‘Orphan Black: Echoes’ Recap – ‘Attracting Awful Things’

8/19/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Keeley Hawes as Dr. Kira Manning in Episode 109 of ‘Orphan Black: Echoes’ – ‘Attracting Awful Things’. (Photo Courtesy of Sophie Giraud/AMC.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Nine of ‘Orphan Black: Echoes’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.

When it comes to television in this day and age, there is one word that is synonymous with the penultimate episode of a show or any of its respective seasons: epic. Because audiences now expect a season or a series finale to blow us away with a story for the ages, and the way to set that up… is indeed with an epic penultimate episode. Where the stakes are raised and where tensions are high, so we immediately want more. But what’s fascinating, is that while this has indeed been a standard for some time now, there are shows that are in a way… rebelling from such concepts in the hopes of telling a vastly different kind of story.

Wherein the penultimate is more low-key in nature, so that it can set the stage for the finale in a different manner and where it feels epic in other ways, such as resolving matters that have been lingering or by giving the viewer different gifts and for proof… look no further than this week’s episode of Orphan Black: Echoes. For ‘Attracting Awful Things’ did not feature some kind of incredible race to the finish line where everything was revealed, and the stage was set for a final battle between the Millers and Paul Darros. No instead, this was a gentle character study that truly did offer the clones some fascinating perspective on life, and that their fate might be more in their hands than they know.

Which the show accomplished by way of several key storylines. One of which involved Lucy. Who had total recall at last of the day Eleanor’s father died and came to learn that the prime version of herself… felt defeat over what she saw and that had she acted there was a slim chance dad could have survived. Which prompted her to do everything to save Craig, even going so far as to call in Jack regardless of the situation. All because, there was a chance she could be more here, right a wrong in her mind really, and in doing so… she came to understand that she could learn from her former self, correct her mistakes and her path and forge her own. Since kindness and loyalty in this vein does change us, for the better, and that helped her to save Craig and grow.

Krysten Ritter and Jonathan Whittaker as Lucy and Craig in Episode 109 of ‘Orphan Black: Echoes’ – ‘Attracting Awful Things’. (Photo Courtesy of Sophie Giraud/AMC.)

As she was dealing with that, Jules and Eleanor were coming to learn that they weren’t totally locked into their fates and paths as one might care to believe. Which they discovered the long way round through Xander and the arrival of another blast from Orphan Black’s past… Dr. Delphine Cormier. Who was now aware of what happened here and opted to step in and help, and she accomplished wonders here. Since she was able to work with Jules and Eleanor to bring Jules’ adopted mom into the fold… so that clues could finally be brought forth regarding Darros and his shady activities and what they uncovered, was incredible to say the least. Simply because Darros, invested an ungodly amount of money on out of the way property for reasons that were not clear.

Which prompted Kira to head that way and uncover that said property was the home of the little device that Darros kept close to him, and that said device was a key. One that required Darros’ brain-scan to properly unlock the digital lock she discovered. Which meant, Xander needed to help in this matter, and at first, he was unwilling. In part because he was severely hung over thanks to the super high dose of the drug he took, but also because… he uncovered a lot of dark truth about his predecessor, and that left him feeling powerless and horrified over what he discovered. But a little pressing from Jules, prompted him to help, to also right a wrong by not being Darros through and through. Which led to some answers and the true understanding that Jules and Eleanor, and Lucy and Xander, could have their own fates and really enjoy life to its fullest away from the shadows of who they were ‘born’ from.

Which made for a very intimate and refreshing penultimate episode. One that is perfect for the tone of this story, since it has been about the path we walk, what defines us as people and how we become who we become. But also, we’d be remiss to not point out, that this episode also went old school and still found a way to build tension and want for the finale, through two massive cliffhangers. Since we are dying to know if Tina and Charlie are okay because Tom is a damn psychopath, and we must know why Darros has the entire country’s medical records stored on a server farm in the water. All of which will soon reveal itself and while we wait for that, we really can bask in a delightful character-centric penultimate tale that informs us… that good storytelling is always what matters most and when you have that… you can still wow an audience and still set the stage for a powerhouse finale. Until next time.

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