THE ORVILLE S2, E3: "HOME"

[bigglesworth]

Actually, I loved Gordon's cringingly neurotic emotional reaction to his awe of the place: "It makes me realize...I'm trash. My family is trash."


Well, Alara doesn't behave noticeably differently from other people until she's called upon to.

I guess I assumed that since Alara was an officer that she’d spent a few months or more on Earth or wherever officer candidate school is giving her some time to acclimate to a low gravity environment.

 

[The Wormhole]

A great episode. Excellent character drama with Alara and her family. Her parents were on fine form continuing their prickish condescension as seen last year, and it is nice to see that although her sister is clearly the favored child, she herself is somewhat envious of Alara and the life she leads. The weird deer/horse hybrid was really cool and a great example of just how imaginative this show can get. Alara's departure at the end was a touching moment. When she was walking down the corridor I half expected the Star Trek think of the crew standing to attention to see her off, like when Worf left in Redemption or when Neelix left towards the end of Voyager. But the more intimate farewell with the senior staff works well. Kind of amusing she wouldn't hug Isaac.

Patrick Warburton was amusing as Tharl the Elephant Man, though the character was rather one-note. As much as I like Warburton, I fear this character could become annoying very quickly, though to be fair, the show does seem to be making him intentionally annoying indicating a bit of self-awareness there.

And it is kind of fun to see two Star Trek doctors fighting each other.

As pointed out above, Ildis didn't seem to behave as though he was in a low G environment during his brief time in the shuttle.

All he did while in the shuttle was walk around. How is he supposed to walk in a manner appropriate to low G? I suppose you could have him bounce around, but there's limited room in the shuttle, and for a brief minute long scene, that was probably considered too impractical to set up to be worth it.

 

[Mudd]

Patrick Warburton was amusing as Tharl the Elephant Man, though the character was rather one-note. As much as I like Warburton, I fear this character could become annoying very quickly, though to be fair, the show does seem to be making him intentionally annoying indicating a bit of self-awareness there.

I think they're very aware - they're setting up to have everyone on the ship soooo relieved when he's gone in a week or two.

 

[JD]

I'm curious what the backstory for the new Xelayan character is going to be. Wasn't it a pretty big deal that Alara was one of very few Xelayans in the Union Fleet? If there are that few of them, it seems a bit surprising we'd end up with another one in the same place so quickly. I'm wondering if she ends on The Orville specifically because of Alara, either because she knew her or because Mercer specifically requests one of the other Xelayans as a replacement.

 

[Velocity]

Still not sure I buy the reasoning that Alara had to leave: they have artificial gravity onboard, so how much work would it be to set up a higher grav room for her to do a workout every day?

The Orville had come up with a regimen for her recovery. It wasn't that she HAD to leave, she chose to leave. She had finally been reconciled with her father and her sister was planning a wedding, so she wanted to spend time with her family. She had been estranged from her family for so long that she felt the need to spend more time with them.

 

[Amaris]

I'm curious what the backstory for the new Xelayan character is going to be. Wasn't it a pretty big deal that Alara was one of very few Xelayans in the Union Fleet? If there are that few of them, it seems a bit surprising we'd end up with another one in the same place so quickly. I'm wondering if she ends on The Orville specifically because of Alara, either because she knew her or because Mercer specifically requests one of the other Xelayans as a replacement.

Hey, if Kirk can do it...

 

[Mudd]

I want the new Xelayan officer to come in with a "why am I posted to this shitcan full of loose screws" attitude for a while.

 

[Gryffindorian]

It appears to be a common occurrence for a character or actor to leave a show. We've seen it in a lot of TV series, Trek and non-Trek alike, from The XFiles to CSI to Legends of Tomorrow. I was just saddened to see Halston Sage's departure so soon. It would be nice to see her make a future appearance. No doubt Alara will pursue her academic career on Xelaya and get two or three Ph.D.s

 

[Graham]

I'm curious what the backstory for the new Xelayan character is going to be. Wasn't it a pretty big deal that Alara was one of very few Xelayans in the Union Fleet? If there are that few of them, it seems a bit surprising we'd end up with another one in the same place so quickly. I'm wondering if she ends on The Orville specifically because of Alara, either because she knew her or because Mercer specifically requests one of the other Xelayans as a replacement.

'Few' is a relative term, though. If we take Orville as an average ship (and they do call it midsize), and it has a crew of 300, and they have 3,000 ships to man, then there are nearly one million people in the fleet, and that's not counting the people on planets and space stations.

So it could be that 'few' meant anything from 'five or ten' to 'only a few hundred'. If it's closer to the latter then it wouldn't be all that unusual to see another one.

As for why another one on the Orville... well, perhaps as part of the fast tracking we're told the Union does, they keep an eye out for Captains who work well with Xelayans and send them their way when they can?

 

[Mr. Adventure]

It's too bad that Diana Muldaur has apparently retired from acting. After losing the security officer there should be an episode where she has to fill in while Finn has to leave for some reason.

I want to like this show but it's so mundane and domestic. Reminds me of Stargate, it's pleasant enough but I'd like something more to chew on. Some steak to go with all the mashed potatoes.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Well, the prophecy has come true. Alara is gone. But it does leave the door open for her to return at some point, luckily-- at least they had the good grace not to kill off a major character and to give her a good sendoff. I especially liked how Finn and Lamarr invented a way to keep her aboard, as they would have solved the problem in a regular episode where they character doesn't leave, but Alara's personal story led her in another direction anyway. Too often these hypercompetent characters become stupid just in time for a plot development. I'm glad that didn't happen here and everyone got to stay in character.

Alara's story on her homeworld was slight, but well done, and gave a nice little jab (pun intended) at anti-vaxxers. Orville has been really good at slipping in that good old Star Trek-style messaging even if it's just in the background. And on the domestic side, Alara's father actually learned something-- Robert Picardo was great-- and hopefully her mother and sister followed suit. I especially liked how Mister Katan was able to save Mercer with the encouragement of Alara-- exactly the thing she wanted from him but never got. The home invasion by the crazy anti-vaxxer couple was nicely done, like an old movie, from the guy messing with daddy Katan over the ladle to the dead body of the groundskeeper turning up in the bushes. And it was also kind of amusing to see the battle of the Star Trek doctors.

The farewell scene in the shuttle bay was nice, especially Bortus's awkward attempt at a hug and Isaac's hesitant wave.

Alara's homeworld is surprisingly Earth-like for a planet with super-gravity. The ocean looked way too normal, it seems to me-- I think it should have been a lot flatter. And that soup must have been really hot to boil so merrily in an atmosphere so dense, where the boiling point of water is probably a few hundred degrees higher than it is here.

One little moment that jumped out at me was Gordon's behavior in the shuttle. He mentioned several times how beautiful Xelaya is, and then commented how it reminded him how he's just garbage and his family is just garbage, followed by Mercer giving him an odd look. Foreshadowing for a Gordon-specific episode?

 

[Mudd]

Szohr comes across as older than Sage, so that difference may figure into her back story.

 

[JD]

It appears to be a common occurrence for a character or actor to leave a show. We've seen it in a lot of TV series, Trek and non-Trek alike, from The XFiles to CSI to Legends of Tomorrow. I was just saddened to see Halston Sage's departure so soon. It would be nice to see her make a future appearance. No doubt Alara will pursue her academic career on Xelaya and get two or three Ph.D.s

I can't think of a single show with a multi-season cast that didn't lose at least one or two cast members throughout it's run.

I wonder if they'll end up using the high gravity set up for the new Xelayan?

 

[Skipper]

He mentioned several times how beautiful Xelaya is, and then commented how it reminded him how he's just garbage and his family is just garbage, followed by Mercer giving him an odd look.

If a friend of yours said something similar, wouldn't you give him an odd look?

 

[The Wormhole]

No doubt Alara will pursue her academic career on Xelaya and get two or three Ph.D.s

I don't see that happening at all. While Alara is not stupid like her parents made her seem to be, she also doesn't have any real academic interest. And given that her parents now have a new-found appreciation for her skills after she saved their lives, it's less likely they're going to pressure her to return to school or anything. If she doesn't return to the Union Fleet and stays on Xeleya, I find it more likely she'll go into a profession where her skill set would come in handy, such as the Xeleyan military or defense force (if they have one) or law enforcement.

So it could be that 'few' meant anything from 'five or ten' to 'only a few hundred'. If it's closer to the latter then it wouldn't be all that unusual to see another one.

Still, both this episode and Firestorm seem to indicate Xeleyan culture to be disdainful of military life in general. Hell, if we read into Alara's questions about police procedure into investigating break and entries, it's possible Xeleyan police aren't the most competent themselves, perhaps indicating Xeleyan culture values intellectualism and academic pursuits to the exclusion of anything else not directly related to advancing one's IQ. With that in mind, those Xeleyans who do enlist in the Union Fleet are likely black sheep with their families and Xeleyan society in general, and there are likely very few of them.

I'm wondering, given Jessica Szorh is eight years older than Halston Sage, might her character be one who has been away from Xeleya so long she's fully adjusted to lower gravity, meaning she doesn't have super strength but is otherwise still capable and qualified to carry out the duties of a security officer? If that is indeed the case, it makes it a little easier to believe the Orville getting a new Xeleyan security chief so soon after losing one, as she likely isn't as much "in demand" as the Xeleyans who do still have their super strength. Plus, from a narrative perspective, it allows that treatment that Claire has developed to be a meaningful addition to the storyline other than "we can cure you" "I'm not interested anymore."

 

[JD]

For a minute when Alara and her sister were in the shuttle, and her sister was talking about how much she admires Alara, I thought she was going to be the one who takes her place, but then I realized she wasn't Jessica Szorh.

 

[Mudd]

Again with the writing - it was a nice bit of misdirection for Billingsley's character and his wife to show up inquiring about a possible breaking and entering in their place the night before, given that we'd seen Alara concerned about having seen a light and questioning whether her family were really alone on the island. Since the latter scene had been intended to arouse our own curiosity and concern because we trust Alara's instincts, having the other couple appear worried as well lowered the audience's suspicion of them for a few minutes of the show. Likewise with the discovery of the caretaker's belongings.

 

[sekundant]

My thoughts exactly. Given the strongly negative reactions from a number of reviewers on "Primal Urges" (like 'The Oldest Nerd' which has since been removed), I think the episode's topic has alienated many fans who generally have a favorable opinion regarding the series.

May I please ask a silly question? Is "The Oldest Nerd" someone very important for the fan basis? Is he someone like for example Bjo Trimble? I had watch once one of his recommended videos from youtube about ENT. After couple of minutes, I realized that he couldn't be watch the entire series or at least doesn't remember properly. He made too much factual errors then I stop watching. Is he some kind of influencer? Thank you in advance.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Another great episode. I'll miss that little cutie.

Reminded me a little of DS9's Prodigal Daughter, when Ezri went home to her overly critical family, and also some intrigue.

 

[Graham]

May I please ask a silly question? Is "The Oldest Nerd" someone very important for the fan basis?

His youtube channel has 1,500 subscribers. Midnight's Edge, for example, have over 93,000. So I'd guess not.