The moment we have all been waiting for is finally here, "Orphan Black," season four. If you have never seen the show, you should. "Orphan Black" is a Canadian thriller produced by BBC America. The show centers around a unique family: Sarah the tough, British outsider; Allison the tradition suburban soccer mom; Cosima the brilliant scientist; Helena the Ukrainian assassin; and Beth the cop who is also an addict, among many others. The amazing thing about this group of strong female characters is that they are all played by one actress, the talented Tatiana Maslany. While the clones and the twisted world surrounding them are the centerpiece of the series, the cast also includes many other talented members. Namely Delphine, Cosima’s French, scientist lover; Felix, Sarah’s sassy foster brother; Art, Beth’s partner in crime and the male Castor clones played by the chillingly talented Ari Millen. The story line is well-developed, the cast is extremely talented and the show provides amazingly diverse representation for the GLBTQ community. So if you haven’t started yet, hit play on the first episode and you won’t be able to stop until you’ve caught up.
Season three ended on both a high and a low note, while also doubling the intrigue. The clones had all reunited to celebrate the finding of the Castor and Leda original, and Sarah was finally able to see her daughter, Kira, after months of separation. However, Delphine’s story line “supposedly” came to an end after she was reconciled with Cosima and then shot in a parking garage, much to the dismay of the fans. This heart wrenching, yet oddly warm ending of season three left season four up in the air as to where the story was to go. But the first episode of season four did not disappoint.
The one clone we had never gotten to see, or to know was Beth, the mysterious cop turned suicide victim, until now. “The Collapse of Nature,” focuses completely on Beth’s backstory and what happened leading up to her untimely demise. The episode opens with a women in a lamb mask witnessing the cover up of a murder and then calling Beth to report it. Beth and Art then investigate and find that the victim is a body-modified neolutionist. It turns out the women in the lamb mask was a new clone (the tenth that Tatiana plays), Mika. The on the fringe hacker chick puts off a vibe that is much different from the other clones, she seems more sheltered but there is something off putting about her. The episode also features the deterioration of Beth and Paul’s relationship, along with her constant drug problem. After three seasons of referencing it, the famous scene in which Beth shoots and kills a civilian is shown, which further develops her and Art’s relationship, but also speeds up Beth’s spiral into oblivion. The episode comes to a crashing halt with the new clone revealing herself to Sarah, in order to warn her of the immanent danger approaching; Neolution.
"Orphan Black" never disappoints with its complicated, yet intriguing story line and immensely talented cast. Tune in to BBC America to watch this ground breaking series.