FOX
Off the heels of last week’s episode of Fox’s The Orville, I was expecting another step in the right direction for the new show. The previous episode centered around an intriguing plot of Mercer and his crew discovering a vessel headed straight for a comet and the citizens on the vessel had no knowledge of their location. It was only the fourth episode but easily my favorite so far. The new fifth episode, titled “Pria”, follows Mercer finding a ship headed straight to the stars and only one human on board. Charlize Theron, who previously starred in Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West joins MacFarlane again as Pria, a woman who immediately attracts the attention of The Orville crew, in good and bad ways. She quickly proves herself to Mercer after she helps him evade a catastrophic event. Grayson views her as more of a threat and doesn’t believe that the mysterious woman is really who she says she is. This episode reminded me a lot of the recent Star Trek movies and I think that’s a good thing.
The episodes of The Orville keep on building on one another and are continuing to keep me interested. This episode managed to balance humor and introduced a surprisingly well-thought out storyline. When Theron’s character was introduced there was something not quite right about her and you felt as if she was manipulating The Orville crew. The suspicion surrounding Pria is what kept the show on its heels and made for a fun watch. Throughout the episode I tried to wrap my head around the character’s motive and if she was a villain or just a random stranger the crew picked up. The reveal for Theron’s character was so well-thought out that I was honestly surprised with the route they went and found it to be quite impressive. Charlize Theron is a great actress and is having a fantastic year with The Fate of The Furious and Atomic Blonde and her appearance in this show caps her blockbuster year.
The fifth episode of The Orville featured the funniest moment in the series so far. Isaac the robot and Lt. Gordon Malloy were locked in a battle of practical jokes after Lt. Gordon Malloy pulled a practical joke on Isaac that consisted of putting Mr. Potato Head pieces all over his head. Isaac proceeded with a practical joke of his own that was so extreme that I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically. The humor has been lacking in some of the previous episodes but it returned in full force in this episode. There are a few more laugh-worthy moments throughout but they are more subtle compared to this outrageous practical joke between friends.
FOX
I think The Orville has a promising future. It has a lot of potential to build an intriguing storyline with well written humor mixed in. The characters started off one-dimensional and nothing about them felt fulfilling. As the show is progressing, I am building a connection with some of them and am really liking the development. I thought The Orville would fall along some other Fox shows that only lasted a few episodes but I can see this show growing and continuing for several more seasons.
The latest episode of The Orville was well-thought out and felt like a classic taken straight from Star Trek. There’s an ample amount of humor and the introduction of Charlize Theron’s character was perfectly paced and brought to a satisfying ending. I am falling in love with The Orville which is a surprise to me since my first review for this show wasn’t a kind review to start off the series. The series is going strong and is a fun thrill ride that pleases me on all levels.
The Orville airs Thursdays at 9:00 PM on FOX.
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