Amph The Orville [Seth McFarlane's returning Sci-Fi Show]

We will have to agree to disagree on that. TOS Is a classic that without obviously you don't have Trek.

 

This show just makes me happy.

Also, I want a scene with Clyden shaving Bortis's mustache in the tub.

 

The symphony scene was just amazing with the stars in the background. I really enjoyed this episode and how they tackled Issac's growth. Some funny moments as well and great to see Norm make an actual appearance. Gotta love Yaphat.

 

I'm assuming that was an actual symphony? The conductor looked familiar to me but I couldn't place it. But this whole storyline was brilliant. It ended as badly as I thought it would -- but I definitely didn't think it'd come back around after that...

 

yah the ending actually had the characters grow and change while if this was TNG it would have reset button'd the whole relationship but now it's a thing. The orchestra looked great although seems a mite dangerous, don't you think?

Best line is Ed covering his gossping "But he's my father and he'll never be a weightlifter no matter how much he wants to!"

Bortis with the mustache was a bit like Peter with his beard on Family Guy but still a solid gag.

 

That last episode ("Identity") was amazing. DID NOT EXPECT THAT AT ALL...

And the music was the stealth-MVP...

 

So I guess that the Kaylon are now similar to the Borg.

 

Except for destruction vs. assimilation.

Also...

Spoiler

Two theories I've been seeing floating around online, assuming Issac isn't going to heel-face turn as we expect...

1) It's a simulation to see how the humans react, as a final test to determine if they should join the Union. This would be in line with Trek a la Kobayashi Maru or what the Dominion literally did to the entire DS9 crew to see how the Federation would react to the Dominion going into the Alpha Quadrant.

2) The Kaylons are still learning "pranks" and this is them pranking the Union. Which would be amazing...

 

MacFarlane has been waiting his whole life to do a BOBW-style cliffhanger.

 

Spoiler

Clearly if they go with the normal heel-face turn, it's gonna be the kids -- the whole "You don't understand, he doesn't have to play games with us, or eat dinner with us..." conversation basically Chekhov'd that whole thing. There's also the "Cutting Claire out of his life destroyed his programming thing" -- so if they try and overwrite him (i.e. blue eyes -> red eyes) his Issac persona may reassert...

I'm just thinking if they don't play it straight how it might go...

 

I wonder if what happened between the Kaylon and their creators will be fleshed out more. "You wouldn't understand" and Mercer saying he doesn't know what happened seem to be hinting at something we're not being told. Of course genocide would never be justifiable, but I'm thinking the Kaylon saw it as a proportional and necessary response to their creators trying to destroy them or deactivate them or whatever. The fact that Kaylon Prime specifically referred to genocide as a mark against humanity also seems to be a hint. Or maybe I'm just reading too much into things. (On a related note, if they just want to exterminate humanity, why not start with the Orville's crew? They only killed the people resisting.)

I think Isaac may have already changed his mind and is playing along waiting for an opportunity of some sort, but that could be because I see him as like Data in "Descent" and First Contact.

 

I agree with the bulk of your post, especially the potential of Issac a la Data in First Contact, however I think the key line (again, if we're meant to take things said within the first half of a two-parter to have context for the second half) was "They seem to be stalling, but it's a binary decision -- the most basic decision a machine can make."

It wasn't proportional, it was the only choice. If the Kaylons made the decision that coexistence was impossible, it's the only logical choice.

I'm wondering if that's the role the kids might have (again, assuming they play it straight):

Spoiler

Given that kids are basically guileless and can be taught, as well as Issac was studying them -- perhaps the Kaylons could join the Union and decide coexistence is possible, simply due to "they can be taught." There's no inherent relationship imbalance, as it's not like the Union members were the creators of the Kaylon -- it may not be the same scenario.

Conversely, if Macfarlane is also a fan of Babylon 5, it's not out of the question he goes the route of the Hyach species in that series -- who committed genocide against the Hyach-doh, and didn't realize there was a symbiotic relationship between those two species and the planet, which led to declining birth rates and eventual civilization die out if it wasn't corrected...

 

In re: Krill -- I don't think it's a spoiler to say that given the monkey-based species (or whomever) we saw -- I don't think the Krill are going to be the primary, or at least only, recurring, antagonist

 

I'm just wondering that we're basically moving more towards Trek-esque detente, perhaps...

Union = Federation
Krill = Romulan
New species = Klingon? (or would Moklans be Klingon, or Vulcan with their ridiculous inner workings?)

I mean, it's not 1:1 but it's fun to think about...

 

The "new species" being the people the Krill were fighting, right? I thought they only attacked because they were provoked and don't pose an immediate threat to the Union.

 

Ed did shoot a few of them, as well as them being shoot-on-sight folks doesn't lead me to believe we're gonna see them in any pleasant capacity (if we see them again), but yes.

They were shooting at Ed, despite clearly having a Krill as a "prisoner"...

EDIT: T2Q,,, I almost put Jem'Hadar!

 

So, played straight -- and was a pretty good, non-cop out resolution!

EDIT: Also, this was gold...