Doctor Who: 9x11: Heaven Sent

As a Saturday evening tv program, Doctor Who tends to be made with the mainstream audience in mind. Yet many writers try to push at the boundaries of what one can do in this time slot.
In the original series this resulted in stories like Warriors Gate, Kinda. In the current series this led to Midnight and now  Heaven Sent with simply only the Doctor and the monstrous Veil being any kind of characters. trapped inside a bizarre castle where the architecture changes around.

Although a little confusing on first watch, the story of Heaven Sent is actually pretty simple. The Doctor is reborn inside a castle prison every generation or so to punch through a diamond wall to the exit on the other side. Once again Steven Moffat uses his interest in loops but does so in a more painful way. The Doctor discusses issues of death just as he discovers evidence of the deaths of his other selves. Everything is just a bit more brutal than usual and the better for it.

Of course, the main event of this episode is getting to see Peter Capaldi carrying the whole episode with many, many monologues. He successfully shows the Doctor at his most raw and vulnerable after the supposed death of Clara. He also shows the Doctor's tiredness when he considers losing.  The Doctor's look of surprise when the wall finally breaks is also a nice touch. I hope that executives at the BBC value having such a great leading man working on the series.

Kudos must also go to the director, Rachael Talalay, for realizing this episode. She succeeds in making the castle feel uneasy and uses a lot of moody lighting.  The moment when the Veil attacks the Doctor is shown to be very painful.Even the visible blood on the wounded Doctor helps to make everything feel more real.

Another factor is the great music score by Murray Gold, which blends a classical orchestra with more modern synthesizer sounds to give the whole castle world a sense of not being quite right.

The episode ends on two important revelations. One is that the Doctor was being sent to Gallifrey. The other is the Doctor making his final confesseion that the much talked about Hybrid is 'Me'. This could refer Ashildir o it could be that the half-human revelation of the TV Movie is being brought back. It is possible he may be mistaken and it may be someone else entirely.

With a Gallifrey story on one side and Clara's supposed death on the other, this episode will probably be overlooked in years to come. That is a shame because it is one of the best episodes that Series9 has produced. Even if the casual audience hated it it is important that the Doctor does these things.

10/10

Doctor Who 9x10: Face the Raven

Secret streets, unseen by the public view are a popular recurring trope in fantasy fiction as seen in the London below of Neverwhere or Diagon Alley of Harry Potter. Doctor Who has always dealt with the fantastic in the mundane, what with the Tardis being an ordinary object hiding a fantastic realm, so it is surprising that it has taken them this long to do this episode. When Clara's old companion, Rigsy summons Clara and the Doctor to Earth to help him with a tattoo that counts down,  it leads the Doctor and Clara to track down one of these trap streets.

The story is divided into three sections. These are the search for the trap street, events within the trap street and the final revelation at the end. The pacing seems a bit off in all of these scenes. The scenes of the Doctor, Clara and Riggsy searching for the trap Street only takes around nine or so minutes of screen time, but somehow it feels like they take forever. There's a nice demonstration of Clara's recklessness when she is hanging out of the Tardis but otherwise it feels like these seuqneces could have been trimmed.

Upon arriving at the trap Street it transpires that the place is a refugee camp run by none other than Ashildir/Me. She reveals that Riggy's tattoo was given the tattoo after supposedly killing a woman. The tattoo is linked to a quantum shade which takes the form of a raven. Again, it's an interesting conceit that reminds audiences of the work of Neil Gaiman. The notion of a refugee camp also nicely harkens back to The Zygon Invasion.

Although the murder mystery is presented as being the main plot, the script doesn't seem particularly interested in it. The Doctor isn't particularly bothered to find the killer and the solution is fairly easily resolved. At least the two faced aliens who can see into time were an interesting creation.

The solution to the murder mystery leads to what  feels like the meat of the episode. Ashildir laid a clever trap. But Clara has taken on Rigsy's tattoo and she becomes the victim of the Raven. Her death is a shocking moment but one can't help feeling that it will be reversed at some point in the next two episodes. The scene is played very well by both Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman but as a genre savvy audience member, it is difficult to feel it.

Ashildir has taken an interesting development in this episode. Having been a young girl, and a villain, now she is becoming like the Doctor, defending a small patch of the planet Earth. However, unlike the Doctor, she has been forced to compromise by making a pact with the unknown individuals who want the Doctor prisoner. I doubt this is the last we'll see of her.

The street itself is well realised, even though this is obviously the budget saving episode and Murray Gold has a particularly good piece of music.

The episode ends with a lot of answered questions. Who were Me's benefactors? How will the Doctor cope without Clara? Is this truly Clara's final death? It  feels like the first part of a three parter. As a result my opinions may change. As it is this episode currently feels a bit middling. With so much hanging on Clara's death, which may or may not be permanent, it may be two weeks before one can judge the episode.

7/10

Doctor Who 9x09: Sleep No More

Mark Gatiss is generally seen to be one of the more traditional writers on Doctor Who. Where others might try and push the format of the show, Gatiss can usually be counted on to deliver straightforward, entertainment that doesn't particularly challenge the viewers. With Sleep No More Gatiss has attempted to produce a story that is both experimental and traditional at the same time. Sadly it doesn't quite work. 

The story sees  a military crew arriving on an abandoned 'Le Verrier' space station and finding monsters created by the mad Professor Rassmausen. In that sense it is a very traditional episode, with a bunch of indeterminable space marines being chased down corridors by monsters. The Space Marines all have one stock character traits. The Captain says 'pet' a lot, Chopra is the political one. Deep Ando is the joker, albeit one who never really makes any jokes and 474 is the slave clone. In the role of 474. The Sandman monsters are generally quite straightforwad. 

The episode is experimental in the sense that it is a 'found footage' episode. The problem with found footage is that there are points where the story is difficult to follow. It also interferes with the Sandman, which are a very fairytale creature. 

The actors are somewhat lost among this found footage experiment. Peter Capaldi is great as ever but Jenna Coleman is stuck playing Clara as a generic companion who gets nothing to do besides falling into a box. In the role of 474, Bethany Black  joins the long cast of wasted guest stars in the show. The mad professor is Rassmussen, the big guest star of the episode, played by Reece Shearsmith. 

The only other thing that I can say is that I liked the Japanese aesthetic, although that doesn't hide the fact that this is a basic base. I think that sums up the episode in a nutshell. An experimental exterior hiding a traditional and extremely hollow interior. Experimental episodes should not be frowned away from, but they need to be better than this. 

5/10

James Bond: GoldenEye (1995)

This day marks twenty years since the US premier of GoldenEye, the first relaunch of the James Bond franchise. After growing up on the James Bond Jr cartoons and seeing the last act of From Russia with Love, watching GoldenEye on video in 1996 was the first time I saw a Bond movie all the way through. Since then I have seen better Bond films and worse Bond films, but this one has always remained a personal favourite. The fact that it spawned one of the best first person shooters ever, 007: GoldenEye for the N64, proves it has a legacy. 

GoldenEye accomplishes the tough task of bringing back Bond for the 90s. On the one hand the film needed to appeal to the old fans but you also want to make seem modern for the younger viewers. GoldenEye manages this with throwbacks to the classic series such as the Aston martin DB5, a Casino Setting, and gorgeous femme fatales. On the other hand, certain elements are brand new, such as the fall of the Soviet Union and the idea of an old friend turning traitor.

The film reflects the changing political climate in its narrative. Bond and Agent 006, Alec Trevelyan, have been sent to Soviet Russia to destroy a Chemical Weapon facility. The mission goes awry and 006 is shot by Colonel Ourumov. After the nifty pre credits sequence, the film shifts to the modern day. Xenia Onatopp and Ourumov steal the GoldenEye satellite for the organisation, Janus. This is a new world and Bond’s sexism is called out by his superiors. Ourumov is now a General, but seems out of place in with the other politicians. The world of espionage has been replaced by the world of computers. What’s more Alec Trevelyan, the dead agent, is alive and behind the while scheme. The black and white world of the Cold War is brought into account.

Pierce Brosnan was, and still is, perfect casting for James Bond. A lot of people see him as a tame choice now when compared to Craig but he is pretty good here. He manages to be callous when facing Trevelyan down on the Ferrier. GoldenEye was originally a Dalton film, but Pierce makes it his own. He is very much the Connery/Moore model of Bonds, an old fashioned man trapped in a world that has changed.

The Bond girl, Russian computer programmed named Natalya Simonova, is well played by Isabella Scorupco. This attractive computer programmer is perhaps less flashy than Wai Lin or Eve Moneypenny, but she still holds her own. She is the one who disarms the GoldenEye weapon and also rescues Bond at the end when she forces Trevelyan’s helicopter to go to Bond’s aid.

The new MI6 team are pretty impressive. Judi Dench was a piece of brilliant casting as M. There were doubts at the time that a woman could play M but they are instantly dispelled by this performance. Samantha Bond is a good choice for a 90s Moneypenny and she stands out more Caroline Bliss managed in the Dalton films. Michael Kitchen is acceptable as Tanner though the character doesn’t really do very much.

Good villains can bring up even the weaker Bond films and fortunately, GoldenEye has four strong villains. The main villain, Alec Trevelyan, is well played by Sean Bean and it’s nice to see Bond facing someone hwo knows him personally. The only fault is that the reference to the Lienz Cossacks makes it feels the character is supposed to have been older. Perhaps a mentor to Bond would have been better than an equal, but you do not care.

The henchmen are a pretty interesting bunch as well. Xenia Onatopp is a memorable, atrractive villain, played well by Famke Janssen . Her ability to kill people by crushing them with their thighs is ridiculous but memorable. Ourumov is understated and well played by Gottfried John. Alan Cumming is good as computer geek Boris Grischenko. He captures the irritating geekiness and certainly stands out more than the bland Henry Gupta from the next film, Tomorrow Never Dies.

With Martin Campbell as director we have Joe Don Baker here and he is much better suited to the role of Jack Wade than the role of Brad Whittaker he played in The Living Daylights. Robbie Coltrane, fresh from Cracker, plays the mob boss Zukovsky pretty well. Overall, the casting is such that I can pretty much remember all of the characters in this film. No-one here is forgettable, unlike some of the bland ciphers that featured in Quantum of Solace.

Martin Campbell does a good job directing this film. This tale is not as gritty as his work on Edge of Darkness, but the photography of this film makes it feels glamorous and distinct. The action sequences are decent, even managing to make a slow moving tank look exciting in a chase.

Eric Serra’s music has been a source of consternation for Bond fans. It feels as though the producers wanted music to appeal to viewers of more contemporary action films. Some fans find that his music is not entirely suitable for Bond, but to be fair, the producers did hire him for his music on Leon. The soundtrack is a mixed bag. The ‘GoldenEye overture piece’ is a good blood pumping action track but ‘Experience of Love’ is terrible. It started out as an unused track from Leon and the lyrics fit that film much better. GoldenEye ends in triumph with Bond settling the score with his old friend turned enemy and putting the past behind him, literally, as he goes off to enjoy some time with Natalya but the ‘Experience of Love’ fails to reflect that. It’s a piece that suits a more downbeat ending. I enjoy Eric Serra’s score for the most part but can see why some people don’t. I only wish that the Bond theme used in the film’s trailer could have been used in the film itself.

Tina Turner’s song is not one of the best Bond themes, but Daniel Kleinman does a great job with the pre-titles. The sequence of naked women smashing Soviet statues reflects the theme of the film perfectly.

Minor niggles include the pointless inclusion of the BMW car and the use of back projection in the plane diving sequence, but these are minor complaints. GoldenEye is definitely one of the better Brosnan films, if not the best. Ironically, the theme of Russia’s weakened political influence is the aspect that has dated most when Vladimir Putin is determined to change things. While later Brosnan films were gifted with the more polished David Arnold music, this film gets the better director.

9/10

Doctor Who 9x08: The Zygon Inversion

Peter Harness' previous story, Kill the Moon featured an action packed opening that became a character piece about choices and their consequences. The Zygon Inversion provides a similar situation. Everyone gathers in the Black Archive to make a choice that can begin or end the war. 

The resolution to last week's cliffhangers are neat, if fairly unimpressive. The Doctor and Osgood escape the exploding plane but we get no hint as to what happened to the other survivors. Kate Stewart's 'five rounds rapid' moment is a nice callback to her father, but it feels like a betrayal of her background of putting science over everything else. I really don't know what the point of the character is. 

The Zygons plan to start a war is advanced this week as Bonnie seeks out the new character, Etoine, 

a Zygon who is happy with staying in hiding. Bonnie reverts Etoine to his normal form. It's a good example of the normal people who become victims of extremist movements. It is hard not to feel sorry for him and his suicide is a sad moment in the episode.  

As Bonnie, the Zygon leader, Jenna gets a lot to do this week. She proves to be a talented actor in making Bonnie feel different to Clara. In the scenes where the two interface minds you don't have to work hard to tell which is which, even with the hair differences. In many ways Jenna is more interesting as Bonnie than as the average companion Clara.

Of course,  the real meat of the story is in the Black Archive. The Osgood box is revealled to be two boxes each one with two buttons that may end or start the war. All of the devices that were mentioned last week such as the Zygon gas are brought back as a means. Bonnie and Kate are brought together to make the decision. It's a nice contrast to the two Kates in Day of the Doctor. Any remaining doubters that Peter Capaldi is one of the best Doctors is proved wrong here. At the beginning of the episode he is amusing as the pun making hero, then we get to his brilliant speech in the Black Archive. He plays it earnestly and imploringly. The Doctor's decision to forgive Bonnie is necessary. If he kills her then she becomes a martyr to the cause. The Doctor's forgiveness allows Bonnie to disarm the movement.

The end result is nicely ambiguous. The Doctor reveals that it has happened fifteen times before. Like any peace it is fragile but nonetheless important to make it work.

Fittingly the episode ends with Bonnie taking on the role of the absent Osgood. Whether or not they are human and Zygon or both Zygon is an interesting mystery but the answer doesn't really matter. They are both Osgood. People must put aside their prejudices. 

Ingrid Oliver continues to play Osgood well. The character may not be companion material, as some have suggested, but she is good in the role. I can't see if there's any point bringing her back beyond this, but she is welcome to do so. 

The episode has a good visual look. The dark red Zygon chamber is good and the drab greyness of the council flats give the piece a feeling of being grounded in reality. This makes it better than most Series 9 episodes which were fairly fanciful. 

After the fairly average Kill the Moon, Peter Harness has proven that he deserves to come back for more episodes. Doctor Who has covered many different genes across its 52 year history, but the general public always seem to favour the alien invasions. The danger of relying on this genre is that it can be xenophobic at times. A lot of Patrick Troughton stories were. Fortunately, the Zygon Invasion is a good reminder of what the Doctor and the show itself, should stand for.  

9/10

Orphan Black 3x10: History Yet to Be Written

Season finales of television shows always have a tendency to throw everything in to up the stakes. History Yet to Be Written is no different.  Now that Sarah and Siobhan have Kendall Malone,  everyone is coming out of the woodwork to get them. This included Castor, Dyad and even the Neolutionists.

Since their debut in Series 1, the Neolutionists have faded into the background while other powers have emerged. Dr Nealon proves to be a particularly vicious member as he attacks Delphine. The reveal of the Neolutionists also brings in some unlikely allies when Ferdinand kills off a Neolutionist spy. It's a somewhat amusing if gory scene.

While Coady searches for Malone, Rudy goes after Alison and has an encounter with Helena. This is a fight worth waiting for. Helena is unsurprisingly the victor, but it is a punishment to Rudy that was well worth coming.

Kendall Malone's capture also allows for some poignant moments, when she and her daughter, Siobhan get to find out more about each other, and understand more details of John Sadler's death.

The episode ends with everyone getting together to dine at Bubbles. It's not quite as memorable as the clone dance of Series 2, but it is fun to see all of the cast, including Donnie and Art, together.

Just as Series 2 ended with a big revelation that male clones existed, Series 3 ends with the revelation that Susan Duncan has survived. Professor Duncan said that she had been killed by neolutionists but it appears that she may have defected to work with them.

Series 3 has the happiest endings. Sarah being reunited with Kira is touching while Helena appears to be getting a better life. However it is tinged with sadness as Delphine tries to set things right before her death. We also know of the looming danger that Susan Duncan may pose.  Series Three has generally been quite good and I look forward to seeing what direction it goes in next time, assuming that BBC3 actually put the next series on soon.

Orphan Black 3x09: Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow

It's always fun to watch how London is portrayed in American tv shows. When Siobhan, Sarah and Felix return to London the usual beer egg and chips and south londoners are all present and correct. After the 'interesting' Irish accent of last year it's not too bad. The return home affords an opportunity to discover the background of Siobhan. Not only do we see her sing but it transpires that her mother, Kendall Malone, is the original Castor and Leda.

Events are also heating up back at Dyad with the revelation that Shay might be a spy. This leads to the brilliant moment when Delphine attempts to kill Shay and then changes her mind when Cosima calls after discovering that Gracie was the traitor. It's good that the writers chose not to go down the predictable route with Shay. Quite how badly this will impact on their relationship remains to be seen. 

The relatively tame sub plot of the Hendrix Family starts to escalate as Pouchy attempts to procure the drugs and ends up taking Helena's frozen eggs. This leads to the hilarious team up of Donnie and Helena. The scene of Helena pretending to be Alison is funny. Ultimately Helena reverts back to her killing ways. 

It's good to see that everyone's sub plot is escalating. Let's hope that everything is tied up nice and neatly in the final episode. 

9/10

Orphan Black 3x08: Ruthless in Purpose and Insidious in Method

It's been a while since viewers have been introduced to a new Leda clone . It's always a fun occasion when Tatiana Maslany gets to play a different character. The new clone in question is Krystal Goderitch, who was briefly introduced in episode one but not given very much detail. In this episode she inadvertently becomes part of a plot by Sarah and Felix to get Rachel out of the hospital in return for translating some of Ethan Duncan's book.

The scenes of Felix talking to Krystal are the best moments of the episode. When we first see Krystal she seems to be a shallow starts out seeming shallow but we see she is cleverer than she looks when she ascertains Felix' painting skills. Felix going to an American accent is funny. Crystal is left out of the clone club. It manages to be quite an affecting moments. Jordan Gavaris is also quite good in portraying Felix' scenes of tricking Crystal well. It's also nice to hear what is probably Jordan's real accent. Sarah is surpisingly more pragmatic.

Another great feature of the episode is that Alison's subplot is finally starting to integrate with the all the other subplots. She not only has to deal with control  of her new store, 'Bubbles', but also Helena, who has been taken in.. It's wonderful when the show mixes characters from different backgrounds. Psychotic Helena with the soccer mum family is brilliant. Helena teaching Alison's daughter how to fight was a hoot. A further complication for Alison is the rivalry between  Donnie and Jason. It boils to the point where Jason beats up Donnie. What the long term consequences will be for their drug business remain to be seen.

Events are also starting to escalate back at the Dyad Institute. Cosima's relationship with Dyad and Delphine is strained not only by  Shay visiting the Institute but also through Cosima's plan to get Rachel out using Scott's gaming group. This plan goes awry when Rachel goes missing.

There are hints of dark things to come when we see that Dr Cody and Castor clone Rudy have survived the explosion at the end of Certain Agony of the Battlefield. They are being advised by  government agent who was deciving Paul and there are suggestions that there is a force which is controlling both Castor and Leda. I'm not a great fan of the wheels behind wheels nature of conspiracy television and I prefer the character based moments of Orphan Black so I am hoping that any future reveal of these hidden force will make matters clearer rather than obscuring them further.

Overall this is a pretty fun and exciting episode. The series is now getting better and better.

9/10

Doctor Who 9x07: The Zygon Invasion

It's been a while since a  Doctor Who story touched on political themes. It happened more frequently in the Barry Letts, Andrew Cartmel and Russell T Davies years but the last time I can remember it happening in the Steven Moffat era was  The Beast Below with reference to the way people vote. Since then, Moffat's era has mostly focused on emotional themes, but with the return of the Zygons, the opportunity of a story of shapeshifters living among us becomes a metaphor for terrorism and radicalization with a Zygon splinter group attempting to create war and fostering paranoia. The appearance of drones and references to bombing made this feel a much more unsettling story. Some prefer the fairytale style of the Matt Smith years but I prefer this harder edge feel.

The Zygons themselves are well realised. While I prefer the more humanoid faces of the originals, the basic costume is the same, if not better than the 1975 versions. The costume is similar to the old one but the concept has been updated to recent times. The idea that they can impersonate people without needing to keep the original alive makes them much more terrifying since they now have no reason to be merciful to their victims. The idea that they can impersonate loved ones proves effectively creepy in the scene with the soldier threatening to shoot his own mother.

Another welcome return is that of Osgood. It's nice that we don't know yet whether she is a Zygon or a human. The notion that this one has grieved for the other one allows Osgood's death to stay while allowing the character to continue on in this story. Ingrid Oliver continues to be likable in the role.

Peter Capaldi continues to prove that he is one of the best actors to inhabit the role of the Doctor. The guitar playing is certainly becoming a thing. The Doctor spends the episode on the sidelines while other characters make decisions. There's still a chance that this will change next week.

Although Clara appeared briefly at the beginning, Jenna Coleman spent the episode playing Clara's Zygon duplicate, known as Bonnie. Jenna did admirably in the role but a downside this meant that the real Clara once again was sidelined as she was kidnapped at the very beginning of the story. It is odd that Clara is being kept apart from the Doctor so much this series and once again I am wondering why the production team kept her on.

The Unit team were okay. Kate Stewart still seems underplayed to the point of dullness. I suppose you could be generous and say that she is quietly tough. Jac was likeable enough to make this viewer feel sad that she was ambushed and killed at the end of the episode.

This episode accomplished the hard task of making a UNIT story exciting. A lot of Series 9 has been playing it safe so it is good to see an episode that is not. This series seems to have a running trend of second episodes not being as good as the first so I hope this one proves that wrong.

9/10

Orphan Black 3x07: Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate

After two weeks of military base action it's nice to have a change of pace with an Alison centric episode. What should be a simple day of making her speech for School trustee becomes a farce where she has to free Donnie, give Cosima a urine sample and deal with her mother who refuses to hand over control of the 'Bubbles' store. In the process, Felix helps out and Cosima gets to be Alison.

Felix is often at his best when he is working with Sarah. This time has has to be in an organizational role. Jordan Gavaris plays the comedy scenes far better than the darker scenes that he was playing last week.

A lot of the funniest scenes revolve around Donnie Hendrix. The actor who plays Donnie is really good at comedy scenes, an unsung hero of the series. He spends most of the episode in the hands of Pouchie and his dry witty responses keep the episode alive. The contrast between white middle class Donnie and the Spanish, no nonsense drug dealers is as amusing as one would expect.

With the focus on Alison, Sarah and Helena are stuck in a Mexican bar, giving the characters a break from any plot heavy duties. Mrs. S arrives and has a violent reconciliation with Helena. It's nice that they wrapped this up early as an ongoing feud between Helena and Mrs. S would have quickly become tedious to watch.

The plot is also more Dyad focused this week. Delphine is back and determined to force Cosima to get a urine sample. At the same time, we get some more comedy scenes of Scott teaching Rachel how to play a farming board game. Rachel knows the codes and  she will only tell Sarah.

Ultimately everything works out for Alison, bit with the added complication that Jason Kellerman kissed Cosima when she was posed as Alison. We also have the promise of a Rachel and Sarah encounter to come.

Orphan Black is often  better when its focusing more on character interaction and less on a the twisting, turning conspiracy. This is one of the more character based episodes and therefore stronger.

Orphan Black: Certain Agony of the Battlefield

Back in Series One, Beth Childs was quite an important character. Her suicide was what led Sarah Manning into the whole clone conspiracy in the first place, and Beth's relationships with Art and Paul were the focus of many of those early episodes. As the series has progressed, Beth has gradually faded into the background as other clones have appeared and taken the limelight. This episode sees her return as one of Sarah's dreams. It's nice to see her back, and it also ties in with Sarah's relationship with Paul. 

Paul's loyalty to the Castor project takes a turn here when he finds that Dr Cody is transferring Castor blood into Sarah. As a result, he becomes the driving force in this episode, taking over the military base, arresting Dr Cody and discovering the conspiracy to use the Castor pathogen to create a weapon. Things take a turn for him when Rudy returns to the base and Paul is wounded. His final action is to sacrifices himself. It's nice to see evidence that Paul liked Sarah and that his heart was at least in part in the right place. The character may not have been the most likable but his death is still somewhat touching. 

Assisting Paul is the castor clone, Mark. It was amusing how the writers covered up the possible inconsistency with the second series. Just as Paul feels for Sarah, Mark's discovery about the sexually transmitted defect makes him feel bad about Gracie. He is easily the most likable of the clones and will hopefully not be killed off too soon.

Int he midst of all this action Sarah starts to feel dragged down by the clone conspiracy. This is really Paul's episode and Sarah is rescued by him and has little agency. At the end she is rescued by a guilty Helena. But this is allowed for once since she is usually so active.

Helena only appears in a couple of scenes in this episode. Pupok, the embodiment of her self preservation, tells her to move on. Her eating Pupok is symbolic of the fact that she is getting rid of her selfish side.

Back in America, Felix goes to Rachel to find out more about Castor. The scene of Felix trying to interrogate Rachel is not a particularly convincing since Jordan Gavaris can’t quite make Felix seem menacing. Scott, manages to be more observant and discover that the symbols are similar tot he ones on the book. Rachel evidently knows more about the Doctor Moreau situation.

Things get a bit more complex for Cosima when Delphine returns. Shae seems nice but seems to know Sarah's name. She claims this is sleepwalking but knowing how Orphan Black works it's probably a sign that she's a spy. It still seems all too obvious and I'm hoping there's a twist that Shae is *not* a spy.

Alison and Donnie make a reappearance this week, although this plot is continuing to move at a very slow pace. Alison wants to expand operations so she hatches a scheme with Donnie and Jason to get hold of her mother's store. We get more hints that Alison and Jason are getting closer. It's still the weak link in this series though. Alison and Donnie do get one of the best scenes in the episode when they do their money dance.

With Paul dead and the military base blown to pieces, Sarah and Helena's plot may be put on hold for a while. With Delphine back the story may be focusing on the Leda side of things again. That will be good. 

8/10