Let's talk about the captain... Ed. And that's the point, After fifty years of star Trek and multiple series.. (yes Orville is not technically Star trek.. but we all know it is Trek in many ways at its core) we know the first names of the captains, but when we think about them,.. or write posts about them.. we use "Kirk did this" and "Picard did this" and "Don't mess with the Sisko" we still use their last name way more than the first name.. but when we think of captain Mercer.. we think "Ed".. he's just "Ed." We are on a first name basis with him in a way that we haven't been before. I mean, maybe it's because we got a glimpse of his parents, who both thinks he should pay more attention to his health.. or maybe it's because he can't cook and makes peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for his date, and yet won't actually add the jelly. Ed isn't the best captain, but there is just something about him that is far more grounded and human, and he has that infectious smile. Seth was not just the perfect choice for the role, but he could soon be in my top favorite captains. People might think it was all ego that the creator of the show cast himself as the captain, but he kind of had to.. they didn't need someone who could just read the lines.. they needed someone who understood the fine line between satire, homage, and sincerity that this show had to so finely walk.. and when it comes to performance of the most important part of the show, only the creator of the show could really know all of that by instinct. But Seth has done so much more.. he has acted the shit out of this character.. It's an incredible performance