The Orville - Cupid's Dagger & Firestorm - Double Review

Over the last two episodes The Orville explored two prominent base emotions - love and fear.

In terms of tone, they were a tale of two halves. 'Cupid's Dagger' was one of the more humorous episodes of the season, while 'Firestorm' turned out be quite dramatic.

Rob Lowe as Darulio in 'Cupid's Dagger' was a surprise appearance and he was, for the most part, funny. The storyline involving everyone under a love pheromone produced by Darulio meshed well with the other storyline of the war between Navarians and Bruidians. Everyone was either too in love with each other or at each other's throat, with no normalcy to be found.

'Cupid's Dagger' was a creative way to bring Kelly's and Ed's strained relationship back into the limelight. I hope after this episode that things are finally resolved, as the bickering between them will get old very quick, if it hasn't already.

Aside from Kelly and Ed's obsession with Darulio, we also saw Dr. Finn getting freaky with Yaphit - an image that still traumatizes me two weeks later, but other than that, the episode provided plenty of laughs.

As a side note, we need to see more of the dude in the elevator complaining about the lack of music - that was a raucously hilarious running gag throughout 'Cupid's Dagger.'

The most memorable moment of all though was Bortus during karaoke night. Gosh darn the writers, who tease us with a performance of 'My Heart Will Go On,' the most unlikely of songs by the baritone voiced alien, only to take it away from us.

In 'Firestorm,' Bortus showing up in his colonial gear was also too funny. The Moclan had limited appearances these past two weeks, yet the scenes he was in were show stealers.

The Bortus gag was only one of a few funny moments in 'Firestorm' - the episode dealing mainly with Alara and her confrontation with fear, brought on by the guilt of not being able to save her crew member on time.

The Xeleyan has had the most to work with in this show. First, we see her learning how to be a leader in 'Command Performance,' and two months later, she confronts her fear. Actress Halston Sage did a great job this episode especially expressing the guilt that Alara was feeling. Her character is turning out to be the MVP of this first season of Orville.

What I love about The Orville is how each episode has such a different tone, while telling simple, but good science fiction stories with heart.

Watching the hilarious 'Cupid's Dagger' side by side with the more dramatic, and sometimes even scary, 'Firestorm,' clown n' all, was proof of this. Both episodes, though different tones, provided equally solid entertainment.

Cupid's Dagger - 8/10
Firestorm - 8/10