Orphan Black - Airlocked



Fans of Battlestar Galactica knows what it is to be "airlocked."  In the last episode of Orphan Black, thanks to Mrs. S (S as in, surprise!) Sarah learns a whole new meaning to the term.

When it was revealed to Sarah that Mrs. S had Kira all along, (which was a nice twist by the way) Mrs. S told Sarah that she "airlocked" her.  Sarah looked at her with complete confusion.

"What?"

To be airlocked by someone is to minimize the danger between two parties until the controlling party is sure no harm can come to anyone.  In other words it provides safe passage.

Mrs. S airlocked Sarah to make sure when Sarah did come looking for Kira, as Mrs. S knew she would, Sarah would not bring any unnecessary baggage along with her be it Dyad oriented or Prolethean bound.


I guess Mrs. S never watched Battlestar Galactica because on that show to be "airlocked" is to send someone to their death.  It was a form of execution.  (Good thing Sarah didn't watch it either.)


Sarah got airlocked in the good way.  Let's take a look at who got airlocked the good way and the ones that got the, gulp, Battlestar Galactica treatment.  (Metaphorically speaking.)

Airlocked the Good Way

Sarah and Kira


Sarah certainly qualifies here as does Kira.  Mother was reunited with daughter and minimal harm was done to each.  Although I daresay Sarah was a bit stressed  out.  All for the greater good! No harm was done and each of them were insulated from those who wish to do them harm.  (For the time being.)  Sarah was put back into a position of control with her daughter and Kira was no longer bundled about by total strangers.  Mystery solved!

Rachel



Rachel got airlocked in a good way too.  No more pesky Sarah to smack her about and she has Cosima to do her bidding.  There's a win win.  The bonus to Rachel is to have Cosima chase after the bigger investigative prize and that is Cosima's research into how Sarah was able to become pregnant.  Guess Cosima didn't see that coming.  No wonder Delphine got shooed away.

Helena


Helena definitely got airlocked in a good way.  Back from the dead, healed up quite nicely, and secreted away to her awaiting allies.  Way to bounce back H!


Airlocked the Battlestar Galactica Way

Alison


Yeesh, talk about being thrown to the wolves, Alison is now seemingly on her own.  Not only that, the pills and booze are back.  It was bad enough that she confirmed her doughy husband Donnie is her watcher she also learned by the end of the episode that Sarah, Kira and her buddy Fe are leaving town.  Alison has been completely set adrift into the void.

Cosima





I have a bad feeling about this.  Cosima is the quintessential bird in the gilded cage.  On the plus side she has her lab, Delphine, the trust of Leekie and her "in" to the inner works of the Dyad institute.  On the downside, she is under the thumb of Rachel.  Wait till Rachel starts pulling away all the aforementioned especially Delphine and we'll see how happy Cosima is.  Not very I'd venture to guess.

Mrs. S


S as in strategy?  I think not.  All her meticulous plans were laid to waste after the betrayal of Brenda and her fellow birdwatcher.  Everything was going so well, the elaborate plan to scoop Kira, the tricky way to get Sarah out into the sticks and her beloved network that would take her and Kira back to London.

All gone.

Too bad money is the new religion.  Mrs. S got sold out and the last we see of her is her standing forlornly as Sarah speeds away.  And this after she had taunted Sarah repeatedly.  Hubris!

Brenda


Fork you Brenda!  Where's your golden idol now?  How's that hot lead for dessert, hmmm?


Tomas


Whip it good.  There goes your little family reunion with Helena, Tomas.  I wonder how she'll feel about that?  Don't worry, Mark will be there to hug her.  Any Mark and Helena shippers out there?  I can see it coming.  Yuck.

Sarah, Kira and Felix


Hey wait a minute monkey, what are these three doing on this side of the list?  Calling Admiral Adama!  Kira is definitely not happy.  Our intrepid threesome is now on the lam.  Can they go back to the loft?  That doesn't look good.  Can Sarah count on any friends?  Art maybe, but not if his partner has anything to say about it.  She's also split from Cosima and the beleaguered Alison.  Who is she going to imitate???  What about Paul?  Sorry about the slap to the face.  Paul is on a short leash anyway.  Thanks Rachel.  Time to worry, even the redoubtable Mrs. S has been rendered ineffective.

And, oh yes, what about Felix specifically?  Where's he going to frolic bare-assed and painting pictures of Teddy ballgame?


 Yes, I'm going to leave you with this lasting image.  It's the Cylon in me.

 








Comments

  1. Hi Dave,
    I have binge watched up to this point, so here is where I will start commenting. I LOVE IT. You and the rest of the universe were right, the show is awesome! Tatiana is just as brilliant as everyone said. I think Anna Torv, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, and Nina Dobrev have all done great multi-role work. This is a whole other level entirely. The way all of these characters are so nuanced and distinct is amazing and Tatiana’s accent work is impeccable. I am particularly impressed when one clone pretends to be another, just fantastic. I don’t know that I have a favorite, but I like the wild card nature of Sarah. Just when I think she’ll bolt and run she confides in someone. The supporting cast is great too, although I find Dr. Leekie a bit cartoonish. I love Felix (and his bum) and his relationship with Alison is particularly charming. When I saw this post was Battlestar Galactica themed I was smiling. Maria Doyle Kennedy reminds me of Mary McDonnel a lot, and in a good way. Clearly more to Mrs. S than we currently know.

    So the clones are clearly not as identical as the term would suggest. Sarah being fertile and Helena being situs inversus are the two standout examples. I may have missed it, but was the doc suggesting that the reason Helena may have survived the gunshot was that it missed her organs because they were on the opposite side? I still don’t buy her super healing out of a gunshot when the cuts on her back clearly have not miraculously healed. Oh well, I guess there is more story to mine from her. Rachel must have some health flaw that she needs the others to fix. Fertility seems too easy, she doesn’t seem like the type who would long for motherhood.

    Long term, we have to run into another set of clones at some point right? Clearly Dyad would have gone for set 2.0, perhaps boys?

    OK, I’ll be back when I’m caught up! -Lynne

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    Replies
    1. I think we had our first "situs iversus" reference on this blog.

      Welcome Lynne, I'm so happy you love this as much as we do!

      Tatiana Maslany is a revelation isn't she? I can think of the time when Alison had to impersonate Sarah but was outed by Kira as one of her great clone impersonating a clone sequences. The subtleties were just brilliant.

      I think we've learned that the clones have a respiratory problem, which is what Cosima wanted to work on, but it seems Rachel wants to steer her towards whatever fertility problems the clones have. But what do they care? They're clones! Make more! I think you're right there is something else going on.

      Have you see my theory where Delphine is a clone but the last of her kind? And that may be the reason for Cosima's research?

      Get caught up, I've written two more posts!

      Thanks Lynne!

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  2. Ooooo, i had not read your Delphine theory before, that is an interesting thought. She has to have some personal investment in this beyond just crazy science. So from what I gathered from their examination of Jenny's body it appears to be cancer in the ovaries or uterus that spread to the lungs? Did you get a Walter Bishop's lab vibe from the old building at the Dyad institute? "So much has happened here and so much is about to"....

    Any thoughts on Leekie's current bioenergy (?) terrarium project. Window dressing or does this somehow relate back to the clones?

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I had thought the respiratory failure to be independent from anything else. But not being an expert on the subject I can certainly see how the cancer may have spread from the rest of her body.

      Did I get a Walter Bishop vibe??!!!

      Did I tell you I was on "The C Word" podcast? I linked the cabin where Sarah met Cal to the Sleepy Hollow cabin, the Helix "Montana" cabin and finally to the cabin by the lake in Fringe. Cabin fever!

      No thoughts on Leekie's project yet. Unless we can link it to Hataki's work and the Willis Hypothesis!

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  3. I like the Delphine theory, she has to have a personal stake in this somehow. The opportunity to do crazy science would not be enough. So from the examination of Jenny it looks like the problem is ovarian or uterine cancer that spread to the lungs? A hysterectomy might prevent it? This is kind of crass, the clones are an experiment. It makes some sense that the creators would put in a fertility control, like the dinos on Jurassic park. But in Sarah, life found a way. Perhaps it's an expiration timer like in Bladerunner? The clones were meant to expire? That would give Rachel a vested interest in fixing or circumventing it.

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    1. Do you think the fertility control may have something to do with the "ear cutting" that Daniel attempted on Sarah? I'm still curious on why one would make clones and worry about infertility. Unless it's a clone thing. Too bad they cancelled "Being Human". The exploration of how androids and clones handle their humanity would have been great.

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