Orphan Black 5×05: “Ease For Idle Millionaires” Roundtable

Orphan Black flashes back to shed light on current relationships

The way in which Orphan Black had set up and promoted episode 5×05 “Ease For Idle Millionaires,” left people talking and blowing up social media with theories and ideas about what would possibly happen. Fans were anxious to see the most recent reunion of Cosima (Tatiana Maslany) and Delphine (Evelyne Brochu). At first, we were led to believe that Delphine was selling Cosima out to PT Westmoreland (Stephen McHattie) in order to somehow help his endgame. However, in what was one of the most beautifully shot scenes of the entire series, as the camera panned around the couple in a flashback with a voice over from Delphine, we learned that Delphine will do and say anything she has to in order to keep Cosima safe. In the flashback, Delphine made her allegiance to Cosima and the clones over Neolution and any outside force very clear:

“Defy them. Live your life with every ounce of passion that I know you have, and they will never own you.”

Cosima finally accepted to go along with the notion that while their relationship isn’t perfect it’s theirs, and she needs to trust without any doubts. Delphine, sturdy in the new found commitment she and Cosima had made, set off to first talk to Mrs. S (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and then to Geneva to help Felix (Jordan Gavaris) and Adele (Lauren Hammersly) uncover more answers to help all of the clones.

RELATED | ORPHAN BLACK 5×05 PROMO, SYNOPSIS, PICTURES

Elsewhere, Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) finally gained a little headway with Kira (Skyler Wexler) when she agreed to teach her more about defending herself and being proactive about her future. Whatever Kira is learning about with Rachel (Tatiana Maslany), there seems to be an understanding that the two of them will remain a strong mother/daughter team. Just like Mrs. S and Sarah. As the episode ended, we realize PT Westmoreland locked Cosima in the cage meant for Janus, the original Neolution experiment gone wrong. Will anyone be able to save her?

With so many different characters interacting and tons of story to delve into, let’s jump right in and ask the questions we know you’d love to have answered. With that said, let’s get to it and meet our guests for this week’s Orphan Black roundtable. We’re definitely interested to hear what they thought.

Ashlee (@CloneClubAUS) – “Aussie Clone Clubber. Orphan Black cast fist bumper.”

Fe (@Stranger_Clones) – “Zoology enthusiast, Orphan Black mega fan.”

Kim (@ASestraClone) – “Orphan Black & Travel Addict.”

Marzia (@clonesmar) – “TV show nerd, music lover, and books enthusiast.”

Kelly (@OBstorylines) – “Always talking TV, mostly Orphan Black”

1) Things are starting to get even more complicated for everyone at Revival. Do you think Rachel is playing Westmoreland? Or vice versa?

Ashlee (@CloneClubAUS): Oh, for sure. I think they’re ultimately playing one another and will do so until a point where one makes a fatal mistake. Rachel has greed, PT has a sickness drive factor; both of them are striving for something more and I think it will be what ultimately ends either or both of them.

Fe (@Stranger_Clones): Oh there’s definitely something going on in both of their heads. Both want the reins and both have complex layers.

Kim (@ASestraClone): I think Rachel thinks that she is doing the right thing following PT Westmoreland. She desperately wants to be accepted and loved, and right now that is what she is getting from Westmoreland. However, he has a lot of knowledge and Rachel knows she needs him to get further ahead in her study about her genome and the sickness of the LEDA’s.

Marzia (@clonesmar): I think Rachel is enjoying the power and the position that she has now gained (or think she has). I still don’t know what her plan or intentions are (both for herself and with Westmoreland), but I highly hope we’ll find out soon.

Kelly (@OBstorylines): We saw Westmoreland’s true colors this episode. They may be working together now, but P.T. Westmoreland is all about himself. I don’t think he’d hesitate to drop/play/screw over Rachel if it meant furthering his own agenda. Westmoreland may be the one person who’s even more selfish than Rachel. Yikes!

2) How did you feel about the Cophine flashback? The camera work and Delphine’s voice over reeled us in. However, the promos for the episode could have been seen as misleading. (Like letting us think they got married). What are your thoughts about the promos?

Ashlee: Things I’ve learn in my years watching this show, don’t trust the promos and trust the cast. Both Tatiana and Evelyne spoke highly of this episode and its beauty and significance, that’s all I needed. The promo stuff was just a little something extra. The flashback was, just as Evelyne had suggested, so beautiful and it was such a meaningful scene. There was so much uncertainty and so much emotion and so much desire of trust in it, and I literally missed so much of it because I couldn’t hear over the loudness of my heart beating haha. I’m just in awe of Tatiana and Evelyne’s chemistry and I am forever tipping my hat the mastery of one Helen Shaver.

Fe: I loved the Cophine scenes, yet I did hope they would be longer. I was expecting more of a love scene than a marriage, as Donnie & Alison have gotten quite a few…arousing scenes. Never the less I’m so happy Cosima has finally understood Delphine’s complex motives.

Kim: I LOVED the Cophine flashback scenes as well as the current day parallel in PT’s house. The whole flashback scene was done so beautifully, showed their vulnerability and their deep love for each other. I did not expect them to get married from watching the promos, so I was not feeling that it was misleading, but I can see that people could have thought that.

Marzia: Besides the fact that I’m a huge Cophine shipper for obvious reasons, I must admit that the flashback we saw was a truly masterpiece. Yes, I’m not exaggerating. We all finally realized how much Delphine loves and fights for Cosima, despite everything. We realized how much this feeling never changed through the seasons and this whole sequence was built in a beautiful and perfect way (kudos to the editor Jay Prychidny who did an amazing job and of course to the writer and to Helen Shaver – the director).

Regarding the promos, I think they did the work the usually do. Divert the intentions of the characters and how we see them, and they totally did it this time. Most of the fans thought that Cophine were getting married, that Delphine was lying to Cosima and she couldn’t be trusted and other theories. But after watching the episode well.. we were all shocked and surprised at the same time (in a good way, obviously).

Kelly: Absolutely loved the flashbacks. We finally got that missing Cophine puzzle piece from between S1 and S2. That was great to see, and I’m glad we got the chance to revisit that moment. I don’t mind that the promos may be “misleading.” The point of them is to get viewers excited and to get us fans speculating (which Clone Club loves to do!). It’s fun to compare our speculations to the real thing when the time comes.

3) Do you think Kira knows more about what is and what will happen to the Sestras than she lets on?

Ashlee: You know what, yeah, I think she does. They’re all so intrinsically connected, so it definitely makes sense to me that she feels more than she’s willing to share. Perhaps it’s to save Sarah the worry, or perhaps she herself is still trying to understand it all, but yeah, she is definitely so in touch.

Fe:  It’s Kira..totally..

Kim: Kira is a really peculiar child. She has this gift that nobody really understands and we still do not know a lot about it. I think she does not know a lot more than she has let on to Sarah, maybe she has talked about it more with Rachel at Dyad? I really liked that in this episode Sarah asked for Kira’s help in getting her to understand this feeling, this connection, that she has inside her with her sestra’s. I am happy that Kira is willing to help Sarah with that and that Sarah is finally accepting this part of herself.

Marzia: Kira is very mysterious. I honestly don’t know what she’s hiding, but I feel like she probably knows more than we can expect. I guess we’ll find out more about her “abilities” in the coming episodes.

Kelly: Definitely. Kira’s weird ability to feel and predict things regarding the sestras makes me think she knows more than she’s letting on. Kira is still such a mystery!

4) Are you happy to see Cosima finally trusting Delphine’s end game?

Ashlee: You have no freakin’ idea. I was so sure they were going to turn ugly, especially at the dinner when PT walked Delphine in and Cosima started to show some angst. I was so angry that we were gonna deal with it again, but then it all shifted and I can safely say, this is the happiest a Cophine shipper I’ve been since S2. FINALLY, Cosima listened, she trusted and she worked with Delphine. She accepted that their relationship is tumultuous, to say the least, but it theirs and theirs alone. I was…am, so, so thrilled we are now on the path to a happy endgame. This is all I’ve ever wanted for them!

Fe: 100%. Everyone has bashed poor Del for lying, dismissing her attempts to explain what she’s done. Her heart is with Cosima forever, and Cosima finally sees this now.

Kim: YES! Delphine doesn’t seem like she is always making the right/logical decisions, however in the end she always shows Cosima that everything she does is for her and because she loves her. Delphine has a plan with Mrs. S. trying to understand it all and trying to find solutions to their growing problems. She has wanted to tell Cosima but she also ALWAYS wants to protect her and that is why she didn’t say anything at first. Delphine is definitely to be trusted and Cosima knows this, Delphine has proven herself again and again.

Marzia: I’ve waited for years to witness this. We all have. Cosima, as we know, can be very rushed most of the time. She speaks her mind and she loves to take risks, but seeing Cosima finally put her fully trust on her has warmed my heart and made me so happy. It was a very special and meaningful episode for both of them. And for us too.

Kelly: Approximately 11 million times… YES.

5) Do you wish the creators had done/shown more of Cosima and Delphine’s relationship throughout the series?

Ashlee: I am always going to want more, it’s just how I am. I wish they had and it pains me to think that we will never see them in this platform again once OB has finished. There are so many scenarios I wish we had gotten more of a chance to see, so many moments that we will just never know what happened after the scene ended but hey, right now, I am too happy to think about it…so I’m gonna chill in this little bliss bubble a while longer.

Fe: There’s wishing & understanding. I totally wish we could have had some domestic romantic scenes and such because I adore Cophine with all my heart. But, Orphan Black isn’t about Cophine completely. So trying to balance the love of those girls and the clone science is a precise art form and would take up more time than we’d think. If there was more seasons then we probably would!

Kim: Of course, being a Cophine lover, I would have loved more scenes of them together. However, I am content with the quality of scenes that we have received of them so far over all the seasons. Their relationship is portrayed so amazing and it is so pure. The creators have not over-sexualized them over the years.

Marzia:  Honestly? No. The representation they gave us has been unbelievable and the Cosima/Delphine relationship is a perfect example of it. They’ve built a relationship based on trust and mistrust. Sometimes there were lies and sometimes harsh truths. But at the end (and especially with this episode) we’ve all came to the realization that this is the way most of the relationships are. Delphine herself said it: “this is our relationship”. They’ve been through a lot together. Separated, brought together. It’s not ended yet, but I’m pretty optimistic for the closure of their story.

Kelly: I do, but I also understand there are scheduling conflicts and actor availability to consider. Plus, Orphan Black is such an intricate, complicated story… You have to take time to unravel all the other characters’ stories too.

6) Do you think it’s relevant that Ira is glitching?

Ashlee: Yes. Cosima is constantly trying to tell Susan to forget the science and remember her humanity, to which Susan always seems defiant. I think this may just be the catalyst for Susan to show a different side of herself, perhaps… she is pretty stubborn.

Fe: I guess Castor’s story has run its end. He’s a man with mostly good intentions, but aside from Mark all have died from glitching and or Coady.

Kim: To be honest, I am not a fan of the whole Castor story line. I think it is relevant that Ira is glitching because it will affect Susan and therefore, I think her priorities might change. We don’t really know at this point if Susan is good or evil, and if we should trust her at all. I think that Susan will want to find a cure for Ira as soon as possible and things can get very ugly very quick.

Marzia: I think it could be relevant in the coming episodes (probably?). Orphan Black doesn’t give anything for granted, and we know that. Hopefully we’ll find out soon!

Kelly: I do, but whether it’s to end his story or play into another narrative is anyone’s guess.

7) Finally, we all know that most of the characters on Orphan Black are extremely flawed. If you could give one piece of advice to any character, who would it be, and what would you say?

Ashlee: Cosima, for crying out loud, trust your girl and listen to her. She’s got your back!

Fe: Mud, shut up!

Kim: My advice would be for Cosima and it would be: LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHEN THEY WARN YOU OF DANGER! Cosima is the worst when it comes to avoiding danger and listening to other people who tell her to be careful and not go to certain places. Both Delphine and Mud have tried to tell her to be careful or it can become dangerous, but she doesn’t listen and does the exact opposite. At the end of this episode we saw her locked up in Janus’ cage because of it!

Marzia: Oh, of course to Cosima. It would totally sound like: “try to listen to Delphine more often.”

Kelly: Delphine, girl, I love that you’re so sneaky, but please use caution when showing up unannounced to Mrs. S’s house. S has a rifle and knows how to use it.

Orphan Black Roundtable 5×05: “Ease For Idle Millionaires” Final Verdict: Delphine and Cosima make us realize that imperfect love can be magic.

No matter who you are or what your opinions are about the different and incredibly diverse characters on Orphan Black, there’s one fact that you’ll walk away with after watching “Ease For Idle Millionaires.” Love, no matter how imperfect, can be magic. Delphine and Cosima have had their ups and downs, their fights, their break-ups, and their triumphs. No matter what others have thrown at them, they’ve fought for and with each other at every turn. This episode made it clear to the audience that no matter what it looks like, there’s always more than one side to every story for this couple. While Delphine is constantly taking trips and lying to Cosima about where and why she’s going, she’s ALWAYS doing it with Cosima’s best interests at heart. So let’s forget that nonsense about not trusting her anymore, shall we? True love comes in all forms and these two have found it. Giving us even more reason to love and respect Orphan Black for its dynamic choices and willingness to push boundaries. With only five episodes left, we’re still hooked and ready to see what comes next.

ORPHAN BLACK airs SATURDAYS at 10/9C ON BBC AMERICA