The opening chapter of Orphan Black: Echoes begins in the futuristic year 2050, with Lucy awakening in a sleek living room, her gaze meeting a female doctor's attentive stare. A series of tests are administered, yet Lucy's long-term memory is a blurred canvas, leaving her disoriented and uncertain. As the doctor presents a photograph of a cherubic baby, Lucy's eyes struggle to recognize the face, triggering a wave of panic. The doctor, sensing her distress, administers a sedative and departs, leaving Lucy alone in the silence.
Upon waking, Lucy's instincts guide her as she escapes the confines of the room. She discovers she is within the confines of an Additive Foundation laboratory, where printed body parts litter the space. Among them, she stumbles upon a half-formed body, partially completed in a blush hue of pink. Just as she's about to delve deeper, the female doctor appears, attempting to explain that Lucy is a 4-D printed being, modeled after a specimen. But Lucy, her heart racing, flees before the security team can intercept her.
The narrative shifts forward two years, revealing Lucy now residing in the serene countryside. She toils on a farm, her humble abode a rented trailer. Her life intertwines with a secret affair with her landlord, Jack, a retired army medic whose warmth extends to his mute daughter, Charlie. Charlie, inquisitive yet mischievous, sneaks into Lucy's trailer, exploring her possessions, from her gun to her research diary. Despite her prying nature, Lucy finds her charming, yearning for Charlie to know of her bond with Jack. However, Lucy's heartache is palpable; she's entrapped in a recurring nightmare, where her youthful self grasps a blood-stained knife, surrounded by pools of crimson. Her days are filled with a fog of confusion, and at work, she collides with a car, necessitating a hospital visit. The doctors' findings are inconclusive, offering Lucy a fleeting sense of relief. Meanwhile, Jack, deeply concerned, begs Lucy to join him and Charlie, and her heart soars with joy upon hearing his request.
However, Lucy's medical examinations unexpectedly drew the attention of a doctor covertly employed by Additive, and the female physician was promptly alerted. Unluckily, as Lucy was packing her bags for a fresh start, a bounty hunter, who had traced her through the hospital records, located her. He aimed a UV light at her forearm, revealing an incriminating Additive insignia. Struggling fiercely, Lucy managed to flee into the nearby farm, while Charlie, peering through the window, witnessed the entire ordeal.
At the precise moment when the bounty hunter drew his weapon, Charlie emerged, armed with Lucy's gun, and fired a decisive shot, bringing the chase to an end. The scene shifted to Jack, horrified, and Charlie, shaken, being escorted to a safe haven. Lucy, determined to bring an end to Additive's tyranny, made her way to a sober resettlement home administered by Craig, who had once rescued her from Additive's clutches when she was drugged and disoriented. She sought to find those she had escaped from and convey her message of peace, using the bounty hunter's sim card to track down his last known location and deliver her ultimatum: leave her alone.
Meanwhile, Tom, the head of Additive's security team, is hell-bent on eliminating Lucy, convinced that she's the one who shot his bounty hunter. He labels her as flawed, perilous, and a threat. His intent to terminate her is only thwarted by the female doctor, who also serves as Additive's director. Later, she's seen tearfully dialing a woman's number, but only reaching voicemail.
Lucy, wandering around the building where the bounty hunter was last spotted, chances upon a young girl who appears to be a mirror image of her youthful self. Astonished, Lucy collides with the girl and notices she's listening to "Janine" by Bowie, Lucy's favorite song. Both share an identical suture mark on their wrists, a stark reminder of their possible shared origins. Alerted by a nearby bodyguard, Lucy quickly takes the bewildered girl hostage.
Amidst the confusion, Lucy tries to extract information from the bodyguard, wondering if this girl is a replica, crafted from the same blueprint as herself. With the bodyguard offering no help, Lucy flees with the girl in tow.
As Orphan Black: Echoes Episode 1 draws to a close, the female doctor calls out "Aunt Cosima," her voice filled with worry and remorse. The scene shifts to her desk, adorned with photographs of Orphan Black characters - Cosima, Siobhan, Felix, Sara, and a baby Kira. This revelation hints that the female doctor is in fact the grown-up Kira, Sara's cherished daughter.
