'Orphan Black' Postmortem: Hot Paul Says '50 Shades of Rachel' Scene Had the 'Right Mixture of Hot and Creepy'

The most shocking thing about Orphan Black's latest episode — and "Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est" had plenty of shockers — was that it didn't cause a blackout Saturday night. Seriously, who wasn't blasting their air conditioner during Rachel and the aptly dubbed Hot Paul's sizzling S&M sex scene?

"I like to call her 50 Shades of Rachel," star Dylan Bruce told Yahoo TV. "It's almost like she was so suppressed sexually that she's got a lot of weird fetishes. When I read this scene I was like, where are the whips and all the handcuffs and all this stuff? I felt like she would have a Christian Grey basement or something like that."

[Related: How 'Orphan Black's' Hair and Makeup Wizards Split One Actress Into Five (Very Distinct) Clones]

No basement here; in fact, Rachel seduced her new boy toy in front of her swanky apartment's open window — while Helena watched what she called the "very pretty dirty sexy Rachel like my mother" (eww!) across the street with a sniper rifle.

Fortunately, Sarah intervened — not because she's a voyeur, but to save their "brother-sestra" Felix, framed for murder thanks to her former monitor Paul. Felix rightly resurrected Paul's other moniker, Big D--- Paul, because frankly Paul is being a big d---.

So what does Hot Paul have to say for himself? Yahoo TV asked his real-life counterpart all the important questions.

Which nickname do you prefer, "Hot Paul" or "Big D--- Paul"?
What a question. Amazing. Well, when I first read the script and the BDP was in there, Graeme Manson, our showrunner, was on set, and I go, "Thanks for that, Graeme!" and then I high-fived him afterwards, like any man would do. The "Hot Paul" makes me very uncomfortable. If you saw me in high school with my braces when I weighed 130 pounds, you would never have referenced me as Hot Dylan. So I guess I have to embrace it now and just try not to be uncontrollably uncomfortable with it.

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You'd better own the nudity — Hot Paul's having lots of sex!

It's like I'm turning into the slut of primetime, aren't I? You can't get away from my butt; it's everywhere. I get a lot of ribbing from some of my friends, like, "Really, man? We really like your show, but could we have less butt in it?"

I did get a new vanity cloth — it almost looks like a half mankini; it tapes to your leg and right below your belly button and down to your other leg, so I really do look like a Ken doll when I have that thing on. So when I'm in those jeans and I have my loincloth — my "Ken doll cloth" is what I refer to it as now — I always walk around [quoting Ron Burgundy], "Don't act like you're not impressed." I don't get a single giggle from anyone. Everybody is so nice and professional and respectful. It's a very sweet place and a nurturing place to bare it all.

[But] Felix is the real a-- man of our show, I would say, don't you think?

Indeed! But how could you be so mean to Felix? He's having a Tears for Fears music video love scene — and boom! You barge in and frame him for murdering a cop.
Felix is probably the most beloved character on Orphan Black ... and here comes BDP in there to just really mess things up. I was actually afraid of the point where [Paul] would become unredeemable after that. But our showrunners and writers are so smart. [I told myself,] "They have a plan for you and the plan is going to be much better than anything that you would ever think of." And sure enough, I felt much better about it as the season concludes this year.

[Related: 'Orphan Black' Star Jordan Gavaris Previews Season 2]

So what does that sex scene say about the relationship between Rachel and her boy toy right now?
Well, I think Paul is using his gift from God to stay in her good graces. It's creepy. That scene is, it's hot; it's got the right mixture of hot and creepy as well.

Tatiana [Maslany] is such an amazing actress and she's so spontaneous. We added a lot of spontaneity to that scene where Rachel's like punching me, she's hitting me in the arm, she's very angry, and like Paul's choking her ... [a lot of it ended up on] the cutting room floor. When they're in the act, she's actually punching him as hard as she can on the shoulder; that was spontaneous, and Tatiana afterward was like, "Are you OK?" and I'm like, "Nah, I'm good, I'm good" — [but] I had a dead arm for about five minutes.

Should fans dial back the hate for Paul right now because he will redeem himself in the end?
You know what, they can hate him, because when I read that I was like, "You son of a b----, what are you doing?" That's what makes Orphan Black great: You never know with any of our characters what their true intentions are, where their loyalties lie, and what they're going to do next. We'll always keep you guessing, so I appreciate the hate. And the love, because it's a sign of people enjoying the show.

Paul definitely has his own agenda. He has to go through with this to progress his own agenda. He's going to be looking out for No. 1 for a large portion of the series, and there's a bigger plan for him as well. But you know, I'm sure he enjoyed [having sex with] Rachel. She's gorgeous, right? She's cold as ice, but there's something about her that's very intriguing and it's very fun to watch. He's a lucky guy. Three clones already? Come on! A cop, a punk rock ho, and a pro clone. I mean, lucky guy.

Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. on BBC America.