The Orville - Season Two -- SPOILERS

[Lupine]

Still nothing On Demand this morning.

[RJDiogenes]

Still nothing here, too. What the heck?

[scottydog]

Argghhh. Come on, demand, I need to hear what RJ and Lupy (and others) think of this episode!

[RJDiogenes]

Looks like it's up on the Fox website. I'm watching it now.

[Lupine]

^It didn't come up on mine. I tried DirecTV which did have it, but wouldn't play.

[RJDiogenes]

Weird. At the end of the episode, it told me that I was nearing the end of my free preview, but it looks like you can sign in with your TV provider credentials. It's also available on Amazon Prime, for two bucks.

So it was definitely an impressive episode, and undoubtedly the game changer that they promised. I don't see how they can get out of this and return things to the way they were with Isaac-- of course, since Isaac is a robot I wouldn't put it past Orville to prank the audience by using a literal reset button. I certainly hope so, because I'd hate to lose Isaac or see him turned into the Borg Queen or whatever. But we'll see. The Kaylons have turned out to be a relentless combination of Trek's Borg, Saberhagen's Berserkers, Clarke's Monolith, and the Killer B's genocidal robot faction from the Second Foundation Trilogy. They obviously have their war machine optimized for victory and will be nearly impossible to beat, unless they can be reprogrammed-- maybe that porn program can be used to turn them into a planet of mechanical hedonists.

Everything about the Kaylon homeworld raised questions, though. Questions like... what do they do, and why? What are the buildings for? Why were those Kaylons standing at the wall and tapping on it? Why not just perform tasks wirelessly? Why go to another room to meet privately when they can just exchange data? What is their purpose and motivation? If they annihilated their creators to ensure their own survival, what are they surviving to accomplish? Unlike biological beings, they can't be motivated by love or curiosity or pleasure or philosophy or anything else that wasn't programmed into them? And why do they keep the remains of their creators just under the surface in those massive horrifying graveyards? I'm guessing the show is either going whole hog with the trope of the robot rebellion without explanation or apology, or else there is a revelation coming about the Kaylons that we don't expect. At least the above examples from other franchises were acting out the programming of their creators.

Visually, the episode was amazing. I loved the natural light coming in through the viewport on Orville's bridge, which reminded me of one of my favorite aspects of Generations. The scene in the simulator with the big tree in the middle of the giant field was also beautiful. The endless urban vistas of Robotworld were also quite impressive, but just raised further questions about what all those robots do all day and why.

Of course, much of the episode focused on Claire and the kids learning that Isaac really is a robot and cannot return whatever feelings they have developed for him. And not just them-- the whole crew seemed to turn out for Isaac's farewell party. And it wouldn't be The Orville without some level of hi-jinks, such as Gordon singing sweetly to Isaac, Bortus lamenting his lack of a corner piece of the cake, and the Kaylons' decision resting at least partly on Isaac being dressed up as Mister Potato Head (for those interested, there is a kind of brownie pan that looks like a maze and is designed to make all the brownies corner brownies-- I've got one and it works).

But now the Kaylon decision has been made and they have set out to destroy the Union, starting with Earth. The weirdest ship in the fleet must save the galaxy. This is Orville's "Best of Both Worlds." The biggest question is, with a setup like this, is it even possible to have a resolution that doesn't disappoint?

[scottydog]

The biggest question is, with a setup like this, is it even possible to have a resolution that doesn't disappoint?

Very true. I bet Seth McFarlane knows how great a character Isaac is, so Isaac has to go rogue and help the crew out of this mess if he's ever to remain with The Orville. Such a resolution is kind of predictable and boring, so I hope the writers find a way to make the next episode clever and surprising in some way.

I was thinking the same thing about the Kaylon. Why are they bipedal? What do they do all day? Why didn't they find someway to incinerate or dispose of those billions of skeletons?

[RJDiogenes]

I bet Seth McFarlane knows how great a character Isaac is, so Isaac has to go rogue and help the crew out of this mess if he's ever to remain with The Orville.

Unless they plan to make him their arch enemy. My fear is that they're done with their homage to TNG, and from now on will be an homage to DS9. I don't want to see Orville become a war show.

[scottydog]

My fear is that they're done with their homage to TNG, and from now on will be an homage to DS9. I don't want to see Orville become a war show.

That would be a big mistake. As much as I loved DS9, it did mark the beginning of the end of Roddenberry Trek. I'd like to this McFarlane is too smart to to darkify The Orville.

[Lupine]

Well they're seriously bleeped.

I bet Seth McFarlane knows how great a character Isaac is, so Isaac has to go rogue and help the crew out of this mess if he's ever to remain with The Orville.

Unless they plan to make him their arch enemy. My fear is that they're done with their homage to TNG, and from now on will be an homage to DS9. I don't want to see Orville become a war show.

I don't think right now they'll go down that road and I do think Isaac will come around.

[RJDiogenes]

I don't think so, either. Completely. But I'll be happier when I see for sure that they don't.

[scottydog]

New episode coming up

Even though it would be considered "too predictable", I'm really hoping Isaac saves the day and rejoins the crew.

[RJDiogenes]

Yep, tonight's the night. I'd be surprised if the kids weren't involved in the resolution, especially since there was that scene of the Kaylon entering their quarters, but no scene of them in captivity. I also noticed that there was no clear TOS-like message in this story yet (aside from "It's bad to kill people and hide their bodies in your basement"), so I think that will come into play in the finale. Given the title of the episode and the hypocrisy of the Kaylons' ideology (they berated the humans for things like genocide before being revealed as far worse), I think it may end up being a commentary on Identity Politics. Those who are not like us must be destroyed. Given the very irrational and un-robotlike behaviors of the Kaylons, they may realize that they are actually just acting out the programming of the people they hated, and have become just like them. It may be significant that Isaac talked about altering his own programming in the Big Romance episode, because that would mean that the Kaylons can give up their genocidal programming if they choose to.

[scottydog]

A fairly predictable episode but enjoyable nonetheless.

Predictable is not always bad. I think it's why The Orville works. It feels... familiar. Just like old Trek. For example, we have several moments when a character suggests an idea that's a longshot not likely to work, not recommended, against the odds and against regulations. Gordon says you're not supposed to launch a shuttle at warp speed but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Then he says that he can give the shuttle one huge burst of speed to evade the Kaylon, but he doesn't recommend it. Etc, etc.

Also wonderfully familiar and very Trekky is the idea of self-sacrifice for others. Tai does it, Yaphit does it, Isaac does it. This is something we all thirst for -- heroes who do the right thing even if it means dying.

[Lupine]

Rather meh for me. I think in this case Orville failed where Trek or Doctor Who would have succeeded. There seemed to be few attempts by the crew to point out that the Kaylon were not only acting illogically but outright irrationally. A mission to exterminate all organic lifeforms is doomed from the onset since logic would dictate that there would inevitably be organics as advanced or more so than the Kaylon. A Federation Captain or the Doctor would have pointed this out and probably succeeded in those terms.