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The new episode of The Orville picks up where Episode 8 left off. The Kaylons have taken control of the Orville and locked all citizens in the cargo bay as they head for Earth as part of their plan to wipe away all of life in the universe. Isaac is at the head of the pack after betraying all his friends on the Orville. I was very much anticipating this episode as I wanted to see what would happen with Isaac’s storyline. Was he going to be written off or was he going to redeem himself at the end and everything would go back to normal? What we got was one of The Orville’s most thrilling and impressive looking episodes yet.
I know a lot of this show is inspired by Star Trek, but not having seen anything of Star Trek besides the films starring Chris Pine, I don’t have much to go off of. Much of the battle sequences between the crew of the Orville and the Kaylons looked like many scenes from Star Wars. The quickly paced scenes with ships avoiding enemy fire reminded me a lot the opening sequence from Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. I was impressed with those scenes because a lot of effort went into them and the visuals were something I thought The Orville didn’t have in it.
The show wastes no time in progressing the storyline from the previous episode. I always want MacFarlane to continue storylines and this is a perfect time for him to do that. The show starts off with the crew being held in the cargo bay as they are headed to Earth as the first stop in destroying all life. During a scuffle with a few Kaylons, Talla is shot in the chest. She is rushed to the medical bay so she can receive assistance. This would have been an interesting move on the show’s part to kill off Talla. It would have made the show more dramatic.
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As Ed assists on helping Talla to the medical bay, Kaylon Prime informs Ed that the only reason his crew remains alive is to have Ed help with their plan to destroy all life. This is tested when the ship comes across the U.S.S Roosevelt, captained by Ed’s old flight instructor. The U.S.S Roosevelt is surrounded by a massive fleet of Kaylon destroyers and Ed assures him that everything is fine. He signs off with a secret code, but the Kaylons know many Union protocols and destroys the ship. Kaylon Prime chooses a random member of the Orville and kills them as a punishment. This is the first time in the episode where we might have a feeling that Isaac isn’t committed to the plans laid out by Kaylon Prime.
As a viewer, the show puts me in an awkward situation with Isaac. Many times, throughout the series he shows sympathy towards characters, which Kaylon members don’t feel. I wanted him to redeem himself and return to his normal self, but on the other hand, he is the reason that many people have died in the last two episodes. It reminded me a lot of the Winter Soldier’s storyline in the Captain America movies. He is forced to do unspeakable things but remained loyal to Steve Rogers. I was torn on how to feel about Isaac while watching the show, and MacFarlane did a fine job presenting situations that tested the morals of the crew and Isaac.
Constantly throughout the episode there was a sense of emergency that surrounded the crew members. The Orville is not known to establish urgency during their episodes, but I understood that the many missions amongst the crew members were important. Many different crew members had to help to save the Orville. Ty and Yaphet, two of the smallest members of the ship, sent out a message to gather up all of Earth’s fleets before the Kaylons arrived. Kelly and Gordon ventured off into space for a daring mission to try and persuade the Krill in assisting the Orville in battle, which eventually worked as the Krill arrived as the Union was about to be destroyed for good. The Krill released their fighters to help the Union and piloting one of the fighters was Gordon, who provided one of the funniest lines of the episode. With both the Krill and the Union attacking the Kaylons, they escaped home. Both Kelly and Ed return to the Union to meet with Admiral Halsey to discuss Isaac’s fate. This leads to an interesting discussion about the Kaylons and Isaac which should be further explored in upcoming episodes.
This was one of the most complex and well-thought out episodes The Orville has had. With many different storylines and crew members running around the ship to protect the Orville, I felt the urgency of the show. There were plenty of great visuals and a storyline that I was invested in, which made it one of my favorite episodes so far.
The Orville airs Thursdays at 9:00 PM on Fox.
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