We love all the clones from “Orphan Black” like they were born from our own DNA. In celebration of “Orphan Black’s” final season, we took a look back at all the LEDA clones — played by Tatiana Maslany — that have graced our screens. All have contributed in some way to the fight against neolutionists, CASTOR (aka male) clones, and anybody else out for their genetics and their lives. Some were just more useful than others.
All the others
It’s hard to be of use to the Clone Club when you’re dead. Clones such as Jennifer Fitzsimmons (pictured), Danielle Fournier, and others were either killed off before the series began by Helena or died from the clone illness. Either way they add nothing to the story besides establishing how dangerous this world is and it felt strange to leave them out.
Charlotte Bowles
She’s not from the same crop of clones as the others, but she’s from the same genetic material all the same. However, since she’s a direct Rachel clone — and the only living product of an effort to recreate LEDA — she’s got an early version of the illness that killed off so many others. She mostly just shows up to keep Rachel or other captives company.
Tony Sawicki
The only transgender clone we’ve met so far, it puts him in a unique position. When he found out he was a clone, he didn’t react with the surprise and anxiety the other characters did. He knows who he is, with or without being a clone. Being flexible is a pretty useful skill to have. If only he stuck around more than one episode.
Katja Obinger
Katja gets assassinated early on in Season 1, but if it wasn’t for her efforts to locate other clones, Beth wouldn’t have learned about the plot Helena was carrying out and subsequently wouldn’t have found Cosima and Alison. Plus, it’s through her that Sarah eventually gets in touch with her sestras.
Krystal Goderitch
Krystal is the latest addition to the clones, although she isn’t specifically a Clone Club member. She stumbles into the battle on her own thanks to her paranoia and is always on the verge of figuring everything out. While she’s tenacious and self-sufficient, she’s too oblivious. She doesn’t even realize her and Sarah look exactly the same.
Rachel Duncan
She’s the most evil of all the clones, having been essentially raised by the neolutionists that serve as some of the series’ antagonists. Unlike the other clones, she’s less into freedom and more into doing anything to suit her needs, which sometimes turns into kidnapping and manipulation. But when her goals do overlap with the other clones, her talents work to their advantage.
Alison Hendrix
Our favorite suburban housewife is more cunning and streetwise than she lets on. She can be a leader if she needs to, and can take control under immense pressure. However, her constant feeling that she doesn’t fit in with the other women and her absorption in her own problems (drug dealing included) keeps her from being the Clone Club member she has the potential to be.
M.K.
The hacker introduced in Season 4 knows everything about the clones and, it’s revealed, has been present in some part since before the events of Episode 1. However, her paranoia concerning her identity and hesitancy to involve herself personally in the fight against the neolutionists makes it tough to trust her fully. Plus, as we find out, she’s sick and only getting sicker.
Beth Childs
We learn a lot about Beth’s investigation into the neolutionists and LEDA in Season 4, but before that she was always an enigma for Sarah to connect with. She jumped off a train platform in the first episode, kicking off the events of the series for Sarah, but her investigation and saviness beforehand — both in her work as a cop and on her own — proves that she should’ve stuck around, if only so she can continue to be the group’s detective.
Cosima Niehaus
Arguably the smartest of all the clones, Cosima has been the driving force in discovering the scientific secrets behind the LEDA project and the illness that seems to be killing them off. If only she wasn’t sick herself and on the verge of death all the time.
Helena
She’s been through a lot over the course of five seasons. She’s been whipped, impregnated, shot, and kidnapped multiple times. She’s both been a villain and a hero, learning about what it means to be in a family. However, her lack of inhibitions and her propensity towards violence have always managed to get the sestras out of jams.
Sarah Manning
Going through the clones, we realize that none of them are perfect (which makes them all the more likable). Sarah gets in her own way all the time. She has a tough time balancing being a mother to Kira, being a sister, and falling into her loner habits. But she’s the glue that keeps everybody together. She keeps the investigation going. Her loyalty to both her families and her need to protect them at all costs, has driven the series and will, most likely, be what brings them to a satisfying conclusion.
