Overall
I watched all three seasons of The Orville over the span of two to three weeks and it was like watching a show grow up. The first season was littered with bad, college dorm room humour like calling a spatial anomaly a “gloryhole” and Gordon asking if there was bars or strip clubs. Luckily, season three got rid of that.
The writing, while solid, is fairly predictable. You enjoy the ride, but like TNG, you know where it is going to end up. Charly, the new character this season, was not written to be more than a one-dimensional character to introduce conflict. Her PTSD is never really dealt with and she just kind of forgives Isaac after learns the Kaylon history from Temis.
As much as the words given for him to speak are silly, I give Peter Macon a lot of credit for stoically saying them.
Electric Sheep
It was a quiet season premiere that was really stretched out by a lot of unnecessary glamour shots of the ship and their new attack shuttles.
It was a good idea to have the premiere deal with Isaac’s previous actions instead of allowing it to go unanswered across the season.
A solid opener to the season.
Shadow Realms
Having been two or three years old when Best of Both Worlds originally aired, I knew Picard was going to be assimilated before viewing the episode. I feel like seeing the admiral and the one security guard being altered and then seeing the altered crew leave the ship because of the parasitic DNA’s hold on them is something similar.
John Fleck is awesome. That voice is recognizable anywhere.
There isn’t a real coda to the episode and it is never really mentioned that a number of people were changed. You have to think about how much of the host survives. The admiral was lucid in the beginning stages and he did reply “not Paul, more.” It makes you wonder if they were being held captive in their bodies, like a Borg drone.
This was one of my favourite episodes of the season.
Morality Paradox
Where did the aliens find a 21st century high school and plane in the minds of three humans and a Moclan from four hundred years in the future? They had been observing, but it seemed to be so niche.
The callback to the planet where Grayson was mistaken for a God was a weak attempt to link it back when it really could’ve been any alien race.
Gently Falling Rain
This was a missed attempt to really give another definition to the Krill. Their planet isn’t really given any screen time. The holographic child scene was also a corny attempt to make them eviller. The writing goes for a sledgehammer instead of being more subtle in that moment. It also takes time getting Ed from the cell to see his daughter and then back to confront Teleya, time that could’ve been put to better use.
Whichever Union planner decided seeing Annie would be a good show to see with an alien race that literally melts in the sun. It again seems to be a ham-fisted joke.
A Tale of Two Topas
I’ve read earlier comments about the entire crew going to Bortus’ concert and that it wouldn’t have happened or it was forced. I bet most of, if not all of the crew, had an idea of what was going on with Topa and went to make the plan “work.”
The writing shows strength in the fact that Klyden didn’t immediately come around to the good side. His actions and comments during the storyline show how strong the indoctrination really is.
Twice In a Lifetime
It was a great idea, but it wasn’t written strongly enough or acted well enough by Scott Grimes. There was no emotion in the scene where he knows his family is going to be wiped from history. I’m also confused why Malloy was so super okay that his family was wiped from the timeline, even if he never knew them in this timeline.
Outside of the scene in the basement, the time with Charly & Isaac was wasted time. I didn’t find it to be particularly funny.
From Unknown Graves
Beyond being a monumental prick, the alien father treats his Kaylon like a broken Alexa. He is trying to correct it like a dog with a shock collar. The kids, however, are sadistic.
That being said, there was something chilling about the Kaylon waking up and slaughtering the entire family.
Midnight Blue
It was about time that Moclus got booted and like the crew, I was wondering why it took the Union so long, why they kept bending over backwards.
The torture scenes, outside of course of being a child, were cookie cutter and not incredibly compelling.
Haveena gets character assassinated even if the Union gave her pretty shitty terms to agree to. She goes from not giving a moment’s thought to allowing Topa to be tortured, but a holographic Dolly Parton fixes all that.
Domino
It’s pretty easy to steal a weapon of mass destruction from the Union.
Back to the average writing of Charly, her sacrifice doesn’t pack the emotional punch it should have. She’s a one note character that never evolves. I’ve also trying to follow the Kaylon logic regarding joining the Union. They have overwhelming superiority outside of that new Union weapon. The weapon could be a deterrent, but what is their thought process about seeking membership?
I did have a good laugh at the banter between Klyden and Bortus over cracking the nut. They do have the old married couple banter nailed down perfectly between the two of them.
The battle scenes were well done, but those fighter shuttles get that big introduction in Electric Sheep for this one moment.
Future Unknown
The opening scene of Bortus chasing Klyden through the forest half naked was just alien enough to avoid being a return to the season one silliness.
I liked the return of Lysella, but her flip flopping on whether she was going back to her planet or not became tiresome. Like Ed, I was frustrated by her inability to make a decision.
With the renewal of the series up in the air, the wedding was a nice bookend to either end the series or launch off a new season from.