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The Best Episodes of Orphan Black

Every episode of Orphan Black ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Orphan Black!

Binge this in 1d 12h•Peaking at 8.2/10

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

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 10 - Endless Forms Most Beautiful
    8.2/10(25 votes)

    #1 - Endless Forms Most Beautiful

    S1:E10

    Sarah’s last chance to bring her nemesis back to sanity slips away as Art intervenes to get answers of his own. Meanwhile, the Orphans must decide whether to make peace with their creators, as Sarah is forced into a deadly confrontation with their enemy.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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  2. Orphan Black Season 2 Episode 10 - By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried
    8.0/10(23 votes)

    #2 - By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried

    S2:E10

    The war with Dyad is all but lost when Rachel’s latest ploy forces a broken Sarah to concede. The Clone Club springs into action, uniting in a reckless gambit to save Sarah. As they fight to gain their freedom, Sarah encounters a new ally and uncovers a terrifying new dimension to the conspiracy.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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  3. Orphan Black Season 4 Episode 6 - The Scandal of Altruism
    8.0/10(23 votes)

    #3 - The Scandal of Altruism

    S4:E6

    When Cosima admits doubts about finding a cure in time to save her life, Sarah makes a lone decision that exposes Kendall to those she’s spent years hiding from. Meanwhile, Art and Felix team up to protect naïve clone, Krystal Godderitch, from herself.

    Director:Grant Harvey
    Writer:Chris Roberts

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  4. Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 6 - Variations Under Domestication
    7.8/10(28 votes)

    #4 - Variations Under Domestication

    S1:E6

    Sarah’s hunt for answers is interrupted by a trip to the suburbs. Alison’s paranoia has boiled over, putting all the Orphans at risk. But when Sarah, Alison and Beth’s worlds dangerously collide, Sarah must decide who to trust with her secret.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Will Pascoe

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  5. Orphan Black Season 2 Episode 7 - Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things
    7.8/10(20 votes)

    #5 - Knowledge of Causes, and Secret Motion of Things

    S2:E7

    When a rehab confidante betrays Alison and threatens to expose the truth about Aynsley’s death, she goes into free fall on the eve of Family Day. With Donnie and the kids set to visit, it’s all clones on deck to contain the fallout.

    Director:Ken Girotti
    Writer:Aubrey Nealon

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  6. Orphan Black Season 4 Episode 3 - The Stigmata of Progress
    7.7/10(20 votes)

    #6 - The Stigmata of Progress

    S4:E3

    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.

    Director:Ken Girotti
    Writer:Aubrey Nealon

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Orphan Black

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  7. Orphan Black Season 4 Episode 5 - Human Raw Material
    7.7/10(20 votes)

    #7 - Human Raw Material

    S4:E5

    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.

    Director:David Wellington
    Writer:Kate Miles Melville

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  8. Orphan Black Season 4 Episode 9 - The Mitigation of Competition
    7.7/10(18 votes)

    #8 - The Mitigation of Competition

    S4:E9

    With Susan Duncan deposed, Sarah finds herself in the same position as Rachel — under the heel of a new HBIC — causing the archenemies to come together for the greater good. Cosima and Susan butt heads on the ethical implications of human experiments. Meanwhile, when the Hendrixes' legal counsel, Adele, further investigates Donnie’s case, she begins to suspect Felix is keeping deep secrets. Helena’s arrival forces Felix to make a difficult decision.

    Director:David Frazee
    Writer:Alex Levine

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  9. Orphan Black Season 5 Episode 8 - Guillotines Decide
    7.7/10(20 votes)

    #9 - Guillotines Decide

    S5:E8

    Mrs. S orders the sisters to take a night off from sleuthing to celebrate Felix's art opening. But while Felix attempts to impress a famous gallerist with the help of his sestras, Sarah remains on edge with a nagging suspicion that S is hiding something. Meanwhile, wounded and desperate, Rachel reunites with an old ally, but their plans for revenge on Neolution put Clone Club in the line of fire.

    Director:Aaron Morton
    Writers:Graeme Manson, Aisha Porter-Christie

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  10. Orphan Black Season 5 Episode 7 - Gag or Throttle
    7.6/10(16 votes)

    #10 - Gag or Throttle

    S5:E7

    As P. T. Westmorland demands a more aggressive action on Kira, and Sarah fights to save her daughter, Rachel discovers a dark secret that makes her question her place within Neolution. Meanwhile, Cosima has returned with a vital clue to Westmorland's true identity.

    Director:David Frazee
    Writer:Renée St. Cyr

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  11. Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 2 - Instinct
    7.5/10(33 votes)

    #11 - Instinct

    S1:E2

    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.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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  12. Orphan Black Season 2 Episode 4 - Governed As It Were by Chance
    7.5/10(24 votes)

    #12 - Governed As It Were by Chance

    S2:E4

    Sarah comes home looking for answers, and with the help of Cosima, they begin digging into the origins of the clone experiment. The hunt for answers takes her right into the belly of the beast, but getting out could cost her more than she knows.

    Director:David Frazee
    Writer:Russ Cochrane

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  13. Orphan Black Season 4 Episode 1 - The Collapse of Nature
    7.5/10(24 votes)

    #13 - The Collapse of Nature

    S4:E1

    After two months of respite, Sarah’s hard-won refuge in Iceland is shattered by a Neolution attack. Once again forced to flee, she realizes no matter how far her family runs it will never be far enough.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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  14. Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 3 - Variation Under Nature
    7.4/10(29 votes)

    #14 - Variation Under Nature

    S1:E3

    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.

    Director:David Frazee
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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  15. Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 9 - Unconscious Selection
    7.4/10(27 votes)

    #15 - Unconscious Selection

    S1:E9

    After Kira’s life is threatened, Sarah is on the warpath, but Dr. Leekie makes her think twice about her plans for revenge. Meanwhile, Cosima faces the truth about Delphine, forcing her to choose sides. Now, it’s up to Sarah to decide the killer’s fate, but the truth about where Sarah came from changes everything.

    Director:T.J. Scott
    Writer:Alex Levine

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  16. Orphan Black Season 3 Episode 9 - Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow
    7.4/10(19 votes)

    #16 - Insolvent Phantom of Tomorrow

    S3:E9

    Sarah, Felix, and Mrs. S are in London to track down the Castor Original, but their enemies are not far behind.

    Director:Vincenzo Natali
    Writer:Russ Cochrane

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  17. Orphan Black Season 4 Episode 10 - From Dancing Mice to Psychopaths
    7.4/10(22 votes)

    #17 - From Dancing Mice to Psychopaths

    S4:E10

    When communication with Cosima is cut off and Neolution appears to be within striking distance, Sarah's alliance with Rachel goes out the window. Sarah lures a high-level Neolutionist into a trap, and sets out to bring down Neolution once and for all.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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  18. Orphan Black Season 2 Episode 6 - To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings
    7.3/10(21 votes)

    #18 - To Hound Nature in Her Wanderings

    S2:E6

    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.

    Director:Brett Sullivan
    Writer:Chris Roberts

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  19. Orphan Black Season 4 Episode 4 - From Instinct to Rational Control
    7.3/10(21 votes)

    #19 - From Instinct to Rational Control

    S4:E4

    Sarah realizes her goals have aligned with her once enemy and forms a precarious alliance in hopes of getting to the head of Neolution. Meanwhile, on her end, Alison dispatches Felix and Donnie to infiltrate a Neolution fertility clinic that Beth investigated. Back at the lab, Cosima and Scott receive a revolting delivery from Alison. As Rachel grows closer to Charlotte, Susan Duncan leaves a devastating decision in her hands.

    Director:Peter Stebbings
    Writer:Alex Levine

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  20. Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 1 - Natural Selection
    7.2/10(46 votes)

    #20 - Natural Selection

    S1:E1

    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.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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  21. Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 5 - Conditions of Existence
    7.2/10(29 votes)

    #21 - Conditions of Existence

    S1:E5

    When terrifying evidence suggests the Orphans are part of a sinister ongoing experiment, Sarah’s suspicions turn to Paul, Beth’s boyfriend. But her probing inadvertently triggers Paul’s own investigation, bringing him dangerously close to the truth. Meanwhile, paranoid Alison piles on a whole new level of complication.

    Director:T.J. Scott
    Writer:Alex Levine

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  22. Orphan Black Season 1 Episode 8 - Entangled Bank
    7.2/10(30 votes)

    #22 - Entangled Bank

    S1:E8

    Sarah's actions pit the Orphans against each other as she tries to plan her next move. As Paul tries desperately to cover up Sarah’s existence, Alison takes vengeance on her suspected monitor, which could cost her everything she holds dear.

    Director:Ken Girotti
    Writer:Karen Walton

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  23. Orphan Black Season 3 Episode 3 - Formalized, Complex, and Costly
    7.2/10(19 votes)

    #23 - Formalized, Complex, and Costly

    S3:E3

    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.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Chris Roberts

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  24. Orphan Black Season 3 Episode 4 - Newer Elements of Our Defense
    7.2/10(19 votes)

    #24 - Newer Elements of Our Defense

    S3:E4

    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.

    Director:Chris Grismer
    Writer:Russ Cochrane

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  25. Orphan Black Season 3 Episode 10 - History Yet to Be Written
    7.2/10(23 votes)

    #25 - History Yet to Be Written

    S3:E10

    Castor and Topside force Sarah to make uneasy alliances. But there is some rest for the wicked, when Donnie gives Helena an unexpected ‘gift’, and the results of Alison’s candidacy finally come in. Even as team Leda takes a moment to breathe, change is afoot and a life hangs in the balance.

    Director:John Fawcett
    Writer:Graeme Manson

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Best Episodes Summary

"Endless Forms Most Beautiful" is the best rated episode of "Orphan Black". It scored 8.2/10 based on 25 votes. Directed by John Fawcett and written by Graeme Manson, it aired on 6/1/2013. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried".