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Last week Seth McFarlane gave us one of the best Orville episodes with a complex story and great character relationships. I was excited to see where the story would go regarding Ed Mercer and Lt. Janel Tyler, who was revealed to be a Krill. I was hoping that the new episode would continue that storyline, but I was sadly disappointed. Instead the newest episode starts off with Kelly and Bortus discussing the possibility of having a joint party for their upcoming birthdays, which Bortus doesn’t like. The ship intercepts an intermission from a planet that just sent its first message out into the space. Kelly sees this as a perfect birthday present and the crew heads to the planet to make contact. The crew makes contact and they are open with welcome arms.
The initial reaction to the new planet is that everything seems fine. They function just like Earth and they resemble humans as well. As the crew of the Orville starts exploring the newly discovered planet, Dr. Claire learns that many women are having C-sections despite both the mother and fetus being perfectly healthy. It isn’t explained why until at a dinner party that Kelly mentions her and Bortus’ upcoming birthdays. This is where the show turns from fun and innocent to dark and intense.
The crew learns that the planet follows astrological signs closely and anyone who is born during what they call a Gilliac time period, are considered violent and a threat to society. Bortus and Kelly are taken away and placed in a Gilliac concentration camp alongside other Gilliacs. There they try to help a woman who is giving birth to what is going to be a future Gilliac. Meanwhile back on the Orville, Ed Mercer tries to get permission to save Kelly and Bortus, but he is told that he must respect the new planet’s system they have in place.
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What I found interesting about this episode is listening to the planet’s reasons for following the astrological signs. We have plenty of different astrological signs, but none of them lock people away. The show even goes as far as to explain what happens to people who are born outside the Gilliac time period. Anyone born before or after the Gilliac time is fortunate and will have a strong chance to become a leader in the future.
The ending of the episode was a bit weak with Talla devising a plan to trick the Regorians into believing that the stars have returned and that Gilliacs are good people after all. It does raise the question if the Orville should lie to a new planet, but it is all to save Kelly and Bortus.
We also meet Alara’s replacement, Lt. Talla Keyali, played by Jessica Szohr. She is more aggressive and confident than Alara was, but I still miss Alara’s presence in the show. Keyali should be a fine addition to the team, only if she doesn’t punch Ed Mercer in the face. Keyali has a history of punching her captains in the face if she doesn’t agree with them, which should make for some interesting scenarios amongst the two.
The newest episode is a decent one, but I wish that they would have continued the story from the previous episode. It was interesting to learn about a new planet and their systems and beliefs. The episode managed to impress me with the world building and gave a chance for the new Alara to shine.
The Orville airs Thursday at 9:00 PM on Fox.
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