Warning: This review contains spoilers for the episode of The Orville titled “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.”

We’re on episode 13 folks! We have one more week and one more episode after this one. I did a little research on the last two episodes of the season, and while they aren’t officially listed as a two-parter, they sort of are. I won’t be covering them together, but this episode sets the stage for the Season 2 Finale “The Road not Taken.” So, let’s get into things, shall we?

Recapping last week’s episode, the Orville transported a Moclan Engineer and his mate, who were presumably going to Retepsia. In reality, they were smuggling their female Moclan child to a colony hidden from the view of the Moclans. Moclus discovered this colony, and Ed organized a hearing so that Heveena and the female Moclans could attain independence. Ultimately they were unsuccessful, but a ceasefire between Moclus and the Colony was called. It was a powerful episode, very well done.

Episode Spoilers Begin Here!

“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” begins with Kelly, Talla, Ed, and Gordon sitting at a table in the mess hall. They’ve been sharing stories all night, laughing and joking about when Ed and Kelly were together. Talla and Gordon call it a night, leaving Ed and Kelly to finish their drinks and reminisce. Ed admits that he misses those days, all those years ago. He also remarks that their first date, seven years prior, doesn’t feel like it has been that long.

Ed also tells Kelly that he feels like them trying their relationship again still isn’t off the table for him. Kelly hasn’t changed her mind though, citing that their work on the Orville makes their past seem like a whole other lifetime. She maintains that getting together again would be irresponsible. They have a good thing going and she doesn’t want to mess that up.

In the lab, John and Isaac are discussing a device that has the potential to allow people to time travel. Isaac has improved on Doctor Aranov’s work and he believes that in time they will be able to time travel as effortlessly as they travel through space. This does not bode well. We had time travel issues in “Pria” and we saw how that turned out.

Kelly walks in the lab, calling John away for routine maintenance. Before he can get there though, the ship starts going through some sort of disturbance. John checks it out in Engineering and reveals that it is due to the ship passing through a gravitational anomaly. However, there was a side effect. Kelly leaves the lab to go check things out at the bridge, instructing Isaac to go to Engineering and help John.

When she leaves, Isaac turns to follow, only to hear a feminine voice clearing her throat. He turns around and finds a young Kelly Grayson. Oh boy, I sense timeline disruptions aplenty. She asks where she is, having no idea who Isaac is or where she has been pulled from. Isaac is confused, thinking it is Kelly from their time, but it quickly becomes obvious that this isn’t the case.

At first, Isaac brands her an intruder. After an examination from Claire, they discover that she is an exact DNA match for present-day Commander Grayson. In fact, other than her being seven years younger, they are exactly the same on a molecular level. Present-Kelly and Ed arrive at the infirmary, and when the two Kellys see each other, there is immediately a moment of confusion and shock.

It is eerie seeing them circle each other. It must be strange, seeing a complete mirror image of yourself, only younger. Claire explains the situation and it is obvious that they are definitely the same person. They have similar mannerisms, they talk in unison (occasionally) and the similarities are uncanny. I have to applaud Adrianne Palicki for pulling double duty this episode. It can’t be easy to do.

Isaac and John explain that the gravitational field interacted with Aranov’s device and seems to have pulled Kelly’s past self into the future. It is likely due to her being in close proximity to it when they passed through the field itself. Ed asks if they can reverse it and the answer is…they have no idea. Kelly presents two equally important questions.

The first is if Past-Kelly is now in the present, why doesn’t Present-Kelly remember ever coming to this point in time? Secondly, if Past-Kelly is here and doesn’t get returned to her time, what happens to Present-Kelly?

This leads to a breakthrough. They figure out that Past-Kelly came from the day after Kelly and Ed’s first date. Because Present-Kelly was thinking about their conversation the previous night, the device must have pulled her from that period in the timeline. Isaac also admits that even Kaylons haven’t cracked this concept yet. This is new territory for them all.

Back in Ed’s office, Ed posits a question to Present-Kelly. How much can they tell Past-Kelly about the last seven years, without risking the timeline? Ed hypothesizes two possibilities. If they created a tangent timeline and can send her back, her knowledge of the future won’t matter, because her timeline will be different.

Alternately, if they are a part of a singular timeline, they should keep her away from any knowledge of the future. The problem is, they have no way of knowing which possibility they’re in. Ultimately, since Past-Kelly hasn’t done anything wrong, they can’t lock her up. So, Ed’s suggestion is that they tell her the truth.

After they tell Past-Kelly everything about their relationship, she is justifiably confused. Present-Kelly gives Past-Kelly access to her personal logs so that she can get caught up, rather than have to process it all at once. On the way to her new quarters, Past-Kelly confides in Talla that she feels like her life has already happened without her.

Talla reassures her and suggests that maybe she should block out what other people tell her, and just focus on her goals. She also offers to be someone that Past-Kelly can talk to, considering she is also new on the ship. While the crew is on the bridge, Isaac and John show up to explain that after investigating the wave and the device, there is a problem.

They don’t have a way to duplicate it, which means there is no way to send Past-Kelly back to…well, the past. When they break the news to Past-Kelly she is understandably upset. She points out that this is Present-Kelly’s world, so she has no family, no friends, nothing left. Ed and Present-Kelly offer her whatever help they can give her in order for her to start a new life, but ultimately, she just wants time to think.

Talla shows up to check in on her a few hours later and Past-Kelly admits she’s having trouble processing this. She doesn’t know who she is in this future. She has no place of her own here. Talla asks her what her goals are and once Past-Kelly answers, she reminds Past-Kelly that she can still do all of those things she wanted to do.

Talla reminds Past-Kelly that technically now they are two separate people. Present-Kelly has her life and now Past-Kelly can chart her own, entirely separate from her counterpart. Talla also admits she’s happy to have a new friend and offers Past-Kelly a uniform while she is here on the ship.

The next day, Past-Kelly starts talking and getting to know Gordon, John, and Talla over drinks. She shares stories of her life and is interrupted when Present-Kelly shows up and asks to talk with her. What initially starts as Present-Kelly chastising Past-Kelly about getting too friendly with the crew, turns into a surprisingly warm moment, where they realize they can tell each other anything.

Past-Kelly admits that she wants a posting on the Orville because it is the closest thing she has to a home. She also asks if things are really over between Present-Kelly and Ed, which Present-Kelly confirms. While Ed and Gordon are playing a video game, Past-Kelly arrives wanting to talk to Ed alone. She asks Ed out on a second date, which is not surprising since she lacks all the baggage of Present-Kelly’s memories.

Before we go any further though, I feel bad for Ed prematurely. This is totally not going to go well and he’s had a rough go of things lately in the relationship department. I’m also concerned about how this may impact the timeline, which is probably the point now that I think of it.

At any rate, Ed goes to see Present-Kelly. He asks her how she would feel about him going on a second date with Past-Kelly. It is a weird situation and he acknowledges that. He also admits that he didn’t know what to tell Past-Kelly, but he also knew he didn’t want to say no. He sees this as an opportunity to fix the mistakes of the past.

He regrets working too much when he and Present-Kelly were married and regrets driving her away. Because of that, he hopes that maybe this is a chance to do things right. However, he puts Present-Kelly in a weird position, telling her that if she has any desire to try again, then he won’t go out with Past-Kelly.

However, Present-Kelly confirms that she can’t try again with Ed, because of their work positions as Captain and First Officer. Kelly warns him that he has also changed in seven years, so he may find it harder to get along with Past-Kelly than he expects. It is obvious that Present-Kelly still has feelings for Ed, so I can’t imagine how difficult that must be for her.

Past-Kelly and Ed begin their date by having dinner. Issues immediately begin to arise when her partying side flares up. She encourages Ed to have more drinks than he should, but the date goes on mostly without incident. He takes her back to her quarters, gives her a goodnight kiss, and then heads to his own quarters to rest.

Seeing them together, even in some small version of how they were before, is very cute. I’ve been rooting for their relationship from the start, but this still has a bittersweet tone to it. It definitely can’t last. In the morning, Present-Kelly visits Past-Kelly and tells her about the reservations she has with their budding relationship.

She explains that she saw how devastated Ed was when their relationship ended and it was hard for her too. She doesn’t want that for Ed or Past-Kelly. However, Past-Kelly isn’t deterred and points out that she has no intention of things ending up the way they did for Present-Kelly. Things escalate until Past-Kelly tells Present-Kelly that she had three things she wanted most out of life, and Present-Kelly hasn’t filled any one of those three things.

Past-Kelly wanted to find love, be a captain, and make the universe a better place. Personally, I don’t think Past-Kelly is in the right here. Present-Kelly has contributed to making the world a better place, and I think she has found love in Ed, she just…can’t get past their positions on the ship. First Officer suits her pretty well too.

Present-Kelly leaves after the argument and goes straight to the bridge. Ed can tell she is upset, but he doesn’t push things. They don’t really have time to dig into it either, as two Kaylon ships start to intercept the Orville. They manage to evade the ships and Ed goes down to the mess hall. He talks with Gordon about his optimism over how things are going with Past-Kelly.

Gordon is skeptical. He was there for the entire relationship and he thinks this is a bad idea. He doesn’t want to have to pick Ed back up if things go bad like the divorce the first time around. Ed assures him that he won’t have to do anything like that and he truly believes things will be different. Past-Kelly then shows up, explaining that she had one of the Engineers set up a simulation of one of her favorite spots on Earth.

She invited Talla and wants Ed to come. She also invites Gordon and Bortus as well. This particular “favorite spot” happens to be a nightclub and it exemplifies the difference between Ed and Past-Kelly. Ed and Gordon are sitting down, and Ed tells Gordon that he’s not sure how much more he can take because of how loud the music is.

At the same time, Past-Kelly and Talla are dancing, and when Past-Kelly tries to get Ed and Gordon to come dance, they both decline. It is hilarious seeing them try to hear each other over the loud music, along with the misunderstandings that come with that. Bortus and Klyden also seem to be enjoying themselves, which is funny on its own.

Gordon asks Ed if this is really what he wants, and he realizes that Gordon is right. Present-Kelly confides in Claire about how frustrated she is with Past-Kelly, She questions whether Past-Kelly was right, about her being a disappointment to her past self, and failing to achieve her goals. Claire refutes the idea and reminds Present-Kelly that our goals change as we get older. She points out that Present-Kelly needs to assess what she really wants.

At the same time, Past-Kelly goes to see Ed in his room, wearing the same dress that Present-Kelly wore on their first anniversary, though she doesn’t know that at first. Things start to get a bit hot and heavy when Ed stops things abruptly. He admits that he still loves Present-Kelly. He likes Past-Kelly, but he is a lot different than he was seven years ago.

Before they can work things out too much, Bortus interrupts and tells Ed that the Kaylon ships have returned and will intercept them in 8 minutes. On the bridge, Past-Kelly comes and tells Present-Kelly, Ed, and the crew that a planet nearby gives them an opportunity to hide from the Kaylons. If they camouflage themselves in the ice of one of the planet’s rings, they should be able to avoid detection.

The plan works, in a rather stunning visual sequence that shows the Orville freezing itself to attach to a piece of ice, then powering down to camouflage. It is a nail-biting scene, watching the Kaylon ships pass by, none the wiser of where they actually are. Afterward, Past-Kelly goes to Present-Kelly’s office and apologizes for what she said. She tells Present-Kelly that being on the bridge showed her the gravity of what Present-Kelly does every day.

While they are talking and mending fences, John and Isaac show up with an idea of how to get Past-Kelly back to her time. They think they can replicate the effect of the gravitational wave, and if they can utilize the Aranov device at the same time, they believe they can send her home. Past-Kelly asks what the ramifications would be if she remembers everything after she gets back, and Claire suggests they do a memory wipe.

Past-Kelly posits that regardless of the risks, this plan works. She believes that, because none of them remember her already, which means this must have happened and she was mind-wiped so she never remembered it in the present. Before she is mind-wiped, she invites Talla for a drink in seven years, to which Present-Kelly tells Talla to be at the mess hall at 8 PM that evening.

Past-Kelly also tells Present Kelly that she can’t wait to become her. Ed apologizes in advance, for everything that happens during their marriage. The plan seems to work and they send Past-Kelly back to her own time. However, there is a catch…the memory wipe didn’t work and she turns down a second date with Ed.

That ends the episode and boy, does that have ramifications for the entirety of the finale, and the series as a whole! Kelly has drastically changed the course of history, who knows what could happen next. Could the Kaylons destroy everything? Could Ed even become a captain at all? Well, I am very excited to watch next week and see what happens next.

This was a solid episode, and while the time-travel is a little complex, I think it sets the stage for a fantastic finale. This season of The Orville has turned up the heat and done great Sci-Fi work along with great character work. Additionally, the costume department did a great job of giving both versions of Kelly their own visual identity, to go with Adrianne Palicki’s fantastic acting.

I can’t wait for the finale, and I am even more excited to see what Season 3 of The Orville brings. Seriously, Seth McFarlane give me a release date already! I am a little confused as to why Past-Kelly changed things so drastically though. However, I will maintain that The Orville is one of the best Sci-Fi series on television right now. It blurs the lines of comedy, drama, and Sci-Fi all in one fantastic package.

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The Orville

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great Costuming
• Adrianne Palicki Did a Fantastic Job
• Great Setup For the Finale
• Great Mix of Drama and Humor

Cons

• Twist Ending Felt Rushed