TV REVIEW – ‘Orphan Black’ – “Endless Forms Most Beautiful”

*MILD SPOILERS*

As you may have noticed, I was unable to fit reviews for the last couple of episodes into my schedule, but I felt with this weekend’s episode I would make time to bring things full circle. So here we are at the final episode of the inaugural season of Orphan Black and oh, how far we’ve come. The characters, the fanbase and the overall buzz have all grown significantly since the intriguing but low-key premiere, Natural Selection.

Just ten episodes later the show has gone full-blown nuts with genetically augmented people (R.I.P. Olivier you sick SOB), multiple clones, baby mamas, big business conspiracies, and brainwashed psychopaths all adding up to one big mess of fun. So how do things end up in this crazy clone world at the end of season 1? Quite well…

We pick up from last week where we met Sarah’s biological Jamaica mon! *ahem* I mean mom, who dropped the bombshell that Helena isn’t Sarah’s clone but her twin sister. Shades of Star Wars anyone? This week is then appropriately a Sarah/Helena heavy episode and their season-long dance comes to a head in the finale with huge consequences that certainly leave their mark on the characters. Helena has always been the most fascinating character on the show for me and I’m glad their relationship took center-stage. Outside of her conflict with Helena, Sarah also finds her cover busted with Art and the police, but is temporarily bailed out due to lack of any real evidence and a conveniently timed lawyer.

Alison once again seems to have the lighter comedic relief in this episode, but boy does her story take weird and unexpected turn out of nowhere in this episode. I really like Alison as a character and Tatiana Maslany is really funny in the role, but sometimes they take things too far with her and this might be one of those times. Unfortunately, we have to wait until season 2 to find out what, if anything, comes of the developments in Endless Forms Most Beautiful, but she’s definitely crossed a line there’s no coming back from.

Cosima continues her sleuthing and is given a very interesting “show of good faith” gift from Dr. Leekie (the great Matt Frewer) during his olive branch visits to the orphans, all the while hiding her vulnerability from her physical development that was teased in the previews for the finale. Cosima has been a bit inconsistent as character but is one of my favorites, and the subtle things Maslany does with her are impressive this week – not to mention that her relationship with Dauphine resulted in the biggest laugh-out-loud moment of the episode with another brilliantly delivered line by Felix (Jordan Gavaris).

My biggest issue with Endless Forms Most Beautiful is a common gripe I have with many season finales, and that’s the frustrating feeling that the episode is one long setup for the following season and less about closure on the current one. There are a few twists and reveals that payoff season 1 storylines but overall this was a season 2 prequel. What would they have done if the show wasn’t renewed? This would not have served well at all as a series finale, but perhaps Fawcett and Manson were just that bold and confident in the show that they’d get that season 2 pickup.

Overall, Endless Forms Most Beautiful is an entertaining and unexpectedly dark and violent finale to close a very solid rookie season for Orphan Black. They have a bona fide star in Tatiana Maslany and extremely addicting fast-paced story arcs (once it got going) that keep the audience guessing and counting the days until the next episode, and that’s something not many shows these days are able to accomplish.

The Good:

Helena. Proclone (you’ll see). Sarah’s email to Proclone. “She’s got baggage!” Tatiana Maslany effortlessly gliding from character to character.