I started watching this third episode of The Orville ("New Horizons" - a quite meh subtitle) with high hopes. Let us see how this episode went!

You can read my review of Episode 1 (Electric Sheep) & 2 (Shadow Realms) here.

This episode is quite different from the earlier episodes. While the first 2 episodes focused on Isaac the Android and Dr. Finn the Doctor, this one focuses on the rest of the main cast - the captain, his ex-wife + second in command, his trusted friend and ace pilot, the tough-as-nails female chief of security, and the science officer (the last two being aliens). The setup of the episode is pretty quick, and off goes the show!

Sticking close to the title of the episode, the crew members are exposed to life-threatening situations in one scenario after the other, making it seem surreal as the episode progresses - even by their own admission.

Since the transitions from one scenario to the next are not entirely convincing, the crew manage to break on through to the real side. BUT.

The first reality is not the real reality, and it is a hollow representation.

Finally, after putting their foot down, the infiltrator-slash-perpetrator of their unreal life-threatening dilemmas reveal themselves. I'll not spoil a surprise ending to a good episode, except to say that it calls back to a previous season's episode. That episode was a pretty nice one, too.

So, after two uninspiring and frankly fully Star Trek "inspired" episodes, The Orville delivers a nice one, which I rather enjoyed.

Looking forward to the next, and hoping for it to be something new! :)

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