The Dog’s Honest Truth – The episode opens with Kira Manning (Keeley Hawes) reeling from Josh Tartakovich’s (Izad Etemadi) suicide as she returns home with his laptop. She’s surprised to discover a fuming Eleanor Miller (Rya Kihlstedt) who has just been informed by Lucy (Krysten Ritter) that she too is a printout. Lucy attempts to discuss Jules Anderson’s (Amanda Fix) kidnapping but is forcefully encouraged out by Eleanor. Alone, Kira admits Eleanor is a printout. Eleanor tries to stop her from packing a bag and storming off by reminding her how sick she was. This only makes Eleanor madder as she points out that life is supposed to be fragile and that’s what makes it so special. Before leaving, she learns that she only has 2 years before the worst of Alzheimer’s symptoms hit.

Xander (Vinson Tran) discusses his failure to bring Jules over to their side with Paul Darros (James Hiroyuki Liao). Darros doesn’t appear to be too upset as he notes how smart Jules is and claims it was likely only a matter of time before she discovered the truth. When Xander says he’s having a hard time accepting that there is another “prime” out there, Darros encourages him to imagine how Jules must feel. Xander’s later apologies don’t gain him any favor with Jules, but he does get her to agree to accompany him to the lab where she was made.

Lucy pays Pam (Marnie McPhail) a surprise visit at her office and demands to know her role in Jules’s kidnapping. Pam claims she only played the role of a psychologist. Lucy says that psychologists are trained to read people and that’s an incredibly valuable skill. Laying her gun on the table, she then asks if Pam can read what she’s feeling.

Xander escorts Jules to a lab with the printer and attempts to get her to see things from a scientific standpoint. He says that manufacturing people isn’t so strange when you think about the role that science plays in the modern birthing process. He shocks her when he gets down inside the machine and admits he often does it to think. He asks her to join him.

Pam reveals that Jules is at Darros compound, but claims it doesn’t matter because there she is untouchable. She also claims Jules is destined for greater things before Jules loses her cool and pistol whips her.

Xander and Jules lay silently in the printer until she notices him eyeing her. When asked, he admits how happy he is to have someone that can relate to his situation. She learns that he’s been at the compound for almost a year. Although he agrees that being denied the right to leave could technically make him a prisoner, he doesn’t feel like one. He claims he doesn’t feel like a prisoner because there are always so many new and exciting things to discover. She asks if he wants to experience something new right now. He agrees and she instructs him to close his eyes. When he does, she uses the nasal spray he stole earlier on him and locks him in the machine. The confinement and suffering cause Xander to remember an earlier visit with his ailing sister. Using Darros’s stolen bracelet, Jules gets into his office, shuts down the facility’s power, and steals an unidentified device.

Lucy returns to Kira’s home to find her hungover and moping. After the two trade information about Jules and Josh’s suicide, Lucy offers her help to track down Eleanor. Lucy asks where he might have gone. Seconds later, Eleanor is shown visiting Lucas Manning (Jaeden Noel) at church where she reveals the truth about her illness and being a printout.

As Jules continues with her escape, an impatient Darros and Tom (Reed Diamond) try to get the power back up. When the system is rebooted, they learn that Jules has made it outside the sound field. Darros suggests they use the opportunity to follow her and see if she leads them to Lucy. He also adds that he’ll deal with the Xander situation personally.

Kira visits the original Eleanor’s grave and has a one-sided conversation where she admits not realizing how much her loss impacted her. Kira says she was able to successfully recreate Eleanor, but she couldn’t change herself. She ends the conversation by vowing to fix everything even though that will likely require her to leave Eleanor behind.

As Jules continues her escape and finds a stray dog, Darros demeans Xander for failing again to reach Jules. When Darros wonders aloud if maybe he was expecting too much, Xander assures him that he can do better. Darros appears to be hesitant about giving Xander another chance to prove himself while reminding him how much money and time he’s invested in creating the perfect copy of himself. Darros insults him a final time by saying he should have expected failure as there is always some margin of error with every experiment. Before he can leave, Xander informs him of the memory of their sister which only stops him for a second. Xander asks why Darros didn’t share the information as he walks away.

Jules makes her way to a convenience store where she uses the informational kiosk to look up an address until the machine demands payment. Her new friend steals a bag of chips that the clerk (Katherine Genge) tries to wrangle away in the parking lot. Joing them outside, Jules offers to help but demands a payment in return.

Lucy manages to track Eleanor to the church where she meets Lucas and is introduced to him as a younger version of Eleanor. After learning the original Eleanor died while he was away at school he grows and and demands they leave.

Craig (Jonathan Whittaker) picks Jules and the dog up at the convenience store while Xander mopes in his room at the compound. He replays Darros’s insults over in his head until he grabs his pack and leaves. Tom tracks Jules to the convenience store to learn that she wasn’t alone and only stayed 3 or 4 minutes before making a call and being picked up. He appears to be most interested in the fact she had a dog with her. The clerk says strays are common in the area because of the animal shelter just minutes down the road.

After leaving the church, Lucy shares the photo of baby Lucas (Riley Klassen) with Eleanor and admits to always having questions. Eleanor says the picture was taken the day she tried to teach him to water the plants. When she ironically adds that it really isn’t her memory, Lucy claims it doesn’t matter whose memory it is. Lucy then reveals that her only memory is the one of the bloodied bathroom, which is something Jules shares. Eleanor says that was the worst day of her life and shares the story of their father’s (Rob Torr) depression and suicide. Lucy receives a call from Jules who suggests they start fighting back and asks Lucy to meet her at the Southeast Dockyards.

On their way to the docks, Jules learns how Lucy and Craig met. He claims she was in a tough spot and needed someone, so he was simply there for her. Jules says that sounds nice before confessing that she doesn’t feel real after seeing the machine that created her. He claims what really matters is where you are going, not where you come from. Elsewhere, Tom uses the dog’s GPS tracker to hone in on Jules’s location.

While scanning Josh’s laptop for clues, Kira finds several short video clips that lead to a calendar with Wednesday the 9th marked as the launch day. Kira appears startled by the date, immediately slams the laptop closed, and phones Emily (Tattiawna Jones), declaring that she needs her help.

Arriving at the docks, Tom is surprised to find Craig, Jules, and the dog waiting for him. As he grabs his pistol and attempts to exit his vehicle, Eleanor and Jules ram his vehicle. Minutes later in a deserted parking lot, Jules exits Craig’s vehicle and joins Lucy and Eleanor. Craig follows them as they pull out and Tom is shown banged up but alive. The episode ends with Kira meeting Emily at a diner.

 

Orphan Black Echoes Review

I hate to say this, but this episode felt like a complete waste to me. 98% of it could and been skipped and the story would have progressed seamlessly. Despite that, I don’t feel that it was a horrible episode, as there were some pivotal moments. The whole scene at the docks with the collision didn’t really make any sense because they didn’t bother to get out and confirm Tom’s condition.

In addition, it seems as if it would have been more practical to use the rear of the truck to ram Tom’s vehicle. I’d give the episode a 5.1 out of 10, despite the lack of story development. I felt there were a few defining scenes for some of the characters.

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