Orphan Black: Echoes’ Big Twist Makes You See Krysten Ritter’s Debut In A Whole New Way

Spoilers are ahead for Orphan Black: Echoes, episode 5, “Do I Know You?”

The fifth episode of Orphan Black: Echoes reveals a major twist that casts Krysten Ritter’s first scene in the show’s pilot in a whole new — and completely devastating — light. Created by Anna Fishko, Orphan Black: Echoes is a spinoff-meets-sequel that’s set thirty-seven years after the events of John Fawcett and Graeme Manson’s five-season hit Orphan Black. The original series, which stars Emmy-winning actor Tatiana Maslany as Orphan Black‘s 17 clone characters, delves into the ethical quandaries that arise in the wake of an illegal human cloning experiment called Project Leda.

The clone who puts many of the puzzle pieces together is loner Sarah Manning (Maslany) — one of only two Leda clones who’s capable of having biological children. Just like the clones, Sarah’s daughter, Kira (Skyler Wexler), becomes a person of interest to the corporations that believe they own Leda’s genetic identicals. Although Tatiana Maslany isn’t in Orphan Black: Echoes, Dr. Kira Manning (now Keeley Hawes) is a key part of the series’ story. And Orphan Black: Echoes episode 5, “Do I Know You?,” finally gets to the root of why Kira essentially cloned the 3D-printed Lucy (Ritter).

Orphan Black: Echoes Episode 5 Reveals Lucy Is A Copy Of Kira Manning’s Wife, Eleanor

“Do I Know You?” Is Orphan Black’s “San Junipero” (But Sadder)

Although Orphan Black: Echoes episode 1’s ending reveals Kira is one of the series’ main characters, it takes until the show’s fifth episode to learn who Lucy was copied from. In the first few episodes, Ritter’s Lucy and Jules Lee (Amanda Fix), a teenage version of Lucy, discover fragments of their shared past and origin story. While Kira, a scientist working for self-made billionaire Paul Darros’ (James Hiroyuki Liao) foundation, seems to be trying to apprehend the rogue Lucy, episode 5 makes it clear that Kira has more personal reasons for wanting to speak with the printed-out human.

Kira, who rose to acclaim by creating 3D-printed organs suitable for transplant, shares that she took her research even further by printing out a replica of a human being — her late wife, Eleanor (also Ritter). While a scene with Kira and Lucy on a bench ends the episode, the bulk of Orphan Black: Echoes‘ fifth outing traces key moments in Kira (August Winter) and Eleanor’s relationship. Even though viewers know the heartbreaking direction the couple’s story is headed, “Do I Know You?” feels an awful lot like Echoes‘ version of Black Mirror‘s Emmy-winning “San Junipero.”

Kira Disregarded Her Feelings About Human Cloning To Save Eleanor

Dr. Manning Crosses Her Line In The Sand For Love

As Winter’s grad school version of Kira tells Eleanor on their first date — sipping stolen boxed wine in the shadows of an empty university pool — her childhood was incredibly messed up. Not only is Kira referring to the events of Orphan Black, but its sequel series, Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, an audio drama that chronicles the moment the clones’ existence is revealed to the world. Kira’s unique daughter-of-a-clone situation has felt alienating — until now. She feels at ease with Eleanor, even if Ritter’s character can be a bit hard-to-read.

Before Kira switched specialties, she briefly worked with Eleanor, an MIT professor, on her Alzheimer’s treatment research. Their reunion at a holiday party is the genesis of an in-joke between the two, as well as the episode’s title. One of them asks, “Do I know you?” and the reply is, “I thought you might.“ From their first apartment to the birth of their son, Lucas, to their respective professional achievements, Kira and Eleanor have weathered a lot together. Kira’s spin on human cloning isn’t ethical, but her relationship with Eleanor provides a compelling, and incredibly heartbreaking, rationale.

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Orphan Black: Echoes’ First Episode Is Much Sadder Now That Eleanor’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis Was Revealed

Lucy Doesn’t Have Any Memories Of Eleanor’s Life With Kira Either

During episode 5, Orphan Black: Echoes‘ cast of characters shifts again: An older Kira is played by Keeley Hawes, as she is in the present story, while an older Eleanor Miller is played by Rya Kihlstedt. After their son, Lucas (Jaeden Noel), heads to college, Eleanor loses her way while trying to find the university pool. A neuroscientist who has successfully developed a treatment for Alzheimer’s, Eleanor herself succumbs to an early onset version of the disease — just like her own mother. Unfortunately, the treatment doesn’t work for Eleanor, which prompts Kira to take drastic measures.

Having successfully printed working hearts for transplant, Kira and her lab assistant get to work on printing neurons, so that Eleanor can have memory-saving surgery. Before she goes under the knife, Eleanor can’t remember her own son’s name; after the surgery, she remembers everything. Eleanor and Kira share one more perfect night together, but, by morning, Eleanor dies in her sleep. Devastated, Kira learns to print a whole human being. Of course, Lucy has no recollection of anything — no memories and no love for her family. A copy of Eleanor is alive, but she isn’t really Kira’s wife.

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Kira Created An Even More Painful Reality For Herself & Lucy

Dr. Manning Created Lucy Without Eleanor’s Consent

In episode 1, the recently printed-out Lucy wakes up in a replica of Eleanor and Kira’s living room. Believing she has amnesia, Lucy tries to answer a series of questions Kira asks. In hindsight, the memory test holds much more weight. Kira learns that Lucy doesn’t remember anything about Eleanor’s life; they’re genetically identical, but in biology only. The disorienting experience prompts Lucy to ask, “Do I know you?” A morose Kira replies, “I thought you might.” Knowing that the lines were a call-and-response between Kira and Eleanor casts Orphan Black: Echoes‘ opening in a new light.

Although Orphan Black: Echoes hasn’t addressed other mysteries, episode 5 reveals the love story at the center of the show. Unable to live in a world without Eleanor, Kira goes against her own moral and ethical principles. A frustrated Lucy tells Kira she never asked to be created, reiterating how wrong Kira was to create human life. The most painful irony, of course, is that Kira accomplished the impossible, but it was all in vain. Kira’s Eleanor couldn’t remember her, and neither could Lucy. As in the best science fiction, the narrative Orphan Black: Echoes hinges on is beautifully harrowing.

New episodes of Orphan Black: Echoes air Sundays on AMC through August 25, 2024.

Orphan Black: Echoes

Orphan Black: Echoes is the sequel series to the original that aired in 2013. In Echoes, Krysten Ritter stars as Lucy, a woman trying to find her place in the world. She will soon discover that she may be part of the clone experimentation process that former protagonist Sarah Manning and her “sisters” were.

Cast

Krysten Ritter , Keeley Hawes , Amanda Fix , James Hiroyuki Liao , Avan Jogia , Zariella Langford

Release Date

June 23, 2024

Seasons

1

Streaming Service(s)

AMC Plus

Writers

Anna Fishko , Sharyn Rothstein , Amy Louise Johnson , C. Quintana , Alex Delyle , Anayat Fakhraie , Julian Camillieri

Showrunner

Anna Fishko

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Creator(s)

Anna Fishko

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