Orphan Black: 7 Nagging Questions We Have After “Clutch of Greed” (Season 5 Episode 2)

I didn’t think it was possible, but this season of Orphan Black seems to be leaving me with more questions than answers.

Orphan Black Season 5 Episode 2, “Clutch of Greed,” has a more cohesive storyline that services our main characters, but it still leaves us asking the big nebulous “Why?” that we’ve been chanting to ourselves for the last five seasons.

So with that in mind, here are seven nagging questions we’re left with after Season 5 Episode 2 “Clutch of Greed.”

1. Who can we trust?

This episode knocks us off balance, because there’s an aura of distrust that colors everything from the moment that Sarah wakes up in Dyad. Rachel has found this enlightened state of being, Cosima is still in the middle of a shanty town, and Kira and Mrs. S seem to have become better-camouflauged Stepford Wives.

When Mrs. S, Sarah, and Felix are finally behind closed doors and can talk freely, it starts to feel a bit like old times. That’s a good thing, because I don’t like the idea of Mrs. S playing for the other team. The writers tried faking us out in Season 2, and I don’t think it’s going to work again.

2. Who is Mud?

Mud doesn’t appear much in this episode, but she makes one comment that has me questioning her identity. As she and Cosima approach P.T. Westmorland’s house, she says, “I live here.”

My question: Does here refer to Revival or to P.T. Westmorland’s residence? It P.T. Westmorland is particular about who he speaks to, it doesn’t sound like you get to meet him just by living in Revival. After seeing her on Season 5 Episode 1 “The Few Who Dare,” she does seem to know a lot more than some of the other characters.

This god-like nebulous presence makes me really uncomfortable. What the heck is going on?

3. What was P.T. Westmorland talking about with the mites, cheese, cow metaphor?

We finally meet the man, the myth, the legend… P.T. Westmoreland. The founder of Neolution is 170 years old but doesn’t look a day over… Honestly, he looks like he stepped out of a steampunk magazine, so I can’t really pin that down.

From his brief appearance, we gather two bits of information. The first is that Cosima’s treatment appears to be working — and I say “appears” because a part of me doesn’t trust anything about Revival, including anything that comes from P.T. Westmorland’s mouth.

The second is that there’s a cheese mite/block of cheese/cow metaphor that’s supposed to explain Cosima’s role in the Neolution plot.

Thinking about it makes my brain hurt, because the idea is that these cheese mites all argue about the origin of the same block of cheese, and no one considers that it may be a cow. But wasn’t the cow the original genome in this case? A genome that Evie Cho destroyed last season?

4. What? M.K. is Dead?

This episode brings back M.K., the sole survivor of Helsinki. When we last saw M.K., she was showing symptoms of the same illness that has plagued all the Leda clones, but I am really angry that she was ripped away from us again so soon and in such a violent way.

M.K.’s story fascinated me, and I was curious to see how she would fit into the Clone Club. It feels like she’s gone too soon, but at the same time I do like how she went out. She was a very solitary clone, and when she died, it was while she was helping her sisters.

Of course, in the end, Sarah doesn’t end up using M.K.’s network, but the offer is nice. And let’s be honest — if Orphan Black happens to take a Breaking Bad, route we’ll see Sarah and Kira get in the black van eventually. I trust Mrs. S. to plan for every contingency, and that includes getting at least that driver’s contact info!

5. How does Kira’s Woo-Woo Work?

Kira’s supernatural abilities have been an undertone throughout the series ever since she could tell that Alison wasn’t really her mother in Season 1. They’ve slowly made her empathic feelings more present and pronounced throughout the four seasons.

But I feel like we’ve really reached an apex with the storyline, and we need answers. We have eight episodes left in this series, and we absolutely need an answer as to why Kira has these abilities, particularly now that Helena’s babies are showing similar traits in utero.

I don’t trust the parlay that Rachel is offering. After the Season 4 finale, I don’t trust Rachel at all. But if she can explain how and why this is happening so Kira can feel comfortable in her skin, then I am willing to warily trust her.

6. Is this what it takes to shut Ferdinand down?

It doesn’t surprise me that Ferdinand kills M.K., because she did steal his money and I didn’t expect Ferdinand to play nice in this episode. In fact, whenever Ferdinand shows up, I hope some of Mrs. S’s guns are conveniently stashed.

Of course, I was very happy when Rachel sent Ferdinand packing. I don’t think this is the last we’ll see of him, because he’s a stubborn cockroach of a character, but it’s really showing the prongs that are present in Neolution’s endgame.

Last year, it sounded like the clones were done, and that the Leda baseline meant nothing. But whatever Westmoreland told Rachel seems to involve the Leda clones. Ferdinand destroyed one the clones, and somehow this conflicts with Rachel’s new purpose.

Now the next question: How? Lots of events and variables here, but nothing that seems to be adding up.

7. What are the odds that Delphine’s “information” involves Kira?

Delphine has been through some really crazy stuff, so I am not surprised that she’s acting really stealthy. But showing up late at night is next level stealthy. Wasn’t she supposed to be in Sardinia?

This is quite a cliffhanger to leave us with. Clearly, Delphine has some information. But if she also doesn’t want Sarah to know she was here, then how likely is it that the information involves Kira and Dyad’s plan for her?

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

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

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