I'm actually not quite sure what my feelings are at the end of the episode. Sections of it worked better than anything else in The Orville to date, and sections of it were still kinda blah.
I was somewhat disappointed that it turns out Alara's homeworld looks just like our own despite the higher gravity (mountains should have been lower, buildings constructed differently, etc) but given she doesn't look like what you'd expect a high-gravity species to look like, along with budgetary constraints, I wasn't surprised. Plus of course it was absolutely beautiful, even if it wasn't plausible.
I was very much enjoying the character focus on Alara, and surprised the degree to which the rest of the crew took a backseat. Robert Picardo was putting in a great performance, but I was beginning to wonder when the actual plot was going to start, because it felt like very little happened between the pre-credits opener and the final 15 minutes.
The action - when it started - was pretty much by the numbers (and over very, very quickly), but it worked well enough. Billingsley's character and his wife were not supposed to be professional soldiers after all, but normal people who were driven to terrible actions in their grief (I didn't like Billingsley's performance as much as Picardo's, but at the same time, it was easier to forget his Star Trek role for some reason). The subtle dig on antivax was nice to see as well.
Then of course there's the last few minutes - the whipsaw between thinking she'll actually come back onto the ship, and then deciding to leave (semi) permanently. I have to say I was surprised at how successful this was at being emotionally touching. It is surprising to say, but I don't think Trek has ever written off a character in a manner that was as successful from an emotional standpoint.
From a character standpoint, this episode was great. Although admittedly pretty surprising, insofar as one does not typically provide tons of character development to someone who is being written off the show. The humor was entirely absent for once, aside from that weird double esophagus guy (why even have that scene - seriously?). It's interesting that The Orville has gone with three relatively low key character focus episodes in a row. Last season had more of a TNG/VOY vibe to it, but I wonder if they're looking more to DS9 now.