Spoilers follow. You have been warned.

This week’s episode of The Orville was following up the biggest episode of the entire series, so most fans expected it to slow down a bit from the fast paced, action packed “Identity”. While the episode did slow down, it did not fail to deliver on the things we have come to expect from this show.

This review will not be a blow-by-blow recap of the episode, but rather, a breakdown of what made the episode tick.

Continuity

Despite being a standalone story, this episode doesn’t ignore the events of the last two episodes. Instead, it uses those events as a launch pad for this new story, and directly follows on from it when necessary. Yaphit receiving a medal is a perfect example of this continuity, and was very fitting.

Yaphit receiving a medal is a perfect example of this continuity, and was very fitting.

Also of note is that while Isaac is present and back on duty, he is not featured in any of the personal interactions the crew have, so they gave us a subtle indication that while things are back to normal professionally, the personal side may take some time to heal.

As I said, this episode uses the continuity to jump start this week’s story with the premise of making peace with The Krill. This was a nice touch and helps to emerge us even more into this universe they have created because everything about this premise is logical following on from last week. It makes sense that both The Union and The Krill would be considering peace, in light of the common Kaylon threat. It also makes sense, that Ed Mercer would be the one to initiate this discussion considering how much experience he has amassed with The Krill over the course of the series. The Admiral does raise Ed’s previous encounters and that was a very nice touch as well.

The Story

This week’s story works so well for me, because it wasn’t predictable at all. As The Orville meets the Krill ship to begin negotiations, a battle ensues between the Krill ship and one of their own shuttles. You have no indication of why this is happening so my interest was immediately piqued. What it someone the crew had met before, like Teleya? Was there opposition to the treaty within the Krill ranks? Turns out it was union officer Gordon knew years ago. He says he and his daughter just escaped a Krill prison facility and The Krill say he is a terrorist responsible for the destruction of many of their vessels, putting Ed and the peace talks in a dangerous position. It could also potentially put Ed and Gordon in a dangerous position.

The turn of events put Ed and the peace talks in a dangerous position

Again, I was intrigued at this point because while I speculated that The Krill may be right (just because it would make the story interesting), there was no evidence to support their claim. The officer had no weapons or anything that could do the type of damage The Krill were suggesting. Furthermore, his daughter seemed pretty traumatized, lending credence to his assertion that they had just escaped a prison facility.

When Ed confronted Gordon about the possibility of his friend being guilty of terrorism, this isn’t something Gordon wants to hear, but I totally wasn’t expecting Gordon to join his friend on an unsanctioned mission.

I totally wasn’t expecting Gordon to join his friend on an unsanctioned mission.

While this was playing out, I was thinking to myself that this has to be a misdirect. Surely, Gordon wouldn’t go against his Captain and crew like this; But when Gordon shoots Talla, that was a nice touch that cemented my intrigue as to what was playing out and where it was going.

Turns out the girl is not Channing’s daughter. Actually, she’s not even human, but an Envall; a race whose blood is highly explosive when it comes into contact with a nitrogen-rich atmosphere. Lieutenant Channing was using her blood to make bombs and she pretended to be traumatized to avoid a medical examination. Suddenly, the plot came together in a very satisfying way. We got a nice fight aboard the shuttle with Gordon and Channing, and Talla got to introduce the Envall to Xelayan strength. It was a thrilling climax complete with a gorgeous shuttle explosion and very nice visuals of Gordon being blown through space by the force of said explosion.





The writing was brilliantly unpredictable. It kept me intrigued throughout and gave me thrilling action for the climax.

Tonal Balance

Lastly, this episode was very well balanced. It featured some hilarious comedic moments, like Ed pretending to drink the booze but actually throwing it away.

Ed pretending to drink the booze but actually throwing it away.

There was also Talla’s boarding checks for The Krill, subjecting them to urine samples and other ridiculousness as a stall tactic. This was comedic gold, but the implication of the glove at the end was carrying things way too far.

Talla’s boarding checks for The Krill was comedic gold.

And it would be remiss of me not to mention Dann admiring Talla, and inciting a new alien crewman to lobby for a casual day.

However, the episode didn’t shy away from serious drama and sincere character moments. The Krill conflict was well handled and believable. Gordon and Channing’s interactions were acted well, with understandable motivations on both sides. Also, that moment at the end where Ed reaffirms Gordon’s importance in his life was a very nice emotional moment. This was the first friendship introduced in the series and it’s nice to see it still gong strong.

This was the first friendship introduced in the series and it’s nice to see it still gong strong.

Conclusion

This was a solid followup to last week’s big action-fest. Great suspenseful writing, nice special effects (like the shuttle crash landing in the Shuttle Bay) and it moved the overarching narrative of the series along nicely with the first steps to peace with The Krill becoming a reality.