Alliances Are Unexpectedly Swapped in The Orville S3 Ep 9

We’re at the penultimate episode of The Orville S3, and in a strange twist of events, those who were the Union’s allies showed their true colors and turned into adversaries. I’m not just talking about the Krills, I’m talking about the Moclans as well.

The Orville’s crew are no strangers to Moclans, as they have Klyden, Bortus, and their daughter, Topa on board. So, it was quite conflicting to find out that the Moclan government is still up to no good, resulting in them being cut off from the Union’s alliance.

Is there any possibility for them to rejoin?

After being kicked out by the Union, the Moclans sign a new alliance with the Krills. When the Union learns of this, they team up with their former enemy, the Kaylons. These newly formed alliances make it unlikely for the Moclans to rejoin the Union in an advantageous manner.

When Season 3 started, the last thing I expected was to see the Union align with the Kaylons.

But as you remember, a couple of episodes ago, the Union and the Krill broke what would be a historical peace treaty—all orchestrated due to Teleya’s hunger for power. Instead of having just one enemy to deal with, the Union managed to get themselves into trouble with both the Krills and the Kaylons.

In the episodes that followed, the Union went out looking for new alliances. They turned to the Moclans who were already part of the Union but were never looked on positively.

You see, other than raising eyebrows for their over-ambitious weapons industry, the Moclans were also known to be abusive to the females of their species. This was to the extent of kidnapping them and making them undergo gender reassignment surgeries.

While the Moclan government stated that they had ceased this type of treatment, Ep 8 reveals that it was far from the truth.

Topa, who is freshly out of her own gender reversal surgery, gets kidnapped and taken to a planet where the Moclans continue the abuse in secret. Fortunately, by the end of the episode, she is rescued by her father, Brutus, and Kelly. But this incident also means that the Union cannot overlook the Moclans’ wrongdoings anymore and have to cut them off the Union’s alliance.

Of course, it doesn’t stop here. The Moclans feel scorned, and as revenge, align with the Krills.

Thankfully the Union hasn’t been sitting idle either. Charly and Isaac invent a weapon that is powerful enough to destroy the Kaylons, and when faced in battle, they demonstrate the same. Their terms are clear: Call a ceasefire or the Union is ready to have genocide on their hands.

The Kaylons see sense and agree to the Union’s terms. So, now, the new alliance we have is that of the Moclan-Krills and the Union-Kaylon.

Seeing how the Union has the upper hand at the end of Ep 9, the only way the Moclans can rejoin the Union is if they agree to some pretty hard and fast terms. The Union may want the Moclan under their control in order to monitor them and stop them from ever becoming a threat again.

It is also possible that the Moclans will escape, only to return as villains next season.

About The Orville

The Orville is a science fiction comedy-drama series created and co-produced by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as the lead on the show. The series is heavily inspired by the Star Trek franchise.

Set in the 25th century, the series captures how humanity has found alien life and created an interspecies-universal commission for maintaining peace. It follows the exploits of a union starship, USS Orville, as its crew embarks upon their journey of various missions across the galaxy. 

Alongside MacFarlane, the show stars Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald, Scott Grimes, Peter Macon, Halston Sage, J. Lee, and others.