S04.E05: Human Raw Material

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

No episode description yet.

Promo:

[The Crazed Spruce]

From TVDB....

Sarah’s day off to reconnect with Kira quickly turns into a sleuthing mission aimed squarely at discrediting Felix’s new ties. Cosima steps up with Donnie to further investigate the Neolutionist fertility research center. While Donnie bumps into an all too familiar face, Cosima makes a shocking discovery that leads her into a dangerous encounter.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Sneak Peek: Cosima Meets Her Maker

[Primetimer]

An inexperienced clone gets out of her depth while infiltrating a Neolutionist stronghold, and so does Krystal.

View the full article

[ottoDbusdriver]

Ewww !!! Susan Duncan locking lips in the pool with a Castor clone.

Even creepier -- that malformed baby that was just born.  WTF ?

On the other hand, Tatiana as Krystal stripped down for a massage.  Damn !!!

Donnie was awesome tonight.

 

ETA: What is BP syndrome that the doctor indicated that the newborn had.

 

By the way -- even though Adele is Felix's sister, I bet she is still a Neolutionist plant.

Edited May 13, 2016 by ottoDbusdriver

[Blackie]

Call the Clone Midwife  my new favorite show

 

Great to see Crystal again but her accent/voice pattern seemed a little toned down?different from show before. Also I was trying to remember, wasn't Crystal the donor eye for Rachel?  I forget how that all went down.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Blackie
eta

[Valny]

34 minutes ago, Blackie said:

Call the Clone Midwife  my new favorite show. Also I was trying to remember, wasn't Crystal the donor eye for Rachel?  I forget how that all went down.

As far as I remember, at first they wanted us to think they were taking Krystal's eye, but it was a fake out. I could be wrong on that though. But I do know she did keep her eye.

 

Quote

Ewww !!! Susan Duncan locking lips in the pool with a Castor clone

 As soon as I saw her standing there at the edge of the pool talking to Ira, I thought, oh don't tell me they're together?!!

Quote

Even creepier -- that malformed baby that was just born.  WTF ? I did not expect that, what the hell was wrong with that poor baby anyway? Was part of it's face kind of caved in? And they added some great creepy background music when you see the baby too.

I did not expect that, what the hell was wrong with that poor baby anyway? Was part of it's face kind of caved in? And they added some great daunting/ominous background music when you first see the baby too.

I wasn't sure if I believed Sarah was telling the truth that Adele is Felix sister.  For some reason I just got a vibe that Scott did tell her they're not but then she changed her mind when she went to tell him because she felt sorry for him or something. But she was so eager/adamant  to disprove it that I am doubting my first instinct.

Quote

Donnie was awesome tonight.

Yes he was pretty damn fun.  And he really looked good in that suit that Alison made him take off.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Valny
added quotes

[Snarkette]

I'm pretty sure Adele is Felix's mom, not sister, which is why there was the hesitation. I bet...um...50 cents!

[Valny]

Huh, well that's definitely an interesting theory Snakette. I think I've seen some others who've said that too. 
That dinner scene....awk-ward.

Doesn't look like we'll be seeing Helena for at least another ep. :(

[natyxg]

39 minutes ago, Blackie said:

Call the Clone Midwife  my new favorite show

Great to see Crystal again but her accent/voice pattern seemed a little toned down?different from show before. Also I was trying to remember, wasn't Crystal the donor eye for Rachel?  I forget how that all went down.

No, Krystal was used to replace Rachel at Dyad while she escaped. They bandaged up her eye so people would think she was Rachel.

[snarktini]

Correct. And Rachel got a prosthetic eye. They've showed Rachel getting eye exams a couple of times this season, remarking on the progress of pigmentation.

[kat165]

I too thought Sarah was lying when she told them Scott's results. Apparently so did Art (After the Black). Is Adele old enough to be Felix's mom? I'm not good at judging ages. He's what, 23? And she's in her mid 30's?

That poor baby looked like s/he had a cleft face. About that baby and other pregnant women. Are they being used as incubators and then their babies are given to the prospective parents who've signed up for Wellborn? Or is that a separate trial?

Susan mentioned the implant in Sarah's face. I don't think Cosmina really heard that though. Was there a clue to what that implant is for in Susan's remark (that went over my head)?

Even if it's true that Adele is Fe's biological something or other I still don't trust her.

Looks like MK is back next week.

[natyxg]

I think the fancy, rich people fund their research and get babies that are bound to be healthy, and they pull poor women off the streets and use them incubate the experiments, basically. I figure that girl from the club was one of them, too.

What I understood was that Susan said the implant in Sarah's face is just another approach to their endgame, basically. Another way to do their gene research and stuff.

I want Krystal to join Clone Club, but can she keep her mouth shut?

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, Valny said:

I wasn't sure if I believed Sarah was telling the truth that Adele is Felix sister.  For some reason I just got a vibe that Scott did tell her they're not but then she changed her mind when she went to tell him because she felt sorry for him or something. But she was so eager/adamant  to disprove it that I am doubting my first instinct.

I thought she was lying, but not to spare Felix's feelings--rather to not show her hand to Adele.

 

I was amused and relieved when Allison and Beth Sarah both said "bitch" after hanging up. At least they've admitted to themselves that their levels of personal stress are having an effect on their relationships--sort of/kind of. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by shapeshifter

[Gulftastic]

Tatiana as Krystal. Dayum! She's like a Russian Doll of hotness. Every layer reveals more heat!

Donnie was once again fantastic. I love how he acts different with each clone. Tatiana must be grateful that she works with him so much.

Lovely scene between Sarah and Monkey.

[Blackie]

I don't believe Sarah could have withheld the "I told you so moment" if the DNA proved Adele *wasn"t Felix's sister. 

And that emotion was the pure  sibling-jealousy-hurt-loneliness type.  That doesn't mean that Adele isn't an imposter or a plant, I just think Sarah doesn't know it yet.

 

Lauren Hammersley  (also Lisa on Mr D!!) was good casting as she looks kind of like Felix, but as others have said, her accent is all over the place.  Unless that is part of her being an "imposter" but it is so obvious I think others would have called her on it already.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Blackie
wasn't not was

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I love that Krystal's response to what happened last year was to train hard and learn self defense techniques. I also love that she has been investigating Dyad and the Castor clones. I already liked her from her brief appearances in S3 but this just made me like her even more. Way to be proactive! I mean, her investigation led her to tabloid stories about eyelid teeth, but still. She's trying. I just wish that her self defense lessons had led to her kicking that Brightborn lady's ass.

First I was concerned that Alison was going to Brightborn. Then I was even more concerned that Cosima was going because she's even more distinctive looking and recognizable than Alison. I thought dude, at least wear a wig or do something to alter your appearance even a little bit! And that was before Evie walked in.

Poor Adele. Even if she was spying on Felix for someone, Sarah was totally rude to her. I totally get that she was suspicious about who Adele really is (in addition to jealous and insecure because she thinks that Felix is replacing her with Adele) and angry that Felix brought her to the safehouse, potentially endangering Kira and Kendall but damn, girl, take it down a notch if for no other reason than you're setting a terrible example for your daughter by being such an aggressive bitch at dinner.

Hee, Donnie giving Krystal a massage when he was so clearly uncomfortable but still trying to get information from her by bonding with her as a fellow healer was great. At least she finally managed to put some of her self defense lessons to work there.

About that baby and other pregnant women. Are they being used as incubators and then their babies are given to the prospective parents who've signed up for Wellborn? Or is that a separate trial?

I think the fancy, rich people fund their research and get babies that are bound to be healthy, and they pull poor women off the streets and use them incubate the experiments, basically. I figure that girl from the club was one of them, too.

Yup, there are two different groups of women at Brightborn. There are the rich women (like the lady Alison knows) who pay a huge amount of money to become pregnant and have babies (Cosima pointed out that all the babies in the brochures have dimples so there's a strong chance that the rich women's babies have had their genes edited as she discussed with Susan). They are the ones who get to use the fancy facilities mentioned in the tour (salt water pool, Swedish and shiatsu massage, body wraps, yoga, birthing suites with squat bars, rocking chairs, and jacuzzi tubs). They come to Brightborn for fertility treatments but then they leave and go home.

The women downstairs who Cosima saw are told they are doing paid research. They are paid a huge amount of money (according to Susan, but she didn't specify how much) to carry these babies to term (I'm guessing they're artificially inseminated and serve as surrogates so that the babies are not biologically related to them). They are living at the facility 24/7 in what looks like a pregnancy dorm with several women in each room. One of the women asked if she could go home for her son's birthday and would be "disqualified" (unpaid) if she left. They are referred to as carriers and the babies are referred to by their batch numbers.

The doctor said that the baby had BP syndrome, oral facial clefts, severe webbing, and some other anomaly. Susan told Cosima that they had been very successful at eliminating certain genetic risk factors, which Cosima assumed was achieved using germline editing. The women downstairs are being used to carry babies whose genetic code has been manipulated. In other words, they are carrying experimental babies.

[Coxfires]

I know there are million other things to discuss about this episode, but Donnie's "I gotta go...shit" was pure gold. Never change, Donnie.

[Agent Dark]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I was amused and relieved when Allison and Beth both said "bitch" after hanging up. At least they've admitted to themselves that their levels of personal stress are having an effect on their relationships--sort of/kind of. 

I think you mean Allison and Sarah ;)  That was a throwback to season1 as well, when Cosima and Sarah are getting into each other over the phone (back then it was over the Delphine monitor situation).  They both did the "bitch" mutter after they hung up.

[Kaboom 2.0]

Has Evie Cho always had that little scar on her cheek? Just wondering since on this show anyone can be implanted with God knows what. KB continues to amaze me as Donnie, and bring the LOLs of course. From that longing gaze he gave that perfect baby (and eagerness to hold it) to his immediate hilarious "I gotta go...shit" the second Krystal literally gets in his face and he see's yet another woman with his wife's face...he truly is a treasure. Krystal! I heart you and taking charge of your life and taking self defense classes but girl: Shut. Your. Mouth. You're conducting an investigation, stop telling total strangers about it! In a way I want her to be embraced by Clone Club but fear her big mouth will bring doom down on them all. I too think that Scott confirmed that Adele and Fee are NOT related but Sarah lied to the room to use this info at a future time, against Adele, etc. I really don't want to take sides in the dissolution of the Sarah/Felix relationship but can understand where both are coming from. I did bristle when Fee totally outed the safe house by taking Adele there but all the while I'm all "you guys, stop fighting!" Lastly, Susan and Ira. NO. Hell to the NO. Wouldn't it be a trip if the big bad head of Neolution has been monitored and spied on this whole time by her beloved Castor, Ira. Ha!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Didn't Susan say that she raised Ira after her fake death? That makes them being a couple super creepy.

I was totally cracking up that Felix's response to getting really mad at Sarah was to fling something at her with his fork like a child. The lack of biological ties between them doesn't matter. That gesture showed me that they will always be siblings.

[TaraS1]

No matter how out there and confusing the science gets, I will always love this show if for nothing else than family scenes with Fe, Sarah, S and Kira.  Felix throwing the food and S yelling at him warmed my heart.  As did Kira asking if she and Sarah could be excused.  Such a lovely scene between them afterwards.

I really, really need a Krystal/Helena scene this season!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I also loved that as much as Kira clearly liked Adele, when she saw how hurt Sarah was by Adele being Fee's "real" sister she took her by the hand and said, "It's okay." It was really nice to see Sarah and Kira spending some quality time together, especially after seeing the disappointment on Kira's face when Sarah's phone rang and she assumed that Sarah was going to leave.

[topanga]

13 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Ewww !!! Susan Duncan locking lips in the pool with a Castor clone.

Even creepier -- that malformed baby that was just born.  WTF ?

On the other hand, Tatiana as Krystal stripped down for a massage.  Damn !!!

Donnie was awesome tonight.

ETA: What is BP syndrome that the doctor indicated that the newborn had.

By the way -- even though Adele is Felix's sister, I bet she is still a Neolutionist plant.

Tatiana continues to be all kinds of amazing. Cosima used to be my least-favorite clone: her character didn't seem to be fully developed. But Tat seems to have figured her out now, and she's become one of my favorite clones: she's smart, curious, calm (unlike Sarah), but still a bad-ass in her own right. And Tatiana continues to make the characters distinct. Little things like the way Cosima holds her mouth or makes eye contact with other people is unlike any of the other clones. 

And I know Susan and Ira aren't biologically related, but he's her genetic creation, which means he's like her son. I didn't mind the older woman-younger man scenario, but their kiss felt all kinds of incestuous. People on the after show kept describing the kiss as "hot," but "gross" is the word I would use. 

RE: Adele and Felix, I wonder if Neolution somehow found a way to alter her (or Felix's) DNA to make them appear like a sibling match. 

And Donnie is great. Someone else mentioned that he has to alter his personality when dealing with each clone. I haven't heard the actor talk about what that's like for him, but I'd love to know. 

[Valny]

Quote

I thought she was lying, but not to spare Felix's feelings--rather to not show her hand to Adele.

ooh, that's an interesting theory too!

Quote

I was totally cracking up that Felix's response to getting really mad at Sarah was to fling something at her with his fork like a child. The lack of biological ties between them doesn't matter. That gesture showed me that they will always be siblings.

 

I loved the food fling!(wonder how many takes they did)  And I loved how his voice dropped lower when he said "WHAT?!" after S yelled at him. He was pissed. 

 

Quote

Poor Adele. Even if she was spying on Felix for someone, Sarah was totally rude to her. I totally get that she was suspicious about who Adele really is (in addition to jealous and insecure because she thinks that Felix is replacing her with Adele) and angry that Felix brought her to the safehouse, potentially endangering Kira and Kendall but damn, girl, take it down a notch if for no other reason than you're setting a terrible example for your daughter by being such an aggressive bitch at dinner.

Just to add to this - Even though I don't care for this Adele character and who knows, we may find out she is pure evil, but  I actually found myself feeling bad for her after Sarah kept at her about the gene place she used...I forgot what is was called. Sarah was like a dog with a bone, she wouldn't let it go. 

 

Heh, I love when Tatiana(Cosima) pulls her arm away from Donny after he was going for an arm link or trying to put his arm around her. It was like she was saying, what are you doing, cut that out.  :)

 

Quote

Lauren Hammersley  (also Lisa on Mr D!!)  What is Mr. D?

  What is Mr. D?

 

In the preview for next week- 

 

was that S in the blonde wig holding a gun?

Edited May 14, 2016 by Valny

[Triskan]

Krystal definitly has to get the speech ! 

I was really hoping she was gonna get it all out of Donnie (well, by force, but still...), but I guess it will be for another time ! 

[natyxg]

2 hours ago, Valny said:

In the preview for next week- 

  Hide contents

was that S in the blonde wig holding a gun?

Spoiler

Pretty sure it's Beth. I imagine we will get to see what happened the night she left with the wig on and came back with blood in her hands, and killed herself after saying goodbye to Mika.

[Not Beth]

Krystal is baaaaaaaack! :) Such a great episode. I'm hoping that's not the more relaxed, funny episode of the season. I think those normally come around the 6th or 7th episode and usually revolve around Alison and Donnie so we might be a bit early for that episode. And also it got way too dark in the last ten minutes for it to be that episode this season yet.

I loved the throwback phone conversation ("Bitch!") between Alison and Sarah to the season one phone conversation ("Bitch!") between Cosima and Sarah!

I'm glad that the repercussions of Alison and Donnie's season 3 ventures are beginning to show with some consequences here. :( I hope Art doesn't get in trouble if it all comes out.

No to Ira and Susan as a couple. Does that make him more like a step-dad to Rachel than a brother? *shivers* Ew.

I totally forgot that Krystal would recognise Ira, so I'm glad that we got that scene. Maybe the twins who tried to kidnap her were actually triplets. xD It's actually nice to have a naive clone in the show. We get to see how a clone not in on the loop reacts to all these strange goings-on.

And who knew Helena was apt at texting? Though, I did think that Sarah already knew that Helena had gone when she got that text at the start of the ep - until she seems to only find out when Alison tells her later on in the episode.

[Cyranetta]

Although Krystal's reason for research was played somewhat for laughs (the beauty product manipulation), it's close enough to the real issue to be at least plausible. With the severe malformation that the newborn suffered, are "eyelash-teeth" really that hard to believe?

It must have been really strange for Donnie to be doing something intimate to someone that is a clone of his wife what he probably has done for his wife.

I wonder if Kira's sensitivities are linked only to the clones or if her comfort with Adele is a signal that Adele's possible connection to the Neolutionists is a misdirection?

The first scenes chez Hendrix had me almost yellow at the screen, "What about Helena?!!"

They've been underlining Sarah's selfishness vis-a-vis the other clones and Felix, so I wonder if it means that will lead to a disaster as a result.

[atua]

14 minutes ago, Cyranetta said:

I wonder if Kira's sensitivities are linked only to the clones or if her comfort with Adele is a signal that Adele's possible connection to the Neolutionists is a misdirection?

This is also why I don't think Adele is a plant. Kira's historically been really sensitive to any clone related shananigans, so Kira's ease around Adele suggests that she's not a plant. On the other hand, Sarah's confirmation of Felix and Adele's blood ties seem off to me too, above and beyond the existing awkwardness, so I'm coming around to the theory that Adele's actually Felix's mother, even though I think the actress is pretty young for that to be the case.

[kat165]

At the police station when that creepy neo cop was speaking with Art did anyone else get a mildly implied threat when he mentioned Art's children/family? I got the feeling that neo cop was giving Art a warning and/or trying to find out how much he knows and/or how much he'd acknowledge that he knows.

[Lady Calypso]

I really do think Kristian Bruun is a treasure as Donnie. He continues to impress me more and more. He got some good material with Krystal and Cosima, so that was nice. I felt for him when he was holding the baby in his arms. He probably wanted a biological baby as much as Alison, so seeing that it could have been an option if Alison wasn't a clone made me feel for him. But I really loved his scene with Krystal. Him realizing that Delphine may actually be alive was really good, as was Krystal kicking the shit out of him. She's really working hard at uncovering the truth, even if she's kind of far off. 

I also believe Sarah was lying about the test results. I guess she could have been truthful and she was trying to admit that she was wrong to herself, but it seemed like she was holding back from Felix. Whether that's so she can investigate Adele on her own without Felix harping at her, or if she did want to spare Felix the pain until she could give him full answers, or both, I do think Sarah was withholding. Also, Scott/Sarah's small scene was great. 

I'm glad that Kira realized her mom was sad and took her away to calm down. So, Kira is confessing her psychic powers to her mom. I wonder if Sarah will act upon that or if she'll dismiss it for the time being. 

3 minutes ago, atua said:

This is also why I don't think Adele is a plant. Kira's historically been really sensitive to any clone related shananigans, so Kira's ease around Adele suggests that she's not a plant. On the other hand, Sarah's confirmation of Felix and Adele's blood ties seem off to me too, above and beyond the existing awkwardness, so I'm coming around to the theory that Adele's actually Felix's mother, even though I think the actress is pretty young for that to be the case.

This, however? I could actually buy. That would mean Sarah isn't lying (Scott did stress that he could only determine a family relation, right?) and it would explain her sudden appearance in Felix's life and the connection with the Gene Connection place. 

I won't speak of the Susan/Ira kiss.

I don't think Art is going to be covering for Sarah and the other clones for long. Alison's drug trade is certainly backfiring. I'm also sad at the distance Sarah is causing with her and her sisters, but mostly Alison. Sarah has been so rude this season that I can't help but wonder why. I don't like Adele, but I even was feeling uncomfortable during the dinner scenes. Felix was wrong in bringing her to the safe house, but Sarah was wrong in not even attempting to be civil to Adele. 

[Blackie]

11 hours ago, Blackie said:

I

Quote

What is Mr. D?

A Canadian "comedy" show, Ok it is funny sometimes.

 

both the actors that play Donny and Art have improved and grown so much into their characters since the first season.  I thought they were both weak links in S1 but I am enjoying both the characters so much more now.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Blackie
spelling

[ruby24]

Donnie was so funny in this episode. The valuable thing about him is that he's so great with each clone you put him with. Alison, Helena, Cosima, Krystal. Not sure if they've paired him with Sarah much, but KB really is a huge asset to the show because of that.

[vesperholly]

Where was it said that the show's premiere happened 6 months ago? After the Black? If Helena was at the Hendrix house for 3 months, which consisted of six episodes (0308-10, 0401-03), their timeline is ALL kinds of FUBAR.

[rubyred]

I still don't care how "rude" Sarah is. She will always be my MVP because girl is IN THE SHIT ALL THE TIME. She has always been on the front line, in the most physical danger of all the clones (second place goes to Helena). She fucks up, she gets angry, she's a stress-ball with a seriously janky side-braid right now -- and I feel her pain and exhaustion. I don't care if she doesn't apologize, she is constantly risking her life and now has a parasitic worm-thing in her cheek. Meanwhile Cosima continues to blithely think she's good at undercover (she's not, AGAIN) and Alison compartmentalizes so much the other clones aren't even aware of all the OTHER fronts on which she's made them vulnerable.

I do think she lied about Adele and Felix because she could see how much Felix wanted it to be true. My bet is that Adele is either his bio-mom (the actress has always dressed and acted younger than she looks, IMO) or a Neo plant in the Genexxion computer system set to flag for anyone asking about Fee's DNA.

The scenes with Fee and Sarah fighting hurt to watch, but they are so well done. You get the angst and the sibling assholishness of both characters. But Fee sneering at the worm in her face -- yet another factoid shared with this "sister" he feels so close to, not cool brah-- that really felt like a low blow. Just nasty.

Donnie + Krystal: awesome.

I can't believe that S, the most suspicious person on the planet, actually suggested that it could be a coincidence that Adele used Genexxion.

I hope Kendall tells them all to fuck off next week.

[whiporee]

I don't know whether Adele is Felix's bother, but I'm sure there's more to Felix than we've seen. After all the shenanigans that got Sarah placed with S, it's hard to believe that he was just a randomly placed foster kid. Whatever the bigger picture is, Adele's a part of it. 

[godonlyknows]

I think there's got to be more to Adele - I doubt the plotline exists just to give Felix something to do.

Loved everything Cosima/Donnie/Krystal. Also Alison's plan of doing "Sarah stuff".

Is Susan Duncan still going by Susan Duncan? Surely if you faked your death you'd be a little more discreet.

[placate]

On 5/13/2016 at 11:06 PM, ottoDbusdriver said:

ETA: What is BP syndrome that the doctor indicated that the newborn had.

What is BP syndrome?  Maybe I misheard but I thought they were talking about the mother having braxton hicks contractions?

[thuganomics85]

Krystal!!  I am so glad they brought her back!  She continues to be delightful, and probably my personal choice for hottest clone, which sounds a bit strange since they're all obviously played by Tatiana Maslany.  But I certainly enjoyed the opening scene of her practicing her fighting skills.  Part of me wants her to join Clone Club and interact with everyone else, but another part of me kind of loves the idea of her being on the out, but somehow keep getting involved with whatever is going on, and the rest of the Clones having to work around her and whatever craziness she accidentally brings.  And I loved that they paired her with Donnie.  I wish we got more of that.  Donnie continues to be hilarious going undercover and Kristian Bruun continues to surprisingly be the non-Maslany MVP of this show for the me.  Never would have predicted that in season one.

That said, while it was all fun and games, I did find Krystal's reaction to Ira to be a good dramatic moment.  She clearly is not over what happened to her, and that would have to be a shocking thing to see.  I mean, it's bad for everyone on this show, but the rest of the Clones have at least accepted and know they are in for some crazy shit.  Krystal really doesn't know what is going on, and it has to make things scarier for her.

Cosmia, I love you, but you really aren't very good at the undercover thing.  But at least she got to find more info, and it sounds like Evie and Susan are basically trying to create the perfect human being still, but doing so is causing a lot of bad side effects and failed experiments, like that one poor baby that was really disturbing to see.  Yikes!  I still don't know half of the science of this, but I continue to find this storyline more compelling then last season.

For the most part, Sarah continues to be bullheaded and rude, but I was totally on her side about Felix bringing Adele to the safehouse, because even if Felix thought Sarah was being mean to Adele, he still shouldn't be bringing someone he just met to a house that no one isn't suppose to know, outside of a select few.  It just felt like he was doing that to spite Sarah, which is kind of petty and immature in his own right.  Really, only Mrs. S. and even Kira were the only ones that came out looking good over here.  And I suspect something is up with Adele, even if she is Felix's sister. But I'm also in the group wondering if Scott actually said she isn't, but Sarah is hiding it for some reason.  This still is my least favorite plot so far, but I have to think there will be a reason for all of this.

Alison and Sarah's phone conversation was great.  It's always fun when those two but heads.

Shady, neolution cop is now basically threatening Art and his family.  Although, I loved Art's reaction when he found out about Alison and Donnie's adventures with drug dealing out of a soap shop.  Oh, Art.  You really don't know half of the insanity that goes around here!

Susan and Ira, huh?  That's..... something.
 

[whiporee]

6 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I was totally on her side about Felix bringing Adele to the safehouse,

I was, too, until I remembered that she's the one who invited Felix and Adele to dinner with S. Kind of takes away her ability to be peeved when Felix was just doing what she said to do. 

[possibilities]

Where was Kendall, anyway? We haven't seen her in a while.

I thought Felix bringing Adele to the safe house was reckless to the point of sabotage. Even if she's totally innocent, that was not his call to make, and he knows what the stakes are, so it's hard to forgive. Rudeness is bad, but endangering the lives of all four fugitives, including the completely innocent Kira, is just beyond the pale.

And even if Adele is his sister and not involved in any kind of conspiracy (which I doubt), she would not necessarily understand the full weight of the situation and be able to be trusted to protect the family-- even if she wanted to, she's not properly prepared. It's actually protective of her, not only S, Kendall, Sarah, and Kira, to not give her that kind of responsibility so soon.

I had not realized no one knew about the drugs and murders under Allison's and Donnie's roof-- Sarah may have been a grifter, but her crimes seem mild compared to all of that.

I don't think Sarah did invite Adele to the safe house. I think Felix was being saracastic when he thanked her. When S calls the two of them into a private meeting, she scolds Felix for bringing Adele, saying he had promised not to do that. And why would Sarah invite her? She clearly didn't want her there. I think she would have preferred to reveal the DNA results to Felix in private, not tip her hand to Adele directly.

[netlyon2]

11 hours ago, rubyred said:

Meanwhile Cosima continues to blithely think she's good at undercover (she's not, AGAIN) and Alison compartmentalizes so much the other clones aren't even aware of all the OTHER fronts on which she's made them vulnerable.

 

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Cosmia, I love you, but you really aren't very good at the undercover thing.  But at least she got to find more info, and it sounds like Evie and Susan are basically trying to create the perfect human being still, but doing so is causing a lot of bad side effects and failed experiments, like that one poor baby that was really disturbing to see.  Yikes!  I still don't know half of the science of this, but I continue to find this storyline more compelling then last season.

Awww, I think Cosima did pretty well during the undercover gig, especially since she didn't even have much time to prep!  They couldn't have known that Evie would be there, but Cos managed to get through that part undetected.  It was Krystal whom Evie spotted and who led to the clone-alert.  They didn't even know Susan Duncan was alive, let alone on site, so I can't fault Cosima for not recognizing her at the pool.  She even had a "Leverage" moment and lifted Susan's access card so she could snoop around the restricted areas.  She does lose some points for not noticing the name on the pass, but she gets them back for the smooth costume change in the linen closet.  Then, she manages to photograph some data, pass through the experimental/poor women section, easily blend into the delivery room when compelled to, and actually witness/assist in the birth of that poor baby.  Again, the only reason Susan and Evie even knew she was there was Krystal's (completely unpredictable) presence as well.  Not a bad day's work, especially for someone who's been too sick to leave the lab (too bad she got nabbed at the end of it).

Other notes:

- I must give credit to Donnie, too (and Kristian Bruun, who's awesome).  Given the Hendrixes previous storyline isolation and possibly Alison's tendency to compartmentalize, he was completely in the dark about Krystal, but still managed to get information from her under really disorienting circumstances.  Ultimately, I think his own niceness--combined with Krystal's completely understandable paranoia--led to his own undoing; it's hard to meet a new clone who is naive and not want to bring her into the circle, particularly when she is as vulnerable and as close to the truth as Krystal is.  We saw Felix have the same impulse last season, but he's much more of a realist than Mr. Hendrix.  Hmmm, I wonder if Donnie is going to get out of Brightborn or if Cosima's capture will lead to his as well.

- Interesting that Susan Duncan is still trying to interfere as little as possible, even with a self-aware and dangerous clone like Cosima, to maintain the integrity of the unethical scientific experiment.  I wonder how close Krystal would have to get before Duncan would take action; I mean, they let her go at the end of the episode!

- Sarah continues to be the worst (sorry rubyred!).  It's funny (ironic, not funny ha-ha) to see how she's flipping out about Adele when I think Alison replaced her as Felix's close sister ages ago.  

- On a related note, Krystal appears to be just as much of a bloody wrecking ball as Sarah, just not in the same way.  Between her recklessness and self-absorption, Sarah trashes things in her personal life and in the clone stuff, while Krystal is just messing up the clone stuff due to her lack of knowledge and tendency to overshare.

Edited May 14, 2016 by netlyon2

[rubyred]

I love how each clone brings out different protective instincts! I see what you're saying, netlyon2, but I can't co-sign that Alison has replaced Sarah with Felix simply because Alison can't hurt Felix the way Sarah can. That sibling bond is deep and as complicated as any bio-bond. Alison and Felix are great together, but they don't have the memories of a shared childhood. This nasty rift between Sarah and Felix highlights one of the basic questions of the show, who is your family? And IMO the way it's being depicted is pretty authentic to each of their characters: Felix feels just as threatened by Sarah's bio siblings as she is by his, and neither of them are mature enough to deal with it constructively. It actually kind of weirds me out that S is being so Carole Brady about it all.

Cosima managed to bumble through this time, mostly through luck and contrivance. She definitely should have looked at the security pass. And she would have known that Susan Duncan is alive, because Sarah (and Ferdinand, and I think S) learned it at the same time, and there would have been no reason to hide that info from Cos. She was definitely a good choice to send in there simply because she understands the science, but sending in ANY clone was a high risk endeavor, and ostentatiously averting her eyes every time Evie Cho glanced in her general direction was not great undercovering.

Krystal, of course, was a glorious spoiler for it all. Oh god, the look on Donnie's face when Krystal pushed herself up to him and that baby; I had to pause the TV and lmao. I just realized I pause a LOT of Donnie's scenes, starting with when he shot Leekie.

The one thing that worries me about this show is that however much I root for them, I don't see how the Clones are going to win in the end. They simply don't have the resources of Neo/Dyad/TheMilitary/NextBigBad. Every time they scrape together some leverage they're forced to give it up.

I'm kind of surprised at how much I miss Helena already. Shakira wig and pink eyeshadow aside, there's something Maslany does behind her eyes that's uniquely Helena, and I love her monotone, accent, and fractured English.

[snarktini]

11 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Krystal!!  I am so glad they brought her back!  She continues to be delightful, and probably my personal choice for hottest clone, which sounds a bit strange since they're all obviously played by Tatiana Maslany.

Not strange. They all have the same genetic beauty, but Krystal's appeal is in the attitude. Sarah is hot in a badass way. Cosima in a mellow way. Allison and Helena? A lot less hot! To me, Krystal is the only one so far who is intentionally, overtly sexy in her presentation. She takes pride in her hotness and leads with it, wanting to be seen. She engages in a very open, unguarded way that is appealing and different from most of our clones. Versus, say, Allison: She, like Krystal, works out hard and takes pride in her appearance, but typically presents herself in a closed-off, un-sexy way to the outside world. 

Again, all the awards to Tatiana.

[Cyranetta]

The title of the ep, "Human Raw Material," worked on several levels.

The most obvious is at the cellular/DNA level, and the dangerous possibilities of considering that as raw material.

The next level is how children can be used as "raw material," for good or for ill (and Susan Duncan's raising of Ira falls definitely on the "ill" side). Mrs. S' raising of Sarah and Felix, and Sarah's raising of Kira (with the assist first of Mrs. S and now of the sestras) is so far more benign, but the concept of children as raw materials goes straight to the  nurture/nature debate.

Another level is adults as raw materials for social constructs like businesses and governments. Art's experiences with the Clone Club are shaping him in a different way so fitting into the strictures of the police force is more of a challenge.

[Ravenya003]

On 14/05/2016 at 5:18 PM, rubyred said:

I still don't care how "rude" Sarah is. She will always be my MVP because girl is IN THE SHIT ALL THE TIME. She has always been on the front line, in the most physical danger of all the clones (second place goes to Helena). She fucks up, she gets angry, she's a stress-ball with a seriously janky side-braid right now -- and I feel her pain and exhaustion. I don't care if she doesn't apologize, she is constantly risking her life and now has a parasitic worm-thing in her cheek. Meanwhile Cosima continues to blithely think she's good at undercover (she's not, AGAIN) and Alison compartmentalizes so much the other clones aren't even aware of all the OTHER fronts on which she's made them vulnerable.

I totally agree. She may be behaving badly, but also totally realistically given the circumstances. And if she was being kind and gracious and endlessly patient, we'd all be calling her a Mary Sue. Female characters just can't win. 

(Plus I think Felix was totally out of line bringing Adele to the safe house - he knew the dinner invitation was extended to him only, and I'm glad Mrs S called him out on it). 

I loved seeing Krystal again (it's totally Krystal-with-a-K) though I feel desperately sorry for her. I hope they eventually bring her into the clone club, even if it's right at the end.

Seeing the interior workings of Brightborn was fascinating, as this was very much the kind of facility that Amelia would have escaped just before she gave birth to Sarah and Helena. 

Evie Cho said something highly interesting in her conversation with Susan: "the last time a perceptive clone started poking around my side of things - it did not end well." Clearly it's a reference to Beth, leading me to wonder how involved she truly was. We know Beth went somewhere with a wig and a gun and came back with blood on her hands just before she committed suicide. Does it have something to do with the scar on Evie's cheek? Because I definitely don't recall that in the Beth flashback episode OR the Brightborn DVD. 

[MissLucas]

Mrs S should have kicked Felix's bony a** from here til Sunday for exposing the safe house. Her just playing along was OOC for me.

I really liked that amid all the chaos surrounding her Sarah decided that Kira was in desperate need of some mom-time. So all her acting out in recent episodes did not go unnoticed. And I was impressed how Sarah tried to get to the bottom of if it - gently prodding, even suggesting that Kira talk to S about it if she did not want to talk to her but never letting go. We rarely get to see Sarah's soft side so that was a nice change of pace. It was about high time someone learned about Kira's psychics abilities. Someone mentioned the other week that so far only Cosima could have picked up on that but Cosima being Cosima (i.e. a rational scientist) she overlooked the clues.

And thanks show for making me google meconium - it's apparently not enough that Call the Midwife gives me weekly obstetric creeps.

ETA: Kudos to the props team. I adored the screenshot of the organizational chart Alison had created of all the evil corporations. White-pink stripes in the background and beautiful little vignettes for each corporation complete with their corporate font and logo. A true masterpiece of digital scrap-booking.

Edited May 15, 2016 by MissLucas

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Mrs S should have kicked Felix's bony a** from here til Sunday for exposing the safe house.

I was ready to do it.

6 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

And thanks show for making me google meconium - it's apparently not enough that Call the Midwife gives me weekly obstetric creeps.

Ah, yes. Meconium. The reason 37 years ago I had an emergency C-section without anesthesia in a small town hospital without either an anesthesiologist or a fetal heart monitor. My baby was totally healthy, but IIRC, in this episode, it was mentioned as a sign of fetal distress, perhaps implying that the seriously deformed baby would not survive another episode.

[MissLucas]

22 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Ah, yes. Meconium. The reason 37 years ago I had an emergency C-section without anesthesia in a small town hospital without either an anesthesiologist or a fetal heart monitor.

Eeekk! Glad you both made it out of that okay!