Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Orphan Black: Season Five Blu-ray Movie Review

Don't bother, they're here.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 12, 2017

It might be more than a little cheeky to suggest that this fifth season of Orphan Black might reasonably be nicknamed Attack of the Clones, but it’s not as farfetched as it might initially seem, especially if that “attack of” is taken to mean both attacks on clones as well as attacks by clones. This fascinating if often pretty labyrinthine series has never shied away from sometimes gruesome deaths, especially since one of the major subplots has dealt with the intentional eradication of clones by some nefarious assassin types, but the fifth year goes for the gusto in some unexpected ways. In fact this season begins in the aftermath of the knock down, drag out fight that was part of the fourth season’s last episode, a skirmish that at least suggested focal character Sarah (Tatiana Maslany, playing all of the clones of Sarah as well) had met her match. That perhaps unsurprisingly turns out not to be the case, though Sarah is pretty badly wounded, only to find herself attacked again in the woods of the mysterious island she’s gone to in order to try to find and potentially rescue Cosima. The whole island aspect of this season of Orphan Black may remind some viewers of another fascinating if often labyrinthine series, namely Lost, and indeed not just the locale seems to spark memories of that late, lamented enterprise. Much like the nefarious Ben and The Others, the island is populated by a cult of sorts who have perfected the “art” of living off the grid and who are led by the mysterious P.T. Westmorland (Stephen McHattie), an enigmatic elder (in more ways than one) who turns out to be the prime mover behind the whole Neolutionist project. The fact that Westmorland is supposedly well over a century and a half old may suggest yet another cinematic referent with “lost” in its title, Lost Horizon, though in this case it’s a little intravenous infusion that keeps Westmorland among the living instead of a magical location. At a Comic-Con panel in July of 2016 the series’ production crew announced that the fifth season would be the show’s last, and with only ten episodes to wend its way through a rather arcane amount of plot material (not to mention a truly ungainly number of characters), this season is arguably a bit overstuffed, though it delivers some surprising impact as it does manage to tie up quite a few (if perhaps not quite all) of the show’s varied plot strands.

Our reviews of the previous seasons of Orphan Black can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Orphan Black: Season One Blu-ray review

Orphan Black: Season Two Blu-ray review

Orphan Black: Season Three Blu-ray review

Orphan Black: Season Four Blu-ray review

If there’s one recurrent issue with Orphan Black as a whole and arguably this season in particular, it’s the nonstop array of shifting alliances that continually accrue, something that can leave the viewer feeling like their “trust” in certain characters has been misplaced. There are some rather interesting developments this season with regard to a number of characters, notably Delphine (Évelyne Brochu), who seems to waffle between being Cosima’s self-described “protector” and someone perhaps a bit more duplicitous, as well as Susan Duncan (Rosemary Dunsmore), who (in yet another unsurprising development) isn’t “quite dead yet”. Some of the best material this season comes courtesy of skirmishes between Susan and Virginia Coady (Kyra Harper), whom Susan had supposedly disposed of (more or less, anyway), but who returns under the aegis of Westmorland, becoming part of a triangular power struggle of sorts.

The whole subplot of a supposedly sterile clone being able to naturally reproduce is a focal element of this final season, and (without posting any major spoilers) not just with regard to Kira Manning (Skyler Wexler). The series probably needlessly develops some melodrama involving other potential offspring rather late in this season, an element which is resolved virtually as quickly as it’s introduced. In fact there’s a slightly rushed feeling to the final few episodes of this season, when perhaps some early judicious pruning of the many sidebars this series has always offered might have provided more time to artfully resolve so many plot strands. Part of this is perhaps unavoidable due to an underlying structure of this season's episodes, where (as is discussed in one of the supplements detailed below) there was a strategy to offer a "featured clone" in each episode, something that perhaps tends to work against an organic unfolding of so many different stories.

As it stands, Orphan Black is perhaps too eager to get to a “happily ever after” for several focal characters, including one major clone who some longtime fans may feel deserves a bit more of some comeuppance. The series has routinely at least suggested some rather profound ethical issues underlying its basic science fiction-esque plot, but in its attempts to get everything lined up for its finale, some of these “philosophical” elements are kind of left by the wayside. The show continues to be an incredible showcase for the impeccably versatile Maslany, who could extract any few minutes of the show as a demo reel, especially since the series delights in vignettes featuring Maslany as more than one character on screen at the same time.

Orphan Black: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Orphan Black: Season Five is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of BBC with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While there's a fair amount of both relatively shadowy interior scenes as well as some pretty heavily graded sequences (often in shades of deep cobalt blue or slate gray), this season appealed to me more than Orphan Black: Season Four did, perhaps because of a surplus of otherwise brightly lit scenes, many of which take place outside. The show repeatedly exploits extreme close-ups of Maslany in her many guises, and those typically offer excellent levels of fine detail. In the cultish island locations, there are also precise accountings of textures on elements like the fabrics of Westmorland's 19th century get ups (including some apparel he makes guests wear). While the palette is regularly tweaked enough that I wouldn't exactly call it "natural" looking, there's a wide array of hues on display that are often very nicely saturated.

Orphan Black: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Orphan Black: Season Five features another effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. Many of the island scenes offer either well placed ambient environmental effects or in some cases pretty raucous crowd scenes, all of which contribute to some effective immersion. The show's sometimes cheeky use of music also provides good surround activity. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

Orphan Black: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Island of the Lost Souls (1080p; 6:28) has some good interviews concerning this season's mysterious locale, which is compared perhaps unwisely to Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now.


• The Epic Clone Shot (1080p; 9:30) is a really fun and interesting piece which documents some of the technical challenges the series faces when it gets Tatiana Maslany on screen simultaneously as more than one character.


• Clone Centric (1080p; 17:50) has more good interviews, with an emphasis on the season's attempt to have a "featured clone" in each episode this season.


• The Beginning of the End (1080p; 16:30) kind of double plays on the word "end", since there's a focus on the death of at least one central character (so this obviously has spoiler potential).


• Out of the Black (1080p; 20:04) is another elegy of sorts, focusing on what the end of the series means to the cast and crew.


• Closer Looks (1080p; 31:52) feature brief but enjoyable EPKs devoted to each episode.

Note: All of the supplements listed above are found on Disc 2 of this two disc set.

Orphan Black: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Orphan Black: Season Five may stumble a bit in its headlong rush to get to its endgame, but the series is arguably more viscerally effective in these last ten episodes than it was last season. Maslany continues to be amazing in a huge array of roles, and the supporting cast is filled with some excellent work as well. For those who haven't yet seen this series, there's an Orphan Black: The Complete Series set coming up in a few weeks that looks like it might save a few bucks over buying each individual season (as of the publishing of this review). For those who have already been enjoying Orphan Black on Blu-ray, this last season comes Highly recommended.