About a Girl

No spoilers here...just didn't think I'd see an Orville that was serious for longer than 45 seconds. But it was frickin' great...hmm...hard not to do spoilers without giving away the greatness. Okay...here goes...not what you expect, beginning to end. Enjoy!

I'll keep this short and simple. I'm a HUGE Trekkie. Always have been. And THIS is one of the most Trek episodes of anything that isn't Trek. It feels like TNG's Measure of a Man which is arguably one of the best of Trek. This is an IMPORTANT piece of media in today's world.

Here in the comments I see many reasons why this episode was good, or even great, and only a few why it was bad. I was very good entertained by this episode, and I felt from the very beginning (well, that interracial dating joke had to be, hadn't it ?) the sense of Trek as it should be. The ending may be unexpected, but for a show like this, it was simply brave and completely in line of what had to be said to this topic.

And the topic was a very sensitive one. It has multiple layers under the surface, it's, amongst others, about parents making the right decisions for their children. There are a lot of people who suffered from gender change in their early childhood, simply because doctors didn't realize their gender. But that's only one aspect. Another is the question, if one-dimensional thinking, especially when "life-changing decisions" are pending, can be harmful (though indeed well meant).

Everyone should ask him/herself, if in the situation of the baby, how should it be - would it have been better for him/her to be changed or to be let untouched, risking a childhood of being an outcast ? One could talk about this for hours, finding endless other related topics and arguments, therefore I consider this episode as inspiring and thought-provoking, furthermore unpredictable and unconventional (yes too many people think of too many conventions that this show should fit into).

And I am thankful for not being lectured by the morals of this episode but entertained by its thoughtful approach.

And, btw, I was NOT confused about Klyden and the 75 year-rate of born females. I thought it is to be expected that a society would make up this low rate, while in fact it is much higher.

I thought the episode was better than I thought it would be, since Id read ahead of time about the plot. This was the episode the media had seen to review and tell the viewers how good they thought the series would be valued.

I thought the episode strengthened the viewers understanding of the characters. The episode helped me to understand and appreciate the backgrounds of the characters. There are parts of the episode that are like past Star Trek episodes and American culture.

My wife and I sit on the couch together and watch the series. It has been a show we can both watch and discuss. I have a stronger Star Trek background, watching all the past Star Trek series' and Galaxy Quest.

The episode caused us to seriously discuss issues we had with children we both had in separate marriages, but we could discuss. The episode this evening caused us to both laugh but have a serious discussion as well. That was good.

The topic of this plot can be seen as a mirror to our current society, where 'the people' expect certain behaviour in spite of the wellbeing of the kids. Or where parents do fundamental decisions for their kids, as if they would 'own' their kids. Or where men decide about what women have to do or have to be. A very sad and serious episode indeed. Great SF.