'Orphan Black' Season 5 Premiere Recap

this article was originally written for my blog - click here to visit my blog and read similar articles

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE REVEALS PLOT SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST SEASON OF SEASON 5 OF ORPHAN BLACK AS WELL AS SPOILERS FOR ALL PREVIOUS SEASONS. CONTINUE IF YOU DARE.

On Sunday, Orphan Black began broadcasting its fifth and final season. Before I dive into the episode review, let's take a glance and where we left the clones in season 4: Sarah travels in search for Cosima after discovering that Mrs. S and Kira have been kidnapped; Cosima and Delphine finally reunite (and it is oh so sweet), but our favorite biologist clone has also managed to take some samples from Susan Duncan's lab meaning perhaps a cure is finally within reach; Alison and Donnie are camping in one of Canada's many national forests with everyone's favorite sestra Helena; Rachel finally proved she truly has no heart as, on realising she could hold all the Neolution power, she stabs her mother; while our lovely main clones are fully in the action, Krystal is finally clued in to the Leda experiment and it will be interesting to see what role she plays in this family dynamic. So with that, let's get on to the new material!

Be warned for spoilers ahead but make sure to check out my TL;DR* before the review for a quick spoiler free review of what I thought about this week’s episode.

TL;DR: Picking up right where season 4 left off, 'The Few Who Dares' lays the foundation for the sci-fi drama's fifth and final season. Filled with on-brand action and suspense, Orphan Black is back in full-swing and I can't wait to see where the Clone Club is going to take us this year.

© Temple Street Productions / image via seriesdatv.pt

Recap: Hiding on the island, Sarah is injured as she hides from a group of men searching for her in the hopes of reuniting her with "the other one." On the other side of the island, Cosima awakes to find a young woman named Mud in her yurt. Mud informs Helena that they have been sustaining life for over a century and that everyone there was "chosen for a brighter future" as they are doing their best to evolutionarily impact the human race. P.T Westmorland and Revival are the true heart of Neolution. Delphine gives Cosima a key to the Revival clinic and the suggestion to follow the science before she leaves on a research trip (we just got Cophine back, how can you do this to us?) Now alone in this twisted village, Cosima watches Rachel address its population professing that they are the lucky few who will solve humanity's problems. Once night falls, Cosima steals away to the clinic and is joined by Sarah who implores her to leave with her. Cosima refuses, knowing that the answer to the cure lies on the island. Just after Sarah leaves, Rachel joins Cosima and offers to inject the cure for her, promising that they are both equally invested in this. Despite her attempts however, Sarah fails to make it off the island and she is captured by Cooper and Rachel, the latter of whom threatens her in the way only Rachel Duncan can.

While life on the island is everything but fun, things don't seem to be going much better back in the city either. They find themselves at an impasse as Art doesn't know who to trust at the station and Ira knows nothing about Revival. Hell Wizard and Scott however are trying to reach out to MK through Minecraft, hoping she can help reunite everyone again. Back at the precinct, Art and his new partner Detective Enger set out to find the Hendrixes and Helena. Although told by Felix to stay put, Alison starts packing up when she hears what's happening back home and is ambushed and captured. On seeing his wife in peril Donnie...runs off into the forest trailing his suitcase behind him (seriously man? WTF? You're going to have some explaining to do when you get home!) Alison is then questioned by Enger and Art about Donnie and Helena's whereabouts. While Donnie reaches the hidden car in the forest he's attacked by one of Enger's men. In an attempt to save Donnie, Helena jumps on the man but as she falls, she is stabbed in the stomach by a branch. Donnie lifts her into the car to rush her to the hospital in time for no damage to be done to the babies.

© Temple Street Productions / image via solotalkmedia.com

Review: As you can tell, the season 5 premiere was eventful! The amount of twists and turns, as well as exposition needed, rendered the episode heavy and almost too eventful. Orphan Black seasons are made up of 10 episodes apiece, so it makes sense to try and put in as much information as possible in the allotted 40-something minutes, but I greatly hope the remainder of the season is not so packed as the premiere deserves a second viewing in order to make sense of everything that happens. Besides the bulkiness of this first episode, I am thrilled to have Orphan Black back. I can't wait to find out what is in store for our clones as well as how Krystal will fit into the dynamic. Hopefully we'll be able to get to know MK better and I've been waiting for another appearance from Tony since the show's second season.

Orphan Black airs on Saturdays on Space in Canada; BBC America in the USA and is available to stream on the UK Netflix on Sundays.