The Orville Review: Electric Sheep (Season 3 Episode 1)
(Trigger warning: this episode and review deal with the topic of suicide)
The Orville fans have waited for literally years for this, but the wait is finally over! After a multi-year hiatus, The Orville is back!
The Orville Season 3 Episode 1, “Electric Sheep,” dives directly into tougher subject matter, as the crew members are dealing with the aftermath of the Kaylon attack.
Since it’s been awhile — you may not recall that Isaac, along with the rest of the Kaylons, attacked the crew of The Orville at the end of Season 2. Isaac was not necessarily in control of his faculties when this occurred, so “Electric Sheep” begins with Isaac’s reinstatement to the crew of The Orville.
This in itself is something difficult that the crew has to reckon with. Complicated feelings about Isaac’s temporary insanity abound within the crew. Charly, the new ensign, and Marcus are both heavily affected by Isaac’s return to duty.
The Orville captures this attitude masterfully. It doesn’t shy away from the hurt or pain that the crew members are feeling. Each character deals with their traumatic experience in their own way — which feels very true to life for science fiction.
But “Electric Sheep” is about more than that. Even though Isaac doesn’t have ‘feelings,’ per se, he correctly interprets the disdain that his colleagues and friends have for him. As a result, Isaac “takes himself offline” which is the Kaylon version of committing suicide.
Fortunately, because this is The Orville and is science fiction, Isaac is able to be revived thanks to his competent co-workers.
The science-fiction lens is important to the effectiveness of the story on “Electric Sheep.”
The fact that Isaac is a Kaylon works on multiple levels. On one level, the complicated feelings people have about Isaac after the Kaylon attack create some compelling and dramatic friction in the crew, especially after Isaac “goes offline.”
On another level (even though this could definitely still be triggering), the ability to revive Isaac and have important conversations around suicide works to the show’s advantage. If this were a show with only human characters, the subject matter may be too difficult or triggering to broach.
Though “Electric Sheep” frequently feels somber and sometimes devastating — it works and it’s truly important. Each character handles the death differently, and “Electric Sheep” are important lessons about life, leadership, and death.
The Orville certainly came out of the Season 3 gate swinging — but if “Electric Sheep” is any indication, Season 3 will be the best one yet.
A few stray thoughts:
- It’s interesting that The Orville is now subtitled “New Horizons” – because so far the new horizons are the subject matter and not the locations or scale.
- Although speaking of scale — Hulu’s iteration clearly has a bigger effects budget than FOX’s version.
- It’s unclear how much Yaphit will be in the current season, but it’s nice to see the title card dedicated to Norm Macdonald before the show.
- “People who take their own lives are unable to distinguish the future from the present.”
- The Orville is so much more than a Star Trek homage. The stories they tell are so important.
What did you think of this episode of The Orville? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of The Orville stream Thursdays on Hulu.
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Nick Hogan
Nick Hogan is an experienced podcaster and writer (particularly on media topics), who loves discussion and analysis of TV and is always looking for new shows to watch. He is also a parent who loves buffalo wings, blowing raspberries, and his beloved Cincinnati Reds.