The Orville: New Horizons Season 3 Episode 1 Review - Electric Sheep
Many of the threads of “Electric Sheep” seem reminiscent of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the best way possible. MacFarlane has never been shy about his love for that show, and this premiere is a love letter to some of the classic story beats and character dynamics of TNG. Not to dwell on Burke (and yet she warrants the attention) but her introduction is akin to one of the strongest late additions to a preestablished cast; that of Ens. Ro, in the Next Generation’s played by Michelle Forbes.
Like Ro, Burke has a major chip on her shoulder. She creates tension among everyone, despite having smaller moments of connection. She challenges everyone, including her captain, and more importantly, she immediately makes an impact. Forbes did a tremendous job to gain interest and sympathy from an established core audience, and despite only being in 9 episodes in the final 4 seasons, the addition of Ro really changed up the dynamic. MacFarlane should be applauded for his writing, and for wanting to try new things when so many new things were already happening with the show, and Winters deserves tremendous praise for showing everyone both she and Burke belong.
Not to be lost in Burke’s debut is another powerful subplot, which features yet another stellar performance by television veteran Penny Johnson Jerald, who plays Dr. Claire Finn. During the investigation as to who painted the hate-filled epithet, it’s revealed that Marcus Finn was the culprit. Claire then has to deal with her own son turning on her former love interest and partner, and how to resolve her son’s growing hatred and Isaac’s cold and logical understanding of his affect on the crew. Her former family dynamic, already somewhat broken, is completely falling apart in front of her eyes.
In an episode where there are so many great debuts, new characters, new dynamics and even new technological toys for the crew to play with, MacFarlane pitches us a devastating curveball. Isaac wanders the halls of the Orville, even pausing to gaze out the window at the vast cosmos. Reflecting the Phillip Dick inspired title of the episode, it would seem no one knows the depths of Isaac’s inner-most thoughts, that even this emotionless Kaylon ‘dreams of electric sheep’ and can feel something on some level.
The scene fades back to Isaac’s lab as he leaves an engineering log about some of the other mechanical updates. As he seems to be wrapping up, he concludes with “I offer my best wishes to the Finn family”, extends his tendrils into a EM application module and commits suicide. Even when the suicide is perhaps lessened because of the science fiction aspect, the script is so compassionately tasteful towards victims of suicide, the mental health issues that those who feel suicide is necessary must suffer, and the affect it has on those they leave behind. MacFarlane’s script will certainly bring a tear to any fan’s eye, and his decision as director to leave so many of these impactful sequences without an accompanying score, makes the audience feel Isaac’s absence, and empathize with the characters that much more.
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