S02.E14: The Road Not Taken

[Danielg342]

The Season Finale

"The crew must contend with the disastrous fallout from Kelly's decision"

(from SpoilerTV)

[SimoneS]

That was predictable, but I really enjoyed it. Kelly taking a different road changing so much is hard to believe, but Isaac's affection for Ty was key to defeating the Kaylons. I do like that they made sure that it was not anything special that Ed did that caused things to change rather it was Finn feeling that he needed her and joining the crew. 

Alara! So she and John have a thing going on.

Bortus! Of course he made it.

[ketose]

There was a lot of Dr. Who in this, not just the time travel, but the floating heads with weapons. Also, two guys on the surface of a frozen planet had me thinking of the Voyager Episode "Timeless" immediately.

So, the lesson from this episode is never turn down Seth MacFarlane for a date.

However, I think had Ed not been captain, the Orville would have already been destroyed during the episode "Pria."

Edited April 26, 2019 by ketose
Wrong Voyager episode

[tennisgurl]

Damn, younger Kelly went and created the Darkest Timeline! Everyone get a mustache! 

[DrScottie]

1 minute ago, tennisgurl said:

Damn, younger Kelly went and created the Darkest Timeline! Everyone get a mustache! 

I'm glad to see a Community reference. :) 

I was thinking of Yesrterday's Enterprise too or any of the other dystopian ones that Worf encountered in "Parallels."

[UNOSEZ]

4 minutes ago, tennisgurl said:

Damn, younger Kelly went and created the Darkest Timeline! Everyone get a mustache! 

This was pretty good.. Finally Lt. Lamarr got to do some stuff... And apparently him and alara had a thing... Too bad when she was on the show Seth had her character pining for him... I'd watch a series with Kelly as the captain... Or of them surviving in this darkest timeline.. Well I still hope we get another season and they can keep working on what worked and drop what didn't... 

[marinw]

Great episode, very reminiscent of Yesterday’s Enterprise. I love the lengths Ed and Gordon went through to recover a microwave. If all your food is replicated, you probably wouldn’t keep any real food around, except for emergency rations.

Nice to see Alara agian.

Edited April 26, 2019 by marinw

[UNOSEZ]

Pls show.. Next season... Less "Ed&Kelly" nonsense... His going nowhere romances... Her going nowhere romances.. Their combined going nowhere romance... Give us episodes where ppl do stuff... And pls give LT. Lamarr more to do than you did in the 1st 13 episodes 

[phalange]

I loved the alternate timeline look; it had a very Star Wars-y vibe. Kelly ended up being a great leader, too. The Kaylon having detachable heads was a new development. And after nearly dying to get a replicator, of course Gordon just wants a Twinkie. Wonder if this was a Zombieland reference. 

Nice that Alara showed up for a few minutes, though the outpost ended up going kaboom. It seems like her and John had a bit of a history in this timeline, and John, Alara, Talla, Bortus, and Yaphit all served together on the Orville. But without Ed as captain, Claire was never compelled to join, so Isaac never bonded with her and the kids.

Looks like Ed and Kelly love each other in every timeline. The second date was sweet, and so was the scene at the bar where they talked about their possible future. "Look at you every morning." Aww. I ship it, obviously. LOL at Gordon having to live with them. 

The timeline is restored! Now we just need the show to get renewed...

[tennisgurl]

Good episode, glad that they followed up on Kelly and Ed not having their second date. Who knew so much was riding on one relationship!? I liked that they noted that things changed because Isaac had his change of heart due to his relationship with Claire and the boys, and why Ed being in charge of the Orville brought Claire over. That butterfly of fate was just flapping its wings all over the place!

Alara! Really nice seeing her again, and apparently she and John had a bit of a thing going on at some point in this timeline. Honestly, if she ever comes back, I could get into that. Hell, they can do a long term relationship, I dont mind. 

Very Star Trek style episode, with the slow moving black holes and the alternate time lines and "for want of a nail" style plots. And with some romance thrown in for good measure. Ed and Kelly really do have nice chemistry together, you can see why they worked as a couple, and also why they ended up growing apart and having issues. The version from this time line had just a easy dynamic together, its kind of sad that they cant really have that in the regular timeline due to their complicated history. 

I am taking the Twinkie as a Zombieland shout out, and no one can stop me!

[Danielg342]

Really dug the "outlaw" aesthetic to this episode...oh, and Adrianne Palicki was downright smoking hot in that leather jacket/tank top combo.

Wow.

Oh, and yay to Alara coming back again. Can she come back for good?

Straightforward episode, and maybe I might have appreciated it more if the episode ended on a cliffhanger where we don't know if the time warp trip will work, but, overall, it was just good fun.

Hopefully there's a next year.

[shapeshifter]

Were all the call backs to other time travel on other shows on purpose, or was I just projecting?
Like Claire reclining while they sucked every last bit of energy to send her back to save the day? Straight out of 12 Monkeys.
But maybe I was the only one who cheered when they entered the Pacific Ocean and it was noted that there were "no fish" (like in Stargate SG1's Jack's pond before they traveled back in time to prevent the Goa'uld from taking over the Earth). And then bursting out of the ocean gave me (probably no one else) a Stargate Atlantis flashback.
And then the marching Kaylons in formation like Cylons.

Anyway, excellent production values, acting etc. It would be insane if there's no season 3. They're just teasing us.

I wonder what little differences will show up. Maybe Alara and John will be a thing? 
Oh, I know! Instead of Kermit, Ed will have a different Muppet on his desk. Hmmm. Which one?

[HunterHunted]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Damn, younger Kelly went and created the Darkest Timeline! Everyone get a mustache! 

The whole time, I kept saying "Damn Kelly! You really Gordon-ed/Bortus-ed up the future."

Did alternate Claire disappear McFly style or is she Spocking around somewhere? If she's Spocking around, wanna bet she's going to spend the next 7 years trying to come up with weapons to defeat the Kaylons regardless of the prime Finns' ability to get Isaac on their side. She's going to go Section 31 on them.

The other sad thing about alternate Bortus is that he has no clue that there is that Moclan refuge hidden in that nebula because there was no Ed or Claire to expand his views on gender reassignment and no Talla to be in a nascent relationship with Bortus' ex.

Without Ed, there weren't any Union officers with experience with the Krill.

I do like that it's sort of the confluence of all of the individuals and events that prevents the Kaylon war. 

[Meushell]

Seeing the earth and moon like that was a hit to the gut. Ouch.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode, but I don’t like the “person disappears with changed timeline, but only for plot reasons” aspect.

4 hours ago, ketose said:

However, I think had Ed not been captain, the Orville would have already been destroyed during the episode "Pria."

The galaxy also seemed a lot better in Pria’s time, that is, with the Orville being “destroyed.” No Isaac to save them from the initial attack. Would there be a Krill alliance (at least that early on) without Ed? Pria should also have been kind of bothered by Isaac, as his real mission should have been known then. It seems the war just didn’t happen in her timeline.

The reason, production wise, is obvious of course, but from a story POV, it’s kind of hilarious. 

 

Edited April 26, 2019 by Meushell
For reasons unknown, I cannot edit out the spoiler box, so there it sits.

[GaT]

I really enjoyed this episode, I think it may be my favorite episode of all.

[ketose]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Were all the call backs to other time travel on other shows on purpose, or was I just projecting?
Like Claire reclining while they sucked every last bit of energy to send her back to save the day? Straight out of 12 Monkeys.
But maybe I was the only one who cheered when they entered the Pacific Ocean and it was noted that there were "no fish" (like in Stargate SG1's Jack's pond before they traveled back in time to prevent the Goa'uld from taking over the Earth). And then bursting out of the ocean gave me (probably no one else) a Stargate Atlantis flashback.
And then the marching Kaylons in formation like Cylons.

Anyway, excellent production values, acting etc. It would be insane if there's no season 3. They're just teasing us.

I wonder what little differences will show up. Maybe Alara and John will be a thing? 
Oh, I know! Instead of Kermit, Ed will have a different Muppet on his desk. Hmmm. Which one?

The whole time travel through memories thing was from La Jette, which was the source material for the 12 Monkeys movie. Check out the opening credits of it sometime. I wouldn't be surprised if 12 Monkeys was one of MacFarlane's inspirations.

Actually, the Orville escaping from the ocean music was suspiciously reminiscent of the music in Star Trek 3 and 4.

37 minutes ago, Meushell said:

Seeing the earth and moon like that was a hit to the gut. Ouch.

Overall, I enjoyed the episode, but I don’t like the “person disappears with changed timeline, but only for plot reasons” aspect.

The galaxy also seemed a lot better in Pria’s time, that is, with the Orville being “destroyed.” No Isaac to save them from the initial attack. Would there be a Krill alliance (at least that early on) without Ed? Pria should also have been kind of bothered by Isaac, as his real mission should have been known then. It seems the war just didn’t happen in her timeline.

The reason, production wise, is obvious of course, but from a story POV, it’s kind of hilarious. 

This reminds me a little of the plot hole in DS9's "The Visitor." In order to make it about Jake and Benjamin, the alternate timeline was one where the Dominion never came through the wormhole after Sisko's disappearance.

[Ubiquitous]

WOW!

That was awesome!

I found it interesting that without Ed as captain, Claire never joined the crew, causing Isaac to never save the day.  I am so glad the guy they found on the Orville wasn't the obnoxious quasi-stoner alien! Another good sci-fi time travel ep.

oh yeah, Kaylon with detachable heads are terrifying.

[Shimmergloom]

2 hours ago, Meushell said:

Overall, I enjoyed the episode, but I don’t like the “person disappears with changed timeline, but only for plot reasons” aspect. 

Yeah, and it just creates a bigger paradox, because if that Claire doesn't exist then who comes back in time to erase Kelly's memory?

Edited April 26, 2019 by Shimmergloom

[ketose]

14 minutes ago, Shimmergloom said:

Yeah, and it just creates a bigger paradox, because if that Claire doesn't exist then who comes back in time to erase Kelly's memory?

Then there's "How did Kelly remember a future where her actions eliminated that future?"

Also, was Ed using his divorce as an excuse for not getting a command? Apparently, without Kelly in his life he constantly fell short of getting a ship.

[shapeshifter]

20 minutes ago, ketose said:

was Ed using his divorce as an excuse for not getting a command? Apparently, without Kelly in his life he constantly fell short of getting a ship.

Huh. I guess so? 

[welnoc]

2 hours ago, ketose said:

Also, was Ed using his divorce as an excuse for not getting a command? Apparently, without Kelly in his life he constantly fell short of getting a ship.

I think the rejection by Kelly may have destroyed his confidence in himself. If he can't even get the girl, why bother with trying for something harder? 

Ed slipped into command mode pretty quickly and organically once he was persuaded that he should have been the captain of the Orville. 

[Shimmergloom]

3 hours ago, ketose said:

Then there's "How did Kelly remember a future where her actions eliminated that future?"

This is ok because information cannot be destroyed, so she would remember that timeline meaning it still exists just separate from the one she was in. 
 

But Claire disappearing suggests that Claire stopped existing and that creates a paradox, unless she was just going back to her timeline.  But I don't think that is what they want us to think, I think the suggestion is that the alternate timeline never existed.

I would have preferred if that Claire remained and hid for the next 7 years, meaning her timeline still existed and all she did was create a new timeline.  Similar to Yesterday's Enterprise where Alternate Tasha Yar doesn't disappear, but remains so we must assume her timeline didn't change, she and the Enterprise C  just created a new one.

[AnimeMania]

I am surprised the air and water is so clear considering the size of the craters in the earth. Where is the dust? How long ago had the Earth been destroyed before the Orville crew comes for the Orville. How long did Bortus say he was the ship? 

[legaleagle53]

To borrow a frequently used quote from the Flash forum, "Dammit, Kelly!"

Nice way to wrap up the season by tying the season finale directly into the last few episodes. That butterfly was flapping its wings all over the place once Kelly turned Ed down for that second date. I mean, could the alternate timeline have been any darker?

And I loved how Alt-Ed and Alt-Kelly got engaged just before the Orville was destroyed.  I'm really beginning to see that they ARE endgame, since this episode made it clear that they are soulmates who will always find each other and be together under any circumstances.  I mean, her look of "You've got this!" when Ed reluctantly sat down in the Captain's chair said a lot about how she and he really feel about each other despite the circumstances that surround their relationship in any timeline.  They clearly will always love each other and will always be there for each other, no matter what, and I think it's great.

So, on to Season 3!

2 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

I am surprised the air and water is so clear considering the size of the craters in the earth. Where is the dust? How long ago had the Earth been destroyed before the Orville crew comes for the Orville. How long did Bortus say he was the ship? 

He didn't say, but apparently, the Earth had been destroyed just nine months earlier.

[greekmom]

3 hours ago, ketose said:

Then there's "How did Kelly remember a future where her actions eliminated that future?"

Also, was Ed using his divorce as an excuse for not getting a command? Apparently, without Kelly in his life he constantly fell short of getting a ship.

It was Kelly who persuaded command to give Ed a shot at Captain of the Orville. 

[Emma9]

Ed being indignant about the twinkie...but of course I want half! was far more amusing than I usually find the character, for some reason.

Them being 'attacked' by scavengers reminded me of a ToS novel called Prime Directive where the crew reunites in basically the same way.

I had my fingers crossed that the rebellion leader would be Alara, so that scene was great. (If they put Halston Sage in the credits, I managed to miss it.)

Okay, I really do try to remember that this is not supposed to be hard sci-fi in any way, but hearing 'just inside the event horizon' nearly made my head sprout lasers and detach in protest.

8 hours ago, Meushell said:

Overall, I enjoyed the episode, but I don’t like the “person disappears with changed timeline, but only for plot reasons” aspect.

Yeah, it always bugs me too when time-travel stories use that cop-out. Alt/future-Claire was actual matter right there in that room in that moment, so why would she go poof?

[Catfi9ht]

12 hours ago, phalange said:

I loved the alternate timeline look; it had a very Star Wars-y vibe. Kelly ended up being a great leader, too. The Kaylon having detachable heads was a new development. And after nearly dying to get a replicator, of course Gordon just wants a Twinkie. Wonder if this was a Zombieland reference. 

Nice that Alara showed up for a few minutes, though the outpost ended up going kaboom. It seems like her and John had a bit of a history in this timeline, and John, Alara, Talla, Bortus, and Yaphit all served together on the Orville. But without Ed as captain, Claire was never compelled to join, so Isaac never bonded with her and the kids.

Looks like Ed and Kelly love each other in every timeline. The second date was sweet, and so was the scene at the bar where they talked about their possible future. "Look at you every morning." Aww. I ship it, obviously. LOL at Gordon having to live with them. 

The timeline is restored! Now we just need the show to get renewed...

I thought the exact same thing from the very first scene which was very Empire Strikes Back. When they showed the outside of the resistance bunker, it was Endor-esque. Inside the bunker, the consoles were darn near identical to the rebels' command center on Hoth.

The music in this episode was fantastic. I don't remember the music being as epic (the true sense of the word, not the slang meaning) in previous episodes. I swear it was in a similar key to the major themes in the original Star Wars trilogy.

What a cool way to wrap up the season. At the beginning of the episode, I was a little skeptical because it seemed self-indulgent. Of course, the universe goes to crap because Kelly ghosted Ed! However when they started to give additional chain reactions that affected the timeline, I relaxed a bit because they pointed out the real crux of the change was Isaac's relationship with Finn's sons, not Kelly dumping Ed.

Even with my gripes about dropping Isaac's repercussions for the mutiny, I thought this season was better than the first, and I have really enjoyed every episode this season which is pretty rare for me. I look forward to the show getting even better next season.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Catfi9ht
Removed a picture I added by mistake.

[tv-talk]

Seth outdid himself, that was top notch and an episode that can stand alongside the great ones of other series. I had not considered that they'd follow the alternate timeline as a way to fix things, loved everything about that aspect aside from the absurdity that Kaylons wiped out galaxy in 9 months but can shoot Ed and Gordon from 100 meters away in 300 tries.

One question tho, I missed how they managed to send the Doctor back to the exact right moment?

And at least we established Ed is not a creep! He and Kelly are a thing past, future, and alternate time lines...he just needs to get them together in the present, tho I hope they leave that alone for awhile (if show is picked up).

[Ubiquitous]

2 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

He didn't say, but apparently, the Earth had been destroyed just nine months earlier.

I thought it had been longer, like seven years, but that does explain why Bortus was still alive.

46 minutes ago, Emma9 said:

Okay, I really do try to remember that this is not supposed to be hard sci-fi in any way, but hearing 'just inside the event horizon' nearly made my head sprout lasers and detach in protest.

That bugged me, but I wasn't sure if they meant "past the event horizon" or "real close to it".

[greekmom]

I really LOVED LOVED this episode.

One thing that I'm curious, if Kelly was attracted to Ed and knows what happens in the future, wouldn't the logical course of action be to either a) not cheat on him or b) encourage him to have a more work/life balance during their marriage?  

[nitrofishblue]

Gosh darn, I have to watch on-demand. There was crappy weather in the area and the local station took 45 minutes in both Gotham and Orville to do repeat after repeat of the same issues. So there was nothing of the show to watch.

[Morrigan2575]

Good episode.  I liked seeing Alana again but, i'm surprised how happy i am with Talla, i didn't think i'd take to her as quickly as i did.

Overall i liked the episode but, i'm just burnt out on Ed/Kelly so it did take this down a notch or 2 for me.

I liked that the turning point wasn't specifically Ed being Captain or Ed/Kelly getting married, it kept true to the story, Isaac didn't turn on his people because he didn't develop a relationship with Claire and Ty in particular.  Of course Ed not being Captain of The Orville was the difference between Claire not being on The Orville.  

[Joimiaroxeu]

Nice homage to Star Wars and great CGI.

Aw, yass. Seth came at Discovery with his own alternate timeline storyline. One without blatant nods to Marvel or religious undertones.

I think Seth has been kicking a$$ with Orville and I say that as someone who has not been a huge fan of his in the past. And I'm not worried about renewal. Fox is clearly happy because it looks like they're giving him a fantastic budget. As long as he wants to keep doing Orville I'm confident the show will keep coming back.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Joimiaroxeu
nm

[iMonrey]

I'm a sucker for alternative timeline stories so I was all over this. Here's what I got from the sequence of events at the end: 

First, we see Kelly waking up in her bed. I'm assuming that's the original timeline right before she got zapped 7 years into the future, at which point we see her vanish and her coffee mug crashes to the floor. Then we see her waking up on the floor of her apartment, after she is returned from the future. So this is a new timeline, starting right at that moment, which is how future Claire of this timeline manages to get sent back to that moment (since I don't think alternate Claire could go back to the original timeline, she can only travel back into the alternate timeline). Once alternate Claire doses Kelly with the memory wipe, the timeline is "fixed" and the alternate timeline gets wiped out, hence Claire vanishing. 

Quote

Yeah, and it just creates a bigger paradox, because if that Claire doesn't exist then who comes back in time to erase Kelly's memory?

I try not to get wrapped up in that because it will just make my brain explode. The sequence of events I laid out above happened, and fixing the timeline doesn't change those events since they've already occurred. It only changes what happens from that moment on.

Quote

I think the rejection by Kelly may have destroyed his confidence in himself. If he can't even get the girl, why bother with trying for something harder? 

Actually Kelly basically said Ed only got the Orville because she pushed for it out of guilt over what she did to him.

Quote

How long did Bortus say he was the ship? 

He said he'd been living on rations for nine months - that's how long the Orville had been submerged.

[welnoc]

2 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Actually Kelly basically said Ed only got the Orville because she pushed for it out of guilt over what she did to him.

In the original timeline, yes. Because she slept with another guy, Ed couldn't fogive and turned into a drunk. Before that happened, he was a great officer in the Union and probably would have received command on a ship without Kelly's help.

In the alternate timeline, they never got together and she didn't intervene on his behalf because she didn't know about the consequences of her actions. So, it may well have been that his confidence was destroyed and he never made it far enough to command a ship.

[Morrigan2575]

15 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Actually Kelly basically said Ed only got the Orville because she pushed for it out of guilt over what she did to him.

But that was only because he fell apart after catching Kelly in bed with Rob Lowe, that was stated multiple times in S1.  Ed was on the fast track for Command and, would have had a ship of his own had their breakup not happened.  That was actually part of Kelly's issue with Ed that lead to the cheating, he was so focused on his work/promotion that he didn't have time for her.

So the question becomes why didn't Ed get the promotion without the breakdown?  The only answer the show remotely provides is that maybe not having Kelly in his life messed him up.

Edited April 26, 2019 by Morrigan2575

[Ubiquitous]

26 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Actually Kelly basically said Ed only got the Orville because she pushed for it out of guilt over what she did to him.

If Kelly and Ed never dated, would she even had been in the position to recommend him?

[chaifan]

42 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I'm a sucker for alternative timeline stories so I was all over this. Here's what I got from the sequence of events at the end: 

First, we see Kelly waking up in her bed. I'm assuming that's the original timeline right before she got zapped 7 years into the future, at which point we see her vanish and her coffee mug crashes to the floor. Then we see her waking up on the floor of her apartment, after she is returned from the future. So this is a new timeline, starting right at that moment, which is how future Claire of this timeline manages to get sent back to that moment (since I don't think alternate Claire could go back to the original timeline, she can only travel back into the alternate timeline). Once alternate Claire doses Kelly with the memory wipe, the timeline is "fixed" and the alternate timeline gets wiped out, hence Claire vanishing.

Yes, this is exactly how I see the timeline correcting itself, and explaining the "disappearance" of Claire.  Once Kelly's memory of her time on "our" Orville is fully wiped, the timeline reverts to how it originally was, and Claire disappears because she didn't need to go back in the restored timeline. 

So, the only question is, in the restored timeline will Issac again create this little time machine that pulls in Kelly from the past?  Are we going to be stuck in an endless loop of Kelly seeing her future, getting sent back, rejecting Ed, the world goes to hell, Kelly gets the band back together, Claire wipes her memory, and in 7 years here we are again?  If not, why?

Edited April 26, 2019 by chaifan

[ketose]

4 hours ago, tv-talk said:

Seth outdid himself, that was top notch and an episode that can stand alongside the great ones of other series. I had not considered that they'd follow the alternate timeline as a way to fix things, loved everything about that aspect aside from the absurdity that Kaylons wiped out galaxy in 9 months but can shoot Ed and Gordon from 100 meters away in 300 tries.

One question tho, I missed how they managed to send the Doctor back to the exact right moment?

You didn't miss it. They didn't even bother to mention Kelly as temporal tuning fork that brought past Kelly to the Orville.

55 minutes ago, chaifan said:

Yes, this is exactly how I see the timeline correcting itself, and explaining the "disappearance" of Claire.  Once Kelly's memory of her time on "our" Orville is fully wiped, the timeline reverts to how it originally was, and Claire disappears because she didn't need to go back in the restored timeline. 

So, the only question is, in the restored timeline will Issac again create this little time machine that pulls in Kelly from the past?  Are we going to be stuck in an endless loop of Kelly seeing her future, getting sent back, rejecting Ed, the world goes to hell, Kelly gets the band back together, Claire wipes her memory, and in 7 years here we are again?  If not, why?

That's the way Babylon 5 handled it. Sinclair basically said that certain things would happen over and over and he could only change so much, which is why he didn't let Garabadli go with him to B4.

Here's an even better one. Kelly said she knew the plan would work last time because everything was the way it should be in the present before she left. So, does that mean her remembering and Finn going back in time were also part of the larger plan? Ultimately, Kelly was right. After a 7 year detour, everything worked.

[Ubiquitous]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

So, the only question is, in the restored timeline will Issac again create this little time machine that pulls in Kelly from the past?  Are we going to be stuck in an endless loop of Kelly seeing her future, getting sent back, rejecting Ed, the world goes to hell, Kelly gets the band back together, Claire wipes her memory, and in 7 years here we are again?  If not, why?

All anyone is going to remember the machine summoning Kelly from the past and later sending her back.

[ajsnaves]

It sounds like Ed did have a command. He was in command of Epsilon Eridani Station. He just didn’t have a ship yet. There’s a good chance he held the rank of Captain even. He seemed fine with the track of his career. It might be that since he wasn’t commuting everyday, like when he was married, he just settled in and got comfortable. If a ship command comes, he’ll take it, but he’s in no hurry now.

Couple things I noted. Bortus appeared thinner. As if he’d been living off field rations for 9 months. Lamar apparently made it too Chief Engineer without Kelly’s intervention. I wonder who discovered his genius intellect? 

[Latverian Diplomat]

5 hours ago, Emma9 said:

Okay, I really do try to remember that this is not supposed to be hard sci-fi in any way, but hearing 'just inside the event horizon' nearly made my head sprout lasers and detach in protest.

Yeah, and only very large black holes like perhaps the one at the center of our galaxy would have an event horizon you could approach without "spaghettification" from tidal forces.

Also not sure how pressurizing the docking bay pushed the water out and saved the shuttle. Air at sufficient pressure to push out the water would also exert crushing force on the shuttle.

As usual, ships can take just enough damage/stress to be "exciting" without necessarily making much sense if you think about it too hard. This is not at all unique to The Orville.

[thuganomics85]

Damn, I figured last week's events were going to change things around, but I assumed it would be something simple like Kelly somehow commands The Orville instead of Ed.  Should have known that Kelly not going on a second date with him would somehow cause the Kaylons to succeed with their invasion!  Slightly kidding aside, I did like how it was more of chain of events, since it wasn't simply because of The Orville not having Ed, but because Claire didn't join since she didn't think she was needed with a more experienced captain, and without her and her sons, Isaac never would have revolted.

Yay, Alara!  I was hoping she might have a cameo and credit to the show for not having Halston Sage's name in the guest credits, which helped make it a surprise.  I like that she had remained onboard during this timeline, and would end up leading a resistance after the invasion.  Plus, she and LaMarr were a thing?  Hmm...

It sucks that Bortus was stuck by himself on The Orville for nine months, but to his credit, he would probably be the one most capable of keeping it together.  I suspect everyone else would have lost their mind.

I did love that Ed and Gordon's opening mission was to get a replicator.  I find that highly believable.  Those replicated Twinkies aren't going to eat themselves!

Couldn't help but notice that apparently Alt-Kelly decided that she was going to rock the low-cut T-shirt for this timeline!

Hope the show comes back.  I have to think Seth MacFarlane's relationship with FOX will help it, but I guess you never know.  Then again, I feel like this show has enough going for it that a streaming service would be interested in picking it up if FOX does decide to dump it for whatever reason.  But it really has become one of the most enjoyable sci-fi shows out there right now, and I hope they keep it going.

[iMonrey]

Quote

So, the only question is, in the restored timeline will Issac again create this little time machine that pulls in Kelly from the past?  Are we going to be stuck in an endless loop of Kelly seeing her future, getting sent back, rejecting Ed, the world goes to hell, Kelly gets the band back together, Claire wipes her memory, and in 7 years here we are again?  If not, why?

I think it's misleading to think of it as a loop. All of this has already happened, and everyone can move on from here. All the stuff with Kelly waking up on the floor in her apartment seven years ago and Claire wiping her memory happened in the past. As did Isaac's machine pulling Kelly seven years into the future, then sending her back and altering the timeline as a result. Then they fixed the timeline and now they're on the next day of the regular timeline. So it's not technically happening over and over, rather, it's all happened in a more linear fashion. 

[Orbert]

Not much to add to what's already been said, except that when Gordon asked Ed if he wanted half of his Twinkie, and Ed said Yes, I expected Gordon to tell him to replicate his own and then eat the whole thing.  They have a replicator now; they can each have as many Twinkies as they want.

[chaifan]

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

It sucks that Bortus was stuck by himself on The Orville for nine months, but to his credit, he would probably be the one most capable of keeping it together.  I suspect everyone else would have lost their mind.

As long as the not-a-holodeck holodeck thing was working, Bortus would be jusssst fine.  😉

[Rambler]

By definition, an event horizon is the point at which gravity is so great that nothing can escape it, not even light. The ship flying into and out of the event horizon like it was nothing was just absurd. However, since this is a comedy show, when I see stuff like that, I just roll my eyes and go with the flow. I think it's the same thing with the time loop stuff. You just gotta shrug it off because I kinda think the writers didn't think it out as deeply as if they were working on say, a Star Trek episode. Although judging by that last episode of Discovery, I'm not quite sure how deeply Star Trek writers think about the subject either. 😄

Edited April 27, 2019 by Rambler

[shapeshifter]

24 minutes ago, Rambler said:

By definition, an event horizon is the point at which gravity is so great that nothing can escape it, not even light. The ship flying into and out of the event horizon like it was nothing was just absurd. However, . . . it's the same thing with the time loop stuff. 

I edited your post to emphasize that if we accept time travel, I suppose we should be able to accept escapable event horizons of black hole.
Except, I really prefer if my time travel fiction leaves all other laws of physics alone, because it's easier for me to go with the flow.

[rmontro]

Well okay, they wrote themselves out of another tough situation in a two parter.  Even if some of the science was kind of iffy.  A little underwhelming, again I thought the setup was more interesting than the payoff.

I thought some of this alternate timeline had more of a Star Wars feel to it than a Trek feel, especially with some of the music, and the over the top space action scenes.

[kicotan]

22 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

oh, and Adrianne Palicki was downright smoking hot in that leather jacket/tank top combo.

If you can get past the horrible job her plastic surgeon did with her implants...sure.