5 Things We’d Like to See FromThe OrvilleSeason 3 (Also: Hey Fox, Please RenewThe Orville!)

There’sa lotgoing onin toss off cultureat the moment , but somehow we ’re still think aboutThe Orville ’s thrilling time of year two conclusion . Our immediate care is that Seth MacFarlane ’s sci - fi serial publication has yet to be renewed by Fox , but here ’s hop that ’s coming soon , and we can turn our attention to the other things on this silly , but also somewhat serious ( just like The Orville ! ) , leaning .

Some spoilers follow if you ’re not caught up on season two , so we ’ll just exit this here …

Isaac , John , Ed , and Kelly looking very serious . pic : Michael Becker ( Fox )

Never forget: Bortus prefers a corner piece.

Never forget: Bortus prefers a corner piece.Photo: Kevin Estrada (Fox)

1. Ed’s gotta get over Kelly, once and for all

Ed ( Seth MacFarlane ) and Kelly ( Adrianne Palicki ) ’s divorce has been one of The Orville ’s emotional standard since the beginning . In the show ’s first two seasons , it made sense that the various stages of their passion tale fuck off a lot of attention . After sense they both had lallygag feelings , they tentatively settle to reconcile in time of year one — then broke up again when Kelly realized the professional conflict of interest was too groovy , and it might put the rest of the crew at endangerment if they bide together . In season two , they both had novel flames that did n’t last , and Ed ’s hesitation to let Kelly go set the events of the season finale in motion . Though Ed stop up deciding against a 2d chance with a younger translation of Kelly ( and vice versa , thanks to various prison term - travel glitches ) , the finish picture us a very grim version alternate reality where they never got married , divorced , or serve aboard the Orville .

With the timeline revive , however , it ’s high time the show thrust that “ will - they / won’t - they ” jar of pickles to the back of the ledge . It ’s acquire repetitive , and what ’s now a genuine friendship between Kelly and Ed — build on mutual respect , despite their stormy past — is enough to impel the show forrader . If there must be a romance , why not play up one of the many other ill-omened - in - passion character , and make it actually go out this fourth dimension ?

2. Add some new main characters (and/or beef up the supporting crew)

Season two insert a few supporting players who came and go as the plot of land dictated , including Kelly ’s ( now - ex ) boyfriend . But the only lasting new crew penis was Talla Keyali ( Jessica Szohr ) , a extremity of the superstrong Xelayan race who occupy the vacant Chief Security Officer position ahead of time in the season . Talla replaced another Xelayan , Alara ( Halston Sage ) , who left her Planetary Union mail after recognise she wanted to reconnect with her family ( though a version of the case did pop up for a cameo in the finale ) .

away from Talla , however , no raw cheek get together the heart and soul cast in time of year two , and The Orville wisely commit several episodes almost entirely to case evolution . We see Claire ( Penny Johnson Jerald ) contend with the frustrations of individual motherhood and get an ill - advised fling with Isaac ( Mark Jackson ) , a member of the golem - like Kaylon race . We saw Gordon ( Scott Grimes ) working through guiltiness after encountering a troubled friend from his past . And we teach a circle more about the male - centrical customs and culture of Moclus through Bortus ( Peter Macon ) and his mate , Klyden ( Chad Coleman ) .

Now that we have a good handle on most of the chief characters — except for Talla , whose apparently colourful past tense has yet to be explored , soupcon hint — why not bring in a few more key characters to shake up the chemistry a bit ? Or , turn some of that character - edifice stress on one or more of the less - prominent crowd extremity ? Those beau in engineering who ’re obsessed with occasional Friday are probably best kept to small doses , but maybe The Orville could pay a visit to the home man of Yaphit ( Norm Macdonald ) and show us what an intact order of gelatinlike creatures might count like — a fun prospect , especially give the obvious tutelage the show take in in make landscapes and architecture for the wide raiment of alien planet we ’ve seen so far .

Graphic: Jim Cooke

Isaac, John, Ed, and Kelly looking very serious.Photo: Michael Becker (Fox)

One more note on The Orville ’s characters — season one featured several big - name guest stars , including Charlize Theron , Liam Neeson , and Rob Lowe . By season two , The Orville had set up itself enough that the show did n’t really need to land in A - lister plow to get ahead involvement . There were standout Edgar Albert Guest ( Mackenzie Astin , Leighton Meester , hidden - under - prosthetics Jason Alexander and Patrick Warburton ) , but they all add to the tale or else of unknowingly distracting from it . Well , except for that very brief , very bizarre turn by Bruce Willis as the voice of a babble out flower … which was distract , but in an excellently silly way .

3. Balance

The Orville is systematically both drollery and drama , up to of injecting screaming subplots ( like Bortus and Klyden becoming instantly addicted to that ancient frailty , nicotine , then furiously trying to depart ) into more poignant heavy storyline ( in that same sequence , a lonely Gordon falls for a 21st century woman whose personality he reconstructs using her ancient smartphone and the Orville ’s practical reality simulator ) . But the show has also had a fairly clean delineation between “ turn back episode delving into personal stuff and nonsense ” and “ this one ’s got SPACE BATTLES ! ” , specially during the second half of season two . As we ’ve discussed , the character - focused episodes have great value , making us care about the crew so that when they inevitably face danger , the stake feel that much gamy . But season three would provide a capital chance to blend those two type of episodes so there ’s a more overall ordered musical note for the show .

That said , the fact that The Orville kind of does its own thing from week to week , give tribute toStar Trekand other well - known sci - fi properties when it desire to while also creating its own mythology , is one of the reasons it brook out . Its tumid themes may reach for the star , but its quirky asides — Bortus ’ compulsion with the corner piece of a sheet patty ! John ( J.Lee ) advise Gordon that the best outfit are accessorized with an abundance of zippers ! Random references to 20th - 100 music , like Billy Joel and Dolly Parton!—are a big part of what ’s made it such a sports fan front-runner , with unspoilt reason .

4. Keep the bad guys interesting…and unique

The Kaylon , whose goal is to annihilate all biologic living in the world , will surely return if there ’s a season three . We ’ve visited their homeworld , we ’ve envision what their well - armed ships can do ( not to mention the triggerman that pop out of their head ) , and the time of year two finale showed us what the universe might look like if their programme came close to completion . But what will their next move be , other than just showing back up and attempt to take out the Orville again ? And how will the show use Isaac in a different fashion than it did in time of year two , which see him cruelly shit his crewmates ( including Claire , who was rather his girlfriend at the time ) before he realized he could n’t take into account his fellow Kaylons to succeed ?

The Orvilles ’ other full-grown badness , the Krill , signed a peace accord with the Planetary Union after fighting alongside humanity in the battle against the Kaylon above Earth . But it ’s a tentative agreement with a state of war - obsessed race that will no doubt strike some split as time passes . The Orville has already had a plot very similar to one come across on Star Trek : Discovery , in which a Krill mask herself as a human as part of a retaliation scheme , but let ’s hope The Orville does n’t take any further divine guidance from Trek , at least when it number to the show ’s recent , specific villains . That means no Harry Mudd equivalent , no leaf onSection 31 , and no mirror universe of discourse . Please !

5. A musical episode

We ’re only being half - serious here , but — fall on , we all have it off Seth MacFarlane loves music . It ’s basically his second life history ( fun fact : he ’s an Oscar candidate for the theme song from Ted ) , and his Family Guy has had tons of melodic instant . Singin ’ in the Rain get a immense call - out this season , we ’ve heard Gordon sing on multiple occasions , and Kelly crooned a not - bad version of “ Any Way You desire It ” in a time of year one karaoke prospect . And even though he has yet to actually sing a note on the show , Bortus ’ pipes are apparently legendary . Plus , from week to week , The Orville ’s tremendous , orchestral melodic lots are a logical highlight . It would be ego - indulgent as hell — but The Orville : The Musical would still be pretty goddamn larger-than-life .

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Sci - FiSeth MacFarlaneStar TrekThe Orville

Photo: Michael Becker