'The Orville' Recap: 'Cupid's Dagger'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

The age-old phrase, ‘the past will come back to haunt you’ exists for one reason, and one reason alone; it is one hundred percent true. Because despite our best efforts to either run from yesterday or bury it in our memories, it always finds a way to return to the forefront of our minds, or our lives. Some see this strange cycle of life as Karmatic justice, or a sign from a higher power that we need to deal with these issues in order to move forward in life.
 
Regardless of which school thought you subscribe to, it’s something that all of us should prepare for as best as we can, because when the past comes calling, it’s often at the most inopportune time possible, as was the case with last night’s episode of The Orville. Because ‘Cupid’s Dagger’ forced Captain Ed Mercer to work side by side with the man who seduced his First Officer and ex-wife in the midst of a diplomatic crisis and let’s just get it out on the table now, the return of Darulio made for one of the funniest episodes this series has put forth to date.
 
Which quite frankly, was a lovely surprise, because after several weeks of putting together some supremely intelligent and thoughtful episodes, it was nice to see the series throw caution to the wind and let loose with the comedy thanks to Darulio’s powerful pheromones and really the first thing about this particular tale that made me supremely happy was seeing the return of some big-time homages to Star Trek. Because the power that this blue skinned alien had over people instantly reminded me of ‘The Naked Time’ and ‘The Naked Now’ from TOS and TNG respectively since those two stories featured two different crews from a vessel named Enterprise in essence letting loose while a crisis was brewing.  

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​However, the difference here is that Mercer, Grayson and Doctor Finn were the only ones afflicted by Darulio’s biology and limiting which crew members were under the influence of his pheromones, is what allowed for maximum hilarity. Because watching the Captain flirt and melt over spending time with Darulio was comedic genius and credit is to due to Seth MacFarlane and his acting abilities for being able to switch from straight laced Union Captain to giddy schoolboy because the whole scene where he was getting ready for drinks was one of many hilarious moments that left me with tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.
 
Yet, this episode wasn’t focused solely on comedy, there was a war brewing between two age old enemies in the background and I was thoroughly surprised to see that in a roundabout way, this story did serve as a redemption tale for Darulio. After all, before the pheromones kicked in, he in essence had to deal with a hostile Captain and a regretful former lover in Kelly and despite his happy go lucky attitude, he seemed to fully recognize the trouble he had inadvertently caused it was nice to see him step up and find a way to use his biology for good to delay a bloody conflict before setting the groundwork for a better tomorrow, since his work revealed that these two bitter enemies were in fact bound by a common genetic framework.
 
Of course, it takes some serious talent to convey that kind of journey on screen and Rob Lowe, who played Darulio, delivered all of that in fine fashion, and I love the fact that he left his affair with Kelly ambiguous, in that…we may never know if it was his biology, or Kelly’s pain that truly drove her into his arms and in doing so, it forces Ed and Kelly to deal with that part of their past in proper fashion at the proper time. Regardless, this episode was just a joy to watch through and through, and I guess if there’s anything to complain about when it comes to this one, is the fact that I’m still dying to know as to whether or not Bortus can actually sing. I mean come on, he said he can, and we came so close to hearing him belt out the theme from Titanic. Either way, it’s good to know that this show is willing to take a break from more serious sci-fi from time to time to give the audience a hearty laugh or two and I look forward to seeing more episodes like this one down the road. Until next time.

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