The WORST episodes of Orphan Black

Every episode of Orphan Black ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Orphan Black!

A streetwise hustler is pulled into a compelling conspiracy after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her.

Last Updated: 8/31/2024Network: SpaceStatus: Ended
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Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis
star
7.58
2329 votes

#1 - Transitory Sacrifices of Crisis

Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/25/2015

Castor pursues the Leda clones for original tissue samples. Helena, who is pregnant and imprisoned, is examined by a mysterious new villain. The Castor boys are also out to play, toying with a frightened young woman, Patty, in a sexy switcheroo that ultimately sets Sarah – and Art – hot on the Castor trail. But it’s not all fun and games for the Castor boys, as Sarah gleans they may have a mysterious defect that puts their lives in peril.

Directors: John Fawcett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Let the Children and Childbearers Toil
star
7.59
1858 votes

#2 - Let the Children and Childbearers Toil

Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/1/2017

Following up on intel from a mysterious source, Mrs. S heads on the road with Sarah to investigate a lead on a Neolution defector. Meanwhile, an unexpected reunion takes place on the island, while Cosima's research leads her to a terrible discovery.

Directors: David Wellington
Writer: Greg Nelson
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ease for Idle Millionaires
star
7.59
1778 votes

#3 - Ease for Idle Millionaires

Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/8/2017

While Sarah and Kira spend some well-needed bonding time at home, secrets are unlocked about Kira's special gifts that are surprisingly linked to the island's creature. Meanwhile, Cosima joins Delphine at the mansion for a twisted family dinner.

Directors: Helen Shaver
Writer: Jenn Engels
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Clutch of Greed
star
7.64
1933 votes

#4 - Clutch of Greed

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/17/2017

Captured by Neolution Sarah receives a damning ultimatum from Rachel: come into the fold, or lose your family. Her decision causes a clash with Kira who begins exploring her own maturity. Meanwhile, Ferdinand struggles to get a handle on Rachel’s new velvet glove mandate in pursuit of the clones. With Neolutionists and Ferdinand watching their every move, Felix brings an old ally into the mix to help his family get Kira to safety. On the Island, Cosima struggles to comprehend the reality of the Neolution myth made real.

Directors: John Fawcett
Writer: Jeremy Boxen
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Beneath Her Heart
star
7.68
1850 votes

#5 - Beneath Her Heart

Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 6/24/2017

Stuck on the sidelines with Neolutionists crawling all over her home, Alison seeks to return to her community center, but Bailey Downs has moved on from her. As she flounders to take back some semblance of control, the ghost of friendships’ past rears its handsome head. Art and his new partner show up at the Hendrix residence to continue their search for Helena, forcing Art to make a difficult moral judgement.

Directors: David Wellington
Writer: Alex Levine
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Few Who Dare
star
7.69
2070 votes

#6 - The Few Who Dare

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/10/2017

As the fifth and final season opens, Sarah is deeply wounded and struggling to stay alive on the Island. Driven deep into its forest by Neolutionists and worse, she strives to make it far enough to rescue Cosima. Meanwhile, a recovering Cosima reunites with Delphine, but there’s way more going on this Island than Cosima imagined and Delphine can’t give her all the answers she needs. What is clear is that Rachel is now firmly in charge at the right-hand of the 170-year-old founder of Neolution, PT Westmorland.

Directors: John Fawcett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Formalized, Complex, and Costly
star
7.70
2261 votes

#7 - Formalized, Complex, and Costly

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/2/2015

Leda and Castor are both on the hunt for original clone DNA. On-the-lam, Mark and Gracie pursue new leads to find the samples that might set them free, while Art and Sarah reunite to track them down. Meanwhile, Cosima and Scott try to learn more about Castor’s biology and Alison’s new money-making venture is going gangbusters. A shocking revelation about the Castor-Leda connection leaves the sisters reeling, just before Sarah witnesses a deadly Prolethean-Castor face-off.

Directors: John Fawcett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Newer Elements of Our Defense
star
7.72
2070 votes

#8 - Newer Elements of Our Defense

Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/9/2015

Mark is taken down in a Prolethean shoot-out and Sarah must step in to help. But as Sarah gathers intel that puts her on the trail of the original Castor DNA, a familiar foe is not far behind. While Helena continues to toil in a faraway military compound, it is ultimately Sarah’s fate that will hang in the balance as she tries to save her sister. Meanwhile, Gracie is cast out from the Prolethean fold, and Alison and Donnie come face-to-face with unhappy drug lord, Jason Kellerman.

Directors: Chris Grismer
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Scarred by Many Past Frustrations
star
7.72
2086 votes

#9 - Scarred by Many Past Frustrations

Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/16/2015

Helena and her seestra are reunited at the Castor camp when Sarah is captured. As Sarah suffers testing, Paul appears to chide her; but his allegiances are beginning to strain. While the Leda family worries about Sarah’s absence, Gracie ‘breaks Amish’ under the care of Mrs. S and an unwilling Felix. Cosima falls hard for an internet date, Shay.

Directors: David Frazee
Writer: Alex Levine
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Weight of This Combination
star
7.74
2659 votes

#10 - The Weight of This Combination

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/18/2015

Sarah pursues the missing Helena who is held in a faraway compound. Sarah must use her wiles – and acting chops – to deter a Topside investigator who threatens the Leda sisters’ lives. Meanwhile, Cosima appears to be rebounding from her illness, while Alison and Donnie face newfound financial woes. But when the menace of Castor rears its head once more, Sarah and her entire family must come together to survive.

Directors: David Frazee
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Antisocialism of Sex
star
7.76
2235 votes

#11 - The Antisocialism of Sex

Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/26/2016

Sarah regresses back to old habits while struggling to cope with the consequences of her decisions — reconnecting with Beth on a dark night of the soul. Back at the lab, Cosima, haunted by vicious memories and news of Delphine, attempts a dangerous Hail Mary to find a cure. At the Hendrixes, Alison is more determined than ever to create normalcy for her kids. As she forges ahead with a birthday party, Donnie is caught in the Neolution crosshairs.

Directors: David Frazee
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Variable and Full of Perturbation
star
7.76
2897 votes

#12 - Variable and Full of Perturbation

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/7/2014

A new player in the clone conspiracy turns up at Felix’s door, sending him into crisis mode. With Cosima running out of options, Sarah struggles with the decision to surrender a crucial piece of leverage and make a deal with Dyad.

Directors: John Fawcett
Writer: Karen Walton
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Manacled Slim Wrists
star
7.76
1738 votes

#13 - Manacled Slim Wrists

Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/15/2017

Cosima is forced into an alliance with Susan Duncan when an old enemy returns to the island, accelerating P.T. Westmorland's sinister agenda. Meanwhile, Krystal stumbles onto a vital clue to the Neolution endgame.

Directors: Grant Harvey
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings
star
7.79
3054 votes

#14 - To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/24/2014

Sarah joins forces with an unlikely and untrustworthy ally, following a trail of clues that she hopes will lead her to the origins of the clone experiment. Cosima and Delphine make a discovery that could prove to be the key to treating her illness. Alison finds herself in unsavory company at rehab.

Directors: Brett Sullivan
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Mingling Its Own Nature with It
star
7.80
3223 votes

#15 - Mingling Its Own Nature with It

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 5/3/2014

After hitting the road with Felix, Sarah is forced to turn to a ghost from her past — an old flame named Cal Morison. When their brief respite is brutally shattered, Sarah realizes that no matter how far she runs, it will never be far enough.

Directors: T.J. Scott
Writer: Alex Levine
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
From Instinct to Rational Control
star
7.82
2282 votes

#16 - From Instinct to Rational Control

Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/5/2016

Sarah forms an alliance with a former enemy in hopes of getting to the head of Neolution. Elsewhere, Allison orders Felix and Donnie to invade a Neolution fertility clinic and Susan Duncan leaves Rachel to make a devastating decision.

Directors: Peter Stebbings
Writer: Alex Levine
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate
star
7.83
2118 votes

#17 - Community of Dreadful Fear and Hate

Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 5/30/2015

Alison must secure a store front in order to take her and Donnie’s business to the “next level”. But things don’t go according to plan when her mother, Connie, proves to be a major hindrance. Cosima is facing familiar health issues and calls upon beleaguered Alison for a favor. But with Alison working to save an imperiled Donnie from the merciless hands of a drug lord, it’s Cosima who ends up doing a favor. An unassuming Scott gets closer to the greatest discovery of all, when he sits down with beleaguered clone Rachel.

Directors: Ken Girotti
Writer: Sherry White
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Natural Selection
star
7.84
5736 votes

#18 - Natural Selection

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/30/2013

Sarah, a streetwise hustler on the run from a lifetime of bad decisions, witnesses the suicide of a stranger who looks just like her. Sarah assumes her identity, hoping that cleaning out the dead woman’s bank account will solve all of her problems. Instead, the street smart chameleon is thrust headlong into a kaleidoscopic mystery. After taking on the new identity, Sarah quickly finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly conspiracy and must race to find answers.

Directors: John Fawcett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est
star
7.85
2985 votes

#19 - Ipsa Scientia Potestas Est

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/17/2014

Rachel goes on the warpath, lashing out at Sarah’s nearest and dearest. While she tries to keep her loved ones safe, an unexpected visitor threatens to derail Sarah’s plans.

Directors: Helen Shaver
Writer: Tony Elliott
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Governed By Sound Reason and True Religion
star
7.85
3303 votes

#20 - Governed By Sound Reason and True Religion

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/26/2014

While Alison struggles with Aynsley's death and Cosima grapples with the worsening symptoms of her mysterious sickness, Sarah enlists Art’s help to find Kira and is shocked when she learns where the trail leads.

Directors: John Fawcett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
The Stigmata of Progress
star
7.86
2320 votes

#21 - The Stigmata of Progress

Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/28/2016

As Sarah reels from the shocking discovery of Neolution’s biotech, she’s desperate to find answers. Rachel receives a visit from her keeper and takes a fraught step forward towards recovery. Meanwhile, Helena is mistaken for “Mrs. Hendrix” when she answers a visit from suspicious visitors.

Directors: Ken Girotti
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Instinct
star
7.86
4760 votes

#22 - Instinct

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 4/6/2013

With a body in her car and nowhere to turn, Sarah is forced to continue her con and earn “Beth” a second chance on the force. But with a killer on her tail, her only hope of finding answers lies with another apparent ‘identical,’ Alison.

Directors: John Fawcett
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Variation Under Nature
star
7.88
4442 votes

#23 - Variation Under Nature

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/13/2013

Rocked by the revelation that she and her fellow "Orphans" are clones, Sarah just wants to get her hands on the money and skip town. But Sarah’s fake detective ruse stretches thin when the cops find the body she buried and assign “Beth” to the case. As Sarah closes in on the killer, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Directors: David Frazee
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Human Raw Material
star
7.89
2285 votes

#24 - Human Raw Material

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/12/2016

Sarah’s day off to reconnect with Kira quickly turns into a sleuthing mission aimed squarely at discrediting Felix’s new ties. Cosima steps up with Donnie to further investigate the Neolutionist fertility research center. While Donnie bumps into an all too familiar face, Cosima makes a shocking discovery that leads her into a dangerous encounter.

Directors: David Wellington
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
Effects of External Conditions
star
7.89
4325 votes

#25 - Effects of External Conditions

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/20/2013

Sarah realizes that the Orphans’ survival is going to take more than police work. But tracking the killer threatens Sarah’s long awaited reunion with her daughter, Kira. As Sarah gets closer to the killer, the killer gets closer to the truth – the ensuing showdown threatens to expose her ruse as a cop.

Directors: Grant Harvey
Writer: Karen Walton
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV