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Recap / Orphan Black S 01 E 03 Variation Under Nature

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Clone Club, every Thursday at 8

Rocked by the revelation that she and her fellow “Orphans” are clones, Sarah just wants to get her hands on the money and skip town. But Sarah’s fake detective ruse stretches thin when the cops find the body she buried and assign “Beth” to the case. As Sarah closes in on the killer, the hunter becomes the hunted.


This episode contains examples of:

  • Artistic License – Biology: In this episode, Sarah's fingerprints are a match for Beth's. Just like natural identical siblings, artificial clones don't actually have the same fingerprints (or retinal patterns) as each other in real life.
  • Big Sister Instinct: Sarah slaps Alison for threatening Felix.
    Sarah: You point a gun at my brother again, I will kick the living shit out of you.
  • Body Horror: Poor, poor, Katja...
  • Criminal Doppelgänger:
    • The killer is revealed to be another clone.
    • Technically, Sarah. Her arrest record during her Former Teen Rebel days becomes a plot point this episode, being the main reason why she has to make sure that Katja will not be identified as her DNA will match hers and Beth's.
  • Debut Queue: Mainstays Donnie, Aynsley, and the unnamed as of this episode killer make their first ever appearance.
  • Dramatic Unmask: A variant. The killer is In the Hood, then she puts it down and reveals that she's a Criminal Doppelgänger of Sarah and the others.
  • Former Teen Rebel: Sarah, unsurprisingly. This becomes a plot point, as she has to make sure Katja will not be identified as the latter's DNA will certainly match both hers and Beth's in the system.
  • From Bad to Worse: So Katja was not only just killed unceremoniously, but her corpse was also unrecognizable and badly destroyed thanks to Sarah burying her body in an active rock quarry.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: The killer has a back full of ugly scars.
  • Heel Realization: Sarah stops short of taking her daughter when she sees how happy Kira is living with Mrs. S.
  • Hired to Hunt Yourself: Played with. Sarah, as Beth, is assigned to find out who killed Katja, whom she didn't kill but buried in the previous episode. "Beth" is supposed to be looking for the killer, but Sarah is involved in the crime.
  • Idiot Ball: Sarah buried Katja in an active rock quarry, where it was easy for the police to find. Lampshaded by Sarah herself when she realizes the mistake.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Sarah-as-Beth fends off the killer by sticking her with a rebar.
  • I Shall Taunt You: The killer leaves behind intimidating taunts, calls the police station, and leaves a doll's head resembling the victim at the scene of the crime.
  • Le Parkour: The killer makes use of this while escaping from Sarah-as-Beth.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • Felix after Sarah slaps Alison for pointing a gun at him.
    • When Sarah realizes that the police found Katja's body.
  • Pet the Dog: Art returns the money after he and Sarah encounter the killer.
  • Reckless Gun Usage: Inverted. When Sarah-as-Beth is given Beth's service weapon back, she's too nervous to even load it. Art notices and flips out on her for riding empty.
  • Refused the Call: Sarah just wants to get things over with so she can run away.
  • The Reveal: Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Katja, and Beth are clones. For the matter, so is the killer.
  • Room Full of Crazy: The killer's hideout is a mess and has Biblical quotes written on the wall.
  • Running Gag: The very first time one of the clone sisters uses Sarcastic Confession (see below).
  • Samus Is a Girl: The killer is female.
  • Sarcastic Confession: The very first time this is used in the entire series. After the bartender mistakes Sarah and Cosima as twins, Sarah tells him that they are clones.
  • Trailers Always Spoil: The On the Next of the previous episode blatantly shows The Reveal that Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Katja, and Beth are clones.
  • Training Montage: Sarah has to learn how to shoot a gun in order to continue pretending as Beth.
  • Wham Shot: The killer's Dramatic Unmask.
  • You Will Be Spared: The killer decides at the last minute not to kill Sarah.
    Killer: Not yet. Not Beth.

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