Warning: The following review contains spoilers for episode 6 of The Orville’s third season, titled “Twice in a Lifetime” as well as references to previous episodes.

So far, The Orville’s third season has delivered repeated heavy-hitting, emotional episodes. At the same time, it is clear that the series is slowly pulling pieces together for the end of the season. We’re just over halfway now, with four episodes left after this review. “Twice in a Lifetime” revisits a storyline from Season 2 and serves to circle back around with another time-traveling episode.

The episode begins with Gordon playing music during a party in his quarters. He plays a song from episode 11 of season 2 “Lasting Impressions.” This was the episode in which Gordon fell in love with a woman named Laura from 2015, entirely through the data on her phone put into a simulation. During the party, Isaac tries to talk to Charly but is rebuffed again.

We also discover that Gordon still has Laura’s cell phone or at least a replicated version of it. He still has her pictures, and even though he seems to have moved forward, there are feelings there that linger. After the party, however, we discover that LaMarr has made a breakthrough with the Aronov device.

In case you forgot, the Aronov device was a piece of technology from the pilot episode. The device was able to accelerate time inside of a localized area. John has now made it possible to generate a field around an entire ship, to the point that it could even send a ship back in time. There is a discussion about time paradoxes, after which The Orville is ordered to deliver the device to a secure research facility.

Before they can get the device to safety, they discover that the research station has been destroyed. Additionally, the Kaylon were ready with an ambush which led to an intense battle over the device. In the chaos of the attack, Gordon tries to destroy the Aronov Device, only something happens to him in the process.

The crew can’t find Gordon though we know that there was a blast that seemed to knock Gordon away. As they are searching for Gordon, they receive a message from him from 400 years in the past. At the time of the message, Gordon had been trapped in 2015 for 3 months. Good thing he didn’t wind up in 2020… too soon?

Upon further investigation, the crew uncovers information that Gordon died in 2068. In trying to destroy the device, he was thrown backward in time and his subconscious thoughts of Laura directed him to 2015. The crew discusses whether they can rescue Gordon or not, and they also wonder why his history was documented at all. Union law suggests that if you are thrown back in time, you should make yourself invisible, so… what happened?

The crew gears up to try and rescue Gordon, but am I the only one who sees the vast array of ways this could go wrong? We’ve seen time travel like this before, after all. The trip is successful and when they arrive on Earth, they discover a problem. Their dysonium reserves ran out before they had enough power to make it back to 2015, so they only made it to 2025. Gordon has been on Earth for 10 years.

Isaac suggests that while the crew tries to get Gordon, they extract dysonium from the Earth with a remote probe. So, while Kelly and Ed go to get Gordon, Isaac winds up in charge of getting the dysonium they need, with the help of Charly Burke. We get to see Isaac’s simulated humanoid form again which is played by his actual voice actor Mark Jackson.

Charly isn’t pleased by being stuck with Isaac, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The four take a shuttle to Earth, with a beautiful shot of the skyline as they get closer to the city. As they touch down, Isaac tries to make small talk, though Charly isn’t all that interested in talking. Ed and Kelly part ways with Charly and Isaac while reminding them to leave as minimal of a temporal footprint as possible.

Kelly and Ed meet with Gordon as he finishes a flight test. He is surprised to see the both of them but I kind of get the impression that he isn’t entirely pleased that they’re back to get him. When they suggest that they want to bring him home, he asks them to take a ride with him. Gordon has completely gone native, and he doesn’t seem all that pleased by the idea of answering to messing with temporal law.

Once they arrive at Gordon’s home, he refuses to return to the future (present?) with them. He married Laura and has children of his own. I can already tell this episode is going to be a heartbreaker. Before we can see what happens from here though, we switch to Charly and Isaac. Isaac is still trying to learn more about Charly, but to get to the dysonium they need transportation.

This leads them to a biker bar, and a hilarious scene of Charly blending in well with the bikers and Isaac standing out like a sore thumb. Charly makes a bet that Isaac can win an arm-wrestling match with the strongest guy in the bar, and if he wins, Charly and Isaac get their bikes. Obviously, the robot with a metal arm beat the strongest human biker, so off they go to collect the dysonium.

Back at Gordon and Laura’s house, we learn more about how their marriage began. Honestly, I can’t help but feel sad here. This is a doomed situation, either Gordon stays and dies in the past, or they have to do something to undo what has happened here. There are no good solutions. The situation gets more awkward though as Kelly and Ed clearly have no clue what life in the 21^st century is like.

Onboard The Orville, Talla asks Lamarr for a status report, which leads to a cute scene where she massages a tense muscle in his shoulder. The chemistry between these two boils over in what turns into a steamy makeout session. They’re absolutely cute together though.

Ed and Kelly get Gordon alone, which leads to an intense argument. Gordon is unrepentant about the rampant temporal laws he has broken. He points out that the Union has no idea what it is like to be trapped in the past. After spending 3 years alone, he looked for Laura and made a life for himself. Ed and Kelly counter by pointing out that he has no idea what effect having children and making a life for himself could have on the future.

Gordon stands firm and suggests that had they come for him ten years earlier, he’d go home in a heartbeat. Now, Earth in 2025 is his home. Except Laura has heard everything. Gordon tells Laura the truth, but Laura reveals that she somehow, deep down, always knew he wasn’t from this time. She points out that during the pandemic he knew things would be okay.

Laura asks Gordon what happens next, and while Ed and Kelly want to take him home, that’s not what he wants. We switch back to Charly and Isaac’s perspective, where they discover the mining point is underneath a house that is for sale, except before they can get in to mine the dysonium the realtor catches them.

I love watching Isaac try to blend in, while the humans around him try to figure out what to do with his robotic responses. Not to mention that Charly can barely stand to be around him, so having to play the part of his companion is a recipe for hilarity. Once they finally get time alone, Charly and Isaac work to extract the dysonium, and Isaac thanks Charly for reactivating him. Charly doesn’t exactly reciprocate his gratitude, revealing that her best friend was also someone she was in love with. She never got to tell Amanda she loved her before the Kaylon killed her.

Once they collect the dysonium, Ed and Kelly try one more time to convince Gordon with the help of Talla, to no avail. Gordon even pulls his service weapon on Talla, which leaves Ed and Kelly with only one choice. They have to go back to 2015 and pull Gordon from there, erasing this entire possible future. It is a heartbreaking scene when they reveal to Gordon and Laura what they have to do.

After Ed, Talla, and Kelly leave, Gordon tells Laura and Edward that he will always love them. He knows that their present will be erased but he tells them that their family is stronger than time. It is a tear-jerking scene, but I can’t help but wonder if it is a hint at a future episode if we get a Season 4. Regardless, the crew gets back to the ship and jumps to 2015 where they rescue Gordon.

They arrive 4 months after Gordon, one month after he sent his message. Once they retrieve Gordon they discover that the Aronov device is busted, but Lamarr figures out a way to get them home. By using the quantum drive, they can travel to the future via time dilation. After reaching Union Central, Ed and Kelly tell Gordon what happened.

Gordon is shocked that he would be so selfish as to threaten Kelly and Ed, not to mention disrupting the timeline so much. He doesn’t seem even remotely upset with them for undoing the future he created for himself. He reassures them both that they did the right thing, but Ed doesn’t feel any better about it. As “Twice in a Lifetime” ends, all is well, but will it stay that way?

This was a strong time travel episode with an intensely emotional story. However, I can’t help but wonder if there will be consequences for this episode down the line. The Orville plays fast and loose with the rules of time travel, so there’s every possibility that we could meet this version of Gordon again, angry and vengeful that he lost his family. How (or even if) that will happen is up for the writers to decide, I guess.

Regardless, “Twice in a Lifetime” is a powerful episode. Gordon rarely gets the spotlight in the same way that other characters do, so I’m always glad to see them explore him a bit more. There are only 4 episodes of The Orville: New Horizons left. I can’t help but wonder if the series will keep up the heavy-hitting episodes or start to falter at the back end.

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The Orville

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Great Gordon-centric story
• Interesting character development
• The biker bar scene was hilarious
• Great call-backs to previous episodes

Cons

• The Time Travel rules are consistently vague