Episode 5 of Orphan Black: Echoes opens in the year 2030, showcasing a youthful Kira, a budding doctor under the esteemed Dr. Eleanor Miller's tutelage—a mirror image of Lucy and Jules. Their relationship is a tapestry of attraction and restraint, a dance of wills that ultimately leads to their union. Together, they step into their first apartment, once tailored for Lucy's arrival, and embark on a journey of scientific progress. Eleanor delves into a drug that promises to cure Alzheimer's for her mother, while Kira pioneers the frontier of organ printing for transplants.
Desiring a child, Eleanor's hopes are dashed when she learns of her infertility. Stepping in gracefully, Kira bears their son, Lucas—the cherubic boy whose portrait Kira once showed to Lucy. Darros, keen on funding Kira's revolutionary work, meets with disappointment as she turns him down. However, Eleanor convinces her that Darros' wealth could accelerate their dreams.
As the years fly by, we find ourselves in 2050. Lucas has grown into a college student, while Kira remains steadfast in her pursuit of medical breakthroughs. Darros' interest in human cloning remains unwavering, yet Kira remains resolute in her refusal. In her free time, Eleanor loves to swim, but one fateful day, she loses her way to the pool, a sign of her fading memory. She confesses to Kira, revealing the early stages of Alzheimer's. Her medicine, ironically, fails to cure her own affliction, and she begs Kira to protect Lucas from the truth.
Kira, determined and devastated, dives into her research, uncovering the key to printing healthy neurons. As she describes the procedure, her motivation is clear—she's doing this for Lucas. But Eleanor, her mind clouded by the disease, fails to recognize her own son. With a heavy heart, Kira performs the delicate brain surgery. Miraculously, Eleanor awakens, her memories restored. Kira's tests reveal a successful procedure, similar to the one she conducted on Lucy. Their reunion is fleeting, however, as Eleanor's body fails to sustain the transplant, and she passes away the following day, leaving Kira and Lucas with a lifetime of memories and a void that can never be filled.
Amidst desperation, Kira seized Darros' proposal and bargained a deal - the printer would be dismantled after Eleanor's reproduction. Though he concurred, Kira exercised caution by concealing the intricate lens details from the project file, rendering the machine futile without it. Her sole confidant in this matter was Josh, who assisted her faithfully. As they triumphantly materialized a bird, their ambitions shifted to Eleanor.
Josh raised a pivotal concern, probing Kira if the resurrected Eleanor would be the same soul she knew or a stranger. He further highlighted that, with identical genetic makeup, she would inevitably succumb to Alzheimer's in two decades. Yet, Kira chose to confront these complexities once Lucy materialized. She hoped that Lucy would recall their cherished home, Lucas, and their private jokes, but she did not. The tattoo on her arm was not a mark of ownership; it was a matching UV design that Eleanor and Kira had shared.
Now, Lucy, having grasped the full narrative, was enraged. She resented Kira's unilateral decision and felt alienated in this new world. She emphasized that she was not a mere facsimile of Eleanor. Kira apologized profusely, vowing to rectify her mistake. Lucy's anger persisted as she inquired about Jules' creation, baffling Kira, who confessed that she had only ever reproduced Lucy and subsequently deactivated the machine, marking the conclusion of Orphan Black: Echoes Episode 5.
