Screen Rant have published an article praising The Orville's third season for its political commentary following their most recent episode Gently Falling Rain.

Declaring that it succeeds where Picard's second failed.

Having not watched Picard we can't comment on the comparison but agree with their estimation of The Orville.

The Orville season 3, episode 4 is a political thriller about the perils of populism and the politics of isolation. Over the course of the episode, veteran Star Trek writers Brannon Braga and André Bormanis tackle themes of fake news and the use of algorithms to shape public opinion, and it even touches on the Krill's chillingly draconian policies on abortion.

Though there is more to it than this.

If you've tried discussing The Orville on social media it's likely you've encountered misinformation to the effect that the first season is terrible.

Don't watch it.

Season 2 is much better.

There are several obvious motivations for this lie and one is the first season episode Majority Rule, which like Gently Falling Rain holds a mirror up to our present day world and some of the pitfalls of social media.

Including the possibility of deception.

While the villains of Gently Falling Rain are a Krill political movement fuelled by nationalism which is typically found on the far right of our real world political spectrum, Ed (Seth MacFarlane) tells us that deception is used by both sides:

You know what the real problem with this event is? It never happened. It's completely fictitious. And there are countless other files that show all kinds of scenarios where Chancellor Korin oppresses his people. There are even some from the other side designed to discredit Teleya, although they're not that different from her actual speeches.

...

I asked the Chancellor, and he said they call it "influence operations." They have computers generating thousands of these things every second, trying to stoke outrage. Even the angry crowds are phony.

In this metaphor the right are worse perpetrators but in entertainment to see any insinuation of wrongdoing by the left is rare.

Though just one sentence out of an entire episode, we feel this demonstrates that The Orville seeks to be political in the sense of inviting viewers to honestly consider how the world is now and could be better.

Rather than trying to be a how-to-vote card.

New episodes of The Orville's third season (aka The Orville: New Horizons) are releasing weekly on SBS on Demand.

The first two seasons are available on SBS on Demand and also Disney+.

[ Main Image: The Orville - Gently Falling Rain. Credit: Hulu via IMDb.com. ]

References

Donaldson, Mark (June 26, 2022). The Orville Just Succeeded Where Picard Season 2 Failed. Screen Rant.

TV Show Transcripts (June 23, 2022). S3E04 - Gently Falling Rain.