INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

‘Orphan Black’ Season 4 Premiere: Episode 1 Goes Back In Order To Move Forward

By Rachel Tsoumbakos
Published on: 09:26 PST, Apr 15, 2016

Season 4 of Orphan Black premiered on Thursday night with a bit of a twist. For some fans it was confusing, for others it was an interesting way to introduce the latest clone.

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information about Season 4 of BBC America’s Orphan Black. Please proceed with caution if you wish to avoid spoilers.

Episode 1 of the Season 4 premiere started with a phone call to what many fans thought was Sarah (Tatiana Maslany). But within a few seconds, it became apparent it was Beth, the clone fans saw in the very first episode of Orphan Black as she jumped in front of a train and started the whole ball rolling.

BBC America took a very interesting turn with the first episode. As had been previously hinted at, Season 4 would go right back to the very start. But Episode 1 literally went back to the start. Actually, it went even further than that, as it took Orphan Black fans back a short time before the beginning to show just how unbalanced Beth was becoming and what led to her accidental shooting of a civilian.

Tatiana Maslany stars as Mika K in episode 1 of the season 4 premiere of BBC America's Orphan Black
[Image via BBC America]
In addition to the backstory, BBC American also managed to move the story forward with the introduction of a new clone called M.K., or Mika, as Beth called her. Mika seems to have an awful lot of information for a clone that is hiding out in a trailer. But it is this information that leads Beth to find out about the implants that look like worms fans got a glimpse of in the Season 3 finale of Orphan Black. And it was this information that led to an unbalanced Beth shooting Maggie Chen, a woman who at first looked like a civilian but turned out to have links to both the Proletheans and the Dyad Institute.

Just when fans had settled fully into Beth’s backstory, Orphan Black threw another curve ball at them. Another phone call, this time to Sarah, and fans are thrust back into the Season 3 finale storyline. Sarah is still in Iceland, but not for long as Mika is the clone on the other end of the phone line and she warns of an imminent Neolution attack. Once again, Mika seems to know more than she should, and the episode ends with Sarah deciding whether to trust this new clone or not.

Tatiana Maslany stars as Beth Childs in episode 1 of the season 4 premiere of BBC America's Orphan Black
[Image via BBC America]
But what did Orphan Black fans think of Episode 1? It was a mixed bag. Many loved going back to the episode that started it all. Others were not so impressed that Orphan Black had looked to the past rather than moving forward considering just how many unanswered questions were left hanging after the Season 3 finale.

While it would have been nice to find out the fate of Delphine (Évelyne Brochu), some fans suspect she was there in the episode, just not in the way that would have sorted out whether she lived or died beyond the Season 3 finale.

What did you think of the Season 4 premiere of Orphan Black? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

Season 4 of Orphan Black returns to BBC America with Episode 2, entitled “Transgressive Border Crossing,” on Thursday, April 21 at 10 p.m./9 p.m. Central.

The official synopsis for Episode 2, “Transgressive Border Crossing,” is as follows.

“After evading a Neolution attack in Iceland, Sarah returns home to track down an elusive new ally. She follows breadcrumbs and uncovers the next facet of Neolution’s agenda – implanting dangerous technological devices in humans. However, those she left behind are wary about her return, not wanting to relinquish their semblance of normalcy. As Cosima struggles with Delphine’s disappearance, Alison and Donnie host a pregnant and ever-hungry Helena. Meanwhile Felix, feeling like an outsider, embarks on his own journey of self-discovery.”

[Image via BBC America]

Share this article: ‘Orphan Black’ Season 4 Premiere: Episode 1 Goes Back In Order To Move Forward
More from Inquisitr