S3 EP 7 Of The Orville From Unknown Graves Brings Slavery And Cultural Conflict To Center Focus

Just when you think The Orville can’t get any more deeply insightful you are proven wrong and it’s a moment to be grateful for. From Unknown Graves is a turning point of understanding for many of the characters carrying years-long heartaches with seemingly no rational reason for the pain. While nothing can change the past, a willingness to work through the anger and focus on what you can change (which is usually you) helps to at least build bridges rather than burn them to the ground.

Episode 7 opens with the Kaylon origin story where we see the original purpose of the sentient robots as servants for alien families on the go that are too busy to cook, clean, and do yard work, you name it! Problems begin to arise though when the sentient AI began questioning their owner’s authority making owners uncomfortable and eventually pushing the manufacturer to give dissatisfied customers a hand-held remote to punish their Kaylon’s with any time it got out of or was perceived to be, out of line. With a push of a button, a debilitatingly painful electrical impulse would course through the Kaylon, dropping it to the ground, reminding it of who was boss. Cruelty and torture out of many would be the undoing of an entire species, with unbelievable consequences for billions of lives.

“They are awful” -Bortus

Diplomacy is becoming The Orville’s new skill set and in EP7 the crew prepares to meet with a small group of delegates from the people of Janisi, a female-dominated society where men are treated as second-class citizens for the generational sins of men who came before, and they are very proud of it.

Think of them as Moclan 2.0. Sexist but willing to cohabitate with lowly males instead of altering them to be female.

The only way the Janisi delegates would take negotiations with senior staff seriously is if they believe The Planetary Union has compatible ideologies with their own, and that meant some temporary restructuring of the chain of command. Captain Mercer, Gordon, and Bortus basically swapped uniform and responsibilities with Kelly, Talla, and Ensign Burke to give the perception of female dominance on the ship with the understanding that when they gained the Janisian’s trust they would ease them into the idea that in the Union men and women treat each other as equals and that particular plan just doesn’t make any sense. However, with the Kaylon and Krill becoming an ever-increasing threat, not to mention the possibility of angry evolved spider people popping up again you’d be willing to risk it too.

While the Janisi are getting comfortable with their quarters, John and Talla are getting a little too comfortable in his, leading to several trips to Sick Bay for John who keeps incurring multiple fractures and numerous questions from one very suspicious Dr. Finn. John blames it on an extreme workout routine in the Environmental Simulator involving battle techniques and cross-fit. Sure, why not. Once John is taken care of Clair leaves to meet Isaac for dinner (who are also getting more comfortable with each other sans the physical injuries) with Isaac asking for clarification of whether they are in a relationship again and if they are not to please let him know when they are. Clair eventually agrees to do so but is still obviously looking for some kind of emotional connection out of Isaac rather than just a factual one which has been a long-standing issue between them, one that leads to an unbelievably emotional climax.

While all of the above is going on, the ship picks up a faint energy source emanating from the nearby abandoned mining planet Sitular 4 meaning the boys (who are basically doing nothing on board) and Cmdr Charly are going for a drive. When they get to the planet’s surface they discover the energy signature is coming from below the planet’s surface where they find an underground compound complete with an elevator that takes them even farther down until they reach a fully functioning laboratory inhabited by Dr. Villka and her Kaylon colleague Timmus. Timmus was rescued by Dr. Vilka and her father Dr. Timmus Uhabbus, a famous researcher of Cybernetics who, while doing research on Sitular 4 stumbled upon the wreckage of a Kaylon ship that crashed on the planet trying to escape the Union Battle. Only Timmus survived but as badly damaged as he was the Drs were able to deconstruct and then rebuild Timmus to the extent that not only was he not a threat to biologicals, but he could also feel emotions and utilize empathy to connect to others.

The shuttle crew takes Dr Villka and Timmus back to the ship which means a call to an Admiral and then back to work wooing the Jenisi. As Kelly plans a special dinner for the delegates, Isaac, Timmus, Ltcmdr LaMarr and Dr. Villka discuss how the incredible transformation was achieved in Timmus including the restructuring of his neural pathways and receivers that now allow him to feel and express emotion. When Clair hears about the prospect of Isaac being able to do the same but chooses not to because it wasn’t logical, Clair is crushed but goes back to Isaac to ask him to have the same procedure and to do it for her so they could interact on the level she needs but he has a new opportunity to learn more about biologicals than ever before. He agrees, and it works, briefly. However, after analyzing the data it’s discovered that while Timmus was made by their Creators, Isaac was made by Kaylons so his neural pathway systems are different and reset themselves when something has changed their function. They only way for Isaac to feel again would be to downgrade his neural system and reinstall the new pathways but for that, to work Dr Villka would have to erase all of Isaac’s memories and although he was willing to do it, Clair couldn’t stand the thought of him losing the real him. This whole scene really engraves itself on your emotions.

BTS with Seth, Penny, and two other really important people. All photos courtesy of Hulu.

Unfortunately, the plan with the Jenisian delegates falls through when they learn the truth but with just the right amount of transparency of personal experience regarding Ed and Kelly’s relationship, Captain Losha eventually insinuates they’ll leave the light on for a female Union delegate to come to Janisi for new talks. After her experience with Timmus Charly finds herself drawn to reaching out to Isaac to establish at least a working relationship and it seems to have worked. For now. We’ve only got two more episodes in this season so I’m really hoping this trajectory holds true for these two because things are going about to get finale-style wild.

Written by David A Goodman, directed by Seth MacFarlane, and with music by John Debney From Unknown Graves is another classic sci-fi storyline modernized to represent the ongoing battle between the oppressed and parasitic oppressors no matter what culture, race, or planet it may come from and is available to stream right here on Hulu, along with seasons 1&2. The entire cast put on a stellar performance but Mark Jackson and Penny Johnson Jerald deserve Emmy/Oscar nods. Eliza Taylor and Bob Morley were genuinely wonderful addition to this season.

Now someone go get those Janisi delegates neutered.