‘The Orville’ Recap: ‘Home’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

Family is a huge deal to all of us. For some, it is an outright support network, and those folks are close with their siblings and their parents and they know that in the event they need someone to talk to or turn to when something is on their mind or if trouble is on the horizon, that family will be there for them on a moment’s notice, and for others, family truly is that Rockwell-ian environment we see on television, where everyone gets along swimmingly and hold each other in the highest regard and gather around the table daily to celebrate the wonder of being blood. But I keep using the word ‘some’ when it comes to family, because unfortunately, not everyone gets to experience the lovely images we’ve just discussed.
 
Because for some, their experiences with family have been…unpleasant to say the least. These are the people who don’t speak to a parent, or a sibling because of a grand disagreement, or for reasons far worse and there are sadly some folks out there, who have been outright abandoned by their family for whatever reason, leaving some people alone on days where we sit down to break bread with our friends or family. Which is why, good or bad, family really does make an impact upon our lives, and our experiences with blood help form us in ways we never thought possible since family either gives us what we need to grow, or forces us to seek it out in the world and the good and the bad when it comes to family was on full display during last night’s episode of The Orville, ‘Home’.
 
Now in this tale, we saw Lieutenant Alara Kitan faced with quite the choice. For her super strength was beginning to fade, due to her long-term exposure to Earth’s gravity and she could either return home to Xelaya and see her strength slowly heal as her body re-acclimated to that world’s incredibly strong gravity, or she could stay on board the Orville and eventually be no different than her human crew members, and well, despite her reservations, she chose the former. Because a return home meant she would have to deal with a family and a society that saw the military as a joke, and wouldn’t you know it? Her return home was about as awkward as it gets, since we learned during this part of the story that Alara was in essence the black sheep of her family since she wasn’t as intelligent as the other kids growing up and was ostracized for it and since she didn’t become an epic scholar like her father, a great rift existed between the two of them. 

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​If anything, this segment of the story was downright brilliant, since it put on display the tough stuff when it comes to family, and it also featured the tough discussions we sometimes have with the people that we love and for anyone who’s ever felt like an outcast or that they failed or disappointed their family, this part of the story was supremely relatable and touching in its own right. Of course, eventually, Alara and her father found a way to reconcile, after everyone’s lives were threatened by a couple of Xelayan Anti-vaxxers who wanted revenge on dear old dad for debunking their son’s crappy research, and while that led to touching and tear jerking growth between father and daughter, what really surprised so many, myself included, is what came after Alara regained her strength. Because after making peace with her father and receiving his love and respect for the first time in her life, Alara made another difficult choice and left the Planetary Union to stay home and experience the life she always wanted and while that’s quite some seriously beautiful growth for the Lieutenant, for the moment it truly seems as though Alara is gone from the series.
 
Which, I mean, is nothing new in science fiction shows, since Lieutenant Tasha Yar made her departure from Star Trek: The Next Generation in season one, but I simply did not see this coming and her exit led to quite the emotional goodbye and I do hope Alara returns at some point because she is quite the awesome character. But, all misty eyes aside, we need to talk about the fact that this is one powerful episode. It was truly emotional and relatable and immersive and well, that’s thanks in large part to the actors in this tale. For Halston Sage was on point as a rattled Alara and gave her best performance to date on the show and while it was neat to see Jason Alexander return and Patrick Warburton pop up as a temporary security officer, let’s be honest, the two doctors stole the show.
 
Because John Billingsley, who played Doctor Phlox on Star Trek: Enterprise was brilliant as the villain in this tale, and Robert Picardo, who played the Emergency Medical Hologram in Star Trek: Voyager, simply put on an acting clinic in this episode and it’s just a delight when Star Trek veterans drop by his new and wonderful universe. When all is said and done however, I once again tip my cap to Seth MacFarlane and the Writer’s Room of this show for once again focusing on the characters, because this paradigm shift storytelling wise is making for some magnificent television and while it is heartbreaking to see Halston Sage depart for the time being, the show must go on and I am quite curious to see what life on the ship will be like without Alara and I’m also wondering who exactly, will open the next jar of pickles for Captain Mercer. Until next time.   

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