Orphan Black: Echoes’ Recap – ‘Do I Know You?’ – Nerds That Geek

Orphan Black: Echoes’ Recap – ‘Do I Know You?’

7/22/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Krysten Ritter and August Winter as Eleanor Miller and Kira Manning in Episode 105 of ‘Orphan Black: Echoes’ – ‘Do I Know You?’ (Photo Courtesy of Sophie Giraud/AMC.)

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

We like to believe that grief is something that will not impact us on a deep and life-changing level. Which is a belief that we insert into our minds, by watching others suffer through it. Because it is a profound moment when we see our parents cry over the loss of someone we knew as grandma or grandpa, and it is equally as profound to see someone we know collapse emotionally and mentally over the loss of a loved one. So, we make that little pact with ourselves that such devastation simply won’t happen to us, only for us to learn that such beliefs are nothing more than pipe dreams and little lies that we tell ourselves.

For grief is a powerful experience, one that can and will hit hard, and it will absolutely put us upon an emotional roller coaster where we do things we wouldn’t normally do under rational thinking, and that applies to everyone out there and for proof… well then look no further than what this week’s episode of Orphan Black: Echoes on AMC, AMC+, and BBC American put on display. For ‘Do I Know You?’ focused squarely on the past, as Dr. Kira Manning explained to Lucy how she came to exist and well… much to Lucy’s shock and surprise, she came to life because of the power of grief. For Lucy was indeed a printed clone of one Eleanor Miller, who thirty years ago, met Kira Manning in college and the two… fell into an incredible love affair.

The kind so strong, that at first, they both denied one another the draw and the need that their hearts beat hard for. But when the moment was right, they answered that call and all that remained was happiness and joy. For they had the love affair that so many dream of. Wherein there was flawless communication, and support and eventually a happy marriage and the birth of a family. Followed by more support, success and just love and happiness and truly, Kira was happy and fulfilled, and of course… she began to change the world. Because that printed organ system she invented was helping so many people and giving them a chance at life, and well… that’s when hers took a turn for the sorrowful and the tragic. Because Eleanor, began to exhibit signs of dementia.

Keeley Hawes and Ria Kihlstedt as Dr. Kira Manning and Eleanor Miller in Episode 105 of ‘Orphan Black: Echoes’ – ‘Do I Know You?’ (Photo Courtesy of Sophie Giraud/AMC.)

Which were inherited from her mother’s own genetic code, and just like that… Kira had to watch her love slip away from a cognitive standpoint, along with the incredible memories and moments they forged together. Prompting Kira to try a risky gambit with the technology she invented, that seemingly worked… until it took Eleanor’s life. Which of course, shattered Kira to no end and left her in a destitute place emotionally. Wherein she could not reconcile that the bedrock of her life, the woman that inspired her and loved her and gave her so much joy, could be gone in such a cruel manner and well… that pushed her to break every ethical and moral code, and bring Eleanor back to life, as Lucy. In the hopes of getting a second chance at love, and in the hopes of fixing the problem ahead of time.

All of which made, for a powerful, powerful episode. One that deeply spoke to how and why grief hits us so hard, and what we learned here were lessons for the ages. Since we came to discover that it is the joys of life that give grief its power. Since it feels cruel that the universe robs of us and those we love of more and only leaves us with echoes when that special person goes, and that truly does transform us for a while, for the worse, and leaves us with scars that run deep, and that we’re not bad people because of that. But we do need to own our actions during grief. Which it seems Kira is doing now, and that was quite the journey we accompanied her on, one that also spoke to the beauty of life, and why those moments mean so much to us because they do offer us so much when we find our partner and our purpose.

Which means that in many ways, this was a bittersweet tale about life, and about how no matter how technologically advanced we become as a society, we will never escape the core tenets of the human condition and that such a complex relationship may in fact, complicate life further. But all lessons aside, this was a great episode, and everyone involved in this tale simply deserves a round of applause. For they turned in stunning work from a writing and acting perspective, and newcomer to the show, Rya Kihlstedt, who played the next iteration of Eleanor, was simply sublime and felt as a perfect extension of what Amanda Fix, and Krysten Ritter are doing here and all of this makes it easy to declare this episode, the show’s best to date. Because it established the real difference between this chapter of the story and the one that came before, and added amazing depth, and unique meaning to this journey and of course… raised the stakes. For all emotional gravity aside, real trouble is brewing since we now know… the existence of Jules relates to something more, something that undoubtedly relates to Darros and his nonsense notion of ‘scientific exploration’. Until next time.

To learn more about how Actor Rya Kihlstedt brought her version of Eleanor Miller to life, check out our interview with her, here.

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