Fox’s loss was Hulu’s gain as the third season of Sci-Fi comedy The Orville heads to the streamer at light speed. The Seth MacFarlane space romp originally aired on network for two seasons before being cancelled by Fox in 2019. The cancellation came after the Family Guy creator made it clear that he could not comply with Fox’s swift production schedule expectations, citing a desire to get all production details just right, no matter how long it took.
But Hulu swooped in to save the show from cancellation, clearly willing to give MacFarlane all the time and *space* he needed to produce a show that aligned with his creative vision. And though it was a long, long time ago (3 years) in galaxy far, far away that audiences last saw the crew of the USS Orville, they’re back at it with new episodes streaming weekly.
The show stars Seth MacFarlane (Captain Ed Mercer), Adrianne Palicki (Commander Kelly Grayson), Penny Johnson Jerald (Dr. Claire Finn), Scott Grimes (Lt. Gordon Malloy), Peter Macon (Lt. Commander Bortus), Jessica Szohr (Lt. Talla Keyali), J Lee (Lt. Commander John LaMarr), Mark Jackson (Isacc), and Anne Winters (Ens. Charly Burke) as the The Orville crew. And the new season finds the gang coming to terms with a tragic incident, which falls in line with the Collider’s assessment of the direction of The Orville: New Horizons as “bigger, bolder, and whole lot darker.”
Catching up with the crew of The Orville
The tragedy is shown in the form of a flashback in the opening moments of the first new episode. The Quiby is attacked, leaving only a handful of survivors including Isaac and Charly Burke. In the aftermath, the crew of the Orville are looking for someone to blame, and they find a convenient foil in the onboard droid Isaac.
In particular, Dr. Finn’s son Marcus has an axe to grind. Marcus paints the word “murderer” in the command room, vandalism clearly directed at Isaac, causing the droid to question his purpose. When the crew relentlessly shuns him for his betrayal of the Orville during the Kaylon attack and mocks him for his inability to process or show emotions, Isaac decides that he is a burden to the ship and commits suicide via EMP.
After a short memorial for Isaac, during which Mercer openly mourns despite much of the crew’s continued disdain for the departed droid, it appears that viewers and crew members have seen the last of the droid.
However, as the crew processes the loss of Isaac, reminiscing about his contributions and working through the level of blame Isaac truly deserved, a plan is devised to bring him back by utilizing hidden source code in Isaac’s memory that acted as a back up copy of his consciousness.
To execute their plan they’ll need Charly’s help. But she despises Isaac after losing a colleague on the Quiby and has no interest in taking part.
The Kaylon Just Won’t Stop Harassing The Orville
As Mercer implores Charly to help, the ship is attacked yet again by the Kaylon, and the Orville is forced to go quantum and take safe harbor on a nearby planet. When Mercer orders Charly to assist in bringing Isaac back (which she resists yet again), Charly is relieved of duty.
However, when Charly is asked by Marcus (who hated Isaac) to help, she relents and Isaac is brought back to life, though he returns confused believing he must have botched the EMP.
In the closing minutes of the first episode, Dr. Finn tries to psychoanalyze Isaac’s motivations. Isaac explains that he believed his presence caused inefficiencies on the ship, and his decision was based on logic. Dr. Finn and Isaac ultimately agree that any future attempt should be run by her first.
Burning Questions for Episode 2
While Isaac has been restored to full competency and functionality, there is still the issue of his Kaylon roots. Will the crew continue to have suspiscions and will Charly get over her hatred for Isaac?
Additionally, the spectre of the Kaylon looms large over the Orville. The Kaylon are a menacing and ever-present threat to the ship’s crew. How will they respond to the pestering Kaylons and their excessively overpowering technology?
The episode featured the return of Norm MacDonald as Lieutenant Yaphit, the gelatinous comic relief, in what is likely one of his last performances. His return was welcome though bittersweet. Which leads to another question for both Norm fans and Orville aficionados: How much more of the dearly departed SNL comedian will viewers be treated to in Season 3?
A new episode of The Orville premieres on Hulu every Thursday.
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