On any other series, that would have been the season finale. Ten years ago, it would have been considered a TV movie.
Not just on terms of length, because it wasn't even the longest episode of the season thus far, but on terms of stakes and delivery. They pulled out all the stops, showed us all the things, culminated everything that the season has been building up to... save for one small child.
Where all the other episodes (except for one unfortunate bummer) pulled at the heart strings and brought progressive thought and understanding in the way Trek fans had enjoyed for years, this episode was one bombastic, cinematic moment after another. And I can appreciate that, when employed correctly. So many TV shows (and movies) don't, and all the explosions and dying and interstellar war fail to mean anything. Despite this, there was a single thought-provoking plot thread that came to a close...
Ensign Charly Burke.
I understand, and sympathize, with a lot of the hate surrounding the character. Though, I'm glad that the vast majority of that hate was aimed at the character and not the actor. Orville fans setting the bar for more established fandoms. And I personally wish they could have fleshed her out more than they did. But in the end... they did a good job with her arc. She was ripped out of her happy little life, forced to work alongside the person who inadvertently caused the person she loved to die for no reason, forced to tow the line on a ship that wouldn't tolerate racism towards the enemy the way the rest of the Union might have (wrongly) put up with. And she grew. Against her desire to grow, she grew. She grew more than she was aware of. When she had no time to think, she reactively defended Issac and ultimately the Kaylon as a people. So, I don't hate Charly as a character - especially not now. I think it was a competent execution of a trope that is used far too often and falls flat almost all of the time. Hell, even the funeral felt earned.
The rest of the episode is so dense, and doesn't ever slow down. But it's also a very visual. surface-level affair compared to the rest, so I'll just say that it was general sci-fi excellence. A great dessert after an even greater meal. I was genuinely shocked by Admiral Perry, especially his awareness of his decisions (Somewhere between Lawful Neutral and True Neutral). It's a shame he's gone now, but I'm more surprised we got Ted Danson in a recurring role for two seasons. I knew that a major shift in power was coming because of the last episode, but I was not expecting the team-ups we are left with. After all the griping about the shorten ed episode list, the length of those episodes and how tight the narrative has been leaves me stunned there's still a whole other episode to go after all of this. See you on the other side.
"To the Undiscovered Country - The future."
I lost track of how much talent is in this episode. I kept getting distracted by Bruce Boxleitner reprising his role as the President of Earth. What a lore-rich and beautiful episode this is. I think there is something for everybody. From the classic humor in the simulator, to getting deeper into Krill lore, to seeing multiple space battles.
To the above quote, this is The Orville's version of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Right down to the Abrahamic leader figure. And this time the subversion is that peace goes to shit and all anyone can do is simply prevent going to open war on multiple fronts. The wildcard, that I'm mad I didn't see coming, is that Ed got Teleya pregnant and she now has a Krill-Human daughter that could upset galactic politics and cause an uprising on Krill. Ed is now sitting on an H-bomb, and he might have to press the trigger.
Overall this episode has such a warmth to it, even on Planet Ibiza. All the vistas we get to see, all the held shots and silent moments. Seth said that every episode would feel like a movie, and so far that holds true. This is best one so far, and also one of the best of the entire series.
I cannot stress how meaningful it is to me that the camera is allowed to be in a fixed position for several seconds at a time! After finishing Obi-wan, I am so tired of free-roaming cameras and additional shaking being purposefully added in post when the scene is just someone talking.
I'm just going to keep saying it until it stops being true. Right now, there are exactly two scifi shows airing that are telling stories of this caliber. Neither of them are called Star Trek, but both of them are being worked on by Star Trek alumni. I'm at least grateful that science fiction that prioritizes smart storytelling is still an option. Gene would be proud of both of them. And I'd like to think he prefers this one. :)
Dammit, I just wanted to watch some science fiction. I didn't want to have to clean myself up off the floor with a mop... for 75 minutes!
(I now have more to say...)
Everyone else is going on about the child actor who plays Topa and Palicki playing Grayson. They made this episode, without a doubt.
But I want to draw more attention to Peter Macon's Bortus. The character's best episode and Macon's best acting ever in my opinion. Klyden finally shows up in season 3 only to fuck off in the very same episode! Hilarious. He wasn't badly acted, but he was more of a caricature than anything else. I get it, the episode needed him to be that way. But Bortus shows so many layers and emotional combinations. Multiple times throughout the episode I stopped sitting and watching and found myself standing and watching, and once holding my hand over my mouth and fighting back my own tears as a father. It hit so hard and so soundly, no once feeling forced or cringy or convenient to the plot. He was behaving like a real dad who had real desires and fears for his child. It's in this acting and getting to see these scenes play out on their own time that the show is partially forgiven for shamelessly running so gosh darn long!
Though I did get to the point where I was asking myself how many MORE addendums was this episode going to get? But, in the end, I'm glad that it went out the way it did. With a lot levity and positivity instead of that safe, diplomatic conclusion the Union brass felt tied to - which would have echoed the failure from the first season during the trial on Moclas. I'm also glad that Mercer and Grayson got chewed out for it. It would have felt fake if there was no repercussions. But because the fleet is at war, The Union can't afford to jail any command officers, and Moclas can't afford to lash out the way they'd like to either. That's definitely the only reason that Admiral was satisfied with her mere pound of flesh from each of them. And also why she was willing to admit that she was unofficially happy everything worked out in their favor.
Secondly, I want to draw attention to the actual footage from "About a Girl" from the first season used in the simulator. I don't know how they pulled this off, but the perfect editing required to make the new footage of Topa and Grayson blend in with something that was shot five years ago and not even look slightly uncanny is probably owed to the COVID downtime. Seth MacFarlane said that since they couldn't do any shooting or practical work, they kept refining the post-production of the episodes they were already working on while they waited for the all clear to go back to work. This has to be one of those episodes because I was looking for blurry lines and cuts in the footage or other strange artifacts that HAD to exist and it just looks like it was all shot at the same time in the same physical space. Bravo to the editing team, this is clearly your best work.
The previous episodes do have much better pacing (even Electric Sheep), no argument there. But this episode is of the storytelling caliber that Tom Hanks uses when he needs a few more Oscars to decorate his tenth mansion. The Orville set a new bar for themselves and for all modern science fiction with this story. Both in-universe and out-of-universe, this was a comeback victory several years in the making. It still blows me away that The Orville is both generously pulling from its own past to create new and continued stories while also being mature and reserved enough to not overdo it or wear out the gimmick. They (again) covered a topic of white-hot contention at one of the worst moments in American history to do so, and they did it with respect for themselves and for their viewers. And without a doubt the beaming approval of a particular Great Bird. Maybe Umbrella Academy (they kind of already are) or Doom Patrol could pull it off. I honestly don't know what else is on TV right now that could even reach such heights without a massive overhaul to their writing team.
(Obligatory remark about people who are repulsed (Klyden'd, if you will) by the topic of this episode needing to grow up and realize that they've only got so much time on this Earth to enjoy life and how they're currently, objectively failing to do so. And also morbidly curious as to why they're watching this show knowing full well what it is and then acting surprised that such topics are broached. And reminding them that if they hate this episode it's probably only going to get worse from their point of view - especially if this show is renewed for a fourth season.)
If this isn't proper Doctor Who, I don't know what is.
This is not the way... this is the destination. This is new-generation Star Wars at its finest.
David Filoni is living his best life.
Can you imagine if Filoni had been in charge of Obi-Wan? Maybe they would have bothered to de-age Hayden that time.
I cannot wait to see the reactions to this one (Kyle Katarn is going to have a conniption fit), and I cannot wait to laugh at all the low ratings and negative comments. Wonder what straws they're going to grasp at this time...
Edit: Personal attacks it is. :expressionless:
What in the Donald Duck in Mathmagicland did I just watch??
This might be my new favorite episode.
Once again, the animators taking Every. Single. Live-action. Producer. To. School.
Real blackout darkness without making the show difficult to watch. Every light source and shadow in this episode was premeditated. Even when characters were completely hidden by shadows, I could still see what was going on on a nine-year-old LCD. The entire episode took place on an island experiencing total overcast and yet everything still looked beautiful and colorful.
If a genie suddenly told me I had three wishes, my first wish might actually be that every human values and respects the ability to competently frame and light a scene!
As for the actual story... Asajj Ventress, Kraken Whisperer.
The way Ventress was so casually (re)introduced, and the way she relates to the Batchers was a real left-field play and I really liked it. And they finally said "Midi-chlorians" after being so cheeky for so long with M-count this, M-count that. Just say the word. It's not cursed or anything.
Another thing I really liked is how Crosshair gave Ventress his hand. Good Crosshair, you're LEARNING!
Omega's journey is about to get very heavy, and we are now at the half-way point for the final season. This whole series has been one bar higher than the animated Star Wars that came before, and this season has been so focused and devoid of any distractions. I'm so conflicted that this is the end, but I'm so pleased that this isn't the end for Filoni's animated Star Wars.
(I'm still holding my breath for a complete remaster of the original Clone Wars series using the current version of their animation engine.)
This is one of the best things I've ever seen! Framing current and past events, which themselves tie into each other, within a Bunraku performance that mirrors both stories that also turns out to take place in-universe and after the fact is a master class in storytelling. Everyone involved in this series deserves multiple awards.
"I'm teaching you how to lead, how to survive. And to do that, you're going to have to fight." - Anakin Skywalker
And I was seriously thinking that episode 4 would likely be best episode of the series, save (maybe) for the finale. Now I just don't know what to think. If this is what we get mid-season...
Not only is this episode the aftermath of the very satisfying events from last week, but it sets up what is going to come next, the whole second act of the series.
We are missing Morgan, Baylan, Shin, Sabine, still haven't seen hide nor hair of Ezra or Thrawn, AND just about everyone else is effectively sidelined on a manhunt so we could follow Ahsoka, just Ahsoka, and get the reunion of a lifetime.
The visuals, the dialog, the music, the staging, everything is all so finely-honed and balanced into an episode that is Ahsoka's final lesson from her former Master, Anakin Skywalker.
The Lesson:
"Live, or die."
Ahsoka doesn't even understand why Anakin is saying that to her, or why she has to fight him now. She just keeps defending herself, lamenting the loss she had to endure, the weight of the shame and guilt of feeling responsible for that loss, regretting the path her life took (away from Anakin) and resenting him for turning into a hate-fueled monster. Even though she knows he turned back to the Light in the end, she probably never completely believed or understood it until "Sky Guy" was standing right in front of her again.
She eventually lands hits on her old Master and thinks that he has nothing to teach her. In response, Anakin upheaves the entire World Between Worlds and she falls into the smoke, back in time to the beginning of the Clone Wars, back in time to when she was just a little girl. And her new training begins at the very beginning.
Now Ahsoka is afraid. She reverts to the inexperienced Padawan she was way back then. She doesn't want to follow Anakin towards explosions and battle droids. She doesn't want to watch all those young Clone Troopers die all over again. She doesn't want to be taught on a battlefield. She doesn't want to be a soldier.
"What if I want to stop fighting?" - Ahsoka
"Then you'll die." - Anakin, who Ahsoka watches briefly turn into Darth Vader as he marches into the smoke with the rest of the 501st Battalion.
Now Ahsoka is angry. Angry because of all the loss of life and destruction, and angry because she gave in and became party to it. While she is leading the 332nd Company on Mandalore and killing Death Watch soldiers with ease at the tail end of the Clone War, Anakin seems bemused and slightly impressed, this is his first time witnessing these events. But because she regrets everything that happened, and resents following in Anakin's footsteps as his path grew darker and darker, he scoffs and says she learned nothing.
"Back to the beginning...Live, or die." - Anakin, as he ignites a red lightsaber.
Now Ahsoka is filled with hatred. The saber strikes become more fierce and unrefined. Anakin is now no longer her beloved Master of the Force. Now, he is Darth Vader before the transformation. His eyes are yellow and his face is gaunt. Ahsoka is no longer a match for his raw power and anger and she is thrown back to the present in the World Between Worlds - back to her present self. As Vader approaches, she hears and sees flashes of the monster he would become. Now she is fighting for her life. Even though he is more powerful, she feints and disarms Vader - holding his own lightsaber against his neck. For a split second, Ahsoka's eyes seem yellow from the glow of the blade. Then she steps back, switches the blade off, and tosses the hilt into the abyss.
"I choose to live." - Ahsoka
Darth Vader concedes defeat, backs away, and becomes Anakin Skywalker again.
"There's hope for you yet." - Anakin, with a wry smile.
And with that, Anakin Skywalker disappears and the World Between Worlds melts into water. Ahsoka holds her breath as the water rises over her head and she finds herself floating in the sea below the henge where she is rescued by Carson's pilots and brought aboard the Ghost.
The Visuals:
Everything is so visually perfect and meaningful in this episode. Especially the time jumps. I noticed little things like The Ghost's ramp being uneven with the ground at the henge, Jacen's mock rank insignia along with his father's shoulderpad, how beautiful the lighting is inside Ahsoka's ship when they're in the atmosphere of a planet (and how real the whole ship feels when it's brightly-lit like that), the Purrgil having plates instead of teeth like humpbacked whales. A lot of the detail and finish to this episode are not needed but they are there anyways.
Most of all, the accuracy of everything during the time skips. Especially the costuming for each given time period. It filled me with joy to see Clone Wars-era Anakin in live action. ...With the glaring exception of Padawan Ahsoka deliberately wearing something more modest than she had in the Clone Wars cartoon. But that's an understandable change that can be forgiven. Ariana Greenblatt is 15 years old.
The time skips themselves were portrayed so otherworldly and disconcerting. Almost everything in the foreground was practical (not the TRON walkways, I wish), unlike the cartoon. But at the same time it was all... off, like a bad dream. The fog made it feel like the moment something or someone disappeared from view, that's where the whole universe ended and there's nothing but nothingness beyond it. A rare moment where the faux reality of The Volume turned into a storytelling strength.
Lastly, Ahsoka's outfit at the end of the episode made me chuckle knowingly. Up until now, many have been saying that the reason that one scene with Ahsoka and Sabine at the end of Rebels and the beginning of Ahsoka look different is because time changed the details of the scene and Filoni had to slightly retcon it. Now it seems like the show is actually building to that exact moment just as it was depicted all those years ago. And if it really is... Rebels might actually have already spoiled the end of Ahsoka (season 1)! If you know, you know. Not going to put it past Filoni to carefully massage the plot details to make it happen.
Ahsoka the White has come to us at the turn of the tide.
The Music:
Everything from the Williams cues as Jacen reaches out into the Force to the cyberpunkish percussion swells during the Siege of Mandalore that were heard just moments before the fall of the Galactic Republic is just beautiful and emotionally-charged.
Having Kevin and Deana Kiner do the music for this series has really set a new high bar for live-action Star Wars music. For me, it's even more effective than Ludwig Göransson's work on The Mandalorian.
Music effects what you watch far more than most people realize. While the music for previous live-action Star Wars shows has been good for me all across the board, and while nothing will ever compare to the godlike work of John Williams for the principle films, the Kiners have been doing nothing but minting gold this entire series so far. Far better than what was to be expected for this one series. I really hope Lucasfilm gives them many more projects in the future.
The Rest:
- One of the two X-Wing pilots, besides Carson, that survived the Eye of Scion's jump to hyperspace (the man who had no dialog in the previous episode and the woman) is named Lander.
- Apparently "take evasive action" means "plow straight through them" in the Star Wars galaxy.
- Also apparently "the fleet" means "three ships", none of which were Home One.
- Anakin & Ahsoka saying "What would you prefer?" "I don't know" then immediately saying "Do you want me to be more serious?" "I'd prefer it." really sounded weird. If there was anything wrong about this episode it was clumsy and inaccurate dialog here and there.
- Ahsoka really likes walking on the outside of her ship. I'm pretty sure she'll do it again.
- I know the Purrgil are benevolent and majestic creatures, but seeing all of them in the sky just made me think of the Battle for Zion in The Matrix Revolutions. Hard not to feel a little uneasy at the sight of it all.
- "Jacen's too young to travel between galaxies." - For a brief moment I thought the big Purrgil was going to accidentally drag the Ghost along with it.
- "May the Force be with you." - It's such a simple line, but it doesn't get said enough. And it's way better than saying "Godspeed."
- Another seemingly small gesture that means a lot is spinning the starfield after a jump to hyperspace. One thing David Filoni gets that almost no one else producing Star Wars gets is how to respect the source material. Just like respecting the need for animatronics over CG aliens, it all matters and it all adds up.
This is the second time Filoni has made me sit down and rewatch the same episode of something on the same day because I could not completely process it the first time around. He does not have to try this hard, but he does because he cares about these stories and loves these characters that much. This isn't Star Trek, there doesn't have to be a deep message and a lesson attached to every episode to make it worth watching. It just has to be fun. It just has to be Star Wars. I'm extremely happy (and a little sad) that I live in a time where currently-airing Star Wars is more Trek-like than currently-airing Star Trek. No, I'm grateful - As a fan of Science Fiction who simply wants to be entertained and as someone who was spoiled by an era where Science Fiction was coupled with masterful lessons in the Humanities by a visionary who would have been so disappointed by where the world stands today if he were still alive. Those lessons helped shape me into a much better version of myself as I grew into an adult. I'm grateful I can still get that entertainment and that wisdom combined together from somewhere, and I sincerely hope that the Filoni Era of Star Wars just keeps going for as long as it possibly can.
A Westworld finale that clocks in under one hour? Maybe I'm spoiled because I just got done watching a two-hour season finale of The Orville and For All Mankind, but I'm convinced they cut a LOT of stuff out of this episode for whatever reason.
But I really enjoyed this season, more than I enjoyed season 3. I was convinced that leaving the park would ruin the show and it didn't. It become something entirely different, but it is still very enjoyable to watch. I do wish we could have seen the Roaring 20s for more than one and a half episodes, but oh well. With the promise of completely returning to status quo for a fifth (and probably final) season, I expect a lot of callbacks and easter eggs and more nostalgic cameos next time around. I was not expecting the host Rebus (Steven Ogg) to suddenly show up again like that! Even though he bit it, it made me smile.
She casted Levitate on the damn horse, instead of the wagon.
This show just keeps giving and giving. A lot of them, like the most recent one, feel like mini-movies (some of them really are). After 20 minutes I feel like I've been watching for over an hour and am not the least bit bored.
We spend entire series watching and waiting for the one episode or moment that just wows us, and it sneaks up behind you without being noticed and suddenly there it is. I was steeling myself for one hell of a deus ex machina, a typical Marvel gotcha, and instead I got to watch Mr. Anderson become Neo. ...and I think it really works and has some amazing potential for the MCU going forward.
The storytelling (the writing, the dialog), the music being creepy and glorious at the same time, this is the finest episode of Loki thus far and it lives up to its namesake by setting a new bar for the genre within Marvel.
It took me a moment to get it, but the reason Sylvie remembered Loki is because she ported out of the control room before the shockwave hit. Watch her panic as the McDonald's branch timeline unraveled in front of her, then suddenly go into cold, in-control mode and just leave it all behind like it was nothing (because now it literally is nothing). I wonder if that exception is going to play into future events, even after Loki "corrects" the way things play out at the TVA.
Soundly the best episode of the season, and one of the best of the series.
This is what this season has been building to, and it's satisfying seeing threads finally connecting in a way that doesn't feel contrived. IG-12 (I'm calling it Grogu-1, and you can't stop me) finally coming back around, Moff Gideon finally emerging from the shadows, the Beskar Troopers and Gideon revealing himself to be Mandalorian after all. And setting up the future of this series and other series. The father (?) of General Hux being part of the secret cabal of remanent Imperials, mentioning Grand Admiral Thrawn still being unaccounted for but promised to return, locating the Great Forge and finding a secret Imperial base right next to it. And this is just part 1 of 2 for the season finale. Please let the last episode also be 50 minutes long.
How I LOVED the opening sequence. Pretty much Rick Deckard roaming the streets of Los Angeles sniffing out a lead. I enjoy all the love Coruscant is getting now. It should have factored into the Sequels because it is such a rich storytelling landscape. In this season alone we've gotten to see Prequel-era Coruscant and Sequel-era Coruscant. And again in animated form in The Bad Batch. I'll take it all.
There is so much to this episode, but the only other thing I can think about right now is Paz Vizsla. What a fucking tank. I knew the moment Bo cut the hole in the blast door that he wasn't going to make it because it would have been hard for him to even fit through it. How badass you have to be to have an energy staff through your gut and still be trying to choke out someone wearing full armor with your bare hands. We lost a real one. His son Ragnar is the last remaining Vizsla that we know about.
Complain all you want, getting a fun, action-filled adventure of good versus evil with plenty of nods to the fans and unexpected cameos is Star Wars at its finest.
This one gets the first 10 of the season. Not because it's one of the best episodes overall, but because the plot is so perfectly honed and has almost no fat on it.
From the start to the finish, this episode is one, long run and gun. First it's the Imperial company against Rex's crew, then it turns into a squadron against the Batchers, then it turns into the Operative against Crosshair. Which leads to a very serious fight to the death that lingers on Crosshair beneath the water just long enough to make me genuinely worried that he was about to be Battlestar'd right then and there. You can see the fear of death on his face when he gets rescued. More trauma to add to the pile.
And the standoff at the end is a painting that Kubrick could be proud of. Even though it seems unusual that an Imperial Commando would just let them all go, they were clones that long stopped being mind-controlled by the inhibiter chip and are now just following orders - another clone's orders. Brothers recognizing brothers.
No wasted time, no wasted words. Everything that was done and was said is peak Filoni and peak Star Wars. This whole season has been almost completely free of filler thus far, but this episode in particular - the second half of a two-parter - is a shining example of why The Clone Wars and everything that spun off of it has tremendously raised the bar for what I expect from Star Wars and animation in general.
This is honestly the best thing on TV right now... in any country.
THIS BETTER HAVE A HAPPY ENDING, SO HELP ME!
Stop, or my heart will explode!
I feel like my 18-year commitment to this series has paid off with this current arc.
I haven't been this engrossed in the series since Enies Lobby.
That last scene felt like the Duffer Brothers got up and left and Quentin Tarantino took over!
An impossibly-beautiful and heatbreakingly-emotional follow up to what is already one of the most beautiful and emotional Anime series ever made. While the Violet Evergarden series focused on Violet's exploration and uncovering of her clients' deepest feelings, this time it's Violet's turn to have a therapy session.
No matter how much you help others be true to theirselves, don't forget to be true to your own self.
Wow. After all the Saturday morning kids' cartoon stuff, suddenly real stakes. And an ending that rivals a lot of Marvel movies.
THIS is the kind of energy and style that Phase 4 needs to be built on.
Even though the man is a walking pile of garbage, this will probably always be one of the best stand-up routines I ever see.
Get Austin Butler into a Grease remake right now!
Hell, Olivia DeJonge would actually be a great Sandy Olsson.
Justice for Ahmed Best, achieved. Welcome back, Sir.
JUST the Mandalorian parts by themselves made this one of the best episodes of the series. JUST those parts.
I did not have Mr. Pershing Goes to Washington on my bingo card. Damn them for making Coruscant feel so real, because I know I can never go there. I really wanted to believe that Kane was genuinely converted and Pershing was the one who was harboring malcontent. Gideon may be gone, but she is definitely working for whomever sent all those TIE Bombers.
But the gold medal goes to the final scene. Bo had a classic come-to-Jesus moment. It's not the life she envisioned, but it's the best life available to her now. Can't wait to feel the uncomfortable silence between her and Paz. And I was scared that Bo would somehow know who the Armorer is and they would have a serious falling out. I guess the worst thing right now is having a Kryze & a Vizsla living in the same cave.
Also this is in keeping with my selfish head-canon that Grogu is going to get a mommy.
(No spoilers)
I should have known MacFarlane would do something like this. No cliffhanger, nay, rather an anti-cliffhanger. Last week was the season finale, this was a tribute to the series thus far. And it was earned.
Instead of going into specifics for the episode, I'll just summarize how I feel about The Orville as a whole. This show started in 2017, almost at the exact same time as Star Trek Discovery. I was eagerly awaiting both for what I thought were similar reasons. To say that these two shows are the exact opposite of one another is an insultingly tremendous disregard to the scope of the reality that surrounds the existence of both series.
Both The Orville and Discovery shamelessly lied to its viewers. Discovery was suppose to bring the ideals of Star Trek back in the first of many new series, and The Orville was suppose to be Family Guy in space. Here we are, five years later, and I don't think anyone correctly predicted what either of those properties would actually end up being.
For all the terrible things that have happened in the world (most notably during these last five years) and for all the personal hardships I've endured during that timeframe, The Orville has defied everything (including Star Trek itself) and chosen to believe better of humanity. Much the same way a chintzy, low-budget sci-fi show did back in the 1960s, when many were convinced the world was going to burn in nuclear holocaust. And even though that little sci-fi is now a cultural giant with the power to be whatever it wants, it wants to be something else for now. Like we needed that campy, optimistic, character-driven show then, we need shows like The Orville now.
We'll always have classic Star Trek, we'll always have three seasons of the best send-up to Star Trek ever created, but we need more. We need a continuous drip of positivity and introspection this concentrated because things really have gotten that bad again and it feels like no one else is willing to try - not even those best positioned to do so.
Disney would be brainless not to renew this show for multiple additional seasons. Even from a purely self-serving position, it would be stupid to not use The Orville to their advantage. Yeah, they already own Star Wars, but the Venn diagram of the Star Wars and the Star Trek fanbases looks kinda like the Mastercard logo. Now Disney owns the only real contender to Star Trek. Just keeping this show going as is would bring in droves of Trek fans old and new.
Rest in peace, Norm Macdonald.
#RenewTheOrville
This show has so much heart! You have to be predisposed to hating anything that isn't classic Marvel to not enjoy this. Moon Knight was breathtakingly beautiful and way out there story-wise, but I didn't latch onto it the way I've taken to Ms. Marvel.
This is how you take characters and stories that are new to the Marvel pantheon and get people who grew up with the Silver Age heroes and more traditional storytelling to care about them as much as Captain America or Iron Man. This is the kind if energy the entire MCU needs going forward.
Just wow. The subtle change in Crosshair's voice when Mayday was buried in the snow, you could hear genuine compassion and concern in him for the first time. Dee Bradley Baker is a vocal wizard.
(I really gotta stop watching For All Mankind & The Orville back-to-back. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, it can be mentally exhausting with the right pair of stories.)
A part of me wants everyone on Mars to go rogue, join forces, and declare themselves an independent planet. That would be very silly from a writing perspective, but I still want to see it.
Again, the brief moments of humor are very on point and appreciated. Because the overarching story this time is heavy, Doc. I want to know why the General got visibly pensive when Vice President Foghorn Leghorn started preaching fire & brimstone in the President's office. I want them to stop suggesting that people are going to kill themselves only for them to just... not.
The weakest thing about this season continues to be poor, old Danny boy. Please wrap it up next episode and get back to the inevitable three-way peace treaty between NASA, the Soviets, and Helios so we can see growth on Mars the way we never got to see it on the Moon.
(And if there's a Cthulhu in the water.)
If you think this is not for you because you don't play video games or never got into Tetris, just give this movie a chance. It is an exceptional piece of storytelling with very little cruft. It is witty, it is funny, and it just a wonderful ride from beginning to end. It has a lot of worn-out tropes, but it never dwells on any of them long enough to complain about them.
And the soundtrack must've broken the bank. Not just a who's who list of 1980s hits, but covers in Russian and in Japanese rarely heard outside of their respective countries. And to top it all off, a custom remix of Opportunities by The Pet Shop Boys intermixed with the Tetris theme. This might end up being my favorite soundtrack of 2023.
I know this movie heavily embellishes a lot of fact for the sake of drama. But if there is any truth to the claim that Howard Lincoln not only went to Soviet Russia just to secure the rights to Tetris but also escaped by the skin of his teeth, then my already high amount of respect for the man just went through the roof.
