THE ORVILLE S2, E10: "BLOOD OF PATRIOTS"

I really thought the medal was going to sink into Yaphit once it was put on.

 

From a plot perspective, the biggest issue for me was that Talla said she had checked everything out, but Finn said that she hadn't been able to do a checkup on the "daughter," presumably a checkup involving certain scans that had not been made. That shouldn't have counted as having checked everything, especially since they know that there are aliens like the Nitrogen Bomb People and that these people had come from places unknown.

From a viewer perspective (of viewers like me), the twists weren't twists. I knew all along that the girl was magical and that she had Powers, basically as soon as a reason was contrived for her not get a medical scan. I was even alert for the possibility of her not being able to get scanned, and sure enough....

All that said, I think Szohr is doing a bang-up job as Talla. I really liked the Gordon/Talla interchange, and I liked having a Gordon episode. No, I liked having this Gordon episode, and I liked that because we got to see the duty vs friendship angle explored with Gordon.

Speaking of the twists, they also telegraphed to us that Gordon shooting Talla was a set-up. If the fact that he shot her wasn't enough, after the sudden jump from Gordon spilling his guts to Gordon collaborating with the enemy, then the cut to Talla unconscious on the deck was a dead (ha!) giveaway. It wasn't a this-person-is-dead cut, it was a this-person-is-part-of-a-plan cut, and yeah I know he needn't have killed her even if he had gone traitor.

The rubber glove scene was perfectly executed.

So, a mixed bag, but it left me with a feeling of loving these people. So, yay.

 

Anyway, on the episode: Better than the terrible astrology episode, but not great.

On one hand, I'm glad after 1.5 seasons Malloy finally got a focus episode, giving Scott Grimes a chance to showcase that he can be more than awkward comic relief - that there's greater depths to his character than being...well...an idiot.

On the other hand, it basically plays like a slightly above-average Voyager episode. There's nothing at all here we haven't seen many times before. Considering the roll that The Orville was on for the last several episodes, this is a huge effin let down.

 

To be fair, medical checks might be outside Talla's brief as Security Chief - and everyone but Dr. Finn seemed unfamiliar with the Envol, who she says are rarely encountered in Earth-atmosphere type environments.

I was more annoyed by "You're a Union officer - you have clearance throughout the ship."

There's so much wrong with that one sentence, one doesn't know where to start.

It's like Union Fleet security regs and standards for background investigations were written by Gabriel Lorca.

 

Another little thing that's sometimes annoying about MacFarlane's writing: he manages to have it both ways, here. Despite remarkably frank talk about the costs and cruelty of wartime decision-making, Admiral Perry makes it clear that sacrificing Orin is something they'll only do if they can prove him guilty to their own satisfaction - and then they manage to prove him guilty to everyone's satisfaction.

So, a personally painful decision but a morally unambiguous one from the POV of the characters - and they don't even have to turn him over to the Krill to be tortured, since he takes himself out.

Probably TNG, and certainly DS9, would have got several acts out of Picard or Sisko agonizing over a no-win situation involving a possibly innocent prisoner.

I don't miss that kind of shit a bit, but I also wouldn't miss this show just passing on stories that invite a more nuanced or uncomfortable treatment than they're willing to engage in.

One thing I liked: Kelly's more-or-less rhetorical "Is this who we are, now?" A little thing that's not annoying about MacFarlane's writing, to me, is that his dialogue is generally brief, informal and can suggest a great deal more than the character says. He's not afraid of letting subtext be subtext. Sometimes.

 

^^^
Well remember they ARE emulating TNG where Picard (in TNG's "The Wounded" which this episode borrows some plot aspects from) didn't want Cardassians to 'feel restricted' on his ship; and hell back in the TOS days, Kirk SHOWED Khan how to access the 1701 Tech Manuals.

 

Boy, was that a mistake! LOL.

 

Dr. Finn's Pharmacy? The captain's liquor cabinet? Woohoo! Party in my quarters tonight

Wait a minute... Come to think of it, do they call their lodgings "quarters " on this show? I can't recall hearing that term used. Always got to be just a little different than Trek lol

 

One thing I think episodes like this suffer from is that the cast (Except Finn) isn’t up to the task of portraying strong emotions. Moments that should be dark and dramatic feel like they do in sitcoms, even weighty emotional statements are treated with a comedic beat. Moments that should carry stress and angst feel rigid and neutral.

Hell, Isaac portrays stronger emotional gravity without a face than the rest of the non-Finn cast manages to portray with one.

 

The fake daughter is listed as being in the next episode. Of course, it's IMDB, so it could be wrong, but it would be interesting to see some followup on a minor but pivotal character like that. Usually they're completely forgotten by the time the credits roll.

 

This one wasn't quite one of their best, but it was still good.
Gordon has always been one of my favorite characters, so it was nice to get an episode focused on him. It was pretty serious too, so it actually gave Scott Grimes a chance give a more dramatic performance. I did not expect him to be able to kick ass like he did in his fight against Orin.
One thing that kinda bothered is that they never said what happened to the fake daughter. But now I just saw the post above mine and it sounds like that might possibly be addressed next week.

 

I liked this episode. I'm glad Scott Grimes had a more serious storyline and got more backstory for his character.I've really enjoyed this season of episodes. I wish we'd get news about it being renewed for a third season.

 

We were wondering what happened to her. They needed to be clearer about that. We just assumed she got handed over for the sake of the nonaggression treaty, given that the last we'd heard from the Krill(s)?, they weren't signing it without someone to hold accountable.

If that's not what went down, then they kind of dropped the ball on the finale. I suppose the Krill could've been satisfied to have proof of the saboteur & know he was dead, but they should've clarified that imho

 

https://tvline.com/2019/03/08/for-the-people-ratings-season-2-premiere/

Ratings tied for a low, I am getting anxiety it will not be renewed.

 

If Fox cancels the show, there's no doubt that MacFarlane will try to continue it somehow if possible - the variables there, of course, would be a matter of a willing buyer, and permissions based on who owns what. Fox Television Studios produces this show with Fuzzy Door; it's not MacFarlane's to do with as he wishes.

He's been pretty adamant about the show not being truly serialized,* and the streaming services like serialization because it encourages binging.** Netflix even insisted upon a serial element being added to the second year of MST3K.

*No, it's not serialized.

**What's the virtue of binging to the streaming service? Too distracted right now to Google this shit, maybe later.

 

I actually think The Orville would do great if it moved to Netflix or even Amazon Prime. Netflix seems like it could pay a decent budget for the show plus probably give Seth more creative freedom. And The Orville could produce an entire season and upload all the eps at once and let us fans enjoy binge watching every episode.

 

I'll be really sad if it's cancelled.

 

Me too. It's nice to have a lighter more fun sci-fi series again.

 

Good take on The Wounded. Wounded was good, this wasn't better. Only different.

 

Nice to see Gordon. a character almost always used comedically get a serious storyline. I don't know why, but Gordon's friend seriously reminded me of Captain Lorca.