#obanalysis

Messenger: ‘His altruism saved you’. 

Delphine: ‘That wasn’t what it was’. 

Going back to last year, I interpreted this exchange to signify a shift for Delphine, one that ultimately came down to her saying, ‘love saved me’. To be honest, it could still very well be the case, and I mean, I wouldn’t complain because that’s some ‘pit of the soul’ kinda love right there. 

But now after having watched 5x01, I’m feeling differently about that exchange. To me, in 4x10, Delphine was already rather defiant and dismissive of the Messenger but in 5x10, I feel like her animosity towards him was tenfold. And after watching this episode, it’s so apparent that there is something big going on with her there, something that she seems extremely conflicted, concerned and consumed by. 

So now, I’m thinking perhaps something was used on Delphine in her treatment, something that she is perhaps afraid of. She clearly believes in the science happening around her, she says it’s real, but she clearly does not believe in the cause. Think back to that exchange with the little girl seeking ‘The Fountain’ to cure her cancer. The look on Delphine’s face was troubled and we’ve seen that kind of expression before especially in instances where she has been burdened by information she is made to keep secret. Whatever this ‘Fountain’ is, whatever it is set to achieve, (prolongevity, eternal youth, perfect health etc etc), she is clearly not on par with it. 

So, now going allllll the way back to that 4x10 exchange, I feel as though Delphine may have been, against her consent, treated by science that she does not believe in or that she has come to discover can be damaging. 

The line ‘his altruism saved you’, implies Westmoreland saved Delphine to no advantageous gain of his own; that, by definition is what altruism is. How can we believe that though? At first I assumed altruism might have be the case because she is somehow directly linked to him, through lineage or something but it doesn’t add up; when she is summoned to meet him, her demeanour shifts instantly to one of skepticism and perhaps fear. Rather, what Westmoreland probably considers altruism, is in fact his definition of perfecting the human race; a - this isn’t just for me, this is for us all - kinda thought process. It isn’t a matter of saving one individual life but rather, selflessly sharing and applying his science to bettering mankind. Delphine’s interpretation though, is that he has used his science, his methods, his rationale on her, against her wishes, to propel his science further outwards. That in itself, is not an altruistic gesture. That, is robbing her of humanity, autonomy and freedom. 

Both of them grew up in cold, sterile environments (Evie in the hospital, Rachel at DYAD).

Both of them grew up being treated as experiments because of their biology (Evie’s condition is rare and Rachel is a clone).

Both probably had trouble bonding with their parents/parental figure (Evie being stuck in sterile rooms, unable to be held by her parents, Rachel not being loved enough or at all by Leekie).

Sarah mentions a Christine when she’s masquerading as Beth in season one (saying they had a lunch date or whatever) so she must have gotten that name from Beth’s datebook or calendar or maybe even social media. So Christine may have been a close friend (maybe prior monitor? I dunno).

As for family, Art pretty much said it in season four when they went back into the apartment. All of Beth’s personal effects had been turned over to her family, who boxed it all up and just left it - for months. Now, it could be they were so bereft that their (only?) child was dead and didn’t want to deal with the pain of getting rid of her things (if you’ve ever seen Dead Like Me, you know this part can be heartbreaking even if there is a bad relationship). OR they just couldn’t be bothered and there was some type of schism between Beth and her parents.

In conclusion, I think Beth was probably quite lonely.

I honestly… don’t know. So much of who Rachel is comes from how she was raised. It’s almost like there’s not a person underneath all of Rachel’s bitterness and loss, like everything for her is a means to an end.

You could say that she likes to read (but many people like to read). You could say that she enjoys - or maybe even creates - art (but the basis for that is her therapy paintings?). You could say that she’s a wine connoisseur (because wealthy, DYAD-built Rachel seems to like wine). Maybe she’d be a scientist or an artist or a taxi driver, but the point is we can’t possibly know.

All we know about Rachel was created (and destroyed) by the Duncans and DYAD and Neolution. Without those? Who knows.

Another update on the orphan black family tree, though I am still not sure I should call it that. If you see any mistakes, please let me know, I’m not thinking that clearly after the finale.

Art, Mythology, and  “The Antisocialism of Sex”

This most recent episode of Orphan Black was rough. Everyone is reeling from the loss of Kendall. Evie Cho has taken control of Neolution and her rise to power means that Sarah and all the self-aware members of Project Leda are in more immediate danger than ever before. 

One thing I noticed is that the overwhelming feelings of loss, grief, failure, and powerlessness were woven throughout all elements of the episode. This brings me to how this was visually highlighted in the episodef through the use of art and mythological themes. 

I noticed two mythologicaly based pieces of art in the episode: “Saturn Devouring His Son” by Francisco Goya and a copperplate engraving by Tommaso Piroli depicting the struggle between Zeus and Leda. 

Most of us are already familiar with the story of Zeus and Leda. Zeus rapes Leda in the guise of a swan. Leda than gives birth to twins, one of which is named Castor. But not everyone is familiar with the story behind the painting  “Saturn Devouring His Son”. According to Greek mythology, Cronos had been warned that one of his children would overthrow him. So in order to protect himself and his power, he would devour his children after they were born.

It was painful interesting to see Sarah, Rachel, Cosima, and Alison all deal with the fallout of Evie Cho’s actions. Especially since our characters all seemed to be at the end of their rope and very backed into a corner with nowhere to turn. Both pieces of art emphasize struggle: Leda struggling against Zeus who clearly seems to have the upper hand; and Saturn who is desperately trying to destroy his children, (or his creations), in order for him to maintain power and control. 

So I couldn’t answer this earlier because I’ve only JUST watched the episode. So, let’s talk about Rachel.

I have to agree with you: Rachel definitely stood out in this episode. Maybe it’s because she’s had so little screentime since the unfortunate pencil incident, maybe it’s because of the intrigue about these other characters (Charlotte, Susan, and our new Castor clone) who we’ve seen very little of before. Not to mention there’s the whole idea of her being in a terrarium, completely cut off from society, with everyone but Charlotte in a wardrobe of almost pure white. It may also be because Sarah and the usual band of merry Ledas are losing their tenacious grip on “doing the right thing.”

Meanwhile, we see Rachel fighting her “destiny” left and right, taking up the mantle of humanity that her previous title of “robot bitch” (though because of her enhancement, it’s technically more true than ever) seems to no longer apply. We’re getting more of her struggle with recovery (the fall, the stutter, the really invasive medical checkup). And we’re getting her interacting with Charlotte and comparing her freedoms to that of the child’s.

My favorite part about Rachel has always been her bite, the disdain with which she cuts down those in her way. And we see it with Susan - but we don’t see it with Charlotte. No, instead we get this budding… alliance of sorts. Because Rachel always, always, always refused to ally herself with the other Ledas in this fight, but now here we are.

“There is nothing about being female that naturally binds women together into a unified category. There is not even such a state as ‘being’ female, itself a highly complex category constructed in contested sexual scientific discourses and other social practices" (The Cyborg Manifesto). 

That, coupled with the appearance of the character Evie Cho — “a powerful, seductively articulate bio-engineer that preaches empowerment to those oppressed by sexism and physical aliments” — suggests that there is a lot of wonderful feminist analysis to come.