TV Recap — “The Orville: New Horizons” — Seasons 3, Episode 7 — “From Unknown Graves”

Ok, this episode deals with a lot of different plot lines so try to keep up. They jam-packed so much into these episodes to do a proper recap would take forever, but I’ll do my best to keep the important stuff in. Honestly just watching this episode felt like I was watching 3 different ones at the same time. With that being said, let’s dive in.

From Unknown Graves begins at an alien dwelling with two children excited their father is home. He brings in a package and opens it, revealing a Kaylon. So we’re making things interesting from the start. After the opening titles for the show, we see Lt. LaMarr and Talla having sex when we hear a crack and LaMarr yells in pain. Due to Tallas's strength, she keeps injuring LaMarr during sex. He heads to sickbay and tells Dr. Finn he’s getting injured from a simulation he’s running in the holodeck. Dr. Finn leaves him in the hands of another doctor and heads to dinner. She’s meeting Issac and it seems that they are trying to rekindle their relationship.

Later, we see the crew talking about an upcoming alliance talk at a desolate planet with the Janisi a species where women are dominant and males are second-class citizens. The Janisi believe that any species where men are in a position of power can’t be trusted. So the crew decides to swap places. Making Kelly the captain and Ed an Ensign. After getting the Janisi settled the crew regroups on the bridge where Charley picks up an energy signal coming from the planet’s surface. Being as the planet is desolate Ed decides to take Bortus, Gordon, and Charley down to the surface to check it out. Back at the Alien home, we see them sitting for dinner being served by their Kaylon servant, K-1. When the little alien girl's request to take K-1 to school gets denied by her mother, K-1 starts to ask questions. These questions upset the father and he orders K-1 to leave the room.

The crew has arrived on the planet and when they get there they discover an old mining facility where they find Doctor Villka and Timmis. Timmis is a Kaylon and the crew reacts with caution even after the Kaylon says he means them no harm. As it turns out Doctor Villka has discovered a way to give the Kaylon emotions. Amazed by this discovery Ed invites Doctor Villka back aboard the Orville. Back on the ship, the Janisi are getting a tour of the ship, while they are distracted LaMarr asks to talk to Talla. He asks her why she’s avoiding him and she explains she doesn’t want to keep hurting him, however, LaMarr doesn’t want to end things, so the two decide to stay together.

Once again we are back in the Alien house and K-1 is asking questions again, angering the father. He asks K-1 to power down and K-1 complies. Back on the Orville Timmis meets Issac and he is excited to see him. During the conversation, it’s clear Issac and Timmis are very different, and Timmis informs Issac that doctor Villka can give Issac feelings. Later LaMarr and Talla are back at it and once again Talla breaks LaMarr's leg, back to sick bay for him. Once again Dr. Finn leaves LaMarr to go talk to Isaac. She wants to know if he had considered gaining emotions like Timmis. Issac informs her that he saw no benefit in doing this procedure upsetting Dr. Finn. We once go back to the aliens with the Kaylon. At this point, we realize this is a flashback and these are the creators of the Kaylon. The manufacturer has received numerous complaints and his assistant suggests a recall. He refuses and instead introduces a remote that will undoubtedly control the Kaylon when they do not do what they are told. Back on the Orville, the crew is preparing for a dinner with the Janisi. As dinner goes on the Janisi reveal that their species keep males in a subordinate status, they explain that their history shows males were reckless and can’t be trusted with power. When one of the Janisi attempts to “mate” with Ed as if he’s a thing to be used, this leads to the truth being revealed. Angry, the Janisi call off the potential alliance and prepare to leave.

Later on in the science lab, Timmis has a run-in with Ensign Burke. He expresses his sorrow in her loss pouring emotion into his apology. Burke seems unconvinced until Timmis explains why they killed their builders and why the Kaylon are the way they are. We cut back to the alien household where the father figure alien asks K-1 to stop what he is doing and to help him outside. When K-1 refuses the alien male pulls out a remote that seems to hurt K-1. Later we see the children playing with the remote as a toy hurting K-1 for fun. Timmis explains as time went on the Kaylon began to communicate with each other remotely and formulated the plan to destroy their creators. Next, we see one of the darkest scenes in Orville to date. K-1 walks into the alien adult's room and shoots both adults in the head. He then goes to the children's room and does the same off-screen. Timmis explains this is why the Kaylon are so distrustful of biological lifeforms. After a conversation with Kelly, Dr. Finn is at dinner with Isaac she explains that he has to make a choice, and if he wants a relationship then he needs to have the emotional upgrade otherwise she can’t see it working. We then cut to Talla and LaMarr laying in bed. LaMarr is beaten brutally and Talla is crying, it’s a comical scene though LaMarr's injuries look painful. The two decide that the healthy decision is to break up.

Later we see Kelly come up with a plan to convince the Janisi to join their alliance. After explaining about their past relationship the Janisi begin to understand a bit more. They decide to allow a diplomatic representative, making the alliance look promising. Finally, we see Dr. Finn get a dress delivered to her room. And a note that says come to dinner. She arrives and sees Issac standing there. The first thing Issac does when he sees her is smile indicating that he had the emotional upgrade.

This scene is beautiful and I loved every minute of it! However as quickly as it started it ends. Apparently, due to Issac being built by another Kaylon he was given a sensor that erased the emotional upgrade. Doctor Villka explains that she can fix this but she’d have to erase Issac's memories. Issac is willing to do this but Dr. Finn refuses, she thanks Doctor Villka and then leaves visibly upset. Our final scene shows Ensign Burke coming to chat with Issac. She has finally come to reconcile their differences and apologizes to Issac for treating him so poorly. Before she leaves Issac asks her to help him with the calibration he’s working on making this new friendship official!