Orphan Black Recap: “Conditions of Existence”

by Kevin Ranson:

Orphan Black Recap: “Conditions of Existence”
Original Air Date (BBC America): Saturday April 27, 2013
Season 1 Episode 5

If a clone has no hair, does that make it a wool-free sheep’s cloning?

While a mysterious caretaker named Thomas tends the wounds of a barely conscious Helena and bids her to get some sleep, Sarah gets a scolding from Alison for quitting the police force. Paul slips in while Sarah takes a shower – if he’s not a bad guy, why does he insist on sneaking around? – but Sarah surprises him instead and instead talks him into an impromptu shower snog. On the edge of falling asleep, Paul suggests that they both run off someplace together. Sarah has a dream about being restrained and examined in her own room, waking up to find evidence that it wasn’t a dream… and Paul must have at least been aware of it.

Sarah regroups at Fee’s place with him and Alison to video chat with Cosima. The evidence suggests a diagnostic examination; Alison learns that Sarah has slept with Paul who might also be her “watcher.” Cosima suggests Sarah continue to squeeze Paul’s extremities rather than shoot them off to get more information.

As Alison begins to suspect her husband Donnie as being her own watcher, Sarah and Fee find more info on Paul Dierden, including a business card for Trexcom Consulting and mementos of military service. A found case full of surveillance equipment borrowed from the police suggests Beth might have already been onto Paul. Sarah expects to find an empty office at the company address, but slips in and bugs Paul’s office. Meanwhile, Alison confronts Donnie about a padlocked metal box hidden in their garage, but he takes the box and leaves.

Cosima begins to examine the blood samples provided the German before she died, but her attention is drawn away by a French-speaking lab tech she’s unfamiliar with. While waiting to meet Kira at school, Sarah reveals to Fee that Beth loved Paul, but he didn’t return her affection and wouldn’t leave; and yet Paul may still be falling for Sarah. Kira recognizes her real mom, but someone is watching them as they walk home to Mrs. S. Clever girl – Kira seems to have her mother’s instinct for suspicious activity.

Finding the new lab tech crying in the hallway over a long-distance breakup, Cosima strikes up a conversation. The woman studies immunology; Cosima says she’s “evo devo” or evolutionary development. Finding a connection, the woman introduces herself as Delphine. While Sarah thanks Mrs. S for caring for Kira and asks questions about her past, Vic is losing a finger to the people who owns the drugs Sarah stole from him – am I the only one actually starting to feel a little sorry for this guy? As if he weren’t already in a bad way, Vic runs into Alison; mistaking her for Sarah, gets maced and tasered for his bad luck.

Back at the bugged office, “Olivier” arrives to talk to Paul about Beth. After listening to Olivier confess Paul’s role as her monitor and not-interference, Sarah gets a call from Paul to meet up for a serious talk, blackmailing her with pictures of her and Kira. Moments later, Vic walks into Fee’s place and asks Sarah “Is this a bad time?” Sarah pays Vic back with money Alison gave her, plus extra to leave her alone. Vic reveals how close he was to Sarah, but Sarah always knew he was bad for her.

Alison finds the lock box again while Donnie is out, finding only porn; at that same moment, Donnie is talking to someone on the phone while burning some kind of evidence. When he comes home, Alison has set up a nanny-cam to secretly record anything happening in the bedroom in an effort to catch her suspected husband’s nocturnal activities.

Sarah confronts Paul while at gunpoint; Paul presents his evidence that Sarah isn’t Beth, including that Beth, too, was sterile, while Sarah clearly has a kid. Sarah comes clean with the truth, that Beth killed herself. Using the information she knows about Paul and Beth, Paul admits to being her monitor… and that “they” didn’t give him a choice.

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Kevin A. Ranson is the author of The Spooky Chronicles and the vampire thriller The Matriarch. He also the creator/critic for MovieCrypt.com and the “ghost writer” for its horror host Grim D. Reaper (often seen skulking around horror conventions). Find him on Facebook, on Twitter @KevinARanson, and his author blog at ThinkingSkull.com.