Orphan Black: Echoes parents guide: This AI is too much for kids

Orphan Black is back, and this time with Krysten Ritter taking the lead. Orphan Black: Echoes follows Lucy, a woman who is on the run from some dangerous people. All the while, she’s trying to figure out who she is.

Set in the world of Orphan Black, the series brings us another conspiracy. There’s more manipulation, more human experiments, and more betrayal. Lucy does everything she can to avoid talking about the past, but the past is about to catch up to her. Now she needs to do what she can to keep the people she cares about safe while getting answers about her own life.

Orphan Black: Echoes is rated TV-MA for some good reasons

This could be a great show to watch with older teenagers, but it’s not going to be something for younger kids. This series is officially rated TV-MA, and it makes the most of that TV rating.

Sex & nudity: There isn’t a lot of gratuitous sex in the first two episodes. During some early moments of the first episode, we see Lucy and her boyfriend enjoying some time together. Jack strips down to nothing, but you don’t see any full-frontal nudity—just nudity from the top. While we see Lucy take off her underwear, she remains fully dressed as she climbs on top, and sex is implied.

Language: The F-bomb is dropped multiple times in the first two episodes, along with the S-word and other swear words.

I do want to touch on the fact that there are a lot of subtitles, which can make it inaccessible to younger children even if you think everything else is fine for them. One of the characters is deaf, and ASL is used a lot. There are also times when another language is spoken, and subtitles are used for that. While this isn’t the type of “language” you’re looking for in this, it’s worth pointing out for those who aren’t quick at reading subtitles.

Violence & gore: The series is full of violence. It starts with Lucy escaping a room she’s being held in, and in the first episode alone, there is someone who attacks her to bring her back to the organization. We see a tween/teen shoot and kill a man, with a very clear view of the bullet hitting the man’s head.

The gore level isn’t too sickening in the first two episodes. The violence is focused on fight scenes with a lot of hand-to-hand combat. If you know the original Orphan Black, you’ll know exactly what to expect as the series progresses.

Alcohol & drugs: There are scenes with people drinking alcohol. At one point, Lucy goes to a sober living community to see a friend to help her. This man pours liquor into a cup, and there is a comment about the fact that he is in a sober living community—he works there; he doesn’t live there!

There is no heavy traditional drug use. However, this series focuses on human experiments, which will mean some questionable drugs and experiments throughout the series.

Overall verdict: Orphan Black: Echoes is not for younger children

This whole series is packed with conspiracies and an attempt to capture Lucy. It’s not something for younger children to watch. Even if you don’t mind the levels of violence, the subtitles are going to make it inaccessible for some of them. However, older teens may enjoy the story and feel comfortable with the level of violence and the type of language used in this. It’s great for original Orphan Black fans.