Image Credit: BBC America
Image Credit: BBC America

Orphan Black: The Few Who Dare Review

Orphan Black is finally back on our screens, and while fans are elated about that, it is the final season for the show which is a reality that hasn’t sunk in for most. “The Few Who Dare” is an intense episode right out of the gate, continuing where season 4 left us. Let’s take a quick look at where our favorite clones are at. Sarah, injured by Rachel is determined to find Cosima before leaving the Island. Cosima, doing research on the Island with Susan Duncan, found the cure that she and her sisters desperately need. Only to be shut out at the last moment by Rachel, she goes on the run and is discovered by the villagers who live on the Island, Delphine among them. Rachel, more power hungry than ever before will stop at nothing to make it to the top. Alison and a quite pregnant Helena are hiding out in the woods with Donnie, trying to avoid both fractions behind Neoloution.

Image Credit: BBC America

After learning that Ferdinand has Mrs. S and Kira hostage, Sarah’s survival mode kicks in even higher.  Stranded out in the elements overnight on the Island is the last thing her body needs, of course Sarah is one tough cookie and if anyone can last the night, it’ll be her. Sarah isn’t equipped with much, she’s got her cell but with only 2% battery left that isn’t likely to be very helpful. A book of matches, her pocket knife, a photograph of Kira, and a feminine hygiene product is all she has to work with, and she turns into a bonafide MacGyver. She calls Felix to tell him about Mrs. S and Kira, asking him to go check the safe house and do what he can. On speaker phone, she questions Ira about the Island and where the boat house would be but her phone dies before she learns anything about the village located there. In a very heralding scene, she ignites Kira’s school picture with a match in order to be certain her fire will stick, she’s down to her last match and has no other options. She blacks out from the pain involved with bandaging up her wound, but in her dream Kira encourages her to wake up, which is when she realizes that she isn’t alone in the woods. She is attacked by what I can only assume is a genetically modified human gone wrong, essentially Neolution creation at it’s worst. I dubbed it the Zombie Clone, though to my knowledge it’s not part of a clone line. Fashioning herself a walking stick with a deadly sharp point, Sarah lives through the night.

Image Credit: BBC America

Cosima awakens in a strange hut where she appears to be locked in. Immediately she checks her bag for the samples necessary for their cure. They’re gone but in it’s place is a note from Delphine. “Whatever happens – follow my lead.” An overly perky young woman walks into the hut and introduces herself as Mud, she takes Cosima for a tour of the village, known as “Revival.” On the cult-scale of zero to Prolethean, Revival hits pretty close to the top. They are an entirely self-sufficient village, creating their own energy, a green house, crops, a fish farm, livestock, and even their own communications system. Cosima notes that she’ll need to use that in order to call her sisters, to which Mud brightly responds “Oh, you won’t be allowed to do that” with a huge grin on her face. Cosima learns that Rachel is in seclusion with P.T Westmorland, the founder of Neoloution and 170 years old. He lives in Revival with those who have been chosen from across the world to “genetically improve the human race.” Charlotte is found at Revival’s version of a schoolhouse, reading some propaganda called “The Revival Story” and the two are reunited.

Felix runs into Art while checking out the safe house for any leads. Art asks him to keep the Hendricks out of sight while he works on the situation, so Felix calls Alison who is unhappy at her entire situation.  She wants to help Felix with the plan to save Kira and is annoyed when he shuts her down. Felix asks them to just stay out of sight and keep Helena safe while they work it all out. But being Alison, she can’t handle not knowing the plan, organizing the plan, color coding the plan and yelling at those who don’t execute the plan, so she snaps at Donnie to get to it and they begin packing up the tent. Back at the Rabbit Hole, Felix is trying to come up with a plan to help Sarah, but Ira is claiming not to know anything outside of the village being called Revival. They’ve decided to reach out to MK by spamming hundreds of gaming platforms with hundreds of avatars called “SarahManning” to see if they can get her to contact them. Felix mentions that MK once contacted Kira through a game she had been playing, so he heads back to the safe house to grab the laptop with that game. He’s cornered by someone else from Neolution who explains that there are no longer two fractions and that everything will be okay under Rachel’s guidance. Felix scoffs at that remark before going willingly with the man instead of being taken by force.

Image Credit: BBC America

Meanwhile, Art is back at the police station where his captain introduces his to his new partner, a known Neolutionist Maddie. After driving outside the city limits she drops a case file on his lap about the Hendrick’s and specifically, Helena. She tells Art that he doesn’t even know how far they are willing to go to bring all the clones in and that he better get on board because the change was coming fast. At the Hendrick’s camp site, Donnie watches from behind a tree as two men approach their tent with guns drawn. Alison is captured and in a very comical scene Donnie runs away, rolling his packed up suitcase behind him through the forest. Art is able to talk with Alison, still tied up in the back of a van, and let’s her know that the Neolutionists want to make a deal, and the best thing to do is bring everybody in. Though she isn’t featured much in this episode, Alison is always a joy to watch, we get some much needed comic relief when she tells Art and Maddie that “Helena is out murdering God’s creatures and my husband abandoned me.” Maddie reassures Alison that she has sworn to not harm a single clone, then punches Art and points a gun at his head. The best thing they can all do at this point in time is cooperate.

Sarah finds the boathouse but has to hide from some of the villagers who are clearly on the hunt for her. She overhears them mention that the village is called Revival and that they aren’t to come back until they can bring her with them to join the other one. The men looking for her are hot on her trail, and she isn’t moving very quickly due to the leg injury and blood loss. Both she and her trackers come across old game hanging in a random place in the woods, followed by a very mangled, half eaten wolf body. The lead tracker states that it clearly must have been a bear, however nobody really believes him. If I was a betting man, I’d certainly put money on it being that Zombie Clone.  He decides that because it’ll be getting dark soon they better head back, when the others question him about leaving Sarah he stoically responds with “Good luck to her.” At least Sarah can now track these men back to the Revival camp.

“We are all Revival’s children. Chosen for a brighter future. Where our frail bodies become so much stronger. And death and aging haunt us no longer.” – The Revival Story

Image Credit: BBC America

Charlotte reads aloud from a “school” book to Cosmia and they both agree that this is an extremely creepy little village.  Delphine intrudes their conversation to tell Cosima that she leaving on a research trip to Sardinia and doesn’t have much time to say goodbye. Delphine tells Cosima that the science of Revival is real and that it is like nothing she has ever seen before, the Island is a decades old prolongetivity study and everyone in Revival is participating. Life extension is the first principal for genetically improving the human race and that Revival is the heart of Neolution. Delphine gives Cosmia her key to the medical clinic and whispers in Cosima’s ear that she hid the clones treatment in the back of the refrigerator. It’s ready to go and there is enough for both her and Charlotte. The two share a kiss and before Delphine is forced to leave she leaves Cosima with some advice; “Follow the crazy science” Later on, Cosima is eating dinner with Mud when the creepiest culty-est theme song ever begins to play. Everyone in Revival is heading to the steps of PT Westmoreland’s house where none other than Rachel steps out from the house to give a speech. A speech about how she, like them, has been selected for the village.

It is time to be brave. To sacrifice. The fruits of nearly 200 years of Neolution science are now within our grasp. And we here, shall drink from the fountain first. – Rachel

Donnie is still dragging his suitcase along behind him through the woods back to the car when he is also approached by a man with a gun. Helena jumps on the guy and gets the gun to Donnie. She is able to bring their would be kidnapper down but at great cost to herself. A stick has become lodged into her belly and she’s starting to bleed. Donnie gets her into the car telling her that they’ll go to the hospital.

Mud is outside of Cosima’s tent keeping watch, while she isn’t quite a prisoner, it’s clear she’s definitely being guarded and they don’t want her wandering around Revival on her own. She’s able to sneak out and get into the medical trailer, where Sarah finally joins her. Sarah takes a few aspirin while Cosima looks her over and tries to convince Cosima to come back with her, but Cosima doesn’t want to leave until she’s seen what’s going on here with the science, “I need to stay here, for us. I’ll never be free if I leave now.” She asks Sarah to inject the cure into her uterine wall, but Sarah can’t do it. The alarm sounds, Cosima’s cabin has been found empty and they’re looking for her. Sarah confides to Cosima about the creature in the woods before taking a flashlight and heading back out into the dark. Cosima races to inject herself with the cure before she’s found but Rachel gets to her first. Telling Cosima that she is just as invested in the cure as the rest of their clones, Cosima gives Rachel the needle to perform the injection.  She tells Cosima that there’s no need to be scared because PT wants her to be a part of this and that together, they will cure all of the clones.

Sarah makes it back to the boathouse and is getting ready to leave, assuming that the trackers wouldn’t be looking for her overnight, it was her best chance at getting off the Island. However, she’s quite unlucky this episode and now she’s trapped in the boathouse. The main tracker shoots her with a sleep-dart and she’s starting to lose conscienceless. Rachel steps into view stating, “It’s a new day Sarah” as everything fades away.

I give this episode a 10/10. What a fantastic way to kick off the final season, intense and jumping right into the good bits without giving away too much about the crazy science. I wish we could have more Alison and Helena, but there’s plenty of story left to catch up with the two of them. What did you think of tonight’s episode? Let me know by leaving a comment!

Want to be part of #CloneClub? Be sure to watch live each week and use the hashtag #OrphanBlack on social media.

Orphan Black On Twitter

BBC America On Twitter

Like this article? Share it with your friends using our social share buttons found both on the left and at the top. 

Subscribe to Three if By Space to keep up with all the latest posts. It’s super easy! All you have to do is click on the big, blue “subscribe” button located in the right column near the bottom of each post. 

Stay connected: Follow @ThreeIfBySpace on Twitter and for all the latest on Orphan Black, follow me (@CONtessa_966), too!

Shopping cart
Shop
Wishlist
0 items Cart
My account