Orville continues the surprising path of character development. Again I have to admit I did not expect this to be a focal point of the show. Judging from the trailer this is a slapstick show. Seems Seth McFarlane has something more ambitious in mind. For that alone I will stay on this ride.
That was unexpected. And holy shit, I think I'm actually starting to like this show.
It helps that they've dropped the lowbrow humor of the pilot and made a hard course correction toward serious character work. Now if we can go at least one episode without mentioning Mercer's divorce even once, we'll really be in business!
[8.1/10] This is what I’m asking for from The Orville! The relationship drama is kept to an absolute minimum. The frat humor is, outside of a terrible scene with Norm MacDonald’s blob creature, minor and inoffensive. (Hell, I even liked the dancing bandito and Lloyd reminiscing about his terrible dad.) Instead, we just get a good, solid nuts and bolts Star Trek-style ethical dilemma, replete with diplomatic standoffs, courtroom scenes, and tough decisions. If Seth MacFarlane just wants to do Trek cosplay, then I hope we get more like this, which feels of a piece with TNG rather than a dorm room funhouse mirror version of it.
The moral questions center around Bortus’s daughter, one of a vanishingly small number of female Moclans ever born. More to the point, the questions center on whether Bortus and his mate, Klyden, should be allowed to have their daughter undergo a procedure to make her male, as is the custom among Moclans, who view being female as a disability.
It’s a genuinely compelling moral dilemma that, like the best Trek episodes its aping, encompasses a plethora of thorny issues. It raises questions of cultural and moral relativism, what the line between acceptable medical treatment for infants and life-changing alterations is, societal attitudes toward women, and even transgender issues. There’s no clean allegory here, which is a feature not a bug, which allows the episode to touch on topics as varied as feminism, circumcision, how cultural norms and principles interact with diplomatic ones, intersex babies, cleft palletes, tolerance of intolerance, and a wide array of other notions that are relevant here.
It also works as a character story for Bortus. It’s a little cheesy, but I like the way he’s persuaded by Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer of all things that something widely-viewed as a deformity can, in fact, be a valuable asset. The reveal that Kylden was born female and didn’t know it until examined by non-Moclan physicians is an interesting twist, and I like the rift it creates here. The difference of opinion between parents, the complications the knowledge prompts, are both compelling.
The trial and diplomatic standoffs make for good set pieces. I like Grayson using her crew to try to show that women can be strong and men can be dumb, even if the execution is a little goofy. The reveal that one of the Moclans’ most famed writers is, in fact, a woman, is a cool ace in the hole to use. It’s set up well by Bortus’s statement of appreciation, and with her speech and reveal, she’s a great example that such a life can not only lead to personal satisfaction but also grand societal contributions.
And yet, one of the things that I like most about this episode is that, ultimately, it’s not enough. There’s something so melancholy and true-to-life about being morally justified and pulling out all the stops to make your case, but coming up short because the world’s just not ready to hear it. Bortus’s clear sadness and frustration over the tribunal’s decision, mixed with his affirmation and promise to love Tapa no matter who the baby becomes (replete with a Rudolph plush), creates the right sort of bittersweet resolution to a thorny situation.
Overall, this is far and away the best episode of The Orville so far, and the first one to give me hope that the series may ultimately be worthy of the Star Trek style it’s so plainly imitating.
I dismissed this show as nonsense when the trailers first hit and placed all my bets on Discovery. After giving up on that I thought it would give this a try. The last 3 episodes have been a great surprise but none more so than this one. An incredibly difficult subject to cover yet it was handled quite well.
Not your usual 'good guys win' scenario either. A grey area in which we all left with something to think about. Unexpected from Seth McFarlane. Colour me surprised and impressed.
I'm surprised at how much I am liking this show! Hopefully more people will give this a fair chance despite the dick jokes.
Aside from a few one-liners, this show has already pretty much given up on any pretense of being a comedy. I was more than a little surprised by the verdict of the arbitration council. I was also surprised that they only found one female Moclan in the cave; I was expecting it to be hiding a slew of them, showing that this so-called "problem" is much more prevalent than otherwise believed. In the final analysis, though, this show is already having a serious identity crisis and I don't know if it will survive it.
The first episode of the show that really approaches greatness. It's sad that the measure of the show is measured by how little Seth MacFarlane is involved, but I have a feeling that he'd take it as a compliment. Either way, this episode pushed it firmly ahead of ST:Discovery for me.
Have to admit some things annoyed me. Firstly what does knowledge has to do with intelligence? Also how does comparing different species help prove anything anyway?
Also the way they presented finding one of the few females on that planet in a cave which happened to be the best writer was kinda weak.
really a good series that finds its tone between comedy and some serious topics. I'm curious to see if they can continue this balancing act.
Each episode has attracted me to the show a little bit more, 2 led me to watch 3, and now three has prompted me to add it to my faves list. Nice twist of plot, and the turn of the quote about an unexamined life was quotable: "the blackest abyss is a pock in the flesh when one has gazed in solitude upon the infinity of self" very Thoreau-like, from the pages of Walden
Take away some of the jokes and this IS classical Star Trek!
An excellent story true to the spirit of the tales it's trying to pay homage to, I really enjoyed this one. The jokes were quite on point, too, without overpowering the narrative. This has confirmed for me that The Orville might become a show I truly love.
I thought after the crappy pilot this show was doomed, but they really turned the ship around with the previous two episodes.
I believe people (especially professional critics) need to come to terms with the fact that this isn't strictly a comedy or Star Trek spoof. It's something else. What that exactly is, I don't know yet (and to some extent, neither does MacFarlane it would seem). My guess would be it's a sci-fi dramedy.
But whatever it is, I'm liking it a lot and want more.
One of the best episodes of science fiction, hands down.
Surprised, this is actually turning out to be not bad.
This show is not at all what I hoped it would be... It's not funny and now it's being political... not a good mix!!!!
Huh. That was weird. I'm hoping this will have impact later on, otherwise I don't see a reason to have them going up against something like this and losing this early.
SJW have ruined space, and this show.
I think the oil painting that Bortus walks past with the baby was actually an exterior shot from one of the Star Trek ToS episodes. Maybe "The Devil in the Dark"?
This one has a good lesson, that it drags on through-out until you're tired of that lesson beat through your skull. We got it, the first half hour. Women are as capable as men.
Still, was a sweet and important episode. That's also not for anyone expecting some laughs or some adventure. Still, this show is under-rated. 20% good reviews is just due to a lot of dislike for Seth McFarlane.
Despite wielding the heaviest of hammers, this episode received a higher rating secondary to the ending.
Never underestimate the Rankin Bass Rudolph special lol
I didn’t think I’d feel this much, but man they really put a lot of sincerity and honesty into a topic this serious, despite them losing even with all the evidence to the contrary presented. Really enjoyed it.
After a poor pilot, and only marginally improved subsequent episode. I was considering dropping Orville.
This episode however was much improved. I have issues with how the main conflict is presented, but otherwise the focus on character drama and wider societal issues really worked. And the humour here blended better into to story than it has in previous episodes.
Hopefully this trajectory continues.
It's an interesting premise, with a challenging ending too… Would have been nice if they had built out the concept a bit more. Why would eliminating females in a species make any sense? If you have species with binary sex, the female is by definition a necessary part of procreation. Maybe they used technology to get around that because females are (or became) quite rare?
Grayson is a terrible lawyer though — none of her arguments were remotely valid.
You can not be more along the lines of Star Trek. Even if there is still the quirky aspect of things, like how Bortus reaches his conclusion. But even that, at its base, is well written. It's just a different way of doing it.
A freind once told me he believes MacFarlane alway wanted this to be a serious show. That the comedy was just masking that fact, to not get in trouble with Viacom. And I'm beginning to believe he's right.
Prejudices boy-girl good way to carry the argument
I thought this was preachy, real preachy but done in extremely clever way, way too thoughtful for this show. This show keeps on surprising.
I don't know. I was hoping for a new comedy to add to my list but this seems to be going the serious path with fewer and fewer jokes. I enjoyed ep 1 but not sure if I can stick around for more of this.
I guess they said "fvck off" to having anything akin to Star Trek's "Prime Directive."
I like this show but not episode 3... I couldn't even tell you what was going on. I don't like the topic of episode 3. My personal opinion but other than episode 3, it's a decent show.
Shout by kinkyVIP EP 6BlockedParent2017-09-26T21:17:56Z
Addressing ethical issues and questions regarding one's individuality was very trekkie. At some point I even felt as if I was watching a Star Trek episode. Then they managed to add the (mandatory) humour without making things go bonkers or tacky. I was honestly impressed by this episode. The humour, sci-fi, drama, all different aspects of the show seem to be finally blending well together.
The first couple or episodes got me curious, but this one got me hooked. Now I definitely want to see where this show is going (probably where no man has gone before).