There’s some real intrigue over in Cosima’s subplot, giving us yet another potential route into the conspiracy. Meanwhile, Alison becomes even more suspicious of her husband and Sarah finds herself roped into the drama just as things get more complicated for her.

The show makes an interesting choice by not returning straight to the aftermath of Paul’s confrontation with Sarah. Before we get to see how that turns out, we watch Alison convince herself that her husband Donnie is her monitor and that he should be tortured until he reveals his secrets.

The whole idea seems fairly outrageous but also makes complete sense considering Alison’s need for control. Arguably, Orphan Black doesn’t provide concrete answers about Donnie’s true motivations but it’s clear he was never prepared for what happened and that there’s a far more suspicious person probably serving as Alison’s monitor.

Sarah’s back to thinking on her feet, providing Paul with just enough information to get him to doubt Olivier but not enough to fully inform him of the cloning experiment. She dashes off to help Alison with her interrogation but trouble soon finds her in the form of not only Paul, but also Vic. At this point, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify Vic’s continued presence on the series. Paul, though, is only becoming more complex and interesting as this whole thing unravels. The episode ends with him learning the truth about the clones – a development that’s sure to only make things more complicated and fun.

There’s a marvellous feeling of uncertainty that Orphan Black has managed to play with in so many of its episodes so far. Every time something unexpected happens, it’s accompanied with this knowledge that there’s no way to predict exactly how it’ll turn out. This is a show that has a clever ability when it comes to determining what particular scenarios will be most stressful for its characters. It always then goes and takes the situation just a bit further and turns it into something that’s more than merely troubling.

When Alison whacks her husband around the head with a golf club it is initially vaguely amusing, but it becomes unsettling over the course of the episode. The same can be said in relation to the appearance of both Paul and Vic at Alison’s house.

While all this is going on, Cosima’s having to deal with new dangers. It would appear that her confidence and calm demeanour have previously been as a result of her distance from the central conflict. Now that it’s coming to her, she’s beginning to look far less sure of herself. She still plays it cool, though, even when encountering a shady scientist and meeting a woman who is certain to be monitoring her.

It can’t be long now before we start getting real answers about Orphan Black’s villains, and this looks like an efficient and exciting way into the depths of the conspiracy.

Aired at 9pm on Friday 18 October 2013 on BBC Three.

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