Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was written by co-executive producer Janet Lin, directed by Gary Rake, and scored by John Debney. It is the first episode not to feature the standard opening credits and theme music by Bruce Broughton, which were removed due to time constraints.[2]
The title of the episode probably[n 1] derives from a play by William Shakespeare in which the titular Macbeth soliloquies:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death.[3]
The episode was warmly received by general audiences and professional critics alike, noting in particular actress Adrianne Palicki's "superb"[4] and "nuanced"[5] performance juggling both younger and older Kelly Grayson. Palicki later said that the episode was the hardest acting experience of her life.[6]
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow currently holds a rating of 8.4 on IMDB.[7] The episode is part of Season 2's noteworthy second half, where every episode after Deflectors boasts a score of eight or higher. Roughly 2.71 million viewers watched the episode live.[8]
Fox aired a 20-second trailer for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow immediately after the premiere of Sanctuary.
The Orville "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow"
Plot Synopsis[]
Act 1[]
Ed, Kelly, HelmsmanGordon Malloy, and Chief of SecurityTalla Keyali enjoy drinks in the USS Orville's Mess Hall, recounting Mercer and Grayson's drinking habits, and Mercer's drunken encounter with the novelist Philippa Jones at AdmiralTom Halsey's house. After exchanging jokes, Malloy and Keyali retire for the night. Now alone, Mercer tells Grayson that he misses their old days as a couple. Mercer suggest re-kindling their relationship, but Grayson has not changed her mind that a relationship between a captain and first officer would be inappropriate.
Suddenly, the Orville is gripped by a huge shock wave. The ship passed through a massive gravitational wave possibly caused by a neutron star collision. Isaac is about to head to Engineering to assist in a structural damage report when a different version of Kelly Grayson appears.
Act 2[]
Isaac recognizes the woman as a younger version of Kelly. She is perplexed, and says that she was just in her apartment and wonders if she is in a simulation. Isaac contacts the Bridge to report an intruder.
In Sick Bay, Doctor Claire Finn examines the woman, who recalls only that she was drinking coffee at her apartment on Earth. According to Claire, the woman is genetically identical to Kelly except seven years younger.
Act 3[]
Isaac and Chief LaMarr speculate that the gravitational wave that they encountered amplified the temporal field generated by Aronov's quantum accelerator. At the time of the shockwave, Kelly was closest to the accelerator and was thinking about her first date with Ed seven years prior. Isaac explains that even among the Kaylon, the effect of a conscious observer on quantum physics is not fully understood.
The elder Kelly and Ed mutually agree to tell the younger Kelly about their relationship, marriage, affair, and divorce. Old Kelly gives her access to her personal logs to apprise herself of the last seven years.
Talla escorts young Kelly to guest quarters, and offers to be someone she can talk to.
The Bridge crew debates the possibility of time travel, alternate universes, and causality, when John interrupts with bad news: At the moment, there is no way to send young Kelly back.
Act 4[]
Young Kelly is devastated by John's news, and Ed and old Kelly are unable to console her. As young Kelly was (and remains) an officer, Ed offers to help her find a job in the Planetary Union. She asks to be left alone in her unit.
Talla pays young Kelly a visit, both to be a friend and to get her a new lieutenant's uniform.
Newly outfitted in her uniform, Lieutenant Grayson tells a funny but ribald story to John and Gordon. Commander Grayson overhears them and asks her not to share memories with her subordinates that might compromise her authority. When Lieutenant Grayson chafes at not being able to have fun, Commander Grayson suggests they treat each other like twin sisters.
Lieutenant Grayson asks her older self if her relationship with Ed is truly over. The older Grayson confirms it is. Lieutenant Grayson then says she will request a post aboard the Orville, which Commander Grayson slowly approves.
Gordon and Ed are playing a video game in Ed's quarters when the younger Kelly enters. Gordon leaves, and Kelly asks Ed for a second date. Ed visits Commander Grayson for her blessing to date Lieutenant Grayson or to renew their relationship. She is adamant not to date Ed and reluctantly approves of him dating her.
Ed and young Kelly go for dinner at Mooska's. He tells her about Isaac, conflict with the Kaylon, and their first date seven years ago. After, a drunken Ed and Kelly trudge through the corridor and share a passionate kiss before parting.
Act 5[]
The younger Grayson drinks some coffee in the morning. Commander Grayson visits her quarters to express her concerns about her relationship with Mercer. She wants Lieutenant Grayson not to pursue a relationship with the older Mercer to prevent the painful divorce. Lieutenant Grayson takes offense and tells Commander Grayson that she is making her future a disappointment.
On the Bridge, Bortus reports that sensors have picked up two Kaylon Spheres. Ed orders Gordon to take them into quantum and to maintain course until they are out of scanning range.
Ed and Gordon chat in the Mess Hall. Gordon thinks Ed dating Lieutenant Grayson it is a bad idea because he saw the hurt that it caused Mercer the first time. Lieutenant Grayson approaches to tell Ed that she got the engineers to program a simulation of one of favorite memories, and invites Gordon, Bortus, Klyden, and Talla.
The memory turns out to be a noisy night club. Gordon and Ed sit uncomfortably while their friends party, watching Bortus and Klyden dance aggressively with each other. "Is this what you want?" Gordon asks Ed.
Act 6[]
Over drinks, Commander Grayson confides in Doctor Claire Finn of her unease about her past life "thrown in her face." Kelly asks if the younger Grayson was right that she is a disappointment. Claire reassures her that she has done great things as a commander, but Kelly is disappointed in her broken marriage. Claire advises her friend to reassess what she really wants in life.
Meanwhile Lieutenant Grayson tries to surprise Captain Mercer with a new dress - one his ex-wife had surprised him with before. The two embrace and kiss, but Ed says he still has feelings for his former wife. Just then, Bortus issues a message that the two Kaylon spheres have caught up with them.
On the Bridge, Bortus reports they have seven minutes before the spheres intercept. Lieutenant Grayson proposes hiding in the Jovian rings of the Vendek 2 five light years away, which are made of ice.
The Orville latches onto an ice asteroid and turns on its hoses, creating a jetty of water to create a film of ice. The ship powers down as the two Kaylon ships pass. As the spheres leave, Ed orders the Orville to remain powered down until 0600 hours.
Act 7[]
Lieutenant Grayson apologizes to her older self, and Commander Grayson thanks for saving them. For the first time, the two recognize and respect each other. Chief EngineerJohn LaMarr enters with news that younger Kelly could be returned.
In the Briefing Room, Isaac LaMarr explain that they could induce the quantum accelerator, which will use an enormous sum of energy from the quantum drive. Claire says that she will wipe Lieutenant Grayson's memory. The young Kelly smiles, knowing that because the older Kelly cannot remember this incident, it is because their plan will work.
In the Science Lab, Lieutenant Grayson bids farewell. Ed apologizes for "the absence and neglect" over the next five years in their lives. Claire puts Kelly to sleep and the Orville officers begin their plan.
Kelly's memory is wiped, but the graviton emitters demands more power than the engines can produce. Engineering feeds even more energy from the engines, but Talla reports that all departments are report overloads and Bortus reports the hull is taking damage. Mercer orders them to shut it down just as Lieutenant Kelly returns to her timeline.
Young Kelly finds herself lying on the floor of her apartment and looks out the window at the skyline below. She receives a call from a younger Ed who tells her he had a really great time out last night. He asks if he can take her out again.
"I just, um I just don't see us working out. I'm sorry."
Production[]
Writing[]
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was written by Janet Lin, who took on one of the most difficult writing projects of The Orville so far. The episode marked a renewed focus on the relationship between Ed and Kelly: creator Seth MacFarlane had wanted the relationship only to play a part in Season 2 but not constitute the season's central narrative,[9] so Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow marked a return to Season 1's themes.
According to science consultant André Bormanis, the writing staff had been interested in using time travel to serve as a vehicle for a story for some time, but they realized almost every possible time-travel story had been written. "It's hard to find a really good original time travel story," he reflected. "You have to find a new approach to it that hasn't been done on other science fiction shows, and that's pretty much an impossible task at this point."[10] Executive producer David A. Goodman, who wrote the subsequent episode, later said the writing staff concluded that having Ed date a younger version of his ex-wife would be a "fresh" take on time travel.[11]
Originally, this episode was to be a self-contained story in the middle of Season 2 that would "reset" when young Kelly returned, until someone in the writing staff suggested that she returned, she would turn young Ed down. When Goodman pitched The Road Not Taken as its sequel, the writing team moved the pair of episodes to the end of the season.[11]
Filming[]
Actress Adrianne Palicki (Kelly) said this episode and The Road Not Taken, taken together, "were the hardest acting experiences of [her] life."[12] Actress Michele Boyd played Kelly's body-double on camera.[6] Hair and make-up teams stood by as Palicki acted as one character, then dress her as the alternate character and re-shoot the scene.[13]
Palicki later said of the experience:
I had to change back-and-forth per shot into two different characters, so I had to know the entire script by heart. ... There was so much to that that was challenging, and that's what makes me better, that's what makes me strive.[14]
Palicki gave the junior Kelly a higher voice and a different gait.[13]
Post-production[]
Music was composed by John Debney. When the Kaylon find the USS Orville, Debney composed a robust theme. However, MacFarlane told Debney that when the Orville hides in the ice of Vendek 2, he wanted music to be "very, very sparse," which would sharply contrast the flood of visual effects on screen and mimic the crew's need for stealth.[15]
Preparing to air[]
The first explicit reference to this episode came in December 23, 2018, when actor Scott Grimes (Gordon) confirmed there would be a two-part episode "reminiscent of time-travel that will blow your mind ... where maybe everyone hasn't met everyone yet.[16]"
The episode's title was announced on January 25, 2019.[17]
Reception[]
Viewership[]
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow received a strongly positive response from general audiences. It currently holds a rating of 8.4 on IMDB.[7] The episode was watched by 2.71 million viewers live. While that represented an increase of five percent over the previous week, it was the second-lowest figure in the show's history.[8]
Critical response[]
Critics gave Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow an overall positive response. "The latest episode of The Orville demonstrates why I like the series so much," wrote Alejandro Rojas of Den of Geek. "It takes a typical science fiction trope and skillfully uses it to craft something meaningful for us to think about, in a way that is thoughtful, humorous, and relatable."[4]
Some critics found the episode to be an average story marked by a Adrianne Palicki's "nuanced" performance.[5] Nick Wanserski of AV Club said the episode mixed "thoughtful, well-considered character moments" with "egregious emotional manipulation," with an "intriguing" plot twist finish.[18]
Trivia[]
The Orville Season 2 Gag Reel
A composite video with outtakes from this, and other, Season 2 episodes.
Originally, this episode was to be a self-contained story that would "reset" when young Kelly returned, until someone in the writing staff suggested that she returned, she would turn young Ed down. Executive producer David A. Goodman tinkered with the idea until the plot for The Road Not Taken was hatched.[11]
Outtakes and bloopers from this episode were compiled by the show's editors for the Season 2 wrap party and were published by the Planetary Union Network.[19]
Palicki says that this episode was her favorite of Season 2 "because it was such a challenge."[12]
The episode probably takes place in late April or, more likely, early May 2421.
In The Road Not Taken, Kelly says that the future she witnessed in this episode occurred six months earlier, while the Battle of Earth happens nine months earlier.
Because the Battle of Earth against the Kaylon took place over late January and February 2421, that means Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is set three months later in April or May.
Ed and Kelly's first date took place seven years prior. As the series is now in the year 2421, this would have occurred in 2414.
Saying goodbye to the younger Kelly, Ed apologizes for the next five years of her life. However, the two divorced in 2418, implying that either (a) their date happened in 2413 or (b) Ed was rounding up to five years. Because it is easier to assume that Ed rounded to five rather than Kelly and Ed were both wrong about seven, their first date was almost certainly in 2414.
A third possibility that Ed counted five years from the time of their first date until they reconciled on the Orville is unlikely, because Kelly and Ed are still upset with each other until after Cupid's Dagger-- six years later in mid-2420.
While contemplating a relationship with the past Kelly, Ed says that he would like to date someone who is not a Krill, referencing his relationship with Teleya in Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes.
Episode titles[]
Title
Language
Translation
Sept ans de réflexion
French
"seven years of reflection"
Morgen, und morgen, und dann wieder morgen
German
"tomorrow, and tomorrow, and then again tomorrow"
A holnap, és a holnap, és a holnap
Hungarian
"tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow"
Domani e domani e domani
Italian
"tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow"
2人のケリー (Ni-ri no Kerī)
Japanese
"two Kellys"
Всё завтра, да всё завтра, да всё завтра
Russian
"all tomorrow, all tomorrow, all tomorrow"
Mañana, y mañana, y mañana
Spanish
"tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow"
Mistakes[]
As Kelly enjoys an exotic drink with distinct layers of colors with Claire, the topmost blue layer comes back after Kelly drinks it.
Due to a clerical error, this episode's production code is incorrectly filed as 2LAP12 with the United States Copyright Office.[21] The production code should have been 2LAB12.
The stars in the windows at Mooska's move from right to left as the Orville flies through space. In Ja'loja, the stars in Mooska's windows moved from left to right.
Every moonlet in the Vendek 2 double ring system is absolutely motionless, a physical impossibility.
