Orphan Black Season 2 recap – “Nature Under Constraint and Vexed”

My introductory post

Season 1 Overview

“Nature Under Constraint and Vexed”

(Spoilers)

This season picks up right after the end of the last season.  Kira and Mrs. S. are missing.  Sarah is furious at Rachel because she thinks it was them.  She tries to call people, but can’t reach Felix and the pink clone phones are no longer in service.  Sarah stops at a diner and the owner gives her a cup of tea.  She calls Paul and leaves a message, and Rachel calls back saying Sarah can be reunited with Kira if she comes in.

Two guys come into the diner.  One, we eventually learn is Mark.  They hassle Sarah, until the diner owner takes out a shotgun.  Mark tells Sarah that they can take her to Kira.  He then shoots the owner, who shoots the other guy.  Sarah manages to slip away.

Sarah finds Felix celebrating in a club.  She tells him what has happened.  He points out that they are probably tracking her phone, so she gets rid of it and steals another one. 

Sarah sends Felix to Alison’s, to explain everything and to ask for a gun.  Alison says she knows a guy who can get her a clean gun.  Alison tells him that she’s no longer drinking, and she’s doing a musical.

Sarah calls Paul and sets up a meeting.  He’s on a bridge and someone gives him a phone that Sarah calls.  He tells her that Rachel is leaving on a plane the next morning and Sarah can be with them.  He also tells her that there will be a big meeting/party at the Dyad Institute that night, and that Rachel will be there.  Also, Daniel – Sarah’s “lawyer” from last season – is Rachel’s go to guy and he is hunting her.

Delphine meets with Leekie and she tells him that Cosima is sick.  She also gives him a blood sample that Cosima didn’t want him to have.

Alison meets with Ramon – her supplier of various things – to get a clean gun for Sarah.  Alison later goes to rehearsal (for a musical about cleaning up dead bodies(?)) where she learns she’s taking over the lead from Aynsley.  Art and Angie are there, hoping to get something on Alison.  When Sarah shows up to get the gun, they put her in handcuffs.  She tries to explain to Art that someone has taken her daughter.  They go to the diner, but some feds have taken over the investigation.  Angie finds it interesting that the possible witness was a tea drinker.  But since they’re not on any case, they let her go. 

Paul is now working for Rachel, partly because he seems to be the only person Sarah trusts.  Leekie is a little worried at how Rachel is handling the Sarah/Kira issue.

Alison has Ramon deliver the gun in a bouquet of flowers to Felix’s, and is a little stunned to see Cosima and Sarah there.

Sarah has a plan to crash the Dyad party, but they need something to distract Daniel.  Alison was going to do costume fittings, so Sarah calls Paul – who hands the phone over to Daniel – and says she’ll meet him, but gives the address Alison will be at.  Daniel’s goons grab her, and she maces them.  Alison demands to see Leekie, and Daniel apologizes for the mistake.

Sarah goes to the Dyad shindig as Cosima.  She’s a bit surprised when Delphine kisses her and takes her to meet Leekie.  Sarah/Cosima asks for a private lab, and hugs Leekie lifting his keycard.  At some point in the conversation, Delphine figures out she’s isn’t Cosima.

Sarah sees Paul going downstairs and follows.  She finds Rachel, who says that she lied about having Kira just to get Sarah to show up.  Sarah knocks her out and, after a little run in with Paul, escapes. 

She goes to Art and he tells her that the dead guy from the diner was a Proleathean.  She starts to tell him everything.

Then we see Helena walking into a hospital.  Apparently Mark – with his winged fish belt buckle – helped her there.

The episode ends with a guy – who we later learn is Benjamin – taking a photo of Kira in some hotel room.

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Knowing how Season Two ends, it’s really cool going back and seeing little things you wouldn’t notice on your first viewing.  I know I’m spoiling the episode, but I’ll hold on to the Season Two spoiler ending, just in case you’re new to Clone Club. 

The first time I saw this, I was worried about the Proletheans because they just seemed to show up out of nowhere.  But the second time I watched it – most likely the repeated showing a few hours later – I realized that we had already seen other Proletheans – Maggie Chen and Tomas – so these new ones weren’t so random. 

I wasn’t sure about Helena being alive.  I believe at the time I figured Helena was the villain of the first season, and they were probably setting Rachel up to be the villain of the second.  I wasn’t sure why they would need two.  Of course, that was looking at this show as a regular – predictable – kind of show.  Now that Helena is my second favorite clone (Cosima is my favorite) I’m glad they didn’t just kill her off in the first season.

The biggest issue I have with this episode is the sudden appearance of this musical.  It’s an important part in Alison’s arc, but it’s odd that the previous episode – which in show time was yesterday afternoon – there was no mention of it.  At one point I read that they have a five year plan for the show, but I’m guessing they don’t have everything planned out.  (Actually, I know they don’t because there’s a character in the Third Season that was to just have one appearance, but they wrote back in.)  My guess is the musical was just something they had to squeeze in.  But in a show as complex as this one, it’s surprising there aren’t more inconsistences.