158:'s Eric Goldman gave the episode a mixed review, finding the final act of the episode "sloppy". He wrote that Leekie's sudden disappearance "felt a bit cheap" and found Donnie's backstory implausible, but enjoyed the comedic elements of the episode and the development of Rachel and Mrs. S.'s characters.
82:, praised Maslany's performance as Sarah but found the plot and supporting characters to be underdeveloped and sometimes implausible. Her conclusion was that "Ultimately, the pilot does a fair job of setting up a very basic premise and teasing an intriguing mystery." A more critical review came from
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magazine's Mark
Rozeman rated the episode 9/10, commending the script's balance between "its conspiracy thriller aspirations and its tendency towards broad comedy". He found the episode more similar in tone to the show's first season as described the final scene as "fantastically morbid". Reviewing
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s Matt Zoller Seitz, who found the episode "amusing but not riveting" with a "loose and ragged" plot. He conceded that
Maslany's performance was "undeniably impressive" but found her playing multiple roles gimmicky and detracting from the larger story: "the main selling point, Maslany's virtuosity,
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Chris
Jancelewicz gave the episode an extremely positive review, giving particular praise to the episode's originality, its pace, its characters, and that "the innumerable layers of each character and their relationships with one another are dealt with perfectly." He commended the performances from
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gave "Natural
Selection" an A– grade and particularly enjoyed the episode's unexpected plot developments and the writers' continually placing Sarah in "seemingly inescapable corner". He described Maslany's performance as "absolutely fantastic" and commended the "labyrinthine plotting and endless
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was pleased with the "fantastically exhilarating" pace of the episode and its "spectacular balance between the dramatic and the comedic". He highlighted the technical achievement of showing two clones in front of a mirror, writing, "Sure it's showy, but it's fantastically so."
43:"Natural Selection" premiered in the United States on March 30, 2013, and drew 684,000 live viewers. Including viewers who watched playbacks of the episode on the same night, it had a total viewership of 1,026,000. In Canada, the episode was watched by 404,000 viewers on
135:, Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya gave it a "B+" rating and wrote that it contained "the most comedy we've seen all season". She gave particular praise to the Maslany's portrayal of Alison and to the "shocking" final scene wherein Donnie kills Leekie. Rob Hunter of
75:, described Maslany's acting as "terrific", "versatile" and "charismatic in the way any single-lead show needs". He admired the way the plot developed with "very little of it feeling contrived", as well as the balance between a dark and light tone.
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http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/06/03/saturday-cable-ratings-nba-conference-finals-lead-night-spongebob-squarepants-attack-on-titan-the-world-wars-more/269762/
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http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/02/supernatural-saturday-line-up-of-doctor-who-orphan-black-the-nerdist-delivers-strong-ratings-for-bbc-america/176152/
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http://www.tv.com/shows/orphan-black/community/post/orphan-black-season-2-episode-7-knowledge-of-causes-and-secret-motion-of-things-review-140147476994/
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http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-bbc-americas-orphan-black-has-fun-with-the-many-faces-of-tatiana-maslany
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http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/01/orphan-black-knowledge-of-causes-and-secret-motion-of-things-review
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as "one of the best shows on TV in terms of striking a balance between the two". Danielle
Henderson of
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Maslany and
Gavaris, and noted that the two actors "play off of each other in the best possible way".
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http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2014/06/orphan-black-review-knowledge-of-causes-and-secret.html
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112:"Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things" was first aired in the United States on
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144:'s Kaitlin Thomas also enjoyed the episode's combination of comedy and drama, describing
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http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/orphan-black-knowledge-causes-and-secret-motion-th-205165
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http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/chris-jancelewicz/orphan-black-review_b_2965251.html
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http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/03/28/orphan-black-natural-selection-review
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http://www.vulture.com/2014/06/orphan-black-recap-season-2-episode-7.html
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takes me out of the same drama in which I'm supposed to be immersed."
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http://www.vulture.com/2013/03/seitz-orphan-black-doesnt-connect.html
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http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/orphan-black-review-s02e07.php
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on June 3, 2014. It was watched by 497,000 viewers and attained a
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http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/orphan-black-natural-selection-95871
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78:Roth Cornet, who reviewed the episode for
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154:awarded the episode 4 out of 5 stars.
57:forward momentum" of the storyline.
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34:Production
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108:Reception
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85:New York
142:TV.com
73:HitFix
64:'s
125:Paste
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45:Space
16:<
156:IGN
80:IGN
71:of
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