The Orville season 2, episode 11 recap: Lasting Impressions

Jerald Raymond Pierce

THE ORVILLE: L-R: Penny Johnson Jerald, Peter Macon and Chad L. Coleman in the ÒLasting ImpressionsÓ episode of THE ORVILLE airing Thursday, March 21 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2018 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Kevin Estrada/FOX

In the midst of an action packed second season, The Orville takes it easy this week with a heartfelt episode where Gordon tries to find love in all the wrong places.

This episode of The Orville opens with the main crew gathered around a conference table full of random objects. Everything was pulled out of a 2015 time capsule which the Orville is in charge of transporting to a museum.

Included are some cigarettes (the smell of which Bortus finds intriguing), a New York Yankees hat and an iPhone that Dr. Sherman, the person who brought them the time capsule, can’t figure out how to open. John offers to use his engineering team to see if they can figure out how to get it working.

In the engineering bay, John and Gordon manage to get power to the phone and open it. They scroll through the text messages and come across a video message from the previous owner.

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The phone was owned by Laura (guest star Leighton Meester). She gives whoever finds the phone permission to go through her texts, photos, emails, etc. since, well, she’s “long dead” at this point. Gordon seems to be immediately taken by her beauty and humor. (It’s pretty easy to see where this episode is headed.)

After being brought the phone, Dr. Sherman says they should be able to learn a lot about the people of that time from the phone.

Dr. Sherman is called away from the room, leaving Gordon with the phone. Since no one is around, Gordon sneaks off with the phone to keep going through its contents.

Elsewhere, Bortus tells Klyden about cigarettes. Bortus synthesizes one in their synthesizer. Klyden smells it and immediately eats it. Bortus, after making two more, explains that they’re supposed to light them and inhale the smoke.

They both smoke one and love it. Bortus then asks the synthesizer for 500 more.

Gordon takes the iPhone to one of the Orville simulator rooms and uploads the contents of the phone. He asks the simulator to make a simulation based on an extrapolation of the information in the phone. After the system is done, Gordon enters the simulation.

He finds himself at a casual house party (keeping in mind that Gordon didn’t think to change out of his Orville uniform). He strolls around the house and comes across Laura. He says hi and she thinks he must be a friend of a friend. Gordon immediately plays along and introduces himself.

Laura briefly teases him about what he’s wearing. Gordon says he lost a bet and is wearing pajamas. Laura then offers to get him a beer.

Gordon compliments her house. Laura says she just got the place and offers to give him a tour. As they walk, Laura tells Gordon that she’s a salesperson at Macy’s, but her real passion is music. Gordon flirts with her a bit and she asks him to come to a small gig she has playing at a bar. He agrees to go.

Later, Gordon tells John about how vivid the simulation was. The simulation gave him a new appreciation for the lives of the people who lived centuries before them.

A little worried about how into this Gordon is, John cautions Gordon and says that he should make sure to keep his sanity in check. Laura has been dead for centuries and isn’t real. Gordon says he knows.

Meanwhile, Kelly is called to the bridge by Talla. Kelly gets there to find Bortus smoking. Both Talla and Kelly seem repulsed by the smell.

Kelly gives Bortus permission to leave his post early. After he’s gone, Kelly tells Talla that she and Ed will talk with Bortus.

Gordon, now out of his uniform and dressed casually, goes to the simulator and resumes the simulation. He steps into a bar where Laura is on stage playing guitar and singing beautifully. She seems happy to see Gordon.

After she finishes, they talk over drinks. He compliments her and says that, if the right person hears her, she could be a huge success.

She laughs it off saying that she just thinks it’d be nice to be remembered for something. There’s nothing sadder than the fact that most people in the whirlwind up forgotten.

The conversation transitions to her past relationships. She mentions her ex-boyfriend, Greg, who she had broken things off with because sometimes she felt like he couldn’t be an adult. This, despite a long list of things that she really liked about him.

After they talk a bit more, Laura gives Gordon her number and invites him to a game night the next night with her friends. She tells him to bring some of his friends along, too.

She also asks for his number which, of course, he can’t give her. He makes up an excuse, saying that he left his phone at home, but he’ll get in touch with her from his phone when he gets back to it.

Back in his room, Gordon asks his synthesizer to make him an iPhone like Laura’s. He then texts Laura from “his” number. She responds that she can’t wait to see him tomorrow.

Ed, Kelly, Talla, and John talk in Ed’s office about the details of getting the capsule to the museum. Gordon comes in and invites them all to Laura’s game night. This forces him to explain to Ed, Kelly, and Talla what he’s been doing in the simulator.

They all agree to go, but once he leaves the room they all seem concerned with his obsession with this program.

Kelly then takes Ed to talk to Bortus. When they get to Bortus’ quarters, they find him and Klyden chain smoking. They decide to take them both to the sick bay.

Claire says they’re extremely susceptible to nicotine addiction and, if they keep smoking at the rate they are, their addition will get so bad that they won’t be able to go 10 seconds without needing a cigarette.

Since it’s been so long since anyone has actually smoked, Claire will have to create an injection to help them from scratch. She offers to let Topa stay with her and her sons in the meantime.

THE ORVILLE: L-R: Guest star Leighton Meester and Scott Grimes in the ÒLasting ImpressionsÓ episode of THE ORVILLE airing Thursday, March 21(9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2018 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Kevin Estrada/FOX

The Orville then jumps ahead to Gordon and the crew at Laura’s game night where Gordon is absolutely awful at Pictionary. Ed finds an opportunity to point out how late it is and that they have to get up early and he, Talla, John, and Kelly leave.

They clearly had an awful time and agree to talk about it more in the mess hall the next day.

Still in the situation, Gordon and Laura chat. Since Gordon had told her that he’s a pilot, she asks him if he can help her get over her fear of flying. He talks her through some imagery to help whenever there is turbulence, which she says helps. They kiss.

Gordon wakes up the next day in Laura’s bed. Kelly is calling him because he’s late to work. He saves the simulation and works to pull on clothes as he runs to the bridge.

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On the bridge, everyone is a bit distracted by Bortus loudly chewing gum to curb his nicotine addiction.

Before they can get going for the day, Gordon gets a call from Laura. He says he can’t talk, but they giggle quietly over the phone about their night last night. Kelly and Ed both look worried.

Later, they talk with John and Talla about what they should do. They consider maybe blocking the program, but before they can decide on anything, Gordon comes over. Gordon starts talking about how great Laura is (in the present tense).

That’s the breaking point. They finally confront Gordon about the fact that Laura isn’t real. Gordon responds by saying that she’s real in all the ways that matter since the program wasn’t designed by a person, it was pulled directly from her information and personality. He argues that she’s as real as Isaac. After all, can you really tell if Isaac is sentient? Maybe he’s just really good at fooling people.

Ed argues that that is all just Gordon’s perception, but it isn’t the truth of the situation. Gordon shoots back by saying that Ed could be in a relationship with a Krill, but it’s not ok for him to be in a relationship with Laura. Ed says it’s different because the Krill lied to him. Here, Gordon is lying to himself.

In his quarters, Bortus looks for Klyden. He asks the computer where Klyden is and finds Klyden in an airlock smoking. They go back to their quarters and argue.

Bortus says Klyden isn’t committed to quitting. But right then, Klyden finds a cigarette Bortus had tried to hid. He tells Bortus to show him where he was hiding cigarettes. After, they agree to watch each other more closely from now on.

Gordon heads back to the simulator to see Laura. But, when he walks in, he finds her holding hands and talking to Greg. Sensing the tension, Greg excuses himself so Laura and Gordon can talk.

Laura explains that she and Greg were getting back together. She says she never expected this to happen. Gordon is clearly hurt, but Laura asks him to still be friends. Gordon doesn’t answer.

This cuts to Gordon telling John about what happened. Gordon says he should have seen it coming since the fact that she and Greg got back together was right there in the phone data and text history.

John says it’s for the best in the long run. After all, you can’t just conjure up a girlfriend in the real world.

Still, Gordon goes back to the simulator. Before entering, he asks the simulator to delete Greg from the program.

Gordon enters the program and finds himself in a Macy’s where Laura is at work. He learns that Laura is up for a promotion and he offers to take her out to dinner if she gets it. Through this, he also finds out that he is now her boyfriend.

Laura suggests they take a trip together since Gordon was able to help with her fear of flying. She’ll buy a ticket on one of his flights. He agrees, but only if he gets to sing with her at the bar one night.

This takes Laura by surprise. As she talks, Gordon realizes something in the program has changed. Laura doesn’t sing in public. In fact, she’s never performed in front of people before.

Gordon pauses the simulation and asks the simulator what changed. Of course, Greg was deleted. Without Greg, Laura just wasn’t the same person.

Later, back in his room, Gordon is visited by Kelly. He’s moping at his computer after looking through Laura’s phone information and confirming that Greg had been the person who had encouraged her to sing in the first place.

Kelly says that you can’t just remove people without taking their influence away as well. She points at Ed and how none of them would have ended up on the Orville without him as an example.

Gordon confesses that he’s worried he’ll never meet someone in real life who makes him feel the same way Laura did. He says he’s going to miss her.

Back in Bortus’ quarters, he and Klyden eat angrily, still arguing as they deal with nicotine withdrawal. Klyden makes a move to go to the synthesizer to make a cigarette, but Bortus stops him. By punching him in the face.

The two fight and break a table. Claire comes in and stops them. She has the injection ready.

Elsewhere, Gordon goes back to the simulator (with Greg reinserted). He walks in on Laura performing another set at the bar. Gordon walks straight up to the stage and starts singing a beautiful duet with her.

After the song ends, Laura goes and hugs Greg.

Gordon tells them that he came by to say goodbye. He says he received a job offer across the country as a test pilot and he has to leave tomorrow. Laura asks him to keep in touch and not forget about them.

Gordon promises that she’ll never be forgotten.

Before he leaves, Laura asks to get a picture with him on her phone before she puts it in the time capsule.

This episode of The Orville concludes with Greg taking a picture of a smiling Gordon and Laura.

Not quite the drama-filled episode The Orville has had lately. What were your thoughts on spending some time with the lovesick Gordon? Let us know your thoughts on The Orville in the comments.

Jerald Raymond Pierce

Jerald Raymond Pierce is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in American Theatre magazine, the Seattle Times, the Charleston Post and Courier and the Syracuse Post-Standard. He has his BFA in Acting from Ohio University and MA in Arts Journalism from Syracuse University.