Summary

• The Orphan Black season 5 finale focuses on Clone Club relationships and closure.
• The Orphan Black universe continues with audiobooks and spin-off series.
• Orphan Black: Echoes is set 37 years after season 5, focusing on Kira and amnesia mystery.

Orphan Black season 5 brought the Clone Club saga to an emotional end in 2017, and many fans are still discussing and dissecting it years later. The high-concept sci-fi drama Orphan Black focused on con artist named Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany) who witnesses the suicide of a stranger who looks exactly like her. Sarah then assumes this woman’s identity, only to quickly learn she’s one of a group of clones and someone is trying to kill them all.

For five seasons between 2013 and 2017, the mystery and intrigue surrounding Sarah, the Clone Club, and the sinister company Neolution evolved in Orphan Black, culminating in the incredibly gripping finale in season 5. Orphan Black explored themes like identity, choice, motherhood and the morality of cloning, and the show tied all of these narrative threads together with season 5 finale “To Right The Wrongs Of Many,” providing closure to the Clone Club saga.

What Happened At The End Of Orphan Black Season 5

The Ending Of Orphan Black Brought The Story Of The Leda Clones To A Close

The Orphan Black season 5 finale ultimately focused on the relationships between the clones rather than the downfall of the Neolutionist movement, which is wrapped up surprisingly quickly. The latter half of the finale jumps ahead and follows the lives of the clones now they're free of the Dyad Institute. The key scene of the final episode finds clones Sarah, Helena, Cosima, and Alison sitting together and talking about their fears for the future and learning from the painful mistakes of the past.

Sarah’s foster brother Felix later hands them a folder with a complete list of the many Leda clones, who need to be found and cured of the clone disease. It’s also discovered Helena’s journal is dubbed Orphan Black. The show revealed Helena is also fertile, and the finale saw her give birth to twins while held captive by Dyad and being rescued by Sarah. Sarah is also reminded of the time she gave birth to Kira and has a flashback to the time she considered having an abortion. Her late guardian, Mr. S ultimately gave her the strength to go through with the birth.

It wasn't the end of stories set in the Orphan Black universe

Orphan Black season 5 provided a suitably intense, emotional ending to the series, and “To Right The Wrongs Of Many” provided the clones with a great ending. However, it wasn't the end of stories set in the Orphan Black universe, as a spin-off and audiobook continued the stories of both the Clone Club and Kira.

Orphan Black Continued In Audiobooks & A Spinoff

There Are Several Ways Fans Can Return To The Orphan Black Universe

There are two seasons of an audiobook follow-up available

While Orphan Black may have ended several years ago, the universe has continued to expand following the conclusion of the main show. There are two seasons of an audiobook follow-up available, and in 2024 the spin-off Orphan Black: Echoes debuted in the US. The Orphan Black audio series is titled Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, and is set eight years after the events of the Orphan Black season 5 finale. Tatiana Maslany returns to voice multiple Project Leda clones, with Sarah, Alison, and Cosima all returning.

The Orphan Black audio series also introduces a new central clone, Vivi Valdez. Vivi is a CIA agent who goes rogue when she discovers the truth about her identity. While the end of Orphan Black season 5 finds the Clone Club in a relatively stable place, their strong relationships are definitely put to the test during the events of Orphan Black: The Next Chapter. There have been two seasons of Orphan Black: The Next Chapter, released in 2019 and 2021 respectively.

More recently, the Orphan Black spin-off series titled Orphan Black: Echoes debuted in the US. While the follow-up arrived in Australia in November 2023, US audiences had to wait until June 2024 — though it was definitely worth the patience. Orphan Black: Echoes takes place several decades after the events of Orphan Black, picking up 37 years after the season 5 finale.

The spin-off show focuses on the adult Kira (Keeley Hawes). The series is just as steeped in mystery, with the plot mainly revolving around Krysten Ritter's Lucy, a young woman with amnesia whom Kira must assist in uncovering the mystery of her life. While it's not as directly connected to the Clone Club as some fans had hoped when it was announced, it's still a more-than-fitting continuation of the Orphan Black universe.