Who do you trust in Orphan Black? Sometimes I think I have it figured out, who is on Sarah’s side and who is only pretending, but often I realize that I have no idea. I trusted Siobhan until I didn’t, and then I did again. I don’t know what to make of Delphine. Maybe we’ll never know if Sarah’s birth mother had good intentions when she returned last season. I’m suspicious of every character on the show — Art the detective, the other Sarah who is nice to Alison, the woman that Alison meets in the previews for next week’s episode — and obviously, Sarah is, too.
It’s an interesting dynamic because Sarah herself is a con artist; she’s the protagonist of the show but she’s also distrustful to so many of the other characters — to Art, to Paul, to maybe even some of the clones. When Cosima says, “None of us ever trusted her” to placate Leekie’s concerns (Sarah did manage to steal his passcard last week), she’s being cheeky, but it remarks on the nature of the series.
But let’s get into this episode, titled after a Francis Bacon quote about nature and science, and mankind misusing its power. Once again, it kicks off with a start: a phone call from Kira that leads Art and Sarah to a motel. When they arrive, the room is empty but Sarah (failing to follow Art’s “stay put” orders) follows a trail of child’s clothing. It’s so obviously a trap but you’ll follow just about any lead when you’re that desperate to find your daughter. She ends up throw in the trunk of a car and driven to meet … Mrs. S? “Whose side are you on,” Sarah asks. “It’s always been yours,” Siobhan replies. But who knows! There is still that lingering memory from last season, when Sarah’s birth mother warned Sarah against Mrs. S. But she does end up reunited with Kira, so there’s that.
Meanwhile, everyone’s favorite clone Alison is continuing her downward spiral. At Aynsley’s funeral, surrounded by all the shit-talking, Alison gets a hold of Donny’s cellphone and realizes that he’s her monitor, not Aynsley, meaning that she let Aynsley die for nothing. Girl needs ad rink, and she takes one. And continues to drink later on when Felix shows up at her rehearsal — and in the nick of time, considering the sleazy director was getting really handsy — and the two drink from mini vodka bottles. “I killed Aynsley,” Alison confesses. “Not really, Felix said, unconvincingly. All I want is more scenes between these two.
Then there are the other clones. Helena has survived and this baffles all of her doctors and soon disappears from the hospital to return to a creepy religious compound. Like, man-whipping-himself-with-a-belt creepy. Religion played a bit part in the first season of Orphan Black when it came to Helena but it’s everywhere in this one. We also find out that Helena and Sarah are mirror image twins and Helena has situs inversus meaning that she was born with her organs reversed — hence why the bullet missed her heart. They are ying and yang, couldn’t be more different but, as we know, are also the same.
Cosima spends most of her time at the lab with Delphine. She also meets pro-clone Rachel (and introduces herself as “the real Cosima, not the one who kicked your ass or whatever.” I love Cosima). Rachel hands over a bunch of files and data, informing Cosima that she’s aware of her budding respiratory problems — and that she knows it’s what the other clone had as well — and basically tells Cosima to figure out what they’re suffering from. Rachel also wants Cosima to figure out what makes Sarah so different from the rest. Why is she the only clone who is capable of having children? (This makes me worry about Kira, who has already exhibited signs that she’s different from other children, and no doubt these guys would want to do experiments on her.)
I wouldn’t say that “Governed” is a quiet episode but it still had a jarring turn for the violent toward the end. Not wanting Mrs. S. to take Kira away to London until things blow over, a distrustful Sarah takes Kira and decides to make a run for it. To her credit, Mrs. S. violently overtakes the duo attempting to stop Sarah — and kills them both in the process — before letting Sarah drive away. Still, I’m not entirely sure how I’m supposed to feel Mrs. S or if I trust that she’s fully on Sarah’s side.