The true draw of science fiction shows and stories that feature humanity traveling through the stars, is the wonder of what awaits mankind in the vastness of space. The beautiful cultures, the stunning sights, and the incredible discoveries that await an intrepid crew all captivate our imaginations in ways we never knew were possible. Of course, there are dangers that await in space as well, but that usually serves as nothing more than a simple plot twist/conflict for our crew to overcome so it becomes in some ways an afterthought when all is said and done.
 
But let’s be honest, space is a dangerous place. It’s a void really, one filled with untold phenomena that we on Earth have barely begun to understand and truly, the best science fiction stories out there are the ones that embrace that danger, not only to remind us that space travel isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but also to challenge the characters of our favorite stories in ways they never knew possible and well, that’s precisely where The Orville went this week. Because ‘Into the Fold’ brought forth a story filled to the brim with tough moments and harrowing danger.
 
Yet of course, as this show is wont to do, it delivered all of that in unique and powerful fashion. Because rather than just put a pair of crewmen into a tough situation on an unexplored world, which would have been compelling in its own right, this episode upped the ante by putting an entire family in harm’s way since Doctor Finn was joined by her two sons on this particular journey and goodness, did they face some incredible danger. There was something truly stunning and stomach churning about seeing the shuttle snap in half and helplessly watch a mother be separated from her sons, and also see everyone deal with the starving, ill and bloodthirsty inhabitants of this world shortly after the crash.  

But what truly made this episode so magical, is that as always, this series found a way to add incredible depth and meaning to the situation because this was in essence a story about family, and what it means to all of us. For Doctor Finn it truly meant everything and I love the fact that Finn stopped at nothing to reunite with her boys in order to keep them safe, and when I say stop at nothing, I darn well mean it since she went all out in order to escape her captor to get back to her family, going so far as to kill the man in order to remove the any possibility of this strange man harming her children. 
 
Plus, there was some serious beauty to be found in the fact that her relatively unruly boys gained a newfound appreciation for their mother and everything that she does for them as well, all thanks to the situation at hand. That made their reunion all the more touching and their rescue all the more powerful because in essence, this family received a powerful second chance to mend their issues, allowing for them to finally be closer, something that the trip was supposed to do in the first place and while it was a harrowing episode through and through, I love the fact that this fit right in with the hopeful nature of this saga thanks to that uplifting ending.
 
Thankfully though, this story wasn’t just focused on nail biting moments. The trademark comedy we’ve come to enjoy from this series was on full display thanks to Isaac, since seeing him serve as an unexpected babysitter was downright hilarious and his finest moment of the night was how he handled the whole matter with the game. Either way, it was wonderful to see the series deliver a more intimate affair storytelling wise. There was no social commentary to be found in this tale, no grand and powerful adventure. Just a fine reminder that family is the greatest gift we receive when we come into this world, and it is also the greatest gift we can give to anyone when we choose to make them a part of our own. Until next time.   

I think it is safe to say that many of us felt that Designated Survivor was setting up quite the paradigm shift for the series going forward after last week’s episode because of how uplifting and inspiring that tale turned out to be. However, despite having the best parts of President Kirkman on display, the wonder of that story wasn’t designed to last, it was merely the calm before the storm. Because last night’s episode, ‘Two Ships’, brought forth a far grittier storyline, one that in essence showed that bigger problems are brewing behind the scenes for the Kirkman Administration.
 
Case in point, the whole mess with Eva and Eric Little is far from over. Because despite Kendra’s best attempts to quash the FBI’s investigation into the matter, the Bureau continued to quietly dig on the matter, forcing Kendra to ask the First Lady’s mother to sign a declaration stating she hadn’t had contact in the past thirty years with the late mister Little, something that should have finally put the matter to bed. But as it turns out, that’s something that Eva was incapable of doing, because she had in fact made contact with Eric roughly six months ago to share memories of a fallen friend and the fact that Eva keeps forgetting important issues such as this, there’s a fair chance there’s more she’s not telling anyone and this latest wrinkle in the fold will no doubt cause trouble in the days to come.
 
In addition to that problem, this episode also revealed the fact that there may be another unsavory character in the White House with nefarious intentions in their heart by way of Cornelius Moss. Yes, the former President turned Secretary of State just so happened to pop up as a person of interest at the end of the episode when Hannah and her cohorts came to uncover the fact that he visited the late Charlotte Throne at her hotel a mere five hours before she was murdered and well, this was quite the stunner because why on earth was Cornelius meeting with a member of Parliament in the middle of the night and why would he not divulge that information to Hannah knowing full well that an investigation was under way? It’s damn suspicious to say the least and it should be fascinating to learn more about this mysterious visit in the coming weeks.
 
Yet while those two jaw dropping revelations were enough to leave our minds reeling, the episode had one more powerhouse storyline in store for us by way of an international crisis when an American ship, the U.S.S. Verona, was intentionally disabled in enemy waters, forcing the President to work and work hard to avoid an armed conflict. But what made this storyline so special, was that once again, Kirkman seemed to inspire the best in people, because the young Lieutenant turned Captain of this vessel, Will Griffin, took a page from the President’s book by choosing country over his own safety by scuttling the ship while still aboard to prevent its technology and intel from getting into enemy hands and my goodness, what a powerful and heartbreaking piece of storytelling this turned out to be. Because while his intentions were noble and inspiring, it made the peaceful resolution of the mess a pyrrhic victory at best since the President wasn’t able to bring everybody home…
 
If anything, Seth said something in this story that continues to stick in my mind a day after watching this episode in that, ‘the world is always on fire’ and well…the man’s not wrong. Despite what Kirkman stands for and despite the good in his heart, he can only control what he can control and right now…there are definitely flames being stoked that Tom simply cannot put out and really, this episode feels like the genesis of a forthcoming dark era for the Kirkman Administration, and while I’m sure Tom will answer the call in fine fashion, that doesn’t make the journey ahead any easier. So, brace yourselves, we’re in for another bumpy ride and hopefully the best parts of President Kirkman don’t fade in the slightest once this too has passed. Until next time.

If there’s one thing that stuck with me after last week’s supremely lighthearted episode of The Flash, it’s the fact that for the first time ever, we were finally in the company of a ‘villain’ that wasn’t quite composed of pure evil and foul intentions. That stuck with me, simply because it opened a world of possibilities for the show storytelling wise and thankfully, the Writer’s Room also saw the potential for this new idea since last night’s episode, ‘Elongated Journey Into Night’, took this refreshing concept to a whole new level.
 
Because not only did this episode deliver unto us another Meta Human that wasn’t hell bent on world domination and/or murdering Barry, it gave us a tale of redemption by introducing us to a man named Ralph Dibny, a former C.C.P.D. Detective who left the force in disgrace after Barry discovered the fact that Dibny falsified evidence to close a murder case and well, Dibny is for all intents and purposes a scumbag for a fair majority of this episode and as for his powers, well he also just so happened to be on the bus that fateful day when Barry returned to our world and gained the ability to stretch his flesh following his exposure to dark matter.
 
But what made this a tale of redemption was the fact that Barry was able to break down the walls surrounding Dibny and draw out the good that was once at the forefront of his personality when he first joined the force and in doing so, Dibny was able to actually help save the day and he may even find a home with Team Flash and man, what a great twist. It was so unique to see a Meta view their newfound powers as a nuisance for a change since Dibny was focused on keeping his life as normal as possible, and it was incredibly uplifting to see Barry inspire a Meta and allow at least one of them to see what kind of wonders they can accomplish.
 
However, while that storyline was inspirational enough to put a smile on all of our faces, the show wasn’t quite done feeding our grins just yet. After all, season four has been all about the fun and the laughs and that all came about by way of the side storyline this week involving Cisco meeting Gypsy’s father, Breacher, who…hunted Cisco in an effort to see if he was worthy enough to date his daughter and my goodness, this was brilliant. First off, having Danny Trejo (who played Breacher) come in to do some serious comic relief needs to happen in television more often and every single moment he was on screen and interacting with Cisco was downright magical and I do hope we see more of Gypsy’s father as the series rolls on, especially considering the fact that he’s willing to remove the mystery surrounding his badass daughter since we now know her name is Cynthia…and also that Breacher’s real name is Josh.
 
Yet, all of the laughs and feel good moments aside, there is the overreaching arc regarding our mysterious villain to deal with and an idea that Harry posed recently, in that all of the events thus far this season seem carefully connected, came to fruition last night when we learned that a man named DeVoe called Dibny regarding the Mayor’s shady dealings, which in essence brought Dibny to Barry and considering the fact that we heard DeVoe’s name mentioned a couple of times last season and now that we have a name to go off of, it’s clear the series is drawing nearer to officially revealing our big bad on screen as Clifford DeVoe, a.k.a. The Thinker and that’s going to be a delight to comic fans everywhere when it happens and it should be interesting to learn what his master plan is in the coming weeks and I can’t wait to watch Barry and the team figure out a way to stop him and his evil machinations. Until next time.