Orphan Black Review: 4×01- “The Collapse of Nature”

Beth Childs broke our hearts and brought the drama in the season 4 flashback premiere of Orphan Black.

Orphan Black returned for season 4 in the unique, flashback driven, drama filled episode that the fans have been waiting for. In an episode that made us feel as though the show is starting to come full circle, Beth Childs (Tatiana Maslany), the woman who essentially led us into the twisted, complex, action packed world that is Orphan Black, was front and center as the show traveled back in time to give us an in depth look into her life shortly before she committed suicide in the pilot episode.

Led to believe that we’re watching events happening in current time, Orphan Black opened with an unknown woman creeping her way through a forest wearing a sheep mask that could have easily come straight out of a horror movie. After running away from two people burying a body that she later refers to as, “the cheek choppers,” and placing a call to a woman that we shockingly find out is deceased clone Beth (through the well timed revelation of seeing our dearly departed Paul), we learn that we are in fact watching a much desired flashback episode.

The woman, named MK (Tatiana Maslany), tells Beth to meet her at specific coordinates and although she only shows up on a computer screen at first, it’s there that we learn that MK is YET ANOTHER Leda clone. We still don’t yet know how Beth met MK, or if any of the other sisters know about her, but she’s instantly as endearing and as unique as the rest of clones. Working together to try and figure out the mystery of the Neolutionists and bring one of them to justice for murder, we start to see just how things unraveled for Beth prior to her suicide. We also see more familiar faces in the form of Dr. Leekie (Matt Frewer) and Oliver Duval as Beth begins the investigation into Neolutionism.

MK reminds Beth that she can’t trust anyone around her. An already paranoid Beth uses that as more fuel to repress her emotions and internal struggles from everyone around her. That includes her partner Art (Kevin Hanchard). Art knows that something is going on with Beth, and after another emotional full circle moment shows Beth bringing up her infertility to Paul, she winds up in Art’s apartment where the two have sex.

After Beth is woken up with a phone call from a scared Trina, a woman she met while investigating in Club Neolution; she sets out to find Trina’s missing boyfriend Aaron. The search leads Beth down an alleyway where she witnesses Aaron having his cheek cut out in order to have a worm removed. Startled, she makes a loud noise and runs. Upon hearing a noise coming toward her she fires her weapon, and in what could seen as be the biggest full circle of the episode, we see a shot and dying Maggie Chen, the woman whose death Beth was being charged with manslaughter for.

In the final moments of the premiere, we are brought back to current time where Beth is gone and Sarah is happy with her family in Iceland. Art calls Sarah and tells her that he has someone he’d like her to meet, thereby introducing MK into the clone club fold. How will all these revelations and full circle moments impact the clones we know and love?

Beth’s darkness

For 3 seasons there’s been a void in the Orphan Black world. Week after week we’ve waited to find out the story behind the mysterious clone Beth who killed herself moments into the pilot. This week’s episode felt like a love letter to the fans. After a frantic season 3 littered with Castor clones and a hectic back story, this premiere was a throwback to what the show has always been about. The complexities, triumphs, and struggles of our favorite Leda clones. Driven by Beth’s heartbreaking decent into what could ultimately be described as a sad madness, we see that there’s a darkness to her that we haven’t seen in the other Leda clones up to this point. Everything about her existence seems desperate and ultimately heartbreaking because she’s clearly grasping for any sense of real connection. While meeting with MK, who seems to have a genuine connection with Beth, she sits down and you can see the pain in her eyes as she asks,

“Is this my life now?”

Visibly paranoid of the world around her, we’re witness to Beth’s prescription-drug fueled implosion as she tries to manage her cop life, her struggling personal life, and her life with her clone sisters, Alison and Cosima. Learning about Beth’s life and seeing that she was so disturbed, put a new spin on the story we thought we knew. Although seeing Paul (Dylan Bruce) after he was killed last season was a welcomed surprise, the way he made Beth feel about herself and her life made it really hard to like him.

Beth: “You’re hollow, Paul. There’s nothing inside. I filled you in with hunches. All I know for sure is you won’t protect me.”

Subtle and nuanced, Tatiana Maslany’s acting ability really pays homage to Beth. She walks a fine line between making us really care about Beth and making us question her sanity. When Beth she tells Art:

“Look at me. See me”

it left your heart broken on the floor. Beth is lost. It hurts to watch. It left us wishing we could have seen Beth with all her clone sisters. Watching her discover this family they seemed to have formed since her death would have been so gratifying as a fan. Bringing us back to the beginning and making us a witness to the dark light that seemed to follow Beth everywhere she went before her death was a brilliant way to kick off this new season of Orphan Black and answered questions we’ve been waiting 4 seasons to have answered.

Welcome to the clone club, MK

Another season, another introduction of a new Leda clone. At this point we have to be certain that there is nothing Tatiana Maslany can’t do. The introduction of paranoid recluse MK brought a new dimension to the Leda clone story.

“Remember, don’t trust anyone next to you.”- MK

How will she fit into the clone club? Is she hiding anything? How did she find out about being a clone? There are so many questions we could ask and when those are answered there will undoubtedly be more. MK seems stunted in a sense. She speaks as though she’s in a child like state. Like Beth, it appears as though she’s desperately looking for connection. Even though she has an affinity for masks, its’ clear she uses them as a metaphor for her life. She lives in hiding; afraid of what the world will do to her. The character hit the ground running and it’s already so easy to be invested in her life. When MK calls Sarah in order to give her a warning, you can’t help but get excited for her further involvement with the clones. How does she impact their story? And maybe the burning question on everyone’s mind is, does she know anything about the fate of Delphine? (Evelyne Brochu)

Art is back

One of the more shocking moments in the season 4 premiere of Orphan Black was the scene where we discover that Art and Beth has slept together. We spent the majority of the first season viewing Beth’s life through Sarah’s eyes so all we knew was that Art cared for Beth, but we never knew just how much. This scene was so important for the fact that it made us rethink and reanalyze everything we thought we knew about Art and Beth in season one. It felt very full circle. Beth craved and desired to find a connection with someone. She wanted someone to need her in a way that wasn’t to benefit them. We now know why the writers spent so much time throwing Art into the orbit of the clones. Moving forward, that revelation may not be a game changer, but we know why the clones mean so much to Art now. As a viewer, it felt satisfying to make realizations about Beth and her life.

Final Verdict: Flashback to Perfection

Orphan Black is a show chalked full of heavy back story, mythology, and characters that seem to crawl out of the wood work. By the end of last season, we grew tired of the Castor clone story that was thrown at us whether we liked it or not. The season 4 premiere did what it set out to do. It brought us back to a time when the lives of the Leda clones were front and center. Watching as Beth dove deeper into paranoia and drugs, we could feel everything coming full circle. Art cared for Beth in an intimate way. Beth knew Paul was more than just her boyfriend. Beth was in a world suffering a deep pain and internal struggle before she accidentally shot Maggie Chen. Not only did this episode flashback the story to reveal some much needed answers, it made us flashback to the love and anticipation we had for this show at the start. In true flashback form, Felix said it best:

“You don’t get to sit this one out. None of us do.”

And with episodes like this, who would want to?

Questions/ Comments: The burning question on everyone’s mind

• Where is Tatiana Maslany’s Emmy?