone who picked up on that the first time around, though!
posted by torticat at 4:42 PM on August 6, 2017
The thing that I love love love about the Helena storyline is how she went from what was quite frankly one of the scariest unknowns in the first season to the strongest ally in the later seasons. I mean, I had nightmares with Helena's theme in the background, that's how well they did it.
posted by Kyol at 8:22 PM on August 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Kyol at 8:22 PM on August 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Might Clone Club go public for their finale? Much information already has gone public about the board and Dyad and the faked longevity scheme and the genetic harvesting stuff. Maybe Cosima and Alison and Sarah and Rachel and Krystal (and Helena?) all stand up in front of cameras and ask the remaining Leda clones to come forward, to accept the cure Cosima has developed?
posted by cgc373 at 10:04 PM on August 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by cgc373 at 10:04 PM on August 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Oh and the other thing that I'm sort of confused by - is there any bigger in-universe reason for Allison's major lifestyle change? I mean, OK she realized she was still the same person she was a few years ago with the pills and booze, but it feels like a huge change that didn't really pay off other than some minor jokes with Donnie.
posted by Kyol at 5:54 AM on August 7, 2017
posted by Kyol at 5:54 AM on August 7, 2017
Kyol, I think that's probably going to be revealed in the finale. (If it isn't, I'm going to be very disappointed, because that particular narrative ball has been dropped for a while, and the reason should be something important.)
I didn't understand why Donnie was at Mrs. S's funeral, but Allison wasn't. If it was to keep the Clone Club secret, why? There were a few people there who probably didn't know (the singer, for one), but enh. They all know they're in the endgame now. (I'm definitely up for the Clone Club going public.)
posted by minsies at 7:42 AM on August 7, 2017
I didn't understand why Donnie was at Mrs. S's funeral, but Allison wasn't. If it was to keep the Clone Club secret, why? There were a few people there who probably didn't know (the singer, for one), but enh. They all know they're in the endgame now. (I'm definitely up for the Clone Club going public.)
posted by minsies at 7:42 AM on August 7, 2017
Yeah, I'm not sure what the point of keeping the Clone Club secret is these days. Habit I guess. But it's not like Dyad/Neolution is going to... What? Kill them like they mighta coulda used to with the monitors?
posted by Kyol at 12:43 PM on August 7, 2017
posted by Kyol at 12:43 PM on August 7, 2017
Neolution killed several board members and made them look like suicides in this episode alone, and the infamous "Helsinki" plan killed many of MK's cohorts in Europe years ago, so I wouldn't put it past them to kill the clones remaining clones now.
My guess is that the clones won't go public because after all this they just want to go on with their lives. Going public will turn their lives, and the lives of unaware clones, into a never ending media freak show. Plus, there's all the murdery things that the government would hold them accountable for.
posted by plastic_animals at 1:21 PM on August 7, 2017
My guess is that the clones won't go public because after all this they just want to go on with their lives. Going public will turn their lives, and the lives of unaware clones, into a never ending media freak show. Plus, there's all the murdery things that the government would hold them accountable for.
posted by plastic_animals at 1:21 PM on August 7, 2017
I just hope we're done with losing members of cloneclub and friends. Losing Helena would be heartbreaking. She deserves to be a good mother to her bebbes, after all she's been through. Losing Art to whatshernamecrookedcop would be very angrymaking. Brick through the tv angrymaking.
And if there isn't a satisfying payoff to Alison's new look, I'm done with this show.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:39 PM on August 7, 2017
And if there isn't a satisfying payoff to Alison's new look, I'm done with this show.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:39 PM on August 7, 2017
Sadly, Thorzdad, you're done with this show either way.
posted by cgc373 at 9:13 PM on August 7, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by cgc373 at 9:13 PM on August 7, 2017 [6 favorites]
Ah. I forgot to add the sarcasm tag.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:55 AM on August 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Thorzdad at 4:55 AM on August 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
A stray thought that's been poking at my brain all day: what if Alison isn't Alison?
Where did she say she was going - California?
posted by minsies at 12:54 PM on August 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
Where did she say she was going - California?
posted by minsies at 12:54 PM on August 8, 2017 [1 favorite]
(Apparently she didn't say where she was going, according to Bustle.)
I really should do my searching before I hit post.
posted by minsies at 12:56 PM on August 8, 2017
I really should do my searching before I hit post.
posted by minsies at 12:56 PM on August 8, 2017
Is there any indication what the overall show "time" from S1E1 is? I mean, 9 months since Helena's run-in with the Proletheans which was late S2, so what, maybe a year overall? 18 months tops? I'd go with "well, who doesn't want a new look after 5 years" but it's not really that long in character development time.
*shrug* It's not like ship truther-ism in GoT, it just sorta gnaws at me.
posted by Kyol at 7:53 PM on August 8, 2017
*shrug* It's not like ship truther-ism in GoT, it just sorta gnaws at me.
posted by Kyol at 7:53 PM on August 8, 2017
...which is probably also why we haven't seen Gemma and Oscar Hendrix much - the actors are probably like 20 now, sneaking off for smokes between takes.
posted by Kyol at 7:58 PM on August 8, 2017
posted by Kyol at 7:58 PM on August 8, 2017
They mentioned the time span I think last season? When they were exploring how Beth died. It was shockingly not long ago.
posted by bleep at 7:59 PM on August 8, 2017
posted by bleep at 7:59 PM on August 8, 2017
(and I have this theory that male vs female style variation is why the Castor storyline kinda fizzled out - there's a lot you can do to make the Leda clones unique and distinctive, but after a while Castor clones had to have facial scarring because there was only so much the character designers could do. "You aren't getting 7 distinctive characters out of the Castors. We got... three? ish? and some mostly unmemorable milspec variations? Sorry, man.")
posted by Kyol at 8:06 PM on August 8, 2017
posted by Kyol at 8:06 PM on August 8, 2017
Ah, I knew I had thought about this before!
Did I misunderstand or did someone at the club mention they had spoken to Beth six months ago? Meaning all 3 seasons have taken place over six months? That is both totally believable and totally shocking.
Transgressive Border Crossing Season 4, Episode 2
posted by bleep at 8:09 PM on August 8, 2017
Did I misunderstand or did someone at the club mention they had spoken to Beth six months ago? Meaning all 3 seasons have taken place over six months? That is both totally believable and totally shocking.
Transgressive Border Crossing Season 4, Episode 2
posted by bleep at 8:09 PM on August 8, 2017
In the interview that Pendragon linked above, Alex Levine said:
Orphan Black is really three or four shows in one: a thriller, a love story, a horror movie, and a suburban satire.
I hadn't really thought of those genres separated out like that--I'd thought of the show as thriller with a lot of comic relief thrown in.
If the the showrunners think of Alison's story specifically as "suburban satire," then maybe they thought it would be funny/fitting to end her arc with a midlife crisis. That might be all there is to it?
posted by torticat at 1:57 PM on August 9, 2017
Orphan Black is really three or four shows in one: a thriller, a love story, a horror movie, and a suburban satire.
I hadn't really thought of those genres separated out like that--I'd thought of the show as thriller with a lot of comic relief thrown in.
If the the showrunners think of Alison's story specifically as "suburban satire," then maybe they thought it would be funny/fitting to end her arc with a midlife crisis. That might be all there is to it?
posted by torticat at 1:57 PM on August 9, 2017
Just now catching up with the show and didn't know about the credits thing either (I can't watch in any official capacity yet so using illegal streams which cuts off right before credits)
But here's the end credits for this episode on youtube
posted by numaner at 2:04 AM on March 3, 2018
But here's the end credits for this episode on youtube
posted by numaner at 2:04 AM on March 3, 2018
I was gonna be very upset if Helena got talked into killing herself by Coady, even if it does seem kind of in character and badass in a nobody-can-kill-Helena-but-Helena sort of way, but since it turned out to be a scheme that both saved Sarah's life and gave them the opportunity to escape, I guess I'll allow it. That grin she gives Sarah right before killing Coady was A++ Helena.
posted by straight at 7:46 AM on August 31, 2018
posted by straight at 7:46 AM on August 31, 2018
A stray thought that's been poking at my brain all day: what if Alison isn't Alison?
She has seemed kind of "off-model" since she got back, more like someone pretending to be Alison than Alison with a new attitude (the fact that distinction even makes any sense is an amazing tribute to Maslany). Between that and the "who are you and what have you done with my wife" looks Donnie has been giving her, I'd absolutely think something was up if we had more than 40 minutes left.
posted by straight at 7:49 AM on August 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
She has seemed kind of "off-model" since she got back, more like someone pretending to be Alison than Alison with a new attitude (the fact that distinction even makes any sense is an amazing tribute to Maslany). Between that and the "who are you and what have you done with my wife" looks Donnie has been giving her, I'd absolutely think something was up if we had more than 40 minutes left.
posted by straight at 7:49 AM on August 31, 2018 [1 favorite]
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posted by bleep at 2:01 PM on August 5, 2017 [13 favorites]