Orville's Other Planets

Hello, Fanaticals! For those of you who are parents, happy summer break! Today, we are going to be taking a look at three planets that are in the show; however, only one of them is a part of the Planetary Union.

Each of the planets we will be exploring today, all have their own set of questionable ethics. Today, though, we're going to decide which of the three is the worst of them. For those of you who don't know the show, I'll give a bit of background for each planet. Between theory and discussion, we are going to tear these planets and their species apart. Let's get started.

Regor 2

Regor 2 was Orville's first official First Contact. I say "official" because before this they have multiple unofficial and accidental first contacts.

Regor 2 is a planet that has a massive satellite network system, who-when we meet them-have come far enough in their development that they are able to send out a signal to space. The planet is mostly made up of water and, as Claire later realizes, is governed and ran based on the primary beliefs of Astrology.

The reason I rank this planet as one of the three worst is because while they had the ability to reach out into space, they did not understand the fact that there were going to be cultural differences.

They immediately arrested Bortus and Kelly without any explanation except "they're Giliac" as though they would understand. Even after physically seeing that there are differences between every member of the First Contact party. Even after confirming that the other three members were not, and having to watch Claire figure out that they were a planet ruled by Astrology they refused to release Bortus and Kelly.

That's where the issue lies, as the First Prefect refuses to let them go but wants the Orville to leave and never come back. He claims that if he released them then it would cause an uproar, but the question is, would it really? Everyone knew they were "aliens" which means it would fully explain why they released them when they wouldn't release others, especially when you have so many in the camps who claim they belong there.

Regor 2 is one of the worst in my eyes, only due to the feeling that they may have had the technology to reach out to space but were clearly not a mature enough society to do it.

Moclus

Moclus is a planet that is filled with a single-sex species, they are all male. While it was originally a part of the Planetary Union, by Season 3 they succeeded due to later gender discoveries and issues. They are also the primary source of Military weapons for the Union.

This is one of the most complicated planets in the Union, even after their succession from it. While they pride themselves on their traditions, we also question if those traditions are ethical; however, that is a whole other discussion for a different day.

The biggest issue that comes down to with Moclus and the Moclans is the contradictory nature. Traditions are important, but when it comes to actually lying about the amount of another sex born and at the expense of their health and wellness... Not to mention the fact they clearly lie about how many females are born; it is giving out false information. Kayden was born female, and then he and Bortus have a female before Klyden is honest out his own birth.

They say that the worst kind of ignorance, is ignorance born of misinformation. They may have their own traditions when it comes to staying a single sex species, but the misinformation that comes with that is where my problems lie.

Sargus 4

Sargus 4 is a planet that the Orville is sent to when a couple of Union Anthropologists go missing. It is a planet that is almost an exact parallel to 21st Century Earth, according to both Ed and Isaac. There are at least four different types of ethical groups, including one called the Kelvic. All Sarguns wear a badge on the left side of their chest that has two buttons: a red down arrow, and a green up arrow, beneath the arrows are numbers that represent which type of vote people have given you. They are ruled by a justice system that dictates if you hit a million "down votes" that you go on an "apology tour" for whatever transgression caused you to get so many votes.

If on your apology tour, you receive a total of ten million downvotes, you are "socially corrected" before being sent back into the public. While it is unknown how long an Apology Tour takes, from the sounds of it based on John's tour it seems to only be a day or two at most; possibly as many as three days, as they go onto several different talk shows to publicly apologize. The planet has what is called a "Master Feed" which seems quite similar to the news feed you see on Facebook.

In my opinion, of all the planets out there, Sargus 4 is probably the most messed up of them all. Gordon's description during John's "apology tour" was super accurate: Death by American Idol. Lysella even says that her father states that "the majority are the truth" because the majority vote is what they see as truth.

While I can appreciate the thought that everyone deserves a voice, and it is something that I believe true as well, there are still definitely some pros and cons to how they should go about it. I mean, even in the opening scene you see Lysella downvotes the missing anthropologists just because she thinks the one looks creepy. When she was helping the crew up on the ship, when Claire asks about people trying to research and cross reference what they are flooding the feed with about John, she is very casual as she tells them not to worry about that because no one will. It seems to very much be a sheep mentality type of thing where, as Isaac mentions, it is more opinion than fact that rules them.

This planet is so messed up, honestly it is no surprise when come Season 3, Lysella admits she stole a comm and wants sanctuary from her "home". Even she eventually sees the wrongness in it. I mean, voting on whether you think someone's apology is sincere enough or not? The two Union Members that went missing were literally downvoted due to be too engrossed in their work! While it's not really a crime on Earth it is more like a cultural frowning issue. Their apologies actually did seem genuine, and they were still "corrected".

Literally, there are some messed up stories out there (we aren't even going to TOUCH on the Kaylon history today...) but Sargus 4 definitely takes the cake from me on which one is worse.

Which one do you think is worse? Or do you have an argument as to why a totally different planet is worse? Come join our community and tell us what you think! Meanwhile, join me tomorrow as we talk about relationship arcs. Until then, keep on theorizing, Fanaticals!