We open on Mrs. S, sitting in her chair, looking at her family, protecting the ones she loves the most.

Sarah and Kira are sleeping, but it’s no matter, because Siobhan is on the lookout.

At DYAD, Rachel is crawling around in the mess she made from PLUCKING OUT HER OWN EYEBALL and is losing a lot of blood and fast, and she makes it to the elevator, but there’s a person inside. She doesn’t know if it’s friend or foe (is there a difference when you’re Rachel Duncan?) and knowing the answer isn’t an answer because it’s Ferdinand. But, she’s alive and her eye is sewn up and I guess it’s fine for now even though he is the literal scum of the earth.

When Sarah wakes up she freaks a little but S assures her she has everything under control. Sarah kisses her mum on the head, and Mrs. S looks weighed down by the secrets she keeps.

Mama, I looove you, Mama, my friiiiend.

S tells Sarah to get Kira ready because they have guests coming over. It’s Charlotte! Kira finally met her Auntie Charlotte who is her age! It’s very cute and they’re going to continue to be cute and safe at Art’s ex’s house with his daughter. All’s quiet on the clone front, which stresses Sarah out to no end, but Art says probably it’s just because Rachel is the one in the crosshairs now after letting Kira escape.

And! Down the Rabbit Hole, where I guess Cosima lives now, acting like this isn’t the biggest deal in the world, are Cosima and Delphine, just sitting around, drinking tea and chatting about Jane Eyre.

I saw this in a fever dream once.

It’s the actual cutest thing. Our girls are finally together again without a man waiting nearby to tear them apart. But they can’t totally relax into each other just yet. Delphine is stressed because they’re running out of time before the DNA is collected from innocent people for nefarious science reasons, and besides, they have a Skype date with Mrs. S in a few minutes.

Feels. overload. send. help.

Sarah is still a ball of nervous energy, pacing back and forth and demanding to know how Mrs. S can just sit there all calm and collected when the SKY IS FALLING. But one of Mrs. S’s secrets is about to be revealed… Felix is home!

“There are two fucking episodes of this show left you better not go anywhere ever again.”

Adele is, too. And frankly it wasn’t THAT much of a secret because Felix has an art opening tonight and Sarah plumb forgot. When they get on the call with Cosima and Delphine,

THIS IS ALL I’VE EVER WANTED

Cosima wonders aloud if an art opening is such a good idea, and Sarah agrees, but S and Felix think this is exactly what they need. His sestras can’t all show up though because that would be too wackadoodle even for him. So Alison will help set up, Sarah will attend, and Cosima can swing by after.

Mrs. S looks at all her stressed little chickens and tells them to stand down, just for today. It’s the eye of the storm, there’s nothing for them to do right now, and they’ve earned a night off.

So Cosima and Delphine are in.

I’d watch a spinoff series called Cophine Smiles that was just about these two being happy.

Sarah, on the other hand, doesn’t even remember what relaxing feels like.

Meanwhile, in the convent, Gracie is making her bed on Helena’s floor. Her story was that Mark died and she had nowhere else to go, no family left. Helena is suspicious at first…

“You say you are sad but you are not eating chocolate.”

…and gives her a good scare, waving around a butter knife like she hasn’t killed a man with less, but eventually she takes Gracie’s hand and puts it on her belly, telling her she does still have family.

So, the art show is going to happen in Felix’s loft, which has been painted white for the occasion, and cleared out of the bed and couch and everything. It’s pretty amazing, and honestly probably closer to what the loft was meant to be used for anyway. Donnie and Alison are helping set up, and Donnie literally doesn’t know what to do with himself without Alison telling him what to do — but we do see a little of our old Ali come through when she asks Donnie if that’s what he’s wearing which is a thing my mother used to say to me all the time (along with “are you going to brush your hair?” even though I ALREADY BRUSHED MY HAIR, MOTHER) and so it gave me an eye twitch.

Alison’s old and new selves come through at the SAME time when she tells Felix she wants to play the keyboard for his show.

You can change a girl’s hair but you can’t change her INTENSITY ABOUT EVERYTHING.

Felix says thanks but no thanks and also she should skedaddle before people start showing up.

At Mrs. S’s house, Siobhan is pouring Adele some whiskey and still trying to get Sarah to calm down, but Sarah doesn’t understand why everyone else is totally fine with taking the night off when they literally JUST saved her daughter from becoming a mother to thousands of clone children. Mrs. S all but grabs her by the sides of her head and says that she hasn’t forgotten all the danger they’re in, but this if Felix’s night, so why doesn’t she just play the big sister and watch over him tonight.

Also in the running for Best Sestra is Cosima, who has created 144 doses of the cure, and is on track to make at least twice that, ready to inoculate all of her LEDA siblings. Scott points out that they don’t even know exactly how many there are, or who they are, but Cosima won’t let a little thing like that stop her from at least trying.

Delphine has an errand to run, and will meet them at the art opening, so she blows Cosima a kiss and is on her way. Cosima explains to Scott that they have a new policy where Cosima doesn’t pry into Delphine’s goings-on so that Delphine doesn’t have to lie to her. It’s…a choice.

“I don’t need to know where you are, it’s not like our lives are constantly in danger or anything.”

Actually, I joke, but it’s a measured decision based on trust. Delphine promised everything she does, she does for Cosima and her family, and Cosima trusts that’s true, and understands she can’t know everything just yet.

So Delphine goes and meets up with Mrs. S, looking beautiful as can be because the spy life looks good on her.

And it was all yellow.

Delphine really truly wants to tell everyone, but Mrs. S is sure the sestras would just get in their way or try to stop them if they knew what they were up to — or worse, lose faith that they’re all on the same side.

And her concerns are valid because the person they’re here to see is Ferdinand. Well, Rachel, but via Ferdinand. Which Delphine HATES. He brutally murdered MK, among other things, and she hates that this is the best course of action, but she’ll play along, to end this.

Mrs. S tells Rachel that they have enough evidence to take Neolution down, but they just need more solid proof to back it up. Mrs. S asks to talk to Rachel alone and explains what Neolution’s real plan is: The 1% will get genetic perfection, while everyone deemed imperfect will be forcibly sterilized. It’s like backwards Handmaid’s Tale but just as creepy. Mrs. S says that since Rachel saved Kira, she knows she’s not as pure evil as she was raised, and there might be some humanity left in her after all, so she wanted to give Rachel the chance to fight her nurture and let nature win. To choose to help.

They don’t have much to offer in return, except the one thing no one has truly been willing or able to give Rachel yet: freedom.

Felix’s art show is going well and there’s an important art dude there, and Alison has the idea that he should use the sestras to his advantage, so he does just that. He starts by presenting Alison to the crowd as Hestia, the goddess of hearth and home. She even does the lil face pose like she’s doing in her painting, and it’s a big hit. It’s an even bigger hit when Felix swaps Alison out for Cosima, introducing her as Metis goddess of wisdom and deep thought.

Goddess, indeed.

She dances, stomping all over an image of Rachel on the floor, and moving her body in that very Cosima way. As someone who spent many years in dance classes and at school dances trying to make my body mimic others’ and only sometimes succeeding, sometimes it’s the extreme differences in the way the clones’ ENTIRE BODIES move, even/especially when dancing, that reminds me, always, again, that Tatiana Maslany is extraordinary beyond measure.

Sarah is STILL pacing around home base, stressing at Adele, who is the only person left to listen. Adele has finally heard enough and snaps at her; Felix spent their entire trip working for her, thinking of her, painting her. And now it’s his big night and she still can’t take a minute to focus on him. Adele tries to ease some of her nerves by saying while they were abroad, Delphine only did what Mrs. S said, and the only thing she’s not completely clear on is that one phone call with a dude named…Frederico? Ferngully? Ferdinand.

Sarah’s eyes bug out, feeling justified in her paranoia: Ferdinand killed her sister. Adele has that classic foot-in-mouth face and goes back to her hush puppies.

Back in her new room, Rachel is showing Ferdinand the missing pieces of info S is after. Ferdinand’s eyes turn into dollar signs like a cartoon villain while Rachel waxes poetic about freedom. After all, Rachel doesn’t owe anyone anything. Not anymore.

Rachel tells Ferdinand that she has a nest egg they can use; they can run away and leave all this behind. But Ferdinand mocks her dream and says they should sell the info instead, be filthy rich. Rachel knows then, if she didn’t already, what he’s about. He doesn’t care about her freedom at all; and why would he? He’s never been not free. He literally stomped a girl to death and faced no consequences. Rachel gives over the USB, but there’s a light out in her eyes that used to be there when she looked at him. He thanks her by saying, “Who’s your daddy?” in the creepiest creep voice he can creepily muster.

At the art show, Felix takes a deep breath and asks Delphine why Sarah is texting him furiously about Delphine and Mrs. S being up to something, and Delphine answers, “Maybe we are,” and that’s enough for Felix. She takes a shot with Felix and Donnie and then Cosima pulls her away to dance and it’s all so beautiful and happy and normal and actually kind of reminded me of the Orphan Black afterparty I went to that one time and it’s such a brief moment but it filled me up with so much joy.

Delphine and Cosima are looking at Cosima’s painting, excited to be doing yet another relatively normal thing together.

IT’S TOO MUCH

And soon they can be like this forever! Remember that one time I said Delphine and Cosima were finally able to be together without a man coming to separate them? Well that was just in the bunker, they’re not safe from that here, because Cosima is pulled away now by Felix because it’s cloneswap time again. Cosima is bummed but she tells Felix he’s one of the good ones. Also Delphine buys the painting of Cosima, and Cosima jokes she owns her, and Delphine answers simply, “You’re mine.”

AND I’M YOURS, COPHINE

So Cosima is ushered out and Sarah is ushered in. Felix isn’t even listen to her ranting about Ferdinand, he’s just shuffling her into the room and introducing her as Artemis, goddess of war.

Meanwhile at home base, Mrs. S is putting a bouquet of roses together for Felix, assembling her guns, writing a letter, and crying. It’s all very ominous and I hate it, even though it’s beautiful to behold. She sends Delphine a text that says, “We’re in business,” and Delphine takes a lingering look around at all the LEDA clones (plus S and Kira) on the walls before leaving.

Cosima always the angel on her shoulder, guiding her every decision.

Art watches this happen and is a bit suspicious, and Sarah is so glad someone is finally taking her panic flailing seriously. But before they do anything about it, they take a moment to smile at the painting that pays homage to the reason they know each other in the first place: Beth Childs.

Across town, Ferdinand struts like a stupid peacock into the DYAD board meeting, where he finds a lot of empty seats, because people are starting to freak out. He starts to pull up the evidence from his little USB, smarmy and gross as ever. Then the most beautiful thing flashes onto the screen: Files not found. It’s damn poetry.

Because guess what, Rachel made a choice. She chose freedom over a fortune. She’s a little sad about it; she’s sure Ferdinand won’t be coming back. She also thinks Ferdinand is the only one who ever loved her, which is heartbreaking because Ferdinand doesn’t love anyone but himself. Mrs. S promises her she’s doing the right thing.

“You did good, my reluctant chicken.”

Mrs. S says we all do what we can, and we do it for each other. And maybe she means the people involved in the LEDA experiment, maybe she means women in general, but either way it made me feel good.

At the convent, Helena leaves Gracie alone for a second and she immediately calls Mark. But when he asks if she found Helena yet, she says no. Quite a long way from when she actively tried to kill her when they first met, eh? Sweet Gracie has grown so much since we first knew her, and she’s fought her nurture to reveal a rather kind nature. But Coady and Mark can tell she’s lying, so they send in the calvary. And by calvary I mean Jerky McCopface, Maddy Enger. Who I liked a heckuva lot better on Legends of Tomorrow, turns out.

Helena had figured out that Gracie had a phone that probably Coady traced and tries to get them out of there, but it’s too late, and Maddy is there. Her men are told not to hurt Helena or her bebes, but Gracie is another story entirely. Helena struggles against her hold and Maddy shoots Gracie right in the head.

RIP Gracie, but also RIP Maddy because Helena won’t let that one slide

And listen I don’t WANT my “nobody will be left standing by the end of this” theory to be true but things aren’t looking good so far.

Mrs. S shows up at the art show, and Sarah is pissed about the Ferdinand thing, but S assures Sarah that it was the right move, because Rachel gave them everything they need. They can expose Neolution and DYAD and all of it now. It’s over, they can finally be free.

Well, as soon as Delphine and Cosima upload it. Cosima takes a moment to take it all in, to realize that all of these files were borne of the hard work and dedication of Delphine, Felix, Mrs. S, and Adele — all for the LEDAs, all for them.

Whenever I look at this image, I spontaneously create a Patronus.

Cosima puts her hand over Delphine and together they hit ‘send’, making it official. The bad guys are exposed. They smile and they laugh and then Cosima cries, overwhelmed by all the emotions; they came this far, but they lost so much on the way. So many innocent children from experiments that came before and after them, so many allies. So many sestras. But Delphine is there to hold her.

JUST STAY ALIVE, MY BBS, YOU’RE DOING GREAT

And it might just be okay.

Felix stands up to address his adoring fans, and gives the most beautiful speech I’ve ever heard. He thanks his mum, the woman who took him and Sarah under her wings, who loved and protected them even when they didn’t make it easy. She chose them. And it might have taken them a while to be able to admit it, but they choose her back.

brb crying forever

Felix says that watching his weird little family he’s come to realize how mysterious and surprising and impossible we all are. He says we’re all made up of the things that happen to us, but also the choices we make. Of nature vs nurture. Sarah even calls Adele up to stand with her and S as Felix speaks of his “galaxy of women” and thanks them for the nurture. And I’m tearing up just thinking about it because I’m going to miss this galaxy so much. This speech here is the embodiment of what I love most about the series, and what I’ll miss most when it’s gone.

Like diamonds in the sky.

:deep sigh:

In other news, Rachel was right about the board not wanting Ferdinand to be able to leave that board room alive, but he’s like a cockroach in more ways than one and wouldn’t be taken out that easily, so he fights back and makes his way back to Rachel, pissed. She makes it clear that she has no intention of giving him the information he seeks, and that actually it’s being made public right now, and Ferdinand snaps. He says some awful, cruel things to her, then pins her down, choking her. She squeaks out a “daddy,” because she knows how to manipulate him, still, and he lets her go, storming off to take matters into his own slimy hands.

At the gallery, Felix introduces Colin to Mrs. S and says he’d love it if his boyfriend and his mum got to know each other, which Mrs. S would love very much. DJ Wizardface (I know that’s not his name but I can’t stop now) starts to rap and everyone starts to dance. Mrs. S smiles because Sarah is smiling and dancing and having fun for the first time in a minute.

Mrs. S gets a call from Rachel, warning her about Ferdinand. Rachel even tells her to be careful, and Mrs. S says something a rare few have probably said to her so earnestly: “Thank you, Rachel.”

S looks at her kids one more time before ducking out.

When she gets home she’s greeted by a proper mess and Ferdinand, weapon drawn, soul still missing.

AVADA KEDAVRA

Ferdinand growls and says he wants to shoot her in the leg and she says she’d prefer shooting him in the throat thank you. Eventually they put their guns down and Ferdinand demands the files Rachel gave her. S goes for a secret gun stash but Ferdinand already found that one. S tells him it’s too late anyway, the files are public, so Ferdinand responds by shooting her square in the chest. Right through that heart that’s loved so much for so long. The heart that’s been broken by the kids she’s raised, but then healed again by them.

Sarah feels it in that moment, and realizes she can’t find S, and starts to worry. Her empath skills becoming more finely tuned just in time for the sharpest blow.

Mrs. S slumps into her chair and asks saucily for Ferdinand to just finish it already, but he won’t show her any kind of mercy. She asks at least for him to hand her the photo of Sarah and Felix from the mantle, but instead he smashes it at her feet.

But don’t worry, Mrs. S won’t be taken out by a snake under her heel. Instead she dashes it, digging a gun out of the cushion of her chair, shooting him square in the throat, as promised.

Mrs. S says she’s statistically more likely than him to survive a gunshot wound, though she’s not feeling great about her odds right now. She says she’s had a good run and picks up the picture of her kids. Her kids she would and has done anything and everything for. Even when they didn’t want her to, even when they didn’t even know if they trusted her, she was fighting, fighting, fighting for them. Sometimes moving chess pieces, sometimes literally fighting. Always for them. Always for the people they cared about, because if her kids and grandkid cared about them, so did she. She loved them with everything she was.

Mrs. S holds on just long enough to watch the wretched life go out of Ferdinand, then looks down at the photo Sarah and Felix. She smiles at her chickens, uttering her pet name for them one last time.

But we can still see a star’s light long after it dies.

We close on Mrs. S, sitting in her chair, looking at her family, protecting the ones she loves the most.

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