‘The Orville’ Recap: ‘Ja’loja’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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Sometimes in the writing/recap business, you’re faced with using a cliché or two simply because there’s no better way to say what you need to say, and for me…one cliché that instantly pops into my head when it comes to my favorite television shows and rings true every single time I use it is, ‘counting down the minutes’. Because sometimes a series is so good, I actually do just that due to the fact that I’m outright craving another fix of this universe and the unique characters that inhabit it and well, for the past few weeks, that cliché has been on the forefront of my mind because I’ve been anxiously awaiting the return of Seth MacFarlane’s brilliant science fiction series, The Orville.
 
For this series, was a breath of fresh air last year, with its unique take on the genre as a whole since it was able to blend Seth’s unique sense of humor with the wonder and awe of Star Trek, all while providing us with magnificent writing that offered fascinating and thought-provoking stories, the kind that quite frankly left us talking for days on end and well, that kind of quality is a rare find these days and that’s why I was so supremely excited to settle in and watch last night’s season two premiere, ‘Ja’loja’. But truth be told, while I was ready and raring to go when this bad boy hit the airwaves, I’ve watched a lot of television in my day, and I’ve seen plenty of shows disappoint in their second year and while there was a smile plastered on my face when I tuned in, I was slightly worried that this premiere might potentially disappoint and thankfully, my concerns were quickly put to bed since this episode offered up everything we love about this series…and more.
 
Because Seth is clearly going to take full advantage of this second season and perform wonders storytelling wise and really, what impressed me about this premiere was its steadfast focus upon its characters. For this particular tale slowed things down quite a bit, giving us time to get to know the crew of the Orville like never before and I loved every single second of this. Because this story really did a fine job of fleshing out the nuances of just about everyone aboard the ship, even going so far as to show us how hard it is to be a single parent, thanks to Dr. Finn’s journey in this tale, one that involved her son’s arrival into the world of being a fussy teenager and Finn’s attempt to navigate those emotionally troubled waters was merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what this particular story had to offer. 

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For the human condition was on full display in this tale, and much of what Seth wanted to examine in his script, revolved around love and relationships and all the complexities that come with that and well, this part of the story was equally as impressive since it put the insecurities we all feel when it comes to dating out into the open since both Gordon and Alara struggled with the terror of asking someone out, or the disappointment that comes with dating when the person doesn’t meet our standards, respectively, and the Captain wasn’t exempt from this exploration either since Ed spent a fair chunk of this story trying to resolve his feelings for Kelly and how to let her go since she was seeing someone new aboard the ship and well, I was simply taken aback by all of this since you don’t often see science fiction shows take the time to explore these types of elements when it comes to their characters.
 
However, all magnificent character study aside, the laughs are equally as important, and the premiere delivered when it comes to that as well. After all, the whole notion of a grand ceremony on Moclus revolving around Commander Bortus taking a whiz was pretty hilarious in its own right, as was everything comical that came about from the crew’s dating adventures. Because seeing Alara go on a disastrous date with Dann was the stuff of legend, as was the sage like dating advice that John provided to Gordon because who knew that more zippers on a jacket made you more attractive and boosted your confidence and honestly, the funniest moment of the night in my mind, was the moment of truth for Gordon, wherein he totally chickened out on asking the new Lieutenant out on a date.
 
If anything, this in-depth focus on the characters goes to show that Seth understands they are what truly make a show like this tick. Yeah, space battles and exotic locales are cool and all, but it’s the people that fire the weapons and move the ship to its destination that matter and while season one of the show balanced story with character development and gave us just enough of the latter, it’s clear now that Seth is going all in when it comes to the crew in season two and I dig that. It’s something sorely missing in the genre right now and quite frankly, it only affirms MacFarlane’s love for Star Trek: The Next Generation since the characters were king on that series as well and I honestly cannot wait to see where this intrepid crew is headed growth wise and because of this beautifully intimate premiere, once again, I’ll be counting down the minutes to Thursday when the next entry in this saga arrives. Until next time. 

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