‘The Orville’ Recap: ‘All the World Is Birthday Cake’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Of the many, many questions that mankind has asked over the course of its existence, one that remains pertinent during this age of technological wonder, is whether or not we are alone in the universe. Because for the first time ever in our brief history, we are learning all kinds of incredible facts when it comes to our solar system and the universe beyond it, and it is only natural for our minds to ponder upon the possibility that we are not alone and that other species are living amongst the stars and that we may indeed make contact with them at some point down the line.
 
Which, let’s be honest, would be an outright incredible moment in human history, and it is one that science fiction has explored in great detail, allowing for plenty of stories to come forth that explore how first contact with an alien species would likely be a good thing for our world, since it would force mankind to look at the bigger picture so we can leave our petty problems behind. Yet, while that is indeed a fascinating route to explore, one that is often overlooked, is what an alien species would think about us, if they dropped out of the sky to say hello in present day. But thankfully, shows like The Orville are here to examine such matters and last night’s episode of the show, ‘All the World Is Birthday Cake’, took the time to reflect upon our modern world, and how some of our more dubious decisions might be perceived by an advanced civilization.
 
All of that was accomplished by introducing us to the people of a remote world named Regor 2, and the people of this planet thought it was high time to see if they were in fact, alone amongst the stars. So, they sent a signal out into deep space, one that the U.S.S. Orville received and that meant only thing…it was time for first contact. Now, we do need to take a moment and discuss how awesome it was to see the crew become so excited over this prospect. Because it just goes to show how dedicated they are to what the Planetary Union stands for and how much they enjoy meeting new species and well, that elation set up a magnificent sequence wherein the crew ventured to this strange new world in order to say hello to a potential new member of the Union. But alas, while this was joyous and fun to watch, there was a dark side to this world, and that’s when the episode became something so much more. 

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​For we learned that this species lives and dies by Astrology and the signs and once they learned that Commander Grayson and Commander Bortus were born during an unsavory part of their version of the Zodiac, this new relationship went south, since Kelly and Bortus were taken to one of the many camps on this world that house the castoffs known as Giliacs and that’s when things hit a little too close to home. Because if indeed a species from another world flew down to our world right now, they’d find people of similar mindsets. Maybe not tit for tat when it comes to astrology, but they’d definitely meet humans who have issues with other humans who worship a different God, or just so happen to have a different color of skin, or sexual orientation, and realizing that was a tad humbling, as was witnessing the stunning parallel of the Giliac Interment/Concentration Camps.
 
For these kinds of camps have been seen in our society far too often throughout our history, and the black star on the prisoners’ camp uniforms wasn’t lost upon me, nor was the fact that Seth MacFarlane’s brilliant script was in essence providing us with a little commentary on the camps that exist like this right now, in our country, at the border, and well, this too gave me pause. Because seeing families ripped apart in this place and seeing the prejudice present from the guards in this camp, definitely struck a nerve since those things are happening down south and while some may criticize this episode for being too heavy handed in its commentary about the camps, I praise it. Because there’s really no need to sugar coat how wrong it is that these camps exist and when all is said and done, this was merely a larger component to a greater message for this tale.
 
Basically, the episode pointed out, that we need to take a long hard look in the mirror when it comes to some of the things we are doing as a society and ask ourselves if any of this is right. Obviously, a fair chunk of us know the answer to that question, but for those still mired in confusion, being objective for a moment, is never a bad thing and really when all is said and done, I truly appreciated the fact that this episode went right after current events in our world and pointed out that if visitors from another world dropped in, we may be embarrassed by what they find and what they see and that…is what great science fiction does. It challenges us like never before and forces us to look at things we normally don’t want to and it’s why The Orville is hands down the smartest show on T.V. right now, and man, season two of this series continues to impress and I cannot wait to see what kinds of powerful stories await us in the weeks to come. Until next time.

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