Cosima unlocks the code
Topsides experiments
Sarah is whisked away from Dyad by a mysterious woman called Marion who has been working with Mrs. S the whole time. Claiming to be the head of Topside, a larger umbrella corporation which presides over Dyad, she takes Sarah to meet a young girl named Charlotte. Shes the only living survivor of over 400 post-LEDA experiments attempting to replicate what Ethan Duncan did with the original clones.
Basically, this little nine-year old is another clone. A mini-clone, if you will.
Faction of two
From what has been revealed so far, we know that Project LEDA was shut down way back in Duncans heyday and the remainder of the experiment was carried out by the Dyad Institute, under the irresponsible eye of Leekie.
As we should come to expect from the show, thats not the case. Marion tells Sarah that the initiative was split in two; Dyads group of clones and another batch which were absorbed by the military.
Project CASTOR
Named Project CASTOR the second batch of clones were are all male, were raised to be self-aware (they know they're clones) and were trained to be military soldiers. As Sarah is led down into the basement of Topside, she walks along a dreary corridor filled with cubicles of identical warriors until one of them brings his face to the glass....
... and he looks exactly the same as Prolethean Mark.
New directions, new angles
With a cliffhanger as jaw-droppingly, pant-wettingly brilliant as the Project CASTOR revelation, where can the show go next? Fawcett spoke out ahead of the season 3 premiere to clue fans in to the upcoming storylines. If you thought there was nowhere else to take the batshit crazy world of Orphan Black, think again.
Season 3 is deepening the mystery, Fawcett told EW last month. Certainly its solving big clues to outstanding mysteries. We get a lot of answers this season. But the show goes in a very different direction than it has previously, and by the end of season 3 we end in a place that were all really excited about. We have a very, very big ending to this season, so were excited about that. A lot of answers. And a lot of new questions.
I think its no surprise that we are dealing with male clones this year, so by its very nature thats a very new angle for us. Theres a kind of military angle to season 3 and so thats exciting. The show goes yet in another direction that hopefully people will go with and be excited about, and we make a bunch of turns they wont see coming.
Season 3 premiere
So there you have it. By now you should be fully up-to-date on all the major happenings leading into Orphan Black season 3. If youre still eager for more on the upcoming episodes, check out the teaser trailer and pick up the latest issue of SFX which includes a brand new exclusive feature about the upcoming season.
Orphan Black returns to BBC America on Saturday April 18. A BBC Three airing is expected to follow shortly after in the UK.
