Oh no... the show is incredible, but not this episode. It's clearly been heavily rushed and major plot points were disregarded in favour of superficially tying up loose ends to end the season. But, this doesn't mean the whole show is bad, only that this episode is not as good as the previous ones, and overall, the show is stellar (pun intended).
There's going to be a lot here, because I'm going through the episode a 2nd time to get everything both on the issues side and on the excellence side, but here we go.
On the issues side
I saw many plotholes and logical failures in this episode such as
Chancellor Teleya forgetting all her reasons for rejecting Krill-Union membership, such as "we have new advanced weapons and don't need yours" (which includes Moclan weapons) and "Krill don't need to rely on anyone", but then being completely open to a Krill-Moclan alliance to get Moclan weapons and relying on each other for protection
Charly and Isaac suddenly developing a Kaylon-EMP device that is "limited only be the amount of power available" whose "range would be unlimited", and where "no [Union] people or ships would be affected". It's basically the "there is no cow level" cheat from StarCraft (instant win hack).
The irony of Charly calling someone else biased for disagreeing with her biased opinion is actually realistic
The fact the Orville was able to reach all the way to the Kaylon home planet with literally no resistance
The crew celebrating too early while things are still in flux, and the highly-trained officers being shortsighted and not planning ahead to solidify the victory breathes incompetence
Maybe my personal opinion, but a second "Hollywood campfire singing" scene is just too much. To me, the previous one has very nice timing and atmosphere, but this one is out of place and takes away from the story. Also, to me it seems like Charly is lip-syncing, that the song's lyrics are not relevant to the story, and the melody is generic, so I have a hard time getting into the music at all, and it disconnects me from the scene
The Kaylon-EMP device, the most important tactical weapon in the entire Union, and a weapon that the Union is fully aware many extremists would want to take advantage of because of their losses in the Kaylon conflict, being guarded by just 3 liutenants.
The Union extremists somehow not setting off any immediate alarms or notifications after taking the most important weapon in the entire Union
The Krill and the Moclans both showing up to receive Admiral Perry, but then saying they didn't want anyone to find out about the Krill-Moclan alliance. Why did they both show up together for a simple meeting when they didn't have to?
Instead of considering Admiral Perry's codes may have been stolen, that he was being coerced, or anything else, for an organization based on mutual trust, the speed at which the Union admiral, captain, and everyone firmly believed Admiral Perry betrayed the entire Union was astounding
The Union somehow detecting Moclan weapon signatures when it was only the Krill ship that fired to destroy Admiral Perry's shuttle
The Moclans and Dr. Kalba somehow already having "one of the largest [quantum cores]", which is exactly what they need in order to blow up all Kaylon in the entire galaxy, is only a slight hack (in case you didn't get the sarcasm, it's a completely massive hack)
The Orville being the sole negotiator for an alliance with the Kaylon without involving the council, or even an admiral, came out of nowhere with no setup, and is definitely against protocol. Also, how did they contact Kaylon Prime from where they were?
Kaylon Prime somehow inferring an alliance without being directly asked is just a tad too Human for a robot that doesn't understand the value of biological life
When Kaylon Prime boarded the Orville, Kelly's sassiness was being both unprofessional and tactically risky by antagonizing the Kaylon when they are coming to help. As a first officer, she would know that
Cloaking the shuttle to retrieve the Kaylon-EMP device, but then surrounding the cloaked ship with fighters to completely give away its position anyway
Gordon's fighter somehow being the only one able to loop/pull back to get behind enemy fighters, and all the other fighters (including the enemy ones) being able to do basically nothing but fly straight and fire
Charly's shuttle's cloak malfunctioning despite never being hit by anything
Gordon trying to save Murphy, but when seeing his shuttle destroyed right in front of him, Gordon having no reaction at all. Not shouting "Murphy!", not looking sad or in pain from his crewmate just dying, nope just avoiding Murphy's shuttle debris and corpse like they're just some rocks hitting his windshield. At least John looked like he was a little bit upset.
Charly's shuttle being hit in the front and somehow losing main power because of that, but then getting hit a second time (How strong is this shuttle? Damn, all the other fighters explode in one hit) and nothing happens
The Moclans being fully aware of Xeleyan strength (since they used to be Union members), not reinforcing their doors with Xeleyan-strength metals is just a bit strange
The Moclan science facility being exactly the same as Moclan prison black site just with new lights. This show clearly doesn't have much in the way of budget concerns with its great CGI, so why would the film set be so neglected?
(I'm a martial artist, so) Kelly having Teleya's dagger on her throat, but deciding to just ignore it and attack her, which in reality would result in Kelly's throat being sliced open, but for some reason, Teleya, while in the middle of being elbowed in the face, carefully takes the dagger away from Kelly's throat, being very careful not to slice her, but then trying to slice her throat with it immediately afterwards
Instead of saying "the core is at full power" and then using a meaningless countdown that has no purpose other than to create urgency, a better option would've been "the core is at 11% power" and use that instead
Kaylon Prime shooting all Moclans who ran towards the door, but the last Moclan somehow forgetting that and running towards the door anyway, and then Kaylon Prime not shooting him
Charly having been clearly set up throughout her entire character arc to hate the Kaylon, and continuing that in this episode with her saying "we should've wiped out the Kaylon" and that "we're making a huge mistake [by keeping them alive]", but then she suddenly flips completely, saying nothing about Kaylon Prime killing Moclans who tried to escape, then even mentioning Amanda's name (her best friend who was killed by the Kaylon), as she sacrifices herself to save all the Kaylon.
To me, this would've been justified if we saw Charly's flashbacks of her best friend Amanda and her experience hearing the emotion-filled Kaylon enslavement story, mentally battling herself with her two choices until she realizes revenge for just one person is not worth killing an entire race of people. These plot points have already been set up, and I think the two perfect times for this would be
as Kaylon Prime slaughters the fleeing Moclans, she remembers Amanda, then
as Isaac spares the last Moclan, she remembers the Kaylon being torured and just wanting to stop the pain, and then
remembering the happiest moments with Amanda just before the explosion
Kelly still being antagonistic towards Kaylon Prime (AKA their president) even though it jeopardizes a potential long-term alliance
Ed somehow being allowed to see, unsupervised, the exact same prisoner he previously set free which led to the entire Krill-Union conflict
The Kaylon being invited to the Union Council immediately after the only weapon that could've stood a chance against them was destroyed, and Kaylon Prime converting just like that, even though what it took to convert Isaac was building an entire family relationship with Claire, Marcus, and Ty, and having that relationship directly threatened. All Kaylon Prime knew and saw was one Human destroying the only weapon that could've stopped them
Charly, an ensign, having a dedicated funeral, but all the captains, first officers, liutenants and more who died in all the Union ships and fighters during the battle (including the ones who fought alongside Gordon and John protecting Charly's shuttle) not even being mentioned
But on the excellence side
The ethics discussion Ed brings up in the small admiral meeting, and that the crew brings up in the cafeteria is very good thoughtfulness to the morality of using weapons of mass destruction. And the council's decision to "demonstrate their power" against the Kaylon reflects the horrors of Little Boy and Fat Man in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that America used against Japan, beating them into near-death submission and surrender
When the Orville arrived at the Kaylon planet, the Kaylon needing 2 waves of ships to be destroyed before communicating is very nice, because they needed to test that the previous encounter wasn't just a fluke and that the Union genuinely has an effective weapon
I love the returning Bortus-Klyden bickering over the walnut cracking. It's hilarious and refreshing
I like Isaac teaching astronomy to Topa which also teaches the viewers. I think more people learning about space and science is a good thing
The Union officers taking the Kaylon-EMP device was awesome, and I initially thought they were disguised Krill spies, but were actually Union insurgents working under Admiral Perry. That caught me off guard.
Lack of setup notwithstanding, the betrayal of an admiral in the Union is a very interesting plot point to use
I love Kaylon Prime's "Is this your concept of humour?" putting Human jokes into an emotionless robot's language. Reminds me a lot of Commander Data from Star Trek TNG
Kaylon Prime needing to accompany the Orville's crew to retrieve the Kaylon-EMP device is realistic
For the battle of the Kaylon-EMP device, it's amazing how the Union shows up first, and then they Kaylon shows up from all directions later, because it makes it seem like there is no Union-Kaylon alliance and that the Kaylon just showed up on their own. On top of this, the Krill captain said "Avis help us all", showing he did not immediately know there is a Union-Kaylon alliance, which is very good because he has no reason to suspect that
I like the skydiving/paratrooping scene just because of how practical it would be compared to trying to land a shuttle in enemy territory
For the Moclan science facility dogfight, the quality of animation is supreme, for a TV show, and the music reminds me a lot of Star Wars' dogfights
Kelly saying to Teleya "you need a dermatologist" line was hilarious
Talla, a Xeleyan, crushing Teleya's head with a rifle? Yeah, she is 100% dead now, killed by crushed brain from Xeleyan strength (If she can't control her strength in sex with John, there's no way she's controlling it in combat with Teleya)
That explosion was nice. Despite not being big enough up close then being much larger from planet-view, the slight implosion beforehand, the timings, sound design all looked and sounded incredible
I love how Kaylon Prime mentioned the inefficiency of democratic ruling, and how Admiral Halsey explains the very real politics of how it's the best solution we have so far (today, not in the future but we can't predict the real future so), because it's exactly why we use democracy
Review by SabianBlockedParentSpoilers2022-09-02T21:07:42Z
Oh no... the show is incredible, but not this episode. It's clearly been heavily rushed and major plot points were disregarded in favour of superficially tying up loose ends to end the season. But, this doesn't mean the whole show is bad, only that this episode is not as good as the previous ones, and overall, the show is stellar (pun intended).
There's going to be a lot here, because I'm going through the episode a 2nd time to get everything both on the issues side and on the excellence side, but here we go.
On the issues side
I saw many plotholes and logical failures in this episode such as
Chancellor Teleya forgetting all her reasons for rejecting Krill-Union membership, such as "we have new advanced weapons and don't need yours" (which includes Moclan weapons) and "Krill don't need to rely on anyone", but then being completely open to a Krill-Moclan alliance to get Moclan weapons and relying on each other for protection
Charly and Isaac suddenly developing a Kaylon-EMP device that is "limited only be the amount of power available" whose "range would be unlimited", and where "no [Union] people or ships would be affected". It's basically the "there is no cow level" cheat from StarCraft (instant win hack).
The irony of Charly calling someone else biased for disagreeing with her biased opinion is actually realistic
The fact the Orville was able to reach all the way to the Kaylon home planet with literally no resistance
The crew celebrating too early while things are still in flux, and the highly-trained officers being shortsighted and not planning ahead to solidify the victory breathes incompetence
Maybe my personal opinion, but a second "Hollywood campfire singing" scene is just too much. To me, the previous one has very nice timing and atmosphere, but this one is out of place and takes away from the story. Also, to me it seems like Charly is lip-syncing, that the song's lyrics are not relevant to the story, and the melody is generic, so I have a hard time getting into the music at all, and it disconnects me from the scene
The Kaylon-EMP device, the most important tactical weapon in the entire Union, and a weapon that the Union is fully aware many extremists would want to take advantage of because of their losses in the Kaylon conflict, being guarded by just 3 liutenants.
The Union extremists somehow not setting off any immediate alarms or notifications after taking the most important weapon in the entire Union
The Krill and the Moclans both showing up to receive Admiral Perry, but then saying they didn't want anyone to find out about the Krill-Moclan alliance. Why did they both show up together for a simple meeting when they didn't have to?
Instead of considering Admiral Perry's codes may have been stolen, that he was being coerced, or anything else, for an organization based on mutual trust, the speed at which the Union admiral, captain, and everyone firmly believed Admiral Perry betrayed the entire Union was astounding
The Union somehow detecting Moclan weapon signatures when it was only the Krill ship that fired to destroy Admiral Perry's shuttle
The Moclans and Dr. Kalba somehow already having "one of the largest [quantum cores]", which is exactly what they need in order to blow up all Kaylon in the entire galaxy, is only a slight hack (in case you didn't get the sarcasm, it's a completely massive hack)
The Orville being the sole negotiator for an alliance with the Kaylon without involving the council, or even an admiral, came out of nowhere with no setup, and is definitely against protocol. Also, how did they contact Kaylon Prime from where they were?
Kaylon Prime somehow inferring an alliance without being directly asked is just a tad too Human for a robot that doesn't understand the value of biological life
When Kaylon Prime boarded the Orville, Kelly's sassiness was being both unprofessional and tactically risky by antagonizing the Kaylon when they are coming to help. As a first officer, she would know that
Cloaking the shuttle to retrieve the Kaylon-EMP device, but then surrounding the cloaked ship with fighters to completely give away its position anyway
Gordon's fighter somehow being the only one able to loop/pull back to get behind enemy fighters, and all the other fighters (including the enemy ones) being able to do basically nothing but fly straight and fire
Charly's shuttle's cloak malfunctioning despite never being hit by anything
Gordon trying to save Murphy, but when seeing his shuttle destroyed right in front of him, Gordon having no reaction at all. Not shouting "Murphy!", not looking sad or in pain from his crewmate just dying, nope just avoiding Murphy's shuttle debris and corpse like they're just some rocks hitting his windshield. At least John looked like he was a little bit upset.
Charly's shuttle being hit in the front and somehow losing main power because of that, but then getting hit a second time (How strong is this shuttle? Damn, all the other fighters explode in one hit) and nothing happens
The Moclans being fully aware of Xeleyan strength (since they used to be Union members), not reinforcing their doors with Xeleyan-strength metals is just a bit strange
The Moclan science facility being exactly the same as Moclan prison black site just with new lights. This show clearly doesn't have much in the way of budget concerns with its great CGI, so why would the film set be so neglected?
(I'm a martial artist, so) Kelly having Teleya's dagger on her throat, but deciding to just ignore it and attack her, which in reality would result in Kelly's throat being sliced open, but for some reason, Teleya, while in the middle of being elbowed in the face, carefully takes the dagger away from Kelly's throat, being very careful not to slice her, but then trying to slice her throat with it immediately afterwards
Instead of saying "the core is at full power" and then using a meaningless countdown that has no purpose other than to create urgency, a better option would've been "the core is at 11% power" and use that instead
Kaylon Prime shooting all Moclans who ran towards the door, but the last Moclan somehow forgetting that and running towards the door anyway, and then Kaylon Prime not shooting him
Charly having been clearly set up throughout her entire character arc to hate the Kaylon, and continuing that in this episode with her saying "we should've wiped out the Kaylon" and that "we're making a huge mistake [by keeping them alive]", but then she suddenly flips completely, saying nothing about Kaylon Prime killing Moclans who tried to escape, then even mentioning Amanda's name (her best friend who was killed by the Kaylon), as she sacrifices herself to save all the Kaylon.
Kelly still being antagonistic towards Kaylon Prime (AKA their president) even though it jeopardizes a potential long-term alliance
Ed somehow being allowed to see, unsupervised, the exact same prisoner he previously set free which led to the entire Krill-Union conflict
The Kaylon being invited to the Union Council immediately after the only weapon that could've stood a chance against them was destroyed, and Kaylon Prime converting just like that, even though what it took to convert Isaac was building an entire family relationship with Claire, Marcus, and Ty, and having that relationship directly threatened. All Kaylon Prime knew and saw was one Human destroying the only weapon that could've stopped them
Charly, an ensign, having a dedicated funeral, but all the captains, first officers, liutenants and more who died in all the Union ships and fighters during the battle (including the ones who fought alongside Gordon and John protecting Charly's shuttle) not even being mentioned
But on the excellence side
The ethics discussion Ed brings up in the small admiral meeting, and that the crew brings up in the cafeteria is very good thoughtfulness to the morality of using weapons of mass destruction. And the council's decision to "demonstrate their power" against the Kaylon reflects the horrors of Little Boy and Fat Man in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that America used against Japan, beating them into near-death submission and surrender
When the Orville arrived at the Kaylon planet, the Kaylon needing 2 waves of ships to be destroyed before communicating is very nice, because they needed to test that the previous encounter wasn't just a fluke and that the Union genuinely has an effective weapon
I love the returning Bortus-Klyden bickering over the walnut cracking. It's hilarious and refreshing
I like Isaac teaching astronomy to Topa which also teaches the viewers. I think more people learning about space and science is a good thing
The Union officers taking the Kaylon-EMP device was awesome, and I initially thought they were disguised Krill spies, but were actually Union insurgents working under Admiral Perry. That caught me off guard.
Lack of setup notwithstanding, the betrayal of an admiral in the Union is a very interesting plot point to use
I love Kaylon Prime's "Is this your concept of humour?" putting Human jokes into an emotionless robot's language. Reminds me a lot of Commander Data from Star Trek TNG
Kaylon Prime needing to accompany the Orville's crew to retrieve the Kaylon-EMP device is realistic
For the battle of the Kaylon-EMP device, it's amazing how the Union shows up first, and then they Kaylon shows up from all directions later, because it makes it seem like there is no Union-Kaylon alliance and that the Kaylon just showed up on their own. On top of this, the Krill captain said "Avis help us all", showing he did not immediately know there is a Union-Kaylon alliance, which is very good because he has no reason to suspect that
I like the skydiving/paratrooping scene just because of how practical it would be compared to trying to land a shuttle in enemy territory
For the Moclan science facility dogfight, the quality of animation is supreme, for a TV show, and the music reminds me a lot of Star Wars' dogfights
Kelly saying to Teleya "you need a dermatologist" line was hilarious
Talla, a Xeleyan, crushing Teleya's head with a rifle? Yeah, she is 100% dead now, killed by crushed brain from Xeleyan strength (If she can't control her strength in sex with John, there's no way she's controlling it in combat with Teleya)
That explosion was nice. Despite not being big enough up close then being much larger from planet-view, the slight implosion beforehand, the timings, sound design all looked and sounded incredible
I love how Kaylon Prime mentioned the inefficiency of democratic ruling, and how Admiral Halsey explains the very real politics of how it's the best solution we have so far (today, not in the future but we can't predict the real future so), because it's exactly why we use democracy