Marcus Finn

Marcus Finn was a Human passenger aboard the USS Orville. He is the son of Claire Finn and older brother of Ty Finn.

He is portrayed by American child actor BJ Tanner.

History[]

Early Life[]

Marcus was born sometime around the year 2409 to Doctor Claire Finn, an experienced medical officer in the Planetary Union.^{[n 1]} Marcus had no father: Claire desired children, but by her own description, she never found a man suited to be her husband.^[1] Marcus was born through artificial impregnation of his mother. Several years later, his brother Ty was born by the same method.

Aboard the Orville[]

Claire requested a transfer to the Orville in the year 2419, and Marcus and Ty followed her, living on the ship as civilian passengers.^[2] Marcus attended school on board the ship^{[n 2]}^[3] where he earned mostly B grades with several A's.^[4]

In his free time, he enjoyed playing Space Dragons in the Environmental Simulator.^[3]

Marcus was friends with James Duncan and an unnamed classmate in 2420. Together, they hacked a Food Synthesizer to create a bottle of vodka, which they drank in a simulator room.^[4]

Shuttle crash[]

In the winter of 2420, Claire wanted to spend more time with her sons, so she planned a vacation to Arboreus Prime. Marcus was non-plussed, preferring to attend a medieval battle camp in the Environmental Simulator and calling Arboreus a "stupid play planet." The trio left in a shuttle piloted by Science Officer Isaac.

Marcus wanted to play games on an unidentified, hand-held device while they travelled to Arboreus. When Claire forced him to turn it off, he told his mother that she 'sucks,' and, minutes later, turned the game back on.

Ty was annoyed that Marcus disobeyed their mother. When Marcus dropped the device during mid-flight turbulence due to a gravity shear, Ty recovered and threw it, hitting the shuttle's navigational console. The shuttle was thrown off-course and sucked into the gravity well of a nearby spatial fold.

The shuttle emerged from the fold badly damaged and in uncharted space. To survive, Isaac intentionally crashed them onto the surface of the nearest inhabitable moon, but the shuttle split in two and Claire was separated from the others.

Survival[]

IsaacMarcusTy — Marcus along with his younger brother being protected by Isaac

Isaac decided to leave the boys in search of Claire. Before he went, he introduced Marcus to the PM-44, a basic energy weapon, for protection. Isaac's decision risked their lives. That night, a cannibalistic inhabitant of the moon preyed on the children from the dark of the forest. The man grabbed Ty and attempted to abscond, and Marcus was either too afraid or too unfamiliar with the energy gun to shoot him. Fortunately, from elsewhere in the woods, Isaac momentarily stunned the man with the PM-44. The kidnapper fled.

Isaac could not find Claire on foot, but he believed that re-powering the shuttle with dysonium would allow them to conduct a wider search and to send a distress message to the Orville. Marcus recalled that some satellites of the galaxy host deposits of dysonium. A brief search with Isaac's comscanner revealed possible surface veins of the energy source several kilometers away. Isaac congratulated Marcus for his simple, yet intelligent idea.

The three set off for the source of dysonium. They were waylayed by a group of starving cannibals who demanded the children, but Isaac was able to fend them off. The trio found enough dysonium to restore power to the shuttle, and they began their return. Meanwhile, the Orville began a search for them. The crew found the correct gas giant, but with 36 habitable moons, they had to search one at a time.

The next morning, Ty showed symptoms of a serious illness. Unbeknownst to them, the child was sick with poloxus poisoning from exposure to contaminated water. Claire messaged Isaac from her comscanner and received their coordinates. She had been taken by an inhabitant named Drogen shortly after the crash and held captive; she killed Drogen and left. Along the way, she was followed by a throng of cannibals.

When Claire reached the three at the shuttle, Isaac sent a brief distress signal. However, the cannibals attacked the four. Isaac, Claire, and Marcus used their energy weapons to repeal the attack. Claire instructed her son to set the gun to stun. "They may not value life, but we do." Isaac encouraged Marcus to shoot calmly. Just then, the Orville arrived: it received the distress communication, and the cannibals fled.

Aftermath[]

In June 2420, Marcus was at school when he witnessed his teacher, Cassius, arguing with First Officer Kelly Grayson over the matter of Topa enrolling in class.^[5]

Battle of Earth and recriminations[]

Marcus, along with Ty, was disappointed when Isaac was recalled to the Kaylon homeworld. At Claire's urging, Isaac told the two of them goodbye, stating that he would not be returning.^[6] Following this, Isaac and his people launched an all-out war on the Planetary Union, beginning by seizing control of the Orville. As the vessel's crew were taken captive, Marcus admitted to his mother Claire to being scared. He then witnessed as Ty raced toward one of the attacking Kaylons, shouting that he wanted to see Isaac. He then held Ty comfortingly after one of the Kaylons attacked security chief Talla Keyali, forcing him to retreat. He then stood together with Ty and Kelly Grayson, watching as Captain Mercer ordered the Kaylons to take Talla to Sick Bay.

As the conflict continued, Marcus's brother Ty helped Lieutenant Yaphit to secretly send a message to Earth to get help. Marcus worried for his brother's fate, and was present to welcome him back as he returned to the cargo bay where the crew was being held captive. He listened as Ty told the group that Isaac had sacrificed himself in order to protect them, disabling the Kaylons. Freed, the vessel's crew the participated in a decisive conflict against the Kaylons, the Battle of Earth, managing to drive them back.^[7]

Marcus was deeply disturbed by the events of the Battle of Earth. He suffered nightmares such as one in which he would race down the corridors of the Orville during the battle, arriving in his family's quarters where his brother Ty and Isaac. Isaac would then open his head to reveal monstrous teeth. Despite Isaac having chosen ultimately to save the Finn family, the Orville and the entirety of sentient life, it was clear that Marcus was suffering deep-seated resentment regarding Isaac's betrayal.

Marcus's feelings finally became public to his family and the crew of the Orville as a whole when he graffitied the word "MURDERER" in red paint on the wall of the Astrophysics Lab where Isaac worked. Though he tried to cover the crime by having used his mother's access code and scrubbing his DNA, his deception was discovered and revealed by Chief Talla. Marcus then admitted to his crime, revealing his nightmares, but unrepentant regarding his actions. He stated that he wanted to leave the Orville if Isaac was to remain on-board. When Claire brought him to speak to Isaac, Isaac apologized for his actions, but Marcus told him he wished he was dead.

In the aftermath of Marcus's statement and other harassment from the crew, Isaac committed suicide via an electromagnetic pulse. Claire then visited Marcus, assuring him that Isaac's suicide was not his fault, but Marcus claimed to be fine with the situation. Later, however, it was discovered that it might be possible to revive Isaac using a memory chip stored within its core. The only person capable of doing so, however, was Charly Burke, who harbored similar feelings of resentment towards Isaac and grief for the loss of a compatriot during the Battle of Earth. When she refused to help, Captain Mercer relieved her of duty.

Marcus came to Charly, begging her to help Isaac, stating that he was the reason that Isaac had killed himself. When Charly told him that Isaac's decision was his alone, and Marcus asked her if she was glad that he was dead. She admitted that she was, but told him that he didn't want to be like that at his age and carry that around with him. He then admitted that he hadn't really wanted Isaac to die and this ultimately convinced Charly to go through with the revival procedure.^[8]

After Isaac proposed to her, Claire approached Marcus and Ty who were watching the ship break orbit. Claire told them that while the last year had been tough with Isaac, a lot of the crew felt that he had redeemed himself, a sentiment that both Marcus and Ty agreed to. As Claire began to tell them, Marcus and Ty revealed that they already knew about the proposal with Marcus pointing out that they lived on a small ship. However, Claire hadn't yet said yes, explaining that the two were her family and she didn't want to jeopardize that. Marcus told his mother that everyone knew that Isaac did good and asked Claire if she wanted to marry him. Claire admitted that she really did so Marcus asked why she was sitting there talking to them. With a laugh, Claire hugged her children before going to accept Isaac's proposal.

Ty and Marcus later attended their mother's wedding to Isaac.^[9]

Alternative timelines[]

In the original timeline where Pria Lavesque did not rescue the Orville from a dark matter storm, Marcus was killed along with the rest of the crew.^[10]

In an alternate timeline where Ed Mercer never became captain of the Orville, Claire accepted a position at Outpost 73 in late 2419 and Marcus and Ty joined her. The family vacationed on Arboreus 1 in January 2421, which was cut short by an outbreak of Betelgeusean flu at the outpost.^[11]

The Kaylon routed the Planetary Union at the Battle of Earth in February 2421. Marcus and Ty lived with their mother aboard a scavenger ship led by Kelly Grayson.^[12]

Personality[]

Marcus and classmate — Marcus and his classmate.

Marcus is a "good kid," with "a great mom and a really great teacher."^[4]

Like many siblings, Marcus fights frequently with his brother and his mother. For examples, Marcus kicks Ty's seat on a shuttle when Ty farts - probably in an effort to annoy Marcus, and Marcus willfully disobeys his mother by playing his gaming device on the shuttle.^[1] Yet the shuttle crash of early 2420 was an important moment of maturation for Marcus. Marcus realizes he loves his brother and his mom when Ty falls ill from poloxus, and Claire goes missing. He encourages Isaac to hold Ty's hand and to tell him a bedtime story, and tearfully apologizes to his mother for saying she 'sucks.' After nearly losing both, Marcus fights less with Ty and Claire. Further, Marcus and Ty begin to adore Isaac, and see him as a fatherly figure in their lives.^[1] However, after Isaac betrays the crew of the Orville by assisting his people in launching an attack on the Planetary Union, Marcus suffers deep-seated resentment towards him.^[8] Marcus later gets over this, acknowledging that Isaac has redeemed himself and even encouraging his mother to accept Isaac's marriage proposal.^[9]

Relationship with his mother[]

Marcus loves his mother but, as he ages, their relationship strains. In late 2420, Marcus befriends James Duncan, whom he met in class. Duncan encourages him to lie to his mother, break rules, and be combative. "It's like he hates me for no reason," Claire later remarked.^[4]

Production[]

Trivia[]

Marcus has a friend named Bradley, a boy with alcoholic parents who permit him to attend medieval battle camp in an Environmental Simulator.^[1]
Marcus and Ty are locked out of their quarters when Claire copulates with Lieutenant Yaphit. They complain to Chief of Security Alara Kitan.^[13]
Around April, 2420, Marcus and Ty offer to help Isaac scan the Orville after a spatial anomaly damages part of the ship.^[3] Isaac initially rejects their help but, after Navigator John LaMarr criticizes him, relents.
- Marcus notices that plants in one section of the ship have died. The discovery leads the special Science and Engineering task force to believe that the section of the ship entered two-dimensional space.
It is very possible that Marcus and Ty are maternal half-brothers and do not share the same donor their mother used for their separate artificial insemination processes.
His family's quarters was on Deck B.^{[n 3]}

Appearances[]

Notes[]

↑ On the basis of Marcus's perceived age and the starting year of the show, 2418.
↑ Marcus tells Isaac that he learned about Dysonium deposits on other planets in class. (Episode 1x08: Into the Fold)
↑ In a dream of Marcus Finn, he accesses his quarters on the same floor as the Mess Hall. (Episode 3x01: Electric Sheep)

References[]

[1] On the basis of Marcus's perceived age and the starting year of the show, 2418.

[4] Marcus tells Isaac that he learned about Dysonium deposits on other planets in class. (Episode 1x08: Into the Fold)

[16] In a dream of Marcus Finn, he accesses his quarters on the same floor as the Mess Hall. (Episode 3x01: Electric Sheep)

[:0-2] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 ^1.3 Episode 1x08: Into the Fold

[3] Episode 1x01: Old Wounds

[:1-5] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Episode 1x11: New Dimensions

[:2-6] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Episode 2x01: Ja'loja

[7] Episode 1.5x01: New Beginnings, Pt. 1

[Identity_1-8] Episode 2x08: Identity, Pt. 1

[Identity_2-9] Episode 2x09: Identity, Pt. 2

[Electric-10] 8.0 ^8.1 Episode 3x01: Electric Sheep

[Future_Unknown-11] 9.0 ^9.1 Episode 3x10: Future Unknown

[12] Episode 1x05: Pria

[13] Episode 2.5x05: Digressions, Pt. 1

[14] Episode 2x14: The Road Not Taken

[15] Episode 1x09: Cupid's Dagger

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