Orphan Black: The Next Chapter - Episode 1, Part 1 Recap

Orphan Black: The Next ChapterLast Thursday, Serial Box released the first part of the first episode of their new audio book series Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, narrated by Tatiana Maslany, which you can read my review of here if you haven’t.

Tomorrow, when part two is released, I will be posting about that part of episode one, but I decided to write both a review and a recap together. So, I decided that it only made sense to post a recap from part one. Read on below, but please be aware, it’s full of spoilers for part one. Stay tuned for my post-mortem of part two.



In the first part of the episode, we meet Vivi Valdez. She’s an agent who has been tasked with doing surveillance on the Genetic Research Institute of Toronto.

We subsequently learn from another agent she knows named Arun that it isn’t an official investigation, but a favor for a friend from another agency who asked his boss to look into it when the families of some of the agents got sick. They only have circumstantial evidence, but they believe it was some kind of biological incident because of the fact that only the families and no one they came into contact with became ill.

Vivi has hacked GRIT’s security camera feeds and is watching from her phone from an office suite across the street. She already broke into the lab once and stole some classified information as well as planted a bug in the office of Dr. Nathaniel Sturgis, Director of Research.

While listening, a female adjunct professor comes to the office to talk to Sturgis, Dr. Niehaus, who we realize that yes, it is in fact the same Niehaus we know, Cosima.

She is there to talk to him about a job. It sounds more like a recruitment to Vivi, as Sturgis is vague in his explanation of the position, citing an NDA she’d have to sign first. He says, however, that it ties into her areas of interest of genome mapping and gene-based vaccinations.

Cosima comments that she hasn’t published her work on the vaccinations, and the conversation shifts when he mentions her work at DYAD. He says that the position would give her the opportunity to go further with that research, the stuff that’s a little “beyond the cutting edge.” He then comments that of course anything with the potential to help people also has the potential to hurt people, but they still have to try for science, even if it’s terrifying, as she has experience with.

He then insinuates that the science is important because there is some kind of threat, and he tells her to imagine the technology that DYAD was working with but a decade later and what other governments might be doing with it.

Cosima backs out of the offer and tells him that DYAD is not a model to emulate, and leaves, shaken.

Vivi runs outside to get a good look at her when she is on the way out, but when she does, she is shocked: it’s like looking into a mirror. Confused, she rushes away.

On her way home, Cosima gets a call from Sarah that Kira is coming to stay with her. She also mentions she is trying to patch things up with Cal, Kira’s father. Cosima tells her the timing isn’t great because Charlotte, who has been living with Art, is staying with them right now, as she’s been helping her with prep for her chemistry midterm at university. Sarah won’t take no for an answer.

Cosima arrives home and we learn that she has been married to Delphine for over six years. Cosima is about to tell her about the meeting and voice her concerns about Sturgis, but she suddenly realizes it’s their anniversary.

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