An alien family welcomes home the father who has brought something new and exciting that the mother claims will make things much easier.

They open the crate and reveal a Kaylon.

On board the Orville, LaMarr and Keyali are in bed when she accidentally breaks a couple of his bones. He heads to sickbay.

Dr. Finn is about to leave for dinner when LaMarr comes in. He claims he was hurt in a combat simulation. She examines him and finds multiple injuries. She states this is the third time this week.

She heads to her dinner date with Isaac. She shares that she thinks LaMarr is covering up something about his injuries. Isaac attempts to flirt with her using phrases he’s learned in his research.

The ship is rendezvousing with the Janisi. Talla conducts the briefing for the crew as she’s encountered them before.

The Janisi are matriarchal. Their males are second-class citizens. Bortus – ironically – questions the alliance with such a close-minded society.

They will meet the Janisi in orbit around an abandoned mining planet, Situla 4.

In order to meet the Janisi’s cultural expectations, the delegation is met by Grayson, Keyali, Finn, and Burke.

The Janisi are led by Captain Losha. Grayson introduces herself as the captain of the Orville with Keyali (wearing blue) as her First Officer and Burke as her Chief Engineer.

Losha introduces her First Officer, Kava, and her First Lieutenant, Hodell.

Mercer and Malloy are ordered to help with the delegation’s bags.

On the bridge, the women take their seats as commanders. Bortus is asked to leave just in case the Janisi come by.

Burke’s instruments detect an energy surge from the supposedly abandoned planet. Isaac confirms the reading.

Mercer takes Malloy, Burke, and Bortus to investigate.

Back in the alien household, the servant Kaylon serves dinner. The children want to bring the Kaylon, named K-1, to school. The parents deny the request, but K-1 asks to be allowed to go. His request is denied as well and he is reprimanded and sent away until needed for clean up.

Mercer’s landing party explores the remains of the mining operation and finds a lab. A Kaylon approaches them. He introduces himself as Timmis and claims he means them no harm.

An alien woman joins them. She introduces herself as Dr. Villka. She backs up Timmis as being harmless. She explains that she and her father found Timmis in the wreck of a damaged Kaylon ship that had crashed when trying to retreat from the battle with the Union. They removed his weapons and repaired him.

They also managed to give Timmis the ability to feel and experience empathy.

Dr. Villka and Timmis agree to come aboard the Orville to inform the Union of their discoveries.

LaMarr is very excited by the cybernetics Dr. Villka has installed in Timmis.

Burke gives LaMarr the heads up the Janisi are headed to Engineering. She’s giving them the tour and needs his cheat sheet.

All males are kicked out of Engineering for the tour. The Janisi are impressed with the ship’s quantum core. Keyali intimates the tech could be shared if the Janisi were to ally themselves with the Union.

LaMarr gets Keyali attention and she excuses herself from the tour.

In her office, he asks why she’s avoiding him. She tries to break up with him, citing his repeated injuries as the reason. He insists that their relationship is real and he doesn’t want to give it up. She says she doesn’t either but that they need to be really careful that he doesn’t get hurt again.

In the alien household, the family is watching an entertainment device. K-1 is dismissed but stays and asks about the entertainment.

When the father tries to order him to the kitchen to clean up, K-1 asks why he is their servant.

The father decides K-1 is broken and he plans to call the company in the morning. He directs K-1 to power down and K-1 complies.

In the astrophysics lab, Dr. Villka tells LaMarr about Timmis’s neural net. Isaac enters and Timmis is excited to meet him. LaMarr and Dr. Villka leave them to get acquainted.

Timmis tells Isaac that Dr. Villka could provide the same cybernetics to Isaac to give him emotions.

Mercer and Grayson report in to Admiral Halsey who orders them to bring Dr. Villka and Timmis to Union Headquarters once the agreement with the Janisi is concluded.

In bed again, Keyali accidentally breaks LaMarr’s leg this time.

Isaac comes across LaMarr limping to sickbay. He helps him to Dr. Finn who is upset to be treating him for injuries again.

Before Isaac leaves, Dr. Finn asks him about Timmis and his emotions. Isaac informs her he turned down the opportunity to have the procedure done to him.

In the Kaylon company headquarters, Vandicon,, a clerk brings more complaints to Yan, the creator and head of the company. Yan admits he knew the Kaylons would become independent and insubordinate. He considers the options.

He introduces an upgrade that his clerk objects to. He insists on it.

On the ship, the Janisi are invited to a meal. They are initially upset to find males in the room but Grayson explains that they find value in educating males in case of an emergency.

When the Janisi Lieutenant decides to mate with Mercer, a dispute arises. Grayson comes clean and Janisi are incensed. They state their intent to leave soon.

LaMarr and Dr. Villka continue to share information on the neural system she’s installed in Timmis. LaMarr takes Isaac down to Engineering to run a simulation. Villka and Timmis talk for a moment and then Burke comes in. Timmis addresses her about her experience in the battle.

Burke isn’t open to a discussion about Kaylons but Timmis explains how their builders installed pain receptors to reinforce their enslavement.

In the alien household, K-1 is setting the table when the father tells him to help him in the yard. When K-1 insists on completing the task at hand first, the father pulls out the upgrade device and stuns K-1 into complying.

Timmis explains the punishments became a part of the builders’ culture and attitude towards the Kaylons.

The alien children use the pain device to punish K-1 needlessly.

Timmis describes how the Kaylon evolved to push back against the builders who were abusing them.

In the middle of the night, K-1 activates himself. He opens the door to the parents’ bedroom and shows his weaponry. When the father attempts to activate the pain device, K-1 kills him and the mother with a single shot to their heads. He continues to the children’s room and kills them in their sleep.

Burke listens to Timmis’s story and then states she needs to return to her post.

Dr. Finn visits Grayson in her quarters. She expresses her desire for Isaac to undergo the procedure. Grayson comments that unless she asks him to do it for her, she won’t know if he’s willing to do it for her.

LaMarr and Malloy are discussing LaMarr’s relationship with Keyali. Malloy suggests they just stop having sex since it injures LaMarr.

Over dinner, Dr. Finn asks Isaac to undergo the procedure.

In bed, Keyali cries, mourning their relationship. When the camera pans back, LaMarr is severely injured with a swollen face.

Isaac enters the lab to see Timmis and Dr. Villka. When Dr. Villka asks him if she can help him, he says, “Yes.”

When the Janisi prepare to leave orbit, Mercer orders Burke to stall them.

Grayson enters his ready room and says she may have found a workaround.

Using their previous marital relationship and how it dissolved, they appeal to the Janisi on the basis of some common nature. The Janisi leave but offer an invitation to a Union delegate to visit in the future.

Dr. Finn finds a box outside her door. The card is an invitation to dinner. The box contains a dress.

When she enters the restaurant, Isaac smiles and greets her. He professes his love for her and the boys and declares an intent to love them all forever.

As they dance, a change comes over his face. He informs Dr. Finn that the neural modification has malfunctioned and his emotions have disappeared.

In the analysis, Dr. Villka finds that Isaac, being built by the Kaylons, differs from Timmis who was built by the original biological builders. In order to make the neural modification stick, she would need to erase Isaac’s memory.

Isaac offers to make this sacrifice to make Dr. Finn happy. She refuses to let him give up his entire memory and accumulated experiences for her. She thanks Dr. Villka and leaves crying.

Burke approaches Isaac in Engineering. She expresses some understanding for why the Kaylon are what they are.