Who is Lysella on The Orville: New Horizons?

The season finale of The Orville: New Horizons has come and gone, reuniting us with some older characters who haven’t been on the show in quite a while. The most prominent was Lysella, played by Giorgia Whigham, a refugee from the planet Sargus 4 who seeks asylum on the USS Orville. It’s been quite a while since Lysella appeared in the series, so if you were scratching your head when her voice came on the com scanner, you’re not alone.

Before “Future Unknown,” Lysella appeared in the seventh episode of The Orville’s first season: “Majority Rule,” which revolved around a world run by a social media upvote/downvote system of government. It was as dystopian as it sounds, and stood out as one of The Orville’s first strong forays into more thought-provoking storytelling. The show was renewed for a second season just days after “Majority Rule” initially aired.

Who is The Orville Lysella?

“Majority Rule” featured a mission to the planet Sargus 4, where two of the Union’s researches had gone missing. After LaMarr suggestively dances on a statue of local hero Mella Giffendon and it’s caught on camera, he receives enough downvotes to run into trouble. If a person gets too many downvotes on Sargus 4, they’re essentially lobotomized to remove any troublesome behavior.

Lysella was a barista on the planet who discovers that the Orville crew are space travelers, wielding technology far more advanced from anything on her home planet. She gives the crew vital information that helps them get LaMarr out of his predicament, and briefly spends time on the USS Orville before returning to her own world.

In New Horizons, we learn that things have only gotten worse on the mob-mentality planet of  Sargus 4. Lysella stole a com scanner during her visit to the Orville back in season 1, and uses it to request asylum on the ship.

Captain Mercer decides to take her aboard, and though Lysella and Commander Grayson debate whether the technologically advanced Union has a moral obligation to avert the worsening situation on Sargus 4, she ultimately ends up remaining on the ship and seemingly becoming part of the crew.

The Orville: New Horizons is available now in its entirety on Hulu. All three seasons of The Orville will also be coming to Disney+ on August 10.

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h/t The Orville Wiki