yoshimo-13129

This episode does everything right!

• 90s TNG-era Star Trek nostalgia, but only as a backdrop, not as integral part of the plot. Trekkies will recognize many details, but it's never a nostalgia bait.

• Characters get some development and one of them even finds out things about his past. And these things make even sense and offer room for further developments! In this episode character drives plot and plot drives character - with the prospect of even getting more down the line.

• Boimler ultimately got his guts together and Mariner has finally been put in her place.

• The show scaled back on the humor, especially on the absurd kind of humor. Do not get me wrong: They did not drop it entirely, but it has been set to 50%.

• When we see the Cerritos go to warp, we can see that the creators actually watch The Orville, as they copied the "go to warp speed but make anaft view shot out of it" from The Orville's season 2 finale.

If they could just stop using the f-word 20 times per episode...

This is an ultra-high quality sci fi movie that could have run in cinemas. 80 minutes full of plot development, character development, thrill, action and amazing effects. Roughly 20 minutes into this episode the writers already turned the universe as we knew it from the previous seasons upside down. And boy was the finale satisfying! The only sad thing is that Seth MacFarlane is clearly building for a possible series finale next week by wrapping up most plots and subplots while only foreshadowing instead of starting new ones. He seem to be unsure about a possible renewal for season 4, despite today's installmant making The Orville the best sci fi show in recent years.

This was definitely the best episode this season so far. Gripping, intense and with many surprises - but it never felt contrived or constructed. It is also astonishing how the production values haven been upped for season 3. Seriously, this episode feels like it had a $10m budget.