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ploppythespaceship · 2 years

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The Orville Season 3 Thoughts & Review

A week late due to traveling, but I adored this season. It’s easily the strongest of the show so far, finally nailing the tone they want and not being afraid to drop the comedy to just tell a damn good story. If this is the quality we can expect going forward, I sincerely hope this isn’t the end for the series. But if it does end here, at least it’s going out on a high note.

What I Liked

This show has had a budget increase, and holy crap, it shows. Everything looks spectacular, especially the special effects and the opening sequence.

Last season, the writers began to show that they were willing to drop the comedic elements at time to just tell a serious story. This season pushes that idea even further. There's definitely room for some laughs and lighthearted fun here and there, but the core of most stories is serious. Several episodes even go to some pretty dark places, dealing with suicide and bigotry and torture. The end result is a show that balances stupid fun and thought-provoking themes incredibly well.

The show is also willing to explore difficult topics that don't have a clear right answer. And I love that. Episodes leave you thinking, wondering if the characters did the right thing as they themselves wonder the same. To me that is so much more engaging than just showing the good guys standing up against the world’s bigotry. They’re real people that are trying to do the right thing, but wrestling with how to go about that in tough situations.

I also appreciate how this season actually goes into more detail about how the utopian future and economy works, especially in the finale. Star Trek tends to be rather handwave-y about it, so hearing Kelly just explain it outright was sort of surprising.

This show has basically perfected its combination of episodic and serialized storytelling. Each episode stands on its own, but with plot threads continuing from story to story and building on each other to create a larger narrative. They're also not afraid to let the episodes be longer if they need room to breathe -- one of the advantages of being on Hulu. Episode 8 in particular had a huge story to tell, so they allowed it a full hour and a half.

I love the shifting of allegiances throughout the galaxy, changing the status quo from season to season in an organic way. We started with the Union against the Krill, then it was the Union and Krill against the Kaylon, and now the Union and Kaylon against the Krill and Moclans.

This season is generally excellent at taking plot threads from previous seasons and bringing them back for an even bigger and more satisfying payoff. Nearly every Moclan episode is referenced in some way to continue that storyline. Laura comes back to give Gordon an even more emotional storyline with her. Teleya comes back to further the Krill alliance storyline. Lysella comes back as a follow-up to “Majority Rule” (and I’d be interested to see her as a main character in season 4). Fucking Dolly Parton comes back. Even Alara gets a cameo.

The Moclan storyline has always been one of the best parts of the show, and they've simply perfected it this season. Topa's journey of self-discovery and ultimate coming out as female was so beautiful and powerful. Then the way everything led to Moclus finally being expelled from the Union... all the groundwork from the previous seasons perfectly led up to an incredibly satisfying moment.

Then in the more personal relationships, Klyden getting called out on his bullshit was immensely satisfying... but I love that they had him realize his errors and return to his family to honestly try again. It happened a bit fast, and I wish they'd done more to show people struggling to forgive him. But considering that season 4 is uncertain, it's probably best to wrap up these plot threads just in case.

Bortus also got so many chances to shine this season. Peter Macon deserves an Emmy -- he's not just delivering deadpan comedy anymore, he's perfectly portraying an uncertain father who loves his child so much that he would do anything for her.

Isaac is another standout this season as he develops even further into his own character. It's fascinating how they touch on the mental health of someone who doesn't have emotions, and Mark Jackson is just spectacular.

What I Didn’t Like

I’m sorry to say that Charly didn’t quite work for me. She feels rather reverse-engineered to fit exactly the arc the season needed, and there wasn’t much to her outside of that. A lot of her personality was based around hating Isaac, with not much else to endear her to me before her death. The big moment works in a vaccum, but ultimately didn’t quite land for me.

Also, considering she’s the only confirmed queer character (you can debate if the Moclans count considering their culture), killing her off isn’t the best look. It’s not the most egregious case of bury your gays I’ve ever seen, but it definitely didn’t sit entirely right with me. I don’t necessarily think they should have let her survive simply beause of that, but having more absolutely confirmed queer characters would alleviate this considerably.

John and Talla don’t have anything to do this season. They’ve always been underrepresented, but this was even worse than usual. They’re only ever in scenes to progress the plot, when someone needs technobabble or something broken. I was intrigued by the idea of them becoming a couple, which I thought might give them something to do, but the show then played it for laughs before dropping the idea entirely -- didn’t love that.

I’ll talk about it more in the next section, but “From Unknown Graves” was really a disappointment that rippled through the season. I just think they needed a little bit more tying all the Kaylon plots together, and that episode was the time to do that. Taking the development that Kaylon could develop emotions, exploring it fully, and then finding a way to tie that into the development of the weapon would have given the overall season much better flow.

Episode Thoughts

Electric Sheep -- The pilot frankly shocked me. The fact that they came out swinging with such a deliberately serious and unfunny episode, touching on the difficult aftermath of a painful battle leading into Isaac's suicide... my god. The actual plot I found a bit lacking, and I don't think this will be a go-to for rewatch, but I can't deny how well-done this was.

Shadow Realms -- Easily the weakest episode of the season, and frankly one of the weakest in the entire show. Something was just off. The plot wasn't terribly compelling, the guest characters weren't engaging, and it felt like we were just meandering until it was done. Very uninspired and a surprising dip in quality.

Mortality Paradox -- This one was decent. The setup was intriguing, and I genuinely had no idea what was going on until the end. I enjoyed the continuation from "Mad Idolatry" as well. The only thing is I suspect this won't hold up well on rewatch once you know what's going on. It's fine, but not amazing.

Gently Falling Rain -- Really, really damn good. This one continues the storyline of the Krill alliance while bringing back to Teleya to address her relationship with Ed. And it's incredible. Everything about this, from the politics to the relationship drama to the reveal of Ed and Teleya's daughter, hit hard in exactly the way that it needed to.

A Tale of Two Topas -- I don't think I have the words, honestly. Watching Topa discover herself and come out was incredibly powerful and handled in such a beautiful and nuanced way that alluded to both trans and intersex issues. Plus Imani Pullum is fantastic as Topa. This is a strong contender for best episode of the entire series.

Twice in a Lifetime -- I liked this one. Seeing Gordon stranded back in time and struggle with that before ultimately seeking out Laura was a great choice for his character. And Ed and Kelly making the painful decision to force him out of that life he'd created for himself hurt. I love that Ed and Kelly clearly don't feel good about it, either, and the episode lets you sit in that discomfort with them, wondering if they should’ve just left him there. My only complaint is that Gordon seeking out Laura and using his future knowledge of her to progress their relationship is a tad creepy, and that doesn't really get addressed.

From Unknown Graves -- “Shadow Realms” may have been the worst episode of the season, but this one was more disappointing due to the missed potential. The storyline with the matriarchal society did not work for me at all, and as a result, the storyline with the Kaylon getting emotions and the effects it has on Isaac and Claire's relationship did not get nearly the time that they needed to breathe. It just seemed to be put together wrong. I actually did a full write-up on this one.

Midnight Blue -- This is where everything with the Moclans came to a head, and my god, it was outstanding. Building on Topa's storyline, intersecting it with Heveena's, and all of that leading to the Moclans finally getting called on their bullshit... and making this feature length, no less. This is another contender for best in the series.

Domino -- An excellent episode with powerful themes and a lot of huge moments... but it did feel a tad bloated. This is one of the few times this season I’ve felt that the freedom to have longer runtimes hurt more than it helped. Trimming this one down to under a hour would really have tightened things up.

Future Unknown -- After two enormous episodes, bringing things back down to a quieter finale was definitely the right call. I adored Claire and Isaac’s wedding, and all the little character moments leading up to it. And bringing back Lysella was a surprising choice, but her scenes with Kelly were all great.

#personal #the orville

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dukereviewstv · 2 years

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Duke Reviews TV: The Orville 1x08 Into The Fold

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews TV Where You're Not Reading The Title Wrong...

We Are Skipping Episode 7 Of Season One Of The Orville, Majority Rule...

Why? Because It Is Revolved Around A Planet Ruled Entirely By Cancel Culture And No Offense But I Hear Enough About Cancel Culturing On The Internet And On Facebook Clubs To The Point That I Don't Want To Talk About It Whether If It's Clever Satire Or Not..

Plus, There's Nothing Of Importance In This Episode Or Anything That Comes Back From This Episode Except This One Character Lysella Who Returns In The Season 3 Finale Other Than That, That's About It For This Episode...

Call Me A Nonconformist And A Bigot If You Must But I'm Sorry, There Some Subjects That I Don't Want To Talk About On This Show And Cancel Culture Is One Of Them...

So, With That Said Let's Move Onto Episode 8 Of Season One Of The Orville, Into The Fold...

This Episode Sees Claire Attempting To Go On Vacation With Her Sons, Ty And Marcus But When Issac Attempts To Take Them To Their Destination, They Accidentally Cross Into A Spatial Fold Which Forces Them To Land For Repairs On A Planet Thousands Of Lightyears Away From The Orville's Location...

Will They Be Able To Make Repairs And Get Back To The Orville Before The Planet Turns Claire And Her Boys Into Cannibals?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Into The Fold...

The Episode Starts As Claire Is Woken Up By Her Youngest Son, Ty, Who's Excited About Their Trip To Arboreus Prime, Unlike Claire's Oldest Son, Marcus, Who'd Rather Stay On The Ship Than Go To A Kiddie Park...

And I Take Offense At That, Even When I Was A Teenager I Still Loved Disneyland And Even To This Day I Still Love That Park So What Makes This Kid Think He's Too Cool For A Futuristic Theme Park?...

Shut Up...

With The Luggage On Board The Ship As Well, As Claire's Sons, She Discovers From Kelly, That Issac Will Take Them To Arboreus Prime, Which At First She's Not Happy About...

Especially When Her Boys Start Arguing During The Flight, This Leads Issac To Ask Questions Which Leads Him To Believe That Claire Should Come Up With Better Methods On Controlling Her Children...

I Realize That Kaylons Are Meant To Be Superior In Every Way But Even The Dumbest Guy In The World Can Figure That Out...

Coming Across A Gravity Shear Near A Spatial Fold, They Try To Avoid It But Ty Accidentally Throws His Brother's Gaming Device On The Control Console And Causes The Ship To Lose Control And Go Into The Spatial Fold...

With The Hull Damaged And Main Power Offline Due To The Gravity Shear, They Find That They Are 1,000 Lightyears Away From Their Previous Position...

Realizing They Need To Find A Place To Set The Ship Down, They Land On The Nearest Planet...

Claire Switches To Emergency Reserve Power, When The Ship Starts Leaking Plasma, But As She Puts Her Seatbelt On, The Ship Breaks In Half Causing Claire To Be Separated From Issac And Her Kids...

After Crash Landing Marcus Dislocates His Knee But Issac Fixes Him Before Locating The Shuttle's Rear Section To Be Nearly 4 Kilometers Away...

Issac Gives The Kids A Blaster To Make Sure That They Will Survive Before Going Off To Find The Ship's Rear Section Along With Claire..

But While Issac Finds The Ship's Rear Section, He Does Not Find Claire As She Has Been Captured By A Native...

Later That Night, The Boys Hear Noises Outside, But Despite Marcus Saying He's Armed, Ty Is Nearly Taken By A Cannibal, Luckily However, Issac Saves Him Before He Is...

Back On The Orville, The Ship Is Undergoing Repairs As Barry Manilow Plays...

Meanwhile In Another MacFarlane Universe...

youtube

Ah, I Just Had To Do That...

Anyway, As The Ship Is Undergoing Repairs And Listening To Manilow, Kelly Contacts Ed, Telling Him That She Got A Call From The Dockmaster And He Told Her That Claire's Ship Never Reached Arboreus Prime...

With No Response And The Navigational Array Out, They Set Out For Claire's Last Coordinates, By Relying On Only Star Charts...

Back On The Planet Of The Cannibals, Issac Tells The Boys That Their Dysonium Power Supply Is Depleted, Meaning They Can't Use The Scanners To Locate Claire Or Send A Distress Signal To The Orville...

This Leads Marcus To Suggest That Issac Should Try And Scan For Dysonium On The Planet Using Just His Regular Scanner And What A Shock, He Finds Traces Of Dysonium On Their Hull, Indicating A Possible Presence In The Mountains Where They Crashed...

But As Issac Decides That Him And The Boys Will Leave To Find The Dysonium In The Morning, Claire Comes To And Meets Her Kidnapper Who Only Tells Her That She Is In A Safe Place And To Eat The Food He Has Brought For Her...

This, Of Course, Leads Claire To Attempt To Find A Way Out...

The Next Day, As They Search For Dysonium, Issac Questions The Boys About Their Interactions With Their Mother As By The Way Marcus Acts He Seems To Not Care About Her, But When 3 Men Approach Demanding The Kids, Issac Stuns Them Before Moving On With The Kids...

Back Where Claire Is, Her Kidnapper Enters And Tells Her To Eat Again Before Revealing That His Name Is Drogen And That The Planet Was Ravaged By Plague That Was Caused By A Military Weapon Which Has Killed Most Of The Planet's Population And Has Made The Survivors Sick To The Point That They Have Resorted To Cannibalism...

He Only Survived Because He Saw The Threat Coming...

Saying That If He Lets Her Go She Could Synthesize An Antidote But He's Obviously Lost Hope To The Point That A Cure Is Impossible And That Any Survivors Will Most Likely Die Before They Can Get To Them...

So, He's Smart But He's Also Kinda Stupid...

Either Way, Claire Knows She's Got To Get To Her Kids So She Starts Working On Loosening A Grate Near A Window So She Can Escape...

But Unfortunately The Plague Has Already Infected The Youngest Of Claire's Boys, Ty, When He Accidentally Fell Into A River They Were Crossing...

Meanwhile, The Orville Arrives At The Spacial Anomaly That Claire, Her Boys And Issac Entered And Goes Into It In An Attempt To Find Them As Claire Finally Gets The Grate Open Only For Her To Discover She's Too High To Climb Down To The Ground...

So She Decides To Distract Gorilla Brains By Injuring Herself And Asking Him To Get Supplies From Her Ship So She Can Heal Herself And He Surprisingly Does...

Seriously, Guy? You're Willing To Get Supplies From Her Ship Yet You're Unwilling To Help Her Find Her Kids? I'm Starting To Think I Was Wrong For Praising You For Your Survival Skills Because As Far As Surviving Goes, You've Failed Miserably....

So With Drogen Gone, Claire Opens The Grate And Crosses Into The Next Room So She Can Grab Her Com Device And Call Issac...

After Filling Her In On Ty's Situation, Telling Her That They Have The Dysonium And Suggesting They Rendezvous On The Shuttle, Marcus Apologizes For His Behavior And Attitude And Claire Give A Touching Speech Despite Wasting Time That She Could Be Using To Escape...

But No, Instead Once Drogen Returns She Stabs Him And The 2 Have A Fight Scene Before Claire Finally Shoots Drogen With His Own Gun...

After Taking A Blood Sample From A Cannibal On The Planet, Claire Makes It To The Ship And Reunites With Her Kids As Issac Sends A Brief Signal To The Orville So They Can Locate And Rescue Them....

And Luckily They Get It Just In Time As Cannibals Are Swarming Upon Claire And The Boys Shuttle...

So, With Claire, The Boys And Issac Safe On Board The Rescue Shuttle, Claire Synthesizes A Cure For Ty And Possibly The Planet But Of Course, They Got To Get Permission From The Admiralty Board Before They Do...

No Offense But I Think When It Comes To A Planet Full Of Zombies And Cannibals, We Screw Bureaucracy And...

Especially When It Comes To A Possible Cure!

But Despite My Feelings About That, It Gets Better When Claire Visits Isaac In The Engine Room To Tell Him That Ty Is Going To Make A Full Recovery And He's Been Asking About Him...

Asking If He'd Be Dropping By Later Because Ty Misses Him, He Tells Her He Will This Evening...

She Also Thanks Him For All He Did With Her Kids Cause She's Their Mom And They Mean Everything To Her, Isaac Replies By Saying Despite Being What They Are He's Grown Fond Of Them...

Or Maybe More As We'll Soon See...

Anyway, That Was Into The Fold And...It Was Ok...

The Episode Has Alot Of Flaws But It Does Somewhat Set Up Claire And Issac's Future Together As Not Only A Couple But Also As Husband And Wife So I See It As A Great Start For A Relationship That Would Develop Throughout The Series...

Unlike A Relationship That Could Have Been Good But Ended Because Of Stupidity Because One Couldn't Say Oh, "I'm Having Sex With A Xelayan"...

Anyway, Until Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#The Orville #seth macfarlane #adrienne palicki #penny johnson jerald #halston sage #scott grimes #disney +#Spotify #Youtube

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