Orphan Black Review: ““Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things”

Please tell me your hands haven’t been soaking in some gruesomely fecund jelly.—Dr. Marion Bowles

Orphan Black delivers a weaker episode than usual, but it includes a number of important developments, a big dose of farcical comedy—and Siobhan Sadler at her badass best.

Title: “Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things”

Cast and Crew
Director: Ken Girotti
Writer: Aubrey Nealon

Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning/ Cosima Niehaus / Alison Hendrix/ Rachel Duncan
Jordan Gavaris as Felix Dawkins
Matt Frewer as Dr. Aldous Leekie
Dylan Bruce as Paul Dierdan
Evelyne Brochu as Delphine
Kristian Bruun as Donnie Hendrix
Skyler Wexler as Kira
Michiel Huisman as Cal Morrison
Raven Dauda as Yvonne
Inga Cadranel as Detective Angela Deangelis
Andrew Gillies as Ethan Duncan
Millie Davis as Gemma Hendrix
Drew Davis as Oscar Hendrix
Terra Hazelton as Sarah Stubbs
Michelle Forbes as Dr. Marion Bowles

Full cast and crew information may be found here.

Premise

We meet a new character who clearly outranks Leekie as the rehab gang runs amok on Family Day. We learn Kira’s significance, Siobhan cuts a deal, Rachel and Cosmina learn uncomfortable truths, and Dr. Ethan Duncan recovers some key data.

High Points

Donnie develops as a character; even his cluelessness as a monitor comes in handy.

Low Point

I laughed at the rehab scenes, but does anyone else find that Vic Abuse is getting old? That was last season’s shtick. Do something else with this character, or eliminate him entirely.

The Scores:

Originality: 3/6 in an episode which (inevitably) used the twins for Menaechmian comedy, did we also need Donnie to pull a Vincent Vega at the conclusion?

Effects: 6/6

Story: 5/6 The story felt more contrived than usual. They were forcing certain developments and comic shenanigans.

Acting: 6/6 My vote for Best Performance by Tatiana Maslany this week would be Sarah as Alison as Donnie, with Sarah losing track of who she’s supposed to be. Tatiana Maslany, however, knows exactly what she’s doing.

Emotional Response: 5/6

Production: 6/6 The music, mostly by Trevor Yuile, seems especially fitting this week.

Overall: 5/6 Are rehab facilities actually like this? Anyone?

In total, “Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things” receives 36/42