Even with the recent news that Fox will be slimming down the first season of ‘The Orville,’ Seth MacFarlane’s sci-fi fare with a dash of comedy has done enough to please viewers and critics alike, earning the network fairly decent ratings numbers and the guarantee of a second season.  This week brings us the penultimate episode for the first season, “New Directions,” which will be followed by the big season finale, “Mad Idolatry.”

Fox has given us a synopsis of the next two episodes.  Let’s start with “New Directions:”

Kelly discovers that Lt. John Lamarr is smarter than he lets on. So, she pushes Ed to consider him for a key leadership position on the ship after The Orville gets damaged by a mysterious spatial anomaly causing harrowing effects to all things living in the all-new “New Dimensions” episode of THE ORVILLE airing Thursday, Nov. 30 (9:01-10:00 PM ET) on FOX. (ORV-111) (TV-14 D, L)

And of course, we also have the synopsis for “Mad Idolatry,” the first-season finale:

Ed and Kelly seriously reconsider getting back together. However, while Kelly is on a mission with Isaac and Gordon to investigate the origins of an uncharted star, they suddenly crash-land on a planet from another universe. Kelly then makes a decision with unforeseen long-term consequences for the planet, putting Ed in a difficult position in the all-new “Mad Idolatry” season finale episode of THE ORVILLE airing Thursday, Dec. 7 (9:01-10:00 PM ET) on FOX. (ORV-113) (TV-14 L, S, V).

With only these two episodes left in the recently-shortened first season (not to worry, the one episode that was “cut” from the first season is now a part of the second season), here’s hoping that ‘The Orville’ can finish on a strong note.  With all the interesting plot points that have been covered so far this season, the show is in a little bit of danger in feeling too disparate and disconnected from itself, so hopefully either these last two episodes of the first season or a good chunk of the second season can be devoted to “connecting the dots” a little bit.

From Emmy Award-winning executive producer and creator Seth MacFarlane (FAMILY GUY, “Ted”) and directed by Jon Favreau (“The Jungle Book,” “Iron Man”), THE ORVILLE is a one-hour science fiction series set 400 years in the future that follows the adventures of the U.S.S. Orville, a mid-level exploratory vessel. Its crew, both human and alien, faces the wonders and dangers of outer space, while also dealing with the familiar, often humorous problems of regular people in a workplace…even though some of those people are from other planets, and the workplace is a faster-than-light spaceship. In the 25th century, Earth is part of the Planetary Union, a far-reaching, advanced and mostly peaceful civilization with a fleet of 3,000 ships. Down on his luck after a bitter divorce, Planetary Union officer ED MERCER (MacFarlane) finally gets his chance to command one of these ships: the U.S.S. Orville. Determined to prove his worth and write a new chapter in his life, Ed finds that task all the more difficult when the First Officer assigned to his ship is his ex-wife, KELLY GRAYSON (Adrianne Palicki, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Friday Night Lights”). As the new commander, Ed assembles a qualified, but eccentric crew, including his best friend, GORDON MALLOY (Scott Grimes, “ER,” “Justified”), who has problems with authority, but is the best helmsman in the fleet; DR. CLAIRE FINN (Penny Johnson Jerald, “24,” “The Larry Sanders Show”), one of the Union’s most accomplished physicians; BORTUS (Peter Macon, “Shameless,” “Bosch”), an alien from a single-sex species; ISAAC (Mark Jackson, “That Royal Today”), an artificial life-form from a machine society that thinks biological life-forms are inferior; navigator JOHN LAMARR (J. Lee, FAMILY GUY, “The Cleveland Show”), whose casual humor cuts through even the most dire situations; ALARA KITAN (Halston Sage, “Neighbors,” “Goosebumps”), a young, inexperienced security officer whose home planet’s high gravity gives her superior physical strength; and YAPHIT, a gelatinous creature voiced by comedian Norm Macdonald (“The Middle,” “Saturday Night Live”). Somehow, Ed and Kelly must put the past behind them and, with the help of the crew, navigate fascinating and sometimes dangerous adventures in outer space, as well as the tumultuous and captivating day-to-day personal relationships with their colleagues.

‘The Orville’ airs Thursday nights on FOX.