'The Orville' Recap: ‘Mad Idolatry’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​I have to be perfectly honestly with all of you, in that…a part of me didn’t want to watch last night’s season one finale of The Orville. Not because I’ve suddenly soured on the show or something about this particular tale seemed off putting. No, my reasoning for having such thoughts was selfish and simple; I didn’t want this incredible first season to come to an end. I knew settling in to watch this meant a long hiatus was to follow, one devoid of this refreshing style of storytelling, but it didn’t take long for me to remind myself that I was being silly and I needed to watch this to get my fix, and let me tell you, I am so glad that I did.
 
Because ‘Mad Idolatry’, was an absolutely brilliant way to end the inaugural season of this incredible show since it in essence served as a ‘best of’ reel when it comes to everything we’ve enjoyed this year. There were plenty of laughs, another fine homage to Star Trek, and most importantly social commentary on our world and our lives that just so happened to feature an extremely unique twist, which is something that we will get to in a little bit. Because first, let’s talk about that homage to Trek, since this time around, Seth MacFarlane’s script dipped back into The Next Generation’s well by resurrecting an idea that was featured in the season three episode ‘Who Watches the Watchers’.
 
In that particular tale, a botched observation of a pre-warp society eventually leads to Captain Jean-Luc Picard being viewed as a deity after the crew of the Enterprise works to save a life and that’s precisely what happened in this episode, since a moment of goodwill from Kelly led to her being worshipped on a planet in uncharted space. But as this show is wont to do, it takes ideas such as this to their full potential and that’s where Trek and The Orville parted ways. Because as it turns out, this planet was able to phase in between universes and when it did, 700 years elapsed on their world, allowing for the show to explore what the long-term effects of this kind of worship would have on a society and this made for some sobering television.

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​For this is where the story took the time to examine the power of religion and the darker side that comes with it when man bends it to their will, since this world evoked Kelly’s visage as a tool of fear. People were hurt in her name, forced to experience terror in her name, and seeing a world become this from an act of kindness rattled Kelly to her core, and it was only further exacerbated when this society synced up with our current world, wherein wars were being fought in Kelly’s name and the parallels were eerie to say the least and they most certainly gave me pause. But, really the most special moment of the night, came about from the big-time twist to this commentary that I most certainly did not see coming.
 
Because in a desperate attempt to put this society on the right track, the Captain allowed for Issac to live amongst them through the next cycle of their planetary shift and when the time came for Issac to return to the ship, it was clear that this world had been transformed into a technological utopia…but Issac was not the reason why that happened. The people of this time were happy to explain to the crew that science and logical thought won out over all things, and that ages ago, the notion of Kelly as a driving force in their lives was left behind and it was inherently clear that there was a message to be found here. In that, too often we let our passion drive us in conflict over facts and rational thought and that maybe, just maybe, if we flipped the script on that…the world would be a vastly different place and seeing people from a society that overcame their differences, sit there with representatives from the Planetary Union, definitely gave me hope…for a better tomorrow.
 
If anything, this was simply the perfect end to a perfect season, and I was also appreciative of the fact that Kelly and Ed finally understand what they mean to one another, and know that their duty comes above all else since their love did complicate matters in this episode. But when all is said and done, I really am a touch melancholy over the fact that season one has come to an end. This show really took me by surprise with its quality and its intelligence and settling in to watch it on Thursday nights was always a highlight of my week. The Orville is truly something special, and while it’s a shame that we won’t be treated to a new episode next week, there’s definitely comfort to be found in the fact that a second season awaits all of us, and I know I’ll be counting down the minutes until this incredible show returns to the airwaves to dazzle us once again with powerful stories that stay with us long after the show has come to an end. Until next year. 

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