#obspec10

Welcome readers to the final OBSpec science discussion!!! Episode 10 was a crazy ride, jam-packed with sciencey twists and turns! So many reveals! SO MUCH SCIENCE!!!! So let’s get right to it :D

Quick note on Rachel as Charlotte’s original: the science is pretty self explanatory here, and this definitely should be canon. I mean, they lost the original genome, so how else were they going to make clones? And who better to clone from than the clone always at DYAD’s disposal?! This just needs to be canon.

Vaccines Galore: we already learned from Delphine that the clones had some vaccines built into their genomes, which was neither surprising, nor scientifically implausible. MMR, Hepatitis, Polio, these are all vaccines that exist and that we all receive. But in OBSpec10, we learn that there is a lot more than meets the eye. Syphilis, HIV, countless other vaccines that do not exist. This is science fiction after all, and what is more exciting than learning that DYAD has secretly been sitting on vaccines for a whole slew of devastating diseases?!

Jumping from Vaccines to Drugs: how exactly did Delphine make the jump from finding the vaccines to finding the drugs? Well HIV directly affects the immune system, so Delphine jumps to the idea that maybe the HIV vaccine is influencing their immune system to exacerbate the side-effects of the infertility sequence. So she isolates clone T-cells (part of the immune system, which she can isolate from a blood sample), and looks at the gene expression in these cells. And what does she find, but expression of Vm24, an immunosuppressant that is produced by scorpions, not humans.

Clones as Drug Incubators: this isn’t exactly as big of a leap into science-fiction as it may seem. Many plants and animals (such as the scorpions with Vm24) produce proteins and compounds that are then isolated and used in countless drugs. DYAD simply took this idea and put the sequences for these compounds into the clones. They express these proteins (which in general have little to no side effects, although it is mentioned that they have built up a tolerance to immunosuppressants from this), and then DYAD together with Primorez take blood and tissue samples from the clones, isolate these proteins, and turn them into drugs, which are sold for profit. A creepy, yet awesome way to tie in the science with the patent and the multi-corporation conspiracy.

Wow, Clone Club. Here we are! Author’s notes for OBspec Episode 10. It’s been one hell of a trip. Before we get started, we want to say one more massive thank you to everyone who’s been reading along. Your responses to this project have been humbling and hugely beyond anything we’ve ever expected or experienced. Thanks for letting us take control of your hiatus. We hope it’s been as fun for you as it has been for us! 

Without further ado, you’ve got the sestras in crime (happyjacq and theleashkid) at your disposal one last time. Let’s get this show on the road. 

The Beth Question: It felt good to come full circle back around to Beth by the end of this episode. Because Beth, in a lot of ways, reminds us that while Sarah is our protagonist, she’s not always a good person. The way that Sarah used Beth’s life, and the callous way in which she did it, doesn’t necessarily deserve to be forgiven. But, Sarah’s a fighter, and she will latch on to absolutely anything to survive. Cue slipping into Beth’s voice in front of Harrison. Ouch, girl. That cuts deep. 

715G13: We spent a lot of time trying to work out Rachel’s psychological mind palace. There had to be some reason why she seems so obsessed with motherhood, so obsessed with Sarah, so betrayed by her own inability to conceive. The plain and simple idea that Rachel was just bit by the baby bug, or even the theory that she desired personal control over what her body could and couldn’t do, didn’t really seem compelling enough to explain the Rachel Duncan psyche. Rachel’s not a woman who wants to be a mother in the normal, maternal sense. So, cue the science. It’s entirely possible to clone a clone. It’s the same as cloning a non-clone! So, if Rachel was the original for the Charlotte generation, which then went on to collide with problem after problem after problem...it’s no wonder Rachel has such a tenuous relationship with perfection and motherhood. 

I am the Darkness: Helena’s tread a dark path in OBspec. The idea for her season endpoint came when we talked over our full season ideas to one of our friends and he insisted that we should kill Helena. But, we weren’t ready to do that. And we weren’t prepared to do that to you either. So, we didn’t listen to him and, instead, we started thinking. If we weren’t going to kill her, was there anything we could do that was worse? Jacq said: we have her kill someone else and regret it. Milena said: Marion. Jacq said: Charlotte watches. We both said: She goes back to Sister Olga. And thus, a plot worse than death was born. 

Brother Sestras: The sibling game is strong in OBspec Episode 10, and the parallels between Felix and Harrison amp it up just enough tickle your feels and make you cry. Sarah may know what it’s like to leave your brother behind, but Harrison knows what it’s like to not get a chance to say goodbye. And Sarah doesn’t soon forget that when she stops by Felix’s one last time. In the Orphan Black pilot, Sarah tells Felix “We can’t part angry this time,” and even though Felix is certainly angry with her when she leaves him in our finale, Sarah knows she’s given him a good reason and a goodbye, and that’s far more than what Harrison got from Beth.

Tearful Goodbyes: Sarah and Kira’s goodbye. The scene that killed us all. And to make matters worse, Sarah drops the “I love you” bomb, a sentence she has never said EVER in the entirety of canon Orphan Black. Yeah. Ouch. Sarah’s shown Kira that she loves her, but in this moment, when Sarah knows she might never see her again, there’s only one way to be sure Kira knows. Sarah’s also just witnessed Charlotte lose her mother, and with this mindset, it’s not easy to let Kira go. But, getting Kira away from the catastrophic atmosphere of clone warfare is Sarah’s number one priority. Little does Sarah know that Kassov’s houseboat isn’t the safest escape from chaos.

Whatever Your Name Is: Felix, Felix, Felix. If that’s even your real name... The Felix mystery is one that we certainly put a lot of thought into, even though his past would never grace the pages of OBspec. If you look hard enough, there are clues that go all the way back. Our favorite probably lives in Episode 5 with Carlton, who insists that he knows exactly who Felix is and then proceeds to call him “whatever your name is.” Smooth, Carlton. Smooth. But, Felix’s name game also brings it back around to our identity and naming themes. Alison suggests that maybe Felix isn’t really Felix. But, Sarah seals the deal: “He’s still Felix. He just...wasn’t always.” And that’s thematic, folks. You are who you are, even if you weren’t always. 

Orphan Drugs: OBspec Episode 10 is jam packed with science. And, to make it even more awesome, that science is scary real. The idea for immunities built into the clones’ genomes and the subsequent biopharma harvest came from a combination of narrative needs, Casey’s suggestions, the HeLa controversy, this article about horseshoe crabs, this story about Steve Crohn, this paper on Vm24 (it comes from a scorpion, we kid you not), and Jacq’s extensive day job knowledge of biopharmaceutical happenings. Orphan Drugs are a real life thing, and with the passing of the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 (NINETEEN EIGHTY-THREE. Exactly one year before the birth of our Leda girls) they became a lucrative market with a lot of government subsidies and enhanced patent protections involved. Yeah. That’s right. Patent protections. 

The Hadley Cell: Ah, Hadley Exeter. Our final WTF moment of OBspec. At only 24 years old, Hadley’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. Who is our little Dora the Explorer? Where did she come from? What does she know? Who knows about her? And who was on the other end of that phone call? We know the answers, and we even left you some extremely ominous clues sprinkled throughout. Attempt to guess if you dare. But, it won’t be easy. After all, trouble’s sown in spring. And it’ll be April before you know it.