It’s All Coming Back – As the fourth episode of Orphan Black: Echoes begins, Wes (Liam Diaz) walks in on Jules (Amanda Fix) as she is searching for the drugs in her room. Jules admits she intends to get out of there. Neva (Alexandra Castillo) comes in to check on Jules. She offers to take Jules for ice cream before explaining she really cares about her. Once they’re alone, Jules pleads with Wes to cover for her while she gets answers. Tom (Reed Diamond) talks to Myung (Georgia Leva) about musicians in his car. They are too busy talking about Wee Lee’s standup to notice when Jules leaves home. A trucker talks to a man about a reality show. As they pull away, we see that they’re pulling a camper.

A book called “The Philosophy of Identity” falls to the ground inside the camper. Lucy (Krysten Ritter) and Jack (Avan Jogia) want to tell Charlie the truth about why the man was chasing her. Lucy explains that she was created by a machine. Tina (Eva Everett Irving) interrupts to tell Lucy she has a young visitor. In another room, Jules tries to find out more about Lucy’s relationship. Jack admits he doesn’t like this. After a long conversation, they eventually take Jules’s pills. Lucy shows Jules a picture of Kira Manning (Keeley Hawes) and explains she is the one who made her. Jules doesn’t recognize her, but she remembers the knife on the other page. They wish they could remember the whole thing. Jules says she has a fantastic idea, but they’re going to need some paint.

They begin painting in hopes of remembering what happened in the bathroom. Once they put it all together, Lucy hears a metallic sound. Jack tells them they’re hallucinating. Lucy doesn’t know what she was like as a kid and whether she had a happy childhood. They wonder if they’re happy. Lucy says Jack and Charlie make her happy. She believes the original version had a kid too. Jules believes the mirror was a good idea. If it is the only thing they remember, it has to mean something. Paul Darros (James Hiroyuki Liao) gives a speech about the Darros Foundation. He introduces Syuko Funada-Espino (Mei Chung), who is an ocean robotics expert, and Kira Manning. Kira approaches Paul to say they need to talk about the project.

She is concerned he isn’t being honest about his plans for Lucy. Paul thinks the consequences will fall on them equally since it is their project. He goes on to say they have to make sacrifices for the greater good sometimes. Emily finds Kira distraught moments later. There is something Emily thinks she needs to see. Lucy mentions a watch in the painting. Jules doesn’t know who it belongs to. There might be a church steeple outside the window. Charlie is introduced to Jules moments later. Tina returns and asks if the painting is about Jamaica Plain which used to be the lesbian capital of Boston. Emily takes Kira to the place where she has been living. They searched the camper but didn’t find anything. Kira admits she wants her to be safe and that’s the closest she has ever come to praying.

Lucy and Jules find the monument and start targeting the nearby houses since it has to be one of them. Kira searches the camper and finds the book on the floor. She finds a drawing of a young boy who might be Lucas so she tears out the page. After walking down the street like five times, Jules believes they’re not going to find the place. As they get close to one building, they hear a metallic sound. Once they go inside, they learn that it is Zeta Rho Beta’s Triannual Froze Tournay. The host informs them that they’ll have to win at froze pong to get access to the bathroom. Jules eventually wins and gets to use the bathroom. Lucy goes to the bathroom with her. They start having flashbacks so they agree they’re in the right place. As they leave, they ask the host whether she remembers who used to live there. An old woman wandered off while she was on a field trip with her assisted-living community.

She thought the house was hers so they drove her back. The woman named Melissa was at Legacy Assisted Living. At home, Neva tries to talk to Jules only to find out that she is not in her room. When she checks with Wes, he tells her that Jules is on a class trip. She keeps pushing him until he says Jules is worried she can’t trust her or James. Wes tells her about people following Jules and the kidnapper. Neva believes she can find Jules using her phone. Jules and Lucy visit Melissa who calls Jules Eleanor. Nurse Marty (Catherine McNally) steps away and calls Kira Manning to tell her about the visitors. Tom hears the call. Jules and Lucy try to get information from Melissa. Emily rides with Tom and Myung as they head to the assisted living home. Melissa fixes Jules’s hair while they try to get her to talk about the house.

Kira gets a call about the visitors. Lucy finds a picture of a girl on a pillow. Melissa claims that’s her. She explains that the picture was taken during her high school graduation. Melissa tells Jules she was always getting into something. Before they can get more information, Lucy sees Tom outside and says they need to split up. Lucy pulls the alarm and they begin fleeing. Emily helps Lucy escape. Jules runs into Neva and asks how she knows she isn’t one of them. When Lucy makes it outside, Kira pulls up and yells for her to get in. Lucy refuses. Tom approaches Jules so Neva maces him. Kira knows Lucy wants to know who the little boy is. She offers to tell her who she is if she comes with her. Lucy gets in before Myung fires a few shots at their vehicle.

At a park, Kira tells Lucy that she was made out of love.

 

Orphan Black: Echoes Review

The fourth episode of Orphan Black: Echoes wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been although it wasn’t spectacular either. It could’ve been a lot sillier when Lucy and Jules decided to use drugs to try to remember past events. How many times has that been done on television anyway? Despite being juvenile, I really expected a lot worse from those scenes.

The dialogue remains painful to the point that it is difficult to take anything seriously. Some of the characters speak as if they’re posting on social media. Truthfully, this is just like everything else on television right now. It has the same issues and the same unbelievable problems. The only difference is that the dialogue may be worse and the story has little substance. When the dialogue isn’t corny, it seems to just ramble about nothing.

The problem with having a 10-episode season is that the story is going to stall at some point. This episode was a good example of that considering so little happened. This episode scores a 5 out of 10. Recaps of Orphan Black: Echoes can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here. Discuss this show and others at the Reel Mockery Forum.