Orphan Black “To Right the Wrongs of Many” Review (5×10)

“I survived you. We survived you. Me and my sisters, together. This is evolution.”

I don’t have much to say about this finale. It’s not that I don’t want to say anything; it’s simply that there isn’t all that much to unpack. This is a crowd pleaser, a thoroughly satisfying series finale that dispatches of its villains in the first third of the episode so that it can focus on the themes that drove the series. The main one? Sisterhood, the bond that never broke through the trials and tribulations these people faced, the connective tissue that transcended mere biology. You could see it shine through in each and every episode, even if Clone Club wasn’t completely intact.

And thus, it’s not surprising when sisterhood shows up again near the end of the episode, and it’s not surprising that it’s at the forefront of such a beautiful, heartwarming scene. When Sarah, Alison, Cosima, and Helena all gather around the flame at the end, it’s very easy to see the love they all share for each other. When Sarah takes a hard look at herself and confesses that she’s still, in a way, the same person she was at the beginning of the series–a very driven and sometimes reckless person who can’t seem to settle down–her sisters immediately speak up. Sarah criticizes herself as a “shite mother”, but then she gets to listen to all of the people she cares about relating to her in a way. She began the series as a strong, independent, and occasionally rash woman, and she ends the series as such. What’s different now is that she is in no way alone. She has her family by her side, and they will never leave her.

I will conclude my coverage of the series by making one last point: when you watch that scene above, you realize yet again that Tatiana Maslany is an absolutely incredible actress who deserves all the praise in the world. I basically mentioned this every week when I wrote about the show, and for good goddamn reason. What she has accomplished over the last five years is like nothing I have ever seen before. She has disappeared into every single role she’s been given, oftentimes in the same scene, sometimes while playing one character pretending to be another. This should be looked back on as a legendary performance, and I hope she has a long and fruitful career ahead of her. None of this is hyperbole, ladies and gentlemen. Tatiana Maslany is the real deal.

So thank you, Tatiana. Thank you, Orphan Black.

GRADE: B+

SEASON GRADE: B/B+

SERIES GRADE: B+

OTHER THOUGHTS:

-As you may have noticed, I haven’t reviewed this show in a while. I covered every episode of seasons two and three–as well as the season four premiere–but I lost the time and motivation to continue from there. Part of the reason was that I simply lost interest in writing about the show, which I felt definitely got weaker as time went on. This is the series finale, though, so I definitely had to return for a brief review. If you read my reviews a few years ago for this show and are still around, I appreciate it.

-Shoutout to the opening credits, which I have always enjoyed.

-I still remember watching that thrilling pilot episode and immediately becoming hooked. Though the series lost steam later on, it always remained a smart, entertaining, and action-packed science fiction show. It engrossed me early on like very few shows have done before, and I will always appreciate it for that.

Photo credit: BBC America, Orphan Black

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