Orphan Black Review: The Stigmata of Progress (Season 4 Episode 3)

Let’s be honest. Does anyone know what just happened in this week’s Orphan Black? “The Stigmata of Progress,” gave us a lot of information, but very few answers. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a compelling hour of television, pushing us towards the right direction.

The episode starts with Rachel. She’s being held in isolation with Charlotte and examined by a doctor, who turns out to be a Castor clone. Unlike the unstable clones, this Castor clone, Ira, is different from his brothers. Raised by Professor Duncan, he seems to have curbed the degenerative condition that plagued his brother’s.

What does his behavior suggest regarding the Castor clones? If you look at it scientifically, Ira was raised outside of the homogeneous environment with his brothers. While the other clones must have been self-aware, the only real variable in his upbringing was that he was raised by Professor Duncan. Project Leda, on the other hand, has many more variables since each clone was raised in a different environment with Rachel being the only self-aware clone. Given that Rachel and Ira are the controls in a grand, and very unpredictable experiment, it will be interesting to see how Ira and Rachel interact as the season continues.

Rachel’s story is something we’ve been eager to get to this season. Last season ended with the reveal that Susan Duncan is alive and working with Neolution. It would be misguided to suspect hugs and kisses from a woman who seems to be the Queen of Detachment, and that’s exactly how Susan Duncan comes across this episode.

The scenes where Susan Duncan interacts with her “daughter” are wrought with tension. Rachel was raised self-aware, knowing that she was a clone, but she is just beginning to realize the scope of her parent’s experiments. Sitting at a dinner table with her mother and Ira, talking about how her cells were used to create Charlotte, against her will, isn’t exactly the most inviting welcome. If anything, it seems like a violation of personal space, since the cells must have been obtained when Rachel was younger.

This cold, sterile conversation seems harsh, but we have to remember that Susan is a scientist. Susan’s involvement with Project Leda was to raise a self-aware clone while on a quest to create the perfect human being. Despite all this, it still doesn’t sting any less when Susan calls Rachel a failure. Rachel is a part of her experiment, a step to the ultimate goal, a tool to help Susan realize her purpose. In the end, Rachel is a cog in Susan’s machine.

These realizations become even more disturbing where Charlotte is concerned. Rachel and Charlotte are bonding. Rachel is meant to be the little girl’s caregiver. When they paint and Charlotte begins to cough up blood, Rachel looks concerned. Rachel knows about the pulmonary and endometrial conditions that plague the other clones and is able to draw a conclusion: Charlotte is not what Neolution is striving for and the experiment will continue.

We can also expect there’s a law of diminishing returns here. Charlotte wasn’t cloned from the original genome. She’s like a Xerox of a Xerox. The fact that these conditions have arisen in her so early means that the hunt for Kendall Malone and the original genome is going to intensify.

Orphan Black is doing what it does best, teasing out the answers we seek a little bit at a time. Last week, we mentioned that “Transgressive Border Crossing” didn’t give the impression that Neolution was an organization to be feared. It still doesn’t feel like something we should fear, but we are now getting a sense of how deep their roots go.

In the non-isolated, “terrarium” as Rachel calls it, the other Leda clones are still looking for answers regarding the cheek implants. After discovering one in her cheek, Sarah wants to find a way to remove it. It can’t be a good feeling to have a parasite inside your cheek, but all of her leads give her dead ends. For the time being it looks like she’s stuck with her cheek implant.

All of this did lead to one giant step forward plot wise. Through some communication channels, Ferdinand got a message from Rachel saying Susan Duncan is alive. Ferdinand is a character we are always a little hesitant to trust. Maybe it is the fact that he was aligned with Rachel when we first met him or perhaps it’s because he killed a Neolutionist out of nowhere at the end of last season. He seems to run hot and cold and somehow I don’t know if the Clone Club can trust someone so erratic. No matter how much he dislikes Neolution. Maybe once we get more of his backstory his allegiances will become clear.

No matter how unreliable we may find him, give him props for showing up and saving Sarah. However, it would have been even better if you knew how to remove that gadget from her cheek.

Stray Thoughts:

• The Donnie and Alison plot this episode is a much-needed touch of whimsy. Alison’s plan to unearth the body of Aldous Leekie buried in their garage was brilliant and Donnie’s reaction even more so. They belong on our #relationshipgoals list.
• Helena’s phone call to tell Sarah about the twins and her sad admission that she doesn’t want them to grow up like her was so sweet. I am really hoping these twins arrive safely. Helena doesn’t need to go through more bad things right now.
• What is up with Kira? Is she somehow become a precog?
• Still no word on if Delphine is alive? Are we going have to wait until the last episode to find out what’s up with that?

What did you think of this episode of Orphan Black? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Orphan Black airs Thursdays at 10/9c on BBC America.

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