The Orville: Twice In A Lifetime
July 7, 2022 6:23 PM - Season 3, Episode 6 - Subscribe
The Aronov time-travel device is put into action, so Gordon has to be rescued from 21st century Earth.
The return of the mighty anti-banana ray! And the episode I usually skip over in a rewatch, except for the bits about Klyden and Bortus smoking!
Also, "Socks are important."
Can't wait for the sandwich gag callback in a couple of episodes, too.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:36 PM on July 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
Also, "Socks are important."
Can't wait for the sandwich gag callback in a couple of episodes, too.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 8:36 PM on July 7, 2022 [4 favorites]
You know they must've filmed a cut of the bar scene where Isaac walks into the bar and says, "I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle."
posted by Monochrome at 6:47 AM on July 8, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Monochrome at 6:47 AM on July 8, 2022 [4 favorites]
I guess I appreciate the story they wanted to tell about Gordon but what was missing is WHY approach him in 2025 at all, if you're going to be able to go back to 2015 after all? A scene or line was missing that would have explained this. Oh, we got 10% more Dysonium than expected, so we can go back to 2015. Oh, LaMarr figured out how to modify the Device for a short jump. etc. If this was the plan ALL ALONG, then dropping in on Gordon at all was just .. cruelty.
I also half expected them to check the ship's logs at the end of the episode and still find the 20xx Gordon obit, and it's a big mystery they never talk about again how Gordon both stayed and came back. I mean, the ep title is "twice in a lifetime".
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 2:08 PM on July 8, 2022 [5 favorites]
I also half expected them to check the ship's logs at the end of the episode and still find the 20xx Gordon obit, and it's a big mystery they never talk about again how Gordon both stayed and came back. I mean, the ep title is "twice in a lifetime".
posted by the antecedent of that pronoun at 2:08 PM on July 8, 2022 [5 favorites]
I'm assuming they wanted to keep the number of time jumps to a minimum, since it was a huge strain on the ship. So seek him out now and bring him home, rather than risk the entire cew again—seems like a reasonable thing to try.
Though why try and look for dysonium in SoCal when there's an entire solar system available and empty? Seems like a weird choice. On the other hand, that would lose the opportunity to go to a biker bar and meet a realtor.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 3:03 PM on July 8, 2022 [4 favorites]
Though why try and look for dysonium in SoCal when there's an entire solar system available and empty? Seems like a weird choice. On the other hand, that would lose the opportunity to go to a biker bar and meet a realtor.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 3:03 PM on July 8, 2022 [4 favorites]
This episode infuriated me. Marooned in the past for 10 years? Yes, fuck your prime directive! They should have left Gordon with his family since they already took action and collapsed the wavefront, and the future was the one with his obituary.
Just go back and deal with your sadness that Gordon had a long and happy life with his loving wife and children back in the past. Yeah, that's the worst possible future.
posted by mikelieman at 4:29 PM on July 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
Just go back and deal with your sadness that Gordon had a long and happy life with his loving wife and children back in the past. Yeah, that's the worst possible future.
posted by mikelieman at 4:29 PM on July 8, 2022 [3 favorites]
Ed does say that the future is still unstable when they are talking to Gordon. So they have no way of knowing if, by leaving him there, when they go back to the future they'll find the Union eradicated. And if they do find the Union eradicated, then they have no way to get back and extract him.
The theme of this season is "every decision makes some people unhappy, and sometimes lots of people die too." I'm really interested in the concepts they're exploring, and that there are no pat answers. The Gordon they rescued sure seems upset that his future self decided "fuck the time directive."
posted by rednikki at 6:39 AM on July 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
The theme of this season is "every decision makes some people unhappy, and sometimes lots of people die too." I'm really interested in the concepts they're exploring, and that there are no pat answers. The Gordon they rescued sure seems upset that his future self decided "fuck the time directive."
posted by rednikki at 6:39 AM on July 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
So, who's interested in the Jackass/Kenneth the Page sitcom?
posted by Monochrome at 9:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Monochrome at 9:55 AM on July 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
So, who's interested in the Jackass/Kenneth the Page sitcom?
Getting Jack MacBrayer and Johnny Knoxville to do one scene like that is such a huge flex and I loved it.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:15 PM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
Getting Jack MacBrayer and Johnny Knoxville to do one scene like that is such a huge flex and I loved it.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 12:15 PM on July 11, 2022 [4 favorites]
I hate time travel sci-fi. So I liked this because it exposed the existential horror of it. They finesse the whole causality thing by hand-waving about how it's in flux. I kind of hope they continue this theme. Perhaps there is now an alternate universe where Gordon is happy and has children. Perhaps the weird influence of human psychology on time alteration means Prime Gordon has some inkling of his better self with his lovely wife. Perhaps in a future episode Prime Gordon will learn what Ed took away from him and be angry that is not his beautiful life.
WHY approach him in 2025 at all
They were in a hurry to save Gordon! He'd just disappeared, they jumped back to get him, and so they have to rush off and find him. It was only later the dummies realized that it was 10 years from Gordon, when he was so eloquent in telling them to fuck off. That is the existential horror of time travel.
On a different note, it was fun watching Mark Jackson out of costume be Isaac. Another Star Trek cliché recycled in Orville and made better by a 100% commitment to it. Everything about Isaac is like that really; I mentioned in last week's episode that he's nothing like ST:TNG Data where they keep making Data act like a real boy occasionally as a wink to the audience. Isaac is just weird all the time.
posted by Nelson at 7:40 AM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
WHY approach him in 2025 at all
They were in a hurry to save Gordon! He'd just disappeared, they jumped back to get him, and so they have to rush off and find him. It was only later the dummies realized that it was 10 years from Gordon, when he was so eloquent in telling them to fuck off. That is the existential horror of time travel.
On a different note, it was fun watching Mark Jackson out of costume be Isaac. Another Star Trek cliché recycled in Orville and made better by a 100% commitment to it. Everything about Isaac is like that really; I mentioned in last week's episode that he's nothing like ST:TNG Data where they keep making Data act like a real boy occasionally as a wink to the audience. Isaac is just weird all the time.
posted by Nelson at 7:40 AM on July 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
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posted by Monochrome at 6:26 PM on July 7, 2022