This week on The Orville we get a trippy, hallucinatory episode as the crew find themselves in a series of impossible scenarios, and are forced to face their own deaths.
Mortality Paradox feels like an old school Original Series episode— the kind where Kirk & Co. beamed down to a planet that was inexplicably a replica of a past era of Earth. And there's nothing wrong with that! After all, if you're gonna take from another show, borrow from the best!
This episode also sets up a potential new antagonist— or maybe a friend— as it brings back the god-like race last seen in Season 1's Mad Idolatry. This is obviously the show's attempt at creating a mortally ambiguous, omnipotent character like TNG's Q. Whether this is a good idea or not isn't clear at this point, and we'll have to wait and see how it plays out.
Overall I enjoyed this episode quite a bit (with a couple of slight reservations, of course). Dramatically this is a very plot-driven episode, with little or no time for character development. Again, nothing wrong with that, as it's good to change things up now and then.
Lastly, the most unrealistic thing about this episode wasn't that an alien god decided to experiment on the crew for its own amusement— but that Mercer & Co. found themselves in a recreation of a 21st Century high school and weren't mowed down by a crazed gunman with an automatic rifle!
BIG HONKIN' SPOILERS!
The Plot:
Talla returns to the Orville after a week's vacation on Xelaya. She checks in with Kelly, and the two chat a while. She then reports that she detected a faint Kaylon energy signature near the Avior system, and figures they should keep an eye on the situation.
Later on the Bridge, Isaac detects electromagnetic emissions from Narran 1, a lifeless planet. Talla scans the system and confirms the readings. indicating a massive population. Mercer orders the ship to Narran 1 to investigate the anomaly.
The Orville arrives, and scanners detect an industrial society of 8.5 billion inhabitants— which is impossible on the dead world. Talla tries hailing anyone, but there's no answer. Mercer decides to investigate, taking Kelly, Bortus, Gordon and Talla with him. He leaves John in charge of the ship.
Mercer and crew take a shuttle down to the planet. They're shocked when they find a lush forest instead of a bustling metropolis— both of which shouldn't exist on the barren planet. Back on the Orville, the crew sees the cities they detected have mysteriously disappeared.
Bortus scans the area and says there are life signs ahead. The landing party cautiously makes their way through the woods, and come to a clearing— where they see a 21st Century American high school.
Mercer contacts the Orville and has them scan the location, but they report there are no structures nearby. Mercer & Co. decide to investigate the school. They enter a hallway, and of course the door closes and locks behind them. Unfortunately not even Talla's Xelayan strength can bust it open. Their communicators have stopped working inside the school as well (natch).
Just then a bell rings, and human students pour out of classrooms into the hallway. They seem completely oblivious to the group of strangers in uniforms as they go about their business. Mercer orders the party to split into teams and look for clues.
Back on the ship, John can't reach the landing party. He decides to send Claire and Isaac down to rescue them.
Bortus and Talla search the halls, and enter a classroom for some reason. The teacher kicks them out for disrupting his lesson. Elsewhere, Gordon's jumped by three bullies, who drag him into a bathroom and beat him severely. They tell him he has until 3:15 to pay back Randall, whoever that is, and threaten to kill him (!) unless he pays up.
Bortus and Talla hear the commotion and run to the restroom, where they find Gordon moaning on the floor. They pick him up and take him with them. The groups meet up again at the cafeteria, and enter to find some answers. They ask several nerdy student about Randall. They've all heard of him, and tell Gordon he'd better pay him off if he wants to live.
Later on the school day ends, and the students all file out of the building. Mercer figures this is their only chance to escape, and they finally make it out of the building. They still can't contact the ship, so they decide to find the football field and confront Randall.
They look around the field, and suddenly a giant fantasy monster appears, carrying an ax. They realize this is the infamous Randall, and all start running. Randall grabs Gordon and lifts him off the ground, roaring in his face. Suddenly Gordon freezes as his eyes turn completely white for a second (PLOT POINT!). He then comes to and starts screaming.
Talla rips the seat off a bleacher and hurls it at Randall. It sticks in the side of his head, causing him to drop Gordon. They run away, with the furious monster close behind. They hurry into an outbuilding, and suddenly find themselves in a 21st Century airplane cabin. Wha...?
Meanwhile, Claire, Isaac and two
Back on the plane, a stewardess shoos the landing party to their seats. A storm rages outside, tossing the commercial plane. Gordon says even though this is an ancient plane, he can tell the pilot isn't trying to avoid the rough spots. Suddenly the lights go out, and Gordon says he's going to the cockpit to find out what's up. He and the others force the door open, only to find the cockpit empty.
Gordon sits in the pilot seat to try and get control of the plane. Just then the engines die, as the plane runs out of fuel. He starts looking for any place they can land, but unfortunately they're surrounded by mountains. Seconds before the plane crashes, Mercer freezes as his eyes turn white— just like Gordon did earlier.
The plane crashes in the snow and skids along till it stops at the edge of a sheer cliff. The landing party hurriedly exits the plane, and find themselves in a long hallway.
As they walk down the hall, Mercer notes his forehead's bleeding from the crash. He says that as the plane was crashing, he felt like his mind left his body— as if he didn't exist for a few seconds. Gordon says he had the same feeling when Randall was about to kill him.
The landing party then enters a large room full of floating pods. Bortus recognizes it as a Moclan morgue. For no good reason, Talla presses a button on the wall, and the pods open, revealing dead Moclans inside.
Bortus peers intently at one of the corpses, and of course its eyes open and it starts choking him. Bortus' eyes go white, and suddenly it releases him. He reports that he felt like he left his body as well, just like Gordon and Mercer did. Clearly this is significant, but there's no time to wonder about it. They high-tail it out of there, and find a long stairwell descending into darkness.
Elsewhere, Isaac examines the abandoned shuttle's logs and says the landing party exited and immediately disappeared. John orders Claire & Isaac back to the ship.
Meanwhile, Mercer and the others are still descending the stairs. Eventually they reach a door at the bottom and go through. They're now on the coast of Lake Ruell on Xeyala. Mercer says at least they know the whole thing's an illusion now, as if they were really on Xelaya the planet's intense gravity would have instantly crushed them.
They see a light flashing on the other side of the lake, and figure it's a signal. They spot a raft, and Mercer starts to jump aboard. Kelly says he's injured and orders him to stay on shore. She, Gordon and Talla then paddle the raft across the lake toward the light.
Halfway across, the light stops flashing. Suddenly a large creature emerges from the water, wraps a tentacle around Kelly and drags her under. Talla jumps in after her. As Kelly's dragged farther and farther down, her eyes turn white as well. Talla manages to reach Kelly, free her from the monster and carry her back to the surface.
Back on the shore, Kelly says she had the same out of body experience as the others, and Talla says she did too— even though she wasn't in mortal danger. Hmm...
Just then the ground rises up and an ornate door appears at the top of the mound. Mercer says he's had enough, and shouts that they're done playing games. He gets no answer, so the team avoids the door and walks around it. Eventually they come to a cave, and Bortus detects a power source inside.
They enter the cave, where they find a glowing, high tech device. Bortus says it's a holographic projector. The landing party shoots the device, destroying it. Suddenly the Xelayan landscape vanishes, replaced with the desert of Narran 1— along with their shuttle sitting nearby. Mercer tells them to gather the fragments of the device for study, and they head back to the ship.
Back on the Orville, Claire examines the members of the landing party and says they all had their brains subtly manipulated to be more susceptible to holographic illusions. John examines the fragments they brought back, and says the device was far beyond current Union tech. He suspects it was designed by the Kaylon.
Kelly remembers Talla picked up a Kaylon signal as she returned from her vacation. Mercer contacts Admiral Halsey, who worries that the Kaylons are experimenting with holographic technology and mind control in order to win the war. He says if they succeed, they'll never be able to trust their senses again. He says he's sending out a convoy of Union science ships to pick up the device fragments for further study.
Sometime later five Union ships approach the Orville. Isaac scans them and says it's a trick, as the ships are all Kaylon spheres in disguise. Mercer asks if he's sure, and Charly (of course) shrieks that Isaac's lying and is trying to get them to kill their own people.
Just then the convoy drops the illusion and we see they really are Kaylon ships. They begin attacking the Orville, severely disabling it.
Suddenly we see John's still in the captain's chair, waiting for word from the landing party. Talla signals the ship, saying her shuttle's ready to return to the Orville. Wha...?
Back on the other Orville, the crew try evading the Kaylons, but the engines are toast. Mercer orders all hands to abandon ship, just as a Kaylon shere makes a kamikaze dive toward the Bridge. A split second before it hits, it freezes in place. Everyone looks around in confusion, wondering what's happening. Just then, "Talla" morphs into a glowing alien woman. She tells the Bridge crew not to be afraid, and says her name is Dinal.
Meanwhile, Mercer and the others are still descending the stairs. Eventually they reach a door at the bottom and go through. They're now on the coast of Lake Ruell on Xeyala. Mercer says at least they know the whole thing's an illusion now, as if they were really on Xelaya the planet's intense gravity would have instantly crushed them.
They see a light flashing on the other side of the lake, and figure it's a signal. They spot a raft, and Mercer starts to jump aboard. Kelly says he's injured and orders him to stay on shore. She, Gordon and Talla then paddle the raft across the lake toward the light.
Halfway across, the light stops flashing. Suddenly a large creature emerges from the water, wraps a tentacle around Kelly and drags her under. Talla jumps in after her. As Kelly's dragged farther and farther down, her eyes turn white as well. Talla manages to reach Kelly, free her from the monster and carry her back to the surface.
Back on the shore, Kelly says she had the same out of body experience as the others, and Talla says she did too— even though she wasn't in mortal danger. Hmm...
Just then the ground rises up and an ornate door appears at the top of the mound. Mercer says he's had enough, and shouts that they're done playing games. He gets no answer, so the team avoids the door and walks around it. Eventually they come to a cave, and Bortus detects a power source inside.
They enter the cave, where they find a glowing, high tech device. Bortus says it's a holographic projector. The landing party shoots the device, destroying it. Suddenly the Xelayan landscape vanishes, replaced with the desert of Narran 1— along with their shuttle sitting nearby. Mercer tells them to gather the fragments of the device for study, and they head back to the ship.
Back on the Orville, Claire examines the members of the landing party and says they all had their brains subtly manipulated to be more susceptible to holographic illusions. John examines the fragments they brought back, and says the device was far beyond current Union tech. He suspects it was designed by the Kaylon.
Kelly remembers Talla picked up a Kaylon signal as she returned from her vacation. Mercer contacts Admiral Halsey, who worries that the Kaylons are experimenting with holographic technology and mind control in order to win the war. He says if they succeed, they'll never be able to trust their senses again. He says he's sending out a convoy of Union science ships to pick up the device fragments for further study.
Sometime later five Union ships approach the Orville. Isaac scans them and says it's a trick, as the ships are all Kaylon spheres in disguise. Mercer asks if he's sure, and Charly (of course) shrieks that Isaac's lying and is trying to get them to kill their own people.
Just then the convoy drops the illusion and we see they really are Kaylon ships. They begin attacking the Orville, severely disabling it.
Suddenly we see John's still in the captain's chair, waiting for word from the landing party. Talla signals the ship, saying her shuttle's ready to return to the Orville. Wha...?
Back on the other Orville, the crew try evading the Kaylons, but the engines are toast. Mercer orders all hands to abandon ship, just as a Kaylon shere makes a kamikaze dive toward the Bridge. A split second before it hits, it freezes in place. Everyone looks around in confusion, wondering what's happening. Just then, "Talla" morphs into a glowing alien woman. She tells the Bridge crew not to be afraid, and says her name is Dinal.
The Orville disappears, and the landing party sees they never left Narran 1. Dinal says she's from the Multiphasic Planet the crew visited back in Mad Idolatry (the one where Kelly accidentally became a planet's god). She says 50,000 years have passed for her people since the Orville visited, and they've evolved to the point where they've achieved immortality.
Unfortunately with infinite life comes infinite boredom. Her people have stopped advancing and creating, as they've forgotten what the fear of death is like. To that end, she created illusions to give the landing party near-death experiences, and share them with her people so they could once again understand death. Mercer realizes the times he and the others "left their bodies" was really the Multiphasic People using their minds to experience mortality.
Dinal says she's sure humanity will continue to grow and learn, and promises they'll meet again. Well that was ominous!
Sometime later, Mercer, Kelly, Bortus and Gordon have drinks in the Mess Hall. They discuss death, and how they're unable to totally comprehend not existing. Mercer says he wishes he could live forever like Dinal, just to see what happens next.
Thoughts:
• The episode begins with Talla flying a shuttle back to the ship after her vacation. As is typical in my reviews, I'm gonna spend the next twenty minutes discussing this quick five second scene. Get comfortable!
First off, I loved the "traveling music" on the soundtrack as the shuttle approached the Orville. They've really leveled up the score this season, with all new compositions in each episode. Makes perfect sense, since Seth MacFarlane's a big musical guy.
Secondly, it's odd to me that Talla took one of the Orville's two shuttles to go jetting off on vacation. That's a pretty significant loan! So can anyone on the ship check out a shuttle any time they want, or did Mercer let Talla take one because she's Chief Of Security? Whatever the reason, letting her use one as an Uber seems like a really bad idea. What if there was an emergency while she was gone, and they really needed that second shuttle to help evacuate the ship?
Third, all season now it's been bugging me how shuttles will enter the bay headfirst, and then awkwardly turn around inside it! That seems needlessly clumsy, as well as dangerous— especially since there's not all that much room in there.
It would make wayyy more sense for them to back in. I understand why they don't do that though, as it would take up too much screen time and probably look pretty silly. They should take a page from the Enterprise Shuttlebay, which featured a central turntable that rotated the ships once they landed inside.
Lastly, we're not supposed to know it yet at this point in the episode, but this isn't the real Talla we're seeing here— it's actually Dinal in disguise. So was the shuttle she arrived in real, or one of her easily conjured objects? If it was real, then there's now an extra shuttle in the bay!
It would make wayyy more sense for them to back in. I understand why they don't do that though, as it would take up too much screen time and probably look pretty silly. They should take a page from the Enterprise Shuttlebay, which featured a central turntable that rotated the ships once they landed inside.
Lastly, we're not supposed to know it yet at this point in the episode, but this isn't the real Talla we're seeing here— it's actually Dinal in disguise. So was the shuttle she arrived in real, or one of her easily conjured objects? If it was real, then there's now an extra shuttle in the bay!
Or not. It may have disappeared at the end of the episode when she did.
I know, I know, I'm needlessly obsessing over extremely trivial elements again. I can't help myself.
• Kelly asks Talla about her parents back on Xelaya. Several things here:
Even though this is really Dinal here, I'm assuming everything she says about Talla's family is true, as she likely used her god-like powers to learn her backstory. So I'm treating all her comments as gospel.
Talla tells Kelly about her father, who's apparently a Union officer. You know, for a race of intellectuals that supposedly huns the military, there sure are a lot of Xelayans in the Union. There's Alara, Talla and now her father. And that's just among the few characters we regularly see!
Lastly, Talla makes a comment about her dad, saying, "I think the Fleet's the only thing keeping him from pursuing a full-time career as an alcoholic."
Lastly, Talla makes a comment about her dad, saying, "I think the Fleet's the only thing keeping him from pursuing a full-time career as an alcoholic."
Woah, wait a minute here! I thought the world of the 25th Century was supposed to be a utopia! One we should all strive toward and want to live in. Now we're hearing about a Union officer whose family life is driving him to drink! Sounds like maybe this world isn't as perfect as we were led to believe.
When the Orville picks up an impossible signal from Narran 1, Mercer orders Gordon to alter course to investigate. The ship then comes out of quantum drive, makes a big ol' U-turn and then goes back into quantum again!
So the ship can't turn or alter course at quantum speed? It can only barrel along in a straight line? I guess that makes a certain amount of sense, as it might be sheared apart by attempting to turn at such high velocities, but... it just seems a little clunky.
So the ship can't turn or alter course at quantum speed? It can only barrel along in a straight line? I guess that makes a certain amount of sense, as it might be sheared apart by attempting to turn at such high velocities, but... it just seems a little clunky.
This would be like turning a corner in your car by parking it, somehow physically rotating it and then driving off in a different direction.
Also, for some reason when the ship goes back into quantum, the top engine ring lights up first. Every time we've ever seen the power up sequence before, the bottom ring has always lit first. WHOOPS!
Also, for some reason when the ship goes back into quantum, the top engine ring lights up first. Every time we've ever seen the power up sequence before, the bottom ring has always lit first. WHOOPS!
• Once again, half the landing party stands behind the pilots inside the shuttle. There're chairs visible right behind you guys! Sit your asses down already!
As I said last week, this is not a new oddity, as it happened all through Seasons 1 and 2. So why do they keep doing it? I'm pretty sure it's because whenever the producers discovered that when the actors all sit, the camera can't properly see the ones behind the pilots— so the director just tells 'em to stand.
• The first shuttle lands in the impossible forest on Narran 1. Note that as it settles in, it doesn't kick up any dust or debris. In fact nary a leaf is disturbed by its landing.
Compare that to the second shuttle, that lands in Narran 1's desert. For some reason we see this shuttle's thruster turbulence underneath it, and it kicks up a massive amount of dust. Why such a big difference?
Believe it or not, this may not be a mistake! Later in the episode we learn the forest is actually a sophisticated hologram created by Dinal. Maybe she was in a hurry and forgot to program the trees and brush to react with the shuttle exhaust!
• The landing party explores the vast forest, and eventually comes to a clearing where they see the unlikely sight of a 21st Century High School.
The part of Oakwood High is played here by University High School in LA. Looks like they added some CGI trees and mountains to the background though.
• Mercer and the landing party then recreate a scene from The Breakfast Club.
The interior of the high school looks like it was shot at Capital Arts studio.
They're located in LA, and specialize in renting out standing sets of various public facilities. They have a whole high school set, complete with classrooms and hallways. They also have hospital, library and police station sets.
Makes perfect sense, as it's much cheaper for a series to rent these sets instead of spending millions constructing them for one short scene!
• Once the landing party's inside the high school, the doors shut and lock tight. Mercer orders Talla to use her Xelayan strength to bust through the door, but of course it doesn't budge.
Back in Season 1, any time Mercer needed a door opened or something heavy moved, he'd ask Alara, "Wanna open this jar of pickles for me?"
Note that he doesn't use that little joke with Talla. I'm assuming it's because that was his & Alara's thing, and he'd feel weird repeating it with anyone else. Nice touch!
Ugh. It's only been three episodes and already her one-note characterization is getting old. We get it already, she hates all Kaylons. I really hope the writers figure out something else to do with her character, and fast.
• While searching the high school corridors for signs of life, Gordon's attacked by a group of bullies.
Well now there's something I never thought I'd see on The Orville— a character getting a swirly in a public toilet!
• According to the episode, this is a high school student. Now THAT'S a five head! Heck, it's more like a six or even a seven head! Maybe he was left back nine or ten years.
• I noticed the profanity was kicked up a notch this week, as the script was peppered numerous "shits, a "bullshit" and even a "god damn."
At the risk of sounding like a pearl-clutching prude, I'm not really a fan of it. It doesn't add anything to the story, and seems like the only reason they did it is because they're now on Hulu and they can!
Still, it's not as bad as the numerous "fucks" uttered during STD and Puke-Hard, er, I mean Picard.
Still, it's not as bad as the numerous "fucks" uttered during STD and Puke-Hard, er, I mean Picard.
• The landing party enters the cafeteria looking for answers. I figured they probably filmed this at Capital Arts as well, but according to their website, their standing high school set doesn't include a cafeteria. So I'm not sure where they filmed this scene.
• Mercer and the others enter the school cafeteria, where they look for answers. It doesn't get any better than seeing Bortus being told he can't sit with a bunch of Mean Girls, and then threaten to take their empty chairs by force!
• Bortus gets revenge when Gordon prompts him to tell the lead Mean Girl that she has a "five head." Funny, but honestly her forehead doesn't look any higher than those of the other girls.
• Mercer's group is then welcomed by a group of misfits. It only makes sense that the Orville crew would fit right in at the nerd table!
That said, it's clear they're occasionally stretching the episodes for no other reason than because they can. For example, check out this scene of Claire and a couple of redshirts. We get to see every exciting step they take as the trio marches down a corridor, walks alllll the way across the Shuttlebay and finally takes their places inside the shuttle. We then watch in excruciating detail as the shuttle lifts off and leaves the ship as well!
There was absolutely no reason we needed to see ANY of that! In fact they could have deleted this lengthy sequence entirely and just cut to the shuttle landing on Narran 1 and we'd have all gotten the idea.
This was definitely a case of padding the runtime here...
• University High School has a football field, so until I find out otherwise, I'm gonna assume they shot these scenes there as well.
• Out on the football field, the crew finally meet the infamous Randall— who turns out to be some sort of alien monster.
Randall looks amazing— especially for a TV show! As I keep saying, The Orville's really kicked up their FX a notch or twelve this season.
• As good as Randall looks, he seems more than a little Rancor-y in this shot!
Believe it or not, this is actually the backbone of the plot, as the entire landing party ends up experiencing these "clinical deaths" at various points in the episode. Trouble is, these incidents are all completely glossed over so the crew can hurry on to the next big setpiece.
As a result, this story element remains undeveloped and doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves. I feel like the writers really should have played up this angle a bit more, since it was the key to figuring out the reason for all the illusions.
• Once the landing party escapes from Randall, they inexplicably find themselves inside a 21st Century airliner.
Once again, the production rented out a standing set— this time from Shoot Aviation Film Services. They specialize in providing various realistic plane interiors in various sizes— including the passenger section and cockpit.
It appears they rented out the "Narrow Body Airliner" option for this episode.
• Despite being an impossibly advanced alien, Dinal must really have a thing for 21st Century Earth. Two of her four illusions are set there!
• Wow, would you look at that! The redshirts on the rescue mission are actually sitting down in the shuttle, instead of awkwardly standing behind the pilots!
Maybe they were making Claire nervous by standing directly behind her, so she ordered 'em to sit their asses down. Or more likely neither of them are main characters, so the director didn't care if we could see their faces or not!
• As I said above, this episode features some top notch, movie quality FX that are positively stunning.
Annnnnnd then there's this shot. I don't know exactly what went wrong here, but this was one of the worst and most obvious greenscreen shots I've seen in a good long while.
I think the main problem is the lighting. The characters are all lit flat from the front (Isaac's shiny surface proves that), yet the sun's clearly behind them. They look like they're just hastily pasted onto the background. Which they were!
Maybe they blew the FX budget on Randall, and there was nothing left for this shot.
• In the time honored tradition of every iteration of Star Trek, Claire and her rescue party land on Narran 1 a good half mile away from Mercer's shuttle, forcing them to make a lengthy trudge over to it. Just park next to the goddamn thing!
• Back on the plane, Mercer figures they'll find answers in the cockpit, and orders Talla to open the door.
For some reason Talla's strength was no match for the high school's doors and windows, but she rips this plane's cockpit hatch open with ease.
• Mercer and the others discover there's no one in the cockpit, so they take control of the plane. Hey look, the back row's standing up in the plane cockpit too!
I kid, I kid. At least here it makes sense, as there aren't any seats behind the pilots.
I kid, I kid. At least here it makes sense, as there aren't any seats behind the pilots.
• The landing party exits the plane right before it crashes, and find themselves inside a Moclan morgue. We then get a bit of insight into their society:
Gordon: "Why do you... hang them like this?"
Bortus: "We honor the dead by raising them for a period of nine days. Traditionally, it is to allow them to resolve any unfinished affairs on Moclus before moving onward."
Bortus: "We honor the dead by raising them for a period of nine days. Traditionally, it is to allow them to resolve any unfinished affairs on Moclus before moving onward."
Gordon: "Oh, that's considerate."
• We then come to the dumbest part of the episode— and possibly the entire series— as Talla walks through the morgue and sees a blinking light on a panel. For absolutely no good reason, she reaches up and presses this button— which of course causes all the pods to open!
Jesus Jetskiing Christ! Talla's the freakin' CHIEF OF SECURITY on the ship! She of all people should know better than to go around pushing unknown buttons in a situation like this!
Once again, there may be an explanation for this. Although we're not supposed to know it yet, this isn't the real Talla, but Dinal in disguise. Maybe she thought her hidden plan wasn't moving along fast enough, so she pressed the button to hurry things along.
• The second dumbest moment of the episode comes after the floating Moclan caskets open. Bortus stands in front of one and stares intently at the body inside. He leans closer and closer to it, until his face is practically touching that of the corpse. Of course the dead Moclan then comes to life and grabs him by the throat. Serves him right!
• Nice Callback: After escaping the morgue, the landing party finds themselves at Lake Ruell on Xelaya. Mercer says at least they know none of what they're seeing is real, as if they were really on Xelaya everyone but Talla would be dead.
As we saw back in Home, Xelaya's gravity is many times that of Earth, and humans can only survive there in special suits equipped with gravity shields.
• The group sees a signaling light on the other side of the lake, so Kelly, Gordon and Talla jump on a raft and sail over to investigate.
OK, I know this isn't the real Xelaya, but if it was, would a raft float on the water? Or would it instantly be pulled under by the intense gravity? Sadly I'm not a scientist (nor do I play one on TV), so I don't know the answer.
• After a lengthy sequence on the Xelayan lake, Mercer and the others approach a small cave.
I recognized this place the instant I saw it— it's Bronson Cave! The big gash at the top is identical, and that bush at the right is even the same.
Bronson Cave's been featured in more movies and TV shows than I could possibly list. It's a popular filming site, because even though it looks like a remote area, it's located inside Griffith Park in LA— not too awfully far from the Hollywood Sign!
This is yet another thing The Orville has in common with Star Trek. ALL the various Trek shows have filmed there at one point or another over the years, all the way back to The Original Series.
The 1966 Batman shot there as well, as the Batmobile roared out of the entrance!
Technically the place is more of a tunnel than a cave, as there's a large opening at either end. Most film crews block off the far end with black tarps before shooting, to make it look more like a cave!
• Inside the cave, the landing party finds a highly advanced holographic generator that's been creating all the various scenarios they've encountered. Once they destroy it, the cave disappears, replaced by the real desert landscape of Narran 1.
Or is it?
Mercer: "None of this explains why you created these hallucinations."
Dinal: "Oh, everything you experienced was real. Think of them as custom-made micro-universes, tailored just for you. The content was gathered from your own minds and cultural databanks."
So the high school (and everything else) wasn't a sophisticated hologram, but an actual tiny world! That means the holographic projector they found in the cave was a fake, and wasn't really projecting anything. Trippy!
Claire then explains her findings saying:
Claire: "It's a residual polarization along the cognitive pathways of the cerebral cortex, and it's present in all five of you."
Talla: "So whatever it was, it affected all of us the same way."
Claire: "This is evidence of a highly invasive neurogenic scan. Think of it as electromagnetic ayahuasca."
I had no idea what ayahuasca meant, so I had to google it. It's a psychoactive brew used in rituals and ceremonial medicine among South American tribes in the Amazon.
Claire attempts to explain how illusions could give the landing party real physical injuries:
Gordon: "So you're saying we all just had a bad trip?"
Claire: "Partly."
Mercer: "Doctor, you saw our injuries. I mean, Gordon got beat up in a bathroom. That's not an hallucination."
Claire: "Bortus, you said the device's power signature indicated a holographic generator."
Bortus: "That is correct."
Claire: "Well, if you shut off the safeties in our simulators, you could be hurt. Even killed. Now, I'm just theorizing, but if this were a technology that combined neurogenic and holographic elements, in effect, they could split the workload. The holograms would outline the environment, and the neurogenic scan would prompt the brain to color it in."
It sounds like she's saying their injuries were psychosomatic— in other words, their brains caused their bodies to manifest actual physical injuries!
Of course this entire scene is rendered moot when Dinal shows up, and says she created real, actual micro-universes. Which means their injuries were all real!
• John analyzes the fragments of the holographic generator from Narran 1, and determines it's of Kaylon origin. Mercer's alarmed by this, saying if the Kaylon can control their minds with sophisticated holograms indistinguishable from the real thing, they could easily conquer the Union.
Again, this subplot turns out to be part of Dinal's illusion, but it would be a really effective weapon for the Kaylons to actually use. I'm wondering if we'll eventually see this subplot for real later in the season.
• John analyzes the fragments of the holographic generator from Narran 1, and determines it's of Kaylon origin. Mercer's alarmed by this, saying if the Kaylon can control their minds with sophisticated holograms indistinguishable from the real thing, they could easily conquer the Union.
Again, this subplot turns out to be part of Dinal's illusion, but it would be a really effective weapon for the Kaylons to actually use. I'm wondering if we'll eventually see this subplot for real later in the season.
• The Union convoy approaches the Orville in order to pick up the holographic generator fragments. Isaac scans the ships and says they're really Kaylon spheres in disguise. Mercer prepares to fire on the ships, prompting Charly to shriek that Isaac's trying to trick them into attacking their own people.
Note that at this point, Mercer and the others are still in one of Dinal's illusions, meaning this isn't the real Charly. Jesus Christ! Even in a holographic simulation she's STILL an asshole who's prejudiced against Kaylons!
• The Orville's attacked by a Kaylon convoy, and suffers heavy damage. One of the Kaylon ships makes a Kamikaze run, and freezes the instant it touches the Bridge.
I don't really have much to say about this, other than it was a really trippy visual and I wanted to include it somehow!
• "Talla" then reveals she's not who they think she is, as she transforms into a character from TRON.
Seriously, I cannot emphasize enough how much she looks like the Programs from that movie— right down to the skullcap and glowing lines of circuitry! Any second I expected her to ask Mercer if he fights for the Users!
• Dinal tells Mercer & the others to relax, and conjures up a tea service with a wave of her hand. Which visually confirms she has the ability to create matter out of nothing!
First of all, I don't get why the writers felt the need to tie in Dinal with the Multiphasic Planet. The plot would have been exactly the same if we'd never seen Dinal's people before. In fact I think I'd have liked the episode better if she was just from an incredibly advanced race the crew had never met, who decided to use humans as lab rats.
The only reason I can think of for this callback is to create The Orville's own version of Q— the omnipotent, god-like imp that perennially pestered Captain Picard over on TNG (and popped up on DS9 and Voyager as well).
Maybe this is all setup, and they're planning on a storyline in which Dinal's people begin interfering with Union affairs, and the admiralty gets cheesed off with Kelly for inadvertently creating a race of meddlesome gods.
Secondly, Dinal explains that her people have advanced 50,000 years since they last met— which was two years ago for the Orville crew. That actually checks out!
Eleven days in our world equals 700 YEARS on the Multiphasic Planet. According to online sources, Mad Idolatry took place around April of 2420. Mortality Paradox happens in early 2422. That's approximately 785 days, which works out to 49,054 years for the Multiphasic people!
Lastly, Dinal says her people didn't evolve, but took control of their bodies and shaped themselves with purpose. She tells Mercer:
Dinal: "These abstractions that you inhabit for now— Captain, Explorer, Husband, Man— they are irrelevant when you become one with the cosmos."
Dinal: "These abstractions that you inhabit for now— Captain, Explorer, Husband, Man— they are irrelevant when you become one with the cosmos."
Is Dinal saying she's not a female? Are her people some sort of genderless race now?
• So Dinal's plan consisted of putting Mercer and the others through the wringer solely so she and her people could feel what it's like to have a near-death experience. That's it! There was no selfless motive in mind— they literally made the crew suffer as part of an elaborate carnival ride for their entertainment.
Dinal: "We've become complacent, because none of us can conceive of our own mortality. That's why we had to see it through your eyes."
Mercer: "Well, I'm glad you got your existential rocks off, but the fact is, you put us through hell."
Dinal: "It was all in the interest of knowledge."
Kelly: "You poke a worm to see what it'll do, you could still kill the worm."
Mercer: "Centuries ago, my people used other species for experimentation in the name of knowledge. Didn't take us 50,000 years to realize it was wrong."
Dinal: "You were never in any real danger. I promise you that."
Apparently in addition to being highly advanced and immortal, Dinal's people are all colossal assholes!
The next time they meet, expect Dinal's people to be even more cold, clinical and uncaring!
• If you needed more proof that Dinal just became this series' Q, right before she disappears she tells him, "We'll meet again."
Maybe they're planning a storyline in which Mercer & Co. attempt to contact the Multiphasic people to help defeat the Kaylons?
• According to online rumors, Charly was added to the cast because Ann Winters is currently dating Seth Macfarlane. True, or just internet hooey?
Welp, consider this scene— Mercer contacts the Orville, and a worried John leaps out of the captain's chair and asks if they're OK. We then get a quick shot of Charly at her post, for absolutely NO reason whatsoever. She's not reacting to the news that her captain's still alive, she's just pushing buttons and going about her business.
I don't have any insider info, but why the hell would her pointless closeup be wedged in there if she wasn't dating the boss?
I get the distinct impression that was Seth MacFarlane speaking there, and not Ed Mercer. It seems like something MacFarlane would say— especially since he narrowly avoided becoming a 9/11 statistic back in 2001. He already cheated death once— might as well go all in on it!
I can't speak for anyone else, but personally I wouldn't want to be immortal. Especially in our current shithole of a world!
What would I do to support myself? Work for thousands and thousands of years? F*ck that! I currently have a job I like, and there are days I can barely force myself to go to it. I can't think of a worse hell than having to work forever.
I also think an immortal would eventually become incredibly bored. Every punchline would be familiar, every movie would have a plot you'd already seen and every book would be dull and repetitive. Even your favorite dish would get old after hundreds of years. There'd literally be nothing new under the sun.
And what about relationships? Could even the strongest love survive 10,000 years? Or would a couple become physically sick of one another after a hundred years or so?
I feel like I'd get so bored after a while I'd end up blowing off my immortal head.
The only way I'd ever possibly consider immortality is if we fundamentally altered EVERY single aspect of our society. If everything was free and I didn't have to work to support myself, then I might agree to it. I'd travel the world, pick a country and settle down there for a hundred years or so, really getting to know the local culture. When I started getting bored with it I'd move on to another place, and do the same thing for another century or so, until the sun expanded and destroyed the Earth.
That's about the only way I'd ever possibly consider living forever.
There was the whole 21st Century high school and airliner settings, but other than that I can't really think of anything.
• This Week's Star Trek Swipes:
Quite a few this week! Actually, "swipe" may be too strong a word in these instances— let's call 'em "influences."
Star Trek didn't invent the concept of "Aliens Creating A Familiar Environment To Study The Characters' Reactions" trope, but they used it quite a bit.
— In the TOS episode The Squire Of Gothos, an entity named Trelane created a pocket world on an inhospitable planet, and transported Kirk & Co. there to play games with them.
— In TOS' The Savage Curtain, the alien Excalbians conjured up a patch of livable real estate on a deadly world so that recreations of good & bad historical figures could battle it out.
— Over on TNG, The Royale featured aliens who recreated a working Earth casino/hotel for an astronaut, thinking it was his natural habitat.
There are probably other such examples I'm leaving out, but that'll do for now.
In other swipes, Claire mentions the Orville's simulator technology, saying, "Well, if you shut off the safeties in our simulators, you could be hurt. Even killed."
The exact same thing could happen on the Enterprise-D's holodeck!
• This Week's Best Lines:
There were a ton of thoughtful, well written ones this week— mostly involving Dinal.
(The landing party enters the high school cafeteria.)
Bortus: "May we sit with you?"
Mean Girl: "No."
Bortus: "Why not?"
Mean Girl: "Because our table's full."
Bortus: "There are several available seats."
Mean Girl: "Not for you."
Bortus: "I am prepared to take them by force!"
Mercer: "Bortus. Let's look someplace else, huh?"
(Gordon whispers to Bortus.)
Bortus: (to Mean Girl) "You have a five-head!"
(The landing party talks to a group of nerds about the mysterious Randall.)
Nerd #1: "You pay him not to beat you up. We've all been through it. I had to do it all freshman year. Then I got like massive on TikTok and he stopped messin' with me 'cause my followers would flame his Gram."
Bortus: (completely baffled) "What?"
Dinal: (explaining herself to the landing party) "By your chronology, roughly 50,000 years have passed for us. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say... we advanced."
Kelly: "You've evolved 50,000 years?"
DInal: "'Evolved' is an arcane term in this case. Evolution is blind and drunk. It stumbles along by trial and error and emerges with a barely adequate excuse for a being. No offense."
Gordon: "None taken."
Dinal: "Long ago, we learned to take the reins of evolution and guide it with a greater efficiency. Let's just say... things moved faster. A lot faster."
Mercer: "You're immortal."
Dinal: "Gold star, Captain. The cultivation of the mind becomes a lot less stressful when you don't have to worry about dying."
Bortus: "Why would you wish to experience death?"
Dinal: "Immortality has its rewards. But after a while, the drive to advance begins to atrophy. Once you've seen it all and done it all and time has no worth, all that's left is... idle play. We've become complacent, because none of us can conceive of our own mortality. That's why we had to see it through your eyes."
Gordon: "What's it like, immortality?"
Dinal: "You outgrew your gods and your nations, as we did. You left your training wheels behind and you made it to the stars. Your next hurdles are really no different. You simply must outgrow self. These abstractions that you inhabit for now: Captain, Explorer, Husband, Man... they are irrelevant when you become one with the cosmos. And when you do... sculpting a universe will be as simple as blinking an eye. You're an interesting species. We'll meet again."
Mercer: "You know, it's interesting... as far beyond us as those people are, there's one thing we have in common— neither of us can fathom our own mortality. We all know we're gonna die, but it's impossible for us to visualize it."
Gordon: "Oh, I can visualize it. Yeah. Big funeral, lots of people weeping, wishing they'd been nicer to me."
Mercer: "I'm not talking about your funeral, I'm talking about your actual death. I mean, it's impossible."
Kelly: "I guess it'd be like a... black emptiness?"
Mercer: "Yeah, but even in that scenario, you're still there, as an observer, picturing that void. Nonexistence is beyond our capacity to imagine."
Kelly: "The only difference is, they never have to worry about it, we do."
Bortus: "Death is an essential part of life. It is a noble rite of passage."
Mercer: "Yeah, that's the conventional philosophical wisdom, but, it doesn't work for me, never has."
Kelly: "You'd live forever if you could?"
Mercer: "Yup."
Gordon: "Why?"
Mercer: "I want to see what happens."
The various Trek shows also featured a butt-load of god-like aliens, similar to Dinal:
– In the TOS episode Charlie X, aliens gave an immature human teen the powers of a god so he could survive on their world.
– In the TOS episode Charlie X, aliens gave an immature human teen the powers of a god so he could survive on their world.
— On TOS' The Squire Of Gothos, a god-like alien child abducted the crew to amuse himself.
— In TOS' Errand Of Mercy, the Organians used their vast powers to keep the Federation and the Klingon Empire from wiping each other out.
— In the TOS episode Arena, god-like beings called the Metrons threw Kirk and a Gorn into gladiatorial combat, intending to wipe out the race of the loser.
— In Spectre Of The Gun, Kirk & Co. trespass into Melkotian space, and the god-like aliens punish them by placing them in a bizarre recreation of the Gunfight At The OK Corral.
— TNG featured a god-like entity called Nagilum, who literally experimented with the crew to see what made their bodies tick.
— DS9 heavily featured the Prophets, a race of non-corporeal entities who lived inside the Bajoran wormhole, and occasionally affected Federation matters.
— And then of course there's the aforementioned Q, the omnipotent god-like alien who frequently pestered Captain Picard and his crew on TNG.
The exact same thing could happen on the Enterprise-D's holodeck!
• This Week's Best Lines:
There were a ton of thoughtful, well written ones this week— mostly involving Dinal.
(The landing party enters the high school cafeteria.)
Bortus: "May we sit with you?"
Mean Girl: "No."
Bortus: "Why not?"
Mean Girl: "Because our table's full."
Bortus: "There are several available seats."
Mean Girl: "Not for you."
Bortus: "I am prepared to take them by force!"
Mercer: "Bortus. Let's look someplace else, huh?"
(Gordon whispers to Bortus.)
Bortus: (to Mean Girl) "You have a five-head!"
(The landing party talks to a group of nerds about the mysterious Randall.)
Nerd #1: "You pay him not to beat you up. We've all been through it. I had to do it all freshman year. Then I got like massive on TikTok and he stopped messin' with me 'cause my followers would flame his Gram."
Bortus: (completely baffled) "What?"
Dinal: (explaining herself to the landing party) "By your chronology, roughly 50,000 years have passed for us. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say... we advanced."
Kelly: "You've evolved 50,000 years?"
DInal: "'Evolved' is an arcane term in this case. Evolution is blind and drunk. It stumbles along by trial and error and emerges with a barely adequate excuse for a being. No offense."
Gordon: "None taken."
Dinal: "Long ago, we learned to take the reins of evolution and guide it with a greater efficiency. Let's just say... things moved faster. A lot faster."
Mercer: "You're immortal."
Dinal: "Gold star, Captain. The cultivation of the mind becomes a lot less stressful when you don't have to worry about dying."
Bortus: "Why would you wish to experience death?"
Dinal: "Immortality has its rewards. But after a while, the drive to advance begins to atrophy. Once you've seen it all and done it all and time has no worth, all that's left is... idle play. We've become complacent, because none of us can conceive of our own mortality. That's why we had to see it through your eyes."
Gordon: "What's it like, immortality?"
Dinal: "You outgrew your gods and your nations, as we did. You left your training wheels behind and you made it to the stars. Your next hurdles are really no different. You simply must outgrow self. These abstractions that you inhabit for now: Captain, Explorer, Husband, Man... they are irrelevant when you become one with the cosmos. And when you do... sculpting a universe will be as simple as blinking an eye. You're an interesting species. We'll meet again."
Mercer: "You know, it's interesting... as far beyond us as those people are, there's one thing we have in common— neither of us can fathom our own mortality. We all know we're gonna die, but it's impossible for us to visualize it."
Gordon: "Oh, I can visualize it. Yeah. Big funeral, lots of people weeping, wishing they'd been nicer to me."
Mercer: "I'm not talking about your funeral, I'm talking about your actual death. I mean, it's impossible."
Kelly: "I guess it'd be like a... black emptiness?"
Mercer: "Yeah, but even in that scenario, you're still there, as an observer, picturing that void. Nonexistence is beyond our capacity to imagine."
Kelly: "The only difference is, they never have to worry about it, we do."
Bortus: "Death is an essential part of life. It is a noble rite of passage."
Mercer: "Yeah, that's the conventional philosophical wisdom, but, it doesn't work for me, never has."
Kelly: "You'd live forever if you could?"
Mercer: "Yup."
Gordon: "Why?"
Mercer: "I want to see what happens."
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