"Moral Orel" began as a clever and biting but formulaic religious satire by design, parodying the religious cartoons meant to teach young kids lessons about their faith. Each episode began by focusing on a rambling sermon given by Reverend Putty that Orel then follows to a literal fault, often causing havoc in the town, and then being "set straight" by a illogical and contradictory teaching from his alcoholic father after a beating. If this sounds very dark, that's because it is, but in the show it is all delivered in an absurd and comical manner, for the first season at least.
Many of the episodes in the second season also follow this formula, especially many of the earlier ones, but a few times, we get a glimpse deeper into the lives and genuine desires of the characters. We see how Reverend Putty's desperate search for a woman pays off with his realization the importance of his existing family, and we see how doughy's neglect at home guides his need for acceptance from Orel, and several more of the characters' backgrounds. But we don't truly begin to see the darker, more serious side of the characters until the last two episodes: "Nature: Part 1" and "Nature: Part 2". During these two episodes (both dedicated to John Cassavettes), Clay, Orel's father, takes his son on his first hunting trip. Clay tries to force his son to kill an animal, but Orel can't bring himself to do it. After Clay takes matters into his own hands, killing and eating a hunting dog in a drunken haze, Orel finally realizes his father's flaws, resisting him more and more as Clay spirals into pure rage, climaxing when he unintentionally fires a shot at his son's leg.
This is the moment that Orel begins to realize that his "superiors" have flaws just as any other human, and maybe he shouldn't blindly follow them without question. This is also the set up for the subversive third and final season, where they really began to experiment with the structure and tone of the show. From here, each episode centers around the depressing reality that every character in the town has been dealing with in the background as they shielded Orel from it. It often focuses on the build up to this hunting trip, exposing the deep psychological flaws in each character, even those with little to no screen time before this season. Not only this, but the animation improves drastically, becoming much more creative and just plain impressive. For instance, in one of my favorite moments from the entire series, in a FIRST PERSON STOP MOTION SHOT, we witness Clay walking through the halls of his home with a glass of whiskey in his hand after his hunting trip. Not only would a long-take, first person stop motion shot take incredible dedication, skill, and precision, but the scene they used this technique in is essentially flawless, perfectly showing the numbness and void of emotion in Clay's (and his wife's) life. To top it off is a song by The Mountain Goats, a band whose songs are used more than once in this season to great effect to show their hopeless condition of life.
Their loneliness, self-loathing, desperation, desires, repressed feelings and memories are all laid out for us, until we realize why Orel hasn't gotten any proper guidance or care: everyone else was so caught up in their own problems. However, despite its bleakness, the show does end with a hope that maybe someone like Orel can actually mature after realizing what those around him did wrong, creating a happy and meaningful family despite the example that those around him set for him.
Many of the episodes in the second season also follow this formula, especially many of the earlier ones, but a few times, we get a glimpse deeper into the lives and genuine desires of the characters. We see how Reverend Putty's desperate search for a woman pays off with his realization the importance of his existing family, and we see how doughy's neglect at home guides his need for acceptance from Orel, and several more of the characters' backgrounds. But we don't truly begin to see the darker, more serious side of the characters until the last two episodes: "Nature: Part 1" and "Nature: Part 2". During these two episodes (both dedicated to John Cassavettes), Clay, Orel's father, takes his son on his first hunting trip. Clay tries to force his son to kill an animal, but Orel can't bring himself to do it. After Clay takes matters into his own hands, killing and eating a hunting dog in a drunken haze, Orel finally realizes his father's flaws, resisting him more and more as Clay spirals into pure rage, climaxing when he unintentionally fires a shot at his son's leg.
This is the moment that Orel begins to realize that his "superiors" have flaws just as any other human, and maybe he shouldn't blindly follow them without question. This is also the set up for the subversive third and final season, where they really began to experiment with the structure and tone of the show. From here, each episode centers around the depressing reality that every character in the town has been dealing with in the background as they shielded Orel from it. It often focuses on the build up to this hunting trip, exposing the deep psychological flaws in each character, even those with little to no screen time before this season. Not only this, but the animation improves drastically, becoming much more creative and just plain impressive. For instance, in one of my favorite moments from the entire series, in a FIRST PERSON STOP MOTION SHOT, we witness Clay walking through the halls of his home with a glass of whiskey in his hand after his hunting trip. Not only would a long-take, first person stop motion shot take incredible dedication, skill, and precision, but the scene they used this technique in is essentially flawless, perfectly showing the numbness and void of emotion in Clay's (and his wife's) life. To top it off is a song by The Mountain Goats, a band whose songs are used more than once in this season to great effect to show their hopeless condition of life.
Their loneliness, self-loathing, desperation, desires, repressed feelings and memories are all laid out for us, until we realize why Orel hasn't gotten any proper guidance or care: everyone else was so caught up in their own problems. However, despite its bleakness, the show does end with a hope that maybe someone like Orel can actually mature after realizing what those around him did wrong, creating a happy and meaningful family despite the example that those around him set for him.