by Kevin Ranson:
Orphan Black Recap: “Variation Under Nature”
Original Air Date (BBC America): Saturday April 13, 2013
Season 1 Episode 3
“You just broke the first rule of Clone Club.”
Back at Alison’s house, Cosima tries to ease Sarah into the truth, but Alison simply blurts it out: “We’re clones. We’re someone’s experiment and they’re killing us off!” Outside in the car, Felix gets harassed by the tacky neighborhood watch and nearly gets himself shot by Alison. Sarah talks Alison down, then slaps Alison for pointing a gun at her foster brother – this speaks volumes on so many levels. Cosima gives Sarah back her phones and calmly asks for the briefcase again, that it’s a matter of life and death for all of them.
At his place, Felix tries to make Sarah understand how significant the clone situation is, but all she wants to do is get the money from Art and run. When she goes to see Art at the precinct, the captain re-instates her to check out a homicide and gives her Beth’s badge and gun. As it turns out, the homicide is the German that Sarah accidentally buried too close to a quarry. Even with the damage to Katja body from being dug up by a backhoe, the fingerprints could possibly flag on Sarah since she’s in the system for petty crimes.
Sarah meets with Cosima at a bar with the briefcase in hand. They discuss what’s happening: Katja said someone was hunting the clones in Europe and followed her to North America. With the two of them hitting it off and willing to work together, Cosima begs Sarah to keep pretending to be Beth for access to police resources. The character of Cosima is the perfect mouthpiece for the writers; she can readily explain anything Sarah can’t figure out for herself.
After Art catches Sarah with her weapon empty – she couldn’t have known she should always keep it loaded – Art puts her at a desk until they can hit the shooting range. Before leaving the police station, a caller with a disguised voice in a Russian accent specifically addresses Art and his partner to take credit for the quarry body homicide: “She was just one a few, unfit for family, horse glue.” The caller gives the location of the shooting as well. Sarah is left to clear the paperwork on her desk and wait for the fingerprint match that could get her caught.
Convincing a on-site computer tech named Raj to help reset her password and navigate the police computer network, she finds and deletes the email revealing Katja’s fingerprints to be a match for her own. Could there be as-yet undiscovered clone evidence on Beth’s computer in a hidden file somewhere? At the location of the German’s murder, Art and another detective find bits of auto glass and a motorcycle tread next to a possible shooting blind, then discover a doll’s head with bright red hair and cigarette burns.
Cosima sets Sarah up to learn the basics of shooting from Alison, who in turn had been taught by Beth – Clone Club has it perks. To give Alison time to teach, Sarah arranges for Felix to babysit Alison’s two kids – oh boy. In very little time, Sarah seems to pick up gun use; it’s almost as if each clone she runs into reveals another untapped skill. Could this be evidence that Sarah is indeed the original? Alison also reveals that the $75K in Beth’s account was hers, given as a resource to help save them all.
Paul walks in on Sarah at Beth’s flat, almost catching Felix there before manages to hide. After getting a change of clothes from the shared closet, Paul briefly puts the moves on Sarah before leaving her hot and bothered. Sarah confesses to Felix that, in spite of everything, she still intends to use the money to get out of town with her daughter, washing her hands of the entire circumstance.
Sarah later convinces Art on the range that she’s competent with her gun before Art reveals a picture of a doll head with red-dyed hair. After learning that a stolen motorcycle matching the tracks at the shooting location has been found, Art and Sarah investigate, finding a Bible verse scrawled in red paint. Psalms 139:13. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Sarah pockets possible clone evidence just before pushing Art out of the line of fire from a gun pointed in the window.
On Art’s order, Sarah reluctantly gives chase to the shooter, a figure in a green parka. The shooter gets the drop on Sarah, knocking her to the ground and threatening her with an unusual looking knife. “Good riddance, Elizabeth Childs,” says the assailant in a Russian accent before Sarah screams “I’m not Beth!” The hood removed, the attacker is another clone! “Dirty little copy cop; who are you?” Sarah reaches a piece of scrap metal and stabs the woman in her side just before Art arrives; the new clone escapes but Sarah manages to pocket the evil clone’s knife before Art sees it.
The police captain shows up on site and scolds Art for sending Sarah after the assailant. Impressed with her performance, Art gives the money back – stashed in his trunk the entire time – and apologizes for holding it over her. With Felix in the car and money in hand, Sarah goes back to Mrs. S with the intent of kidnapping her own daughter and running… but she can’t do it. It’s clear that running won’t solve her problems and Kira deserves better.
At an undisclosed location, the evil clone extracts the metal bar Sarah impaled her with. With her shirt removed, the assailant’s back has been nastily cut up, resembling a pair of wings…
Kevin A. Ranson is the author of The Spooky Chronicles and the upcoming 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.
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