At the Orphan Black panel at Comic-Con, Orphan Black co-creator John Fawcett said the most obvious and yet the most wonderful thing about the show’s fifth and final season: “The focus of season five, obviously, is we all want answers, goddammit.”
But there’s another reason for ending the series after next season — to avoid a decline in quality. “We always sort of had five seasons in mind, and the thing that we just didn’t want to do is get kind of soft around the middle,” said Manson. “We really think that it’s cooler to cancel yourself than to get cancelled, than to peter out.”
The two creators also said that they absolutely do have the final images of the show in their heads. “Much as planning the final season is bittersweet,” said Fawcett, “the fun is knowing the ending. Because we’ve known it for a long time. So that’s pretty cool.”
Dealing with the revelation that Neolution founder P.T. Westmoreland is still alive is “stepping through that last door,” said Fawcett. Manson added that how he managed that is the “big mystery” of the final season. (Less pressing but equally exciting was the news that there are plans to feature another musical, like they did with Jesus Christ Superstar in season four.)
Asked to come up with the worst last line for the series, Kristian Bruun, who plays Alison’s hapless husband Donnie Hendrix, ruined/improved the show with, “I guess this truly was a game of clones.” We’ll miss you most of all, Donnie.