My first brush with Orphan Black was a splendid mystery unraveling itself in front of my eyes, and the show quickly cemented itself as a must-watch. Part of its captivation was the unknown. Unknown creative forces, unknown actors, and an unexpected show from BBC America. Now, the new spin-off of Orphan Black, titled Orphan Black: Echoes, bears the challenge of matching or exceeding the original’s charm.
Orphan Black, in its prime, had a unique, fascinating narrative. On the other hand, Echoes has Orphan Black as its roots. Unfortunately, it tends to lean too much into the existing universe at times, and the resemblance to the original is perhaps its biggest downfall.
The first episode felt overextended, and the series takes more episodes than necessary to hook its audience. Despite the frustrating introductions and unwieldy references, there are elements of the show that are commendable, such as certain performances and fresh ideas brought forward by the premise.
The plot primarily follows Lucy, portrayed by Krysten Ritter, who finds herself waking up from ‘a procedure’ with no memories. Fast-forward two years later, Lucy, living in disguise, is pursued by a man trying to kill her. Intertwined are an ensemble of intriguing new characters and some familiar faces from the original show.
Particularly, the character of Kira from the original Orphan Black emerges as a central character in Echoes. However, her involvement seems to offer little to the narrative and often feels forced. The series would have much benefited from standing as a companion to Orphan Black rather than attempting to be a poorly stitched twin.
In a comparison to the one-woman-show of Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black, Echoes lacks any powerhouse performances, though the show improves significantly by introducing Amanda Fix’s Jules, a funny, complex counterbalance. The show is at its best when Krysten Ritter, Fix and Rya Kihlstedt share the screen.
While the story is more slow-paced than the original, Echoes does introduce some novel ideas of its own, such as the concept of human printing. It also presents a more optimistic version of the future, rather than depicting it as a bleak dystopia. Still, the story often gets sidelined with unnecessary thriller elements and callbacks to Orphan Black.
In a nutshell, Orphan Black: Echoes is no match to the original. It lacks the captivating surprise of discovery. However, it does have its moments and holds potential, provided one can overlook the forced connections to the original series.
