The Orville

[Osiris-Rex]

I might have to re-watch that part, but my impression was that the reason they sent the emissary was because they intended to expand, but that Isaac's research was still for them to decide whether or not co-existence was an option.

Either way, whether biologicals can be coexisted with or need to be exterminated, the Kaylons don't seem to consider biologicals a threat based on Issac's research.

[titanfan]

The heart wants what the heart wants. I can see how, having someone who tries so hard to make her and her children happy, would make Claire want more. And even the most intelligent person can't help develop feelings, despite what their head tells them.

When Penny Johnson Jerald showed up on THE ORVILLE, I thought she was going to be just a secondary character that simply supported the leading actors--like she was on CASTLE. So it's been surprising to see how important and valued she is on this show. If they gave out the Emmy to a series like THE ORVILLE, she should win.

It's possible that might have been the plan when the show was originally conceived. But if I'm a writer or producer on the show--if I have Penny Johnson Jerald on my show, I'm definitely going to use her!!!

[Nate Grey]

That said, I am a bit surprised that if Isaac's mission was to determine if biologicals were a threat to them or if co-existence was possible, you'd think just from his research - seeing how much they embraced him, even entering into an intimate relationship and welcoming him into their family unit, that they would determine that co-existence is totally possible and that biologicals need not be a threat.

The thing is, while all that had to have been in Isaac's research, they didn't bring it up when talking to Ed and Kelly. They seemed to care more about the "abuse inflicted by [Gordon]", paraphrasing that one Kaylon. They said it was humiliation for amusement. To them that one incident obliterated anything positive and probably served as confirmation bias that the biologicals standing before them are no different than the ones they wiped out.

[Jim Kelly]

It's seems obvious that certain qualities in organic lifeforms are not judged as having any value for the Kaylons. Since they don't depend on sexual attraction or socialization for procreation and security, these animal impulses are a nothing.

I'd speculate that the organic people who made the robots didn't want them to become human-like creatures, so they deliberately built in subroutines that would prevent that from happening. Because I'd think that, if a being (organic or otherwise) continued to develop, then it would have these complex social structures--like what's explained in game theory.

A fail-safe makes the most sense to me as to why the Kaylons, on the one hand, are so advanced and yet so simplistic, on the other hand. Before the last episode, I was thinking that if Isaac's program evolved too much in developing complex interactions with other beings, then this fail-safe would kick in and shut him down.

I still think that maybe his involvement with Clair was the vital step that caused his shut-down, because the Kaylons wouldn't want their emissary to have an emotional attachment to the organic people.

[tabo61]

I was waiting for one of the Kaylons to say "Resistance is futile".

[Kusanagi]

Okay, I admit I cheered when
spoilers:

Isaac tore off the Primary's head

end of spoilers

[Jokerz79]

What to say but Boom Bitch!

[Jim Kelly]

That was some good television.

[Nate Grey]

So in a way Isaac is Data but with Odo's back story. Love it.

[stargazer01]

I loved it, it was epic! Very Star Wars-y

I'm glad Isaac wasn't a traitor. He didn't fail me. The boy Ty was so brave. Gordon is so funny lol, he always makes me laugh.

[Qwerty]

Seth McFarlain is a flipping genius. Everyone shone in this episode. 10/10

[titanfan]

I loved it, it was epic! Very Star Wars-y

I'm glad Isaac wasn't a traitor. He didn't fail me. The boy Ty was so brave. Gordon is so funny lol, he always makes me laugh.

At the same time, he also shouldn't get off the hook. He was at least partially responsible for a lot of deaths.

[Kusanagi]

At the same time, he also shouldn't get off the hook. He was at least partially responsible for a lot of deaths.

I liked the ending because of that, it didn't just revert to status quo. Isaac may be forgiven but it's going to take time and effort. I fully expect it to continue being a story point going forward.

[Osiris-Rex]

That was some good television.

Those were movie quality effects. I can't recall ever seeing anything this good on Broadcast TV or basic cable. Maybe not even premium cable other than maybe Game of Thrones.

At the same time, he also shouldn't get off the hook. He was at least partially responsible for a lot of deaths.

Can you really blame a toaster if it short circuits and burns the house down? Isaac wasn't even being that malicious. He was just doing what he was built for.

[Jim Kelly]

The story unfolded much as I thought it would. But that's a good thing. I was worried they would weasel out and make it that nothing bad actually happened. In fact, they went above and beyond what I expected, in the amount of death and destruction (although none of the main cast expired--even the admiral survived).

I did think they softened the Kaylons a bit, by establishing that their creators were bad folks who enslaved them and made them feel pain. That kind of lets the Kaylons off the hook, somewhat, rather than allowing them to be complete monsters.

But can we trust everything the Kaylons say? Apparently they have feelings. They could feel pain. And the Primary tells Isaac that he wasn't there to experience what they went through, so he can't know. But if they are just memory storage units, then it shouldn't matter whether Isaac was there or not--the experience of the event and the memory of the event should be one and the same. Yet it's not. So there must be some attachment to physical experience, which is more or less emotion by another name.

What really made the story work were all the character moments and the little bits of humour--which has been established in the first two seasons up to this point. You could copy the same plot to another sci fi series and it wouldn't be the same, because the tone and the presentation are what make THE ORVILLE work.