From the toxic family dynamics, addiction and themes of generational trauma in Bojack Horseman to the nihilism, character depth and likewise in Adult Swim‘s Rick & Morty, the landscape of adult animation has changed drastically in recent years. While the network is seeing a return to more light-hearted fare — like the successful Smiling Friends or the renewal of Birdgirl — dark media still has its place. Adult Swim has been known to tackle realistic subject matter to unfortunately mixed results. Unceremoniously cancelled after its third season, Moral Orel was a dark, brilliant and often overlooked satire of Christian cartoons the likes of Davy & Goliath. Airing from 2005-2008, the show is as strikingly human as it is hilariously dark.
Set in the fictional town of Moralton, Statesota, the series is centered around 12-year-old Oral Puppington. A devout Protestant eager to serve his family and community, young Oral frequently misinterprets Sunday scripture with disturbing and hilarious results. At the end of each installment, Orel is belted by his father, Clay — whom Orel idolizes — for a fairly more innocuous “sin.” In the first episode, for example, Orel is told that forsaking the gift of life is an egregious wrong; in order to “correct it,” Orel raises the dead using the Necronomicon, creating man-eating zombies. Rather than punish him for grave-digging, causing chaos or defying the laws of nature, Clay is deeply offended that Orel’s zombies were made naked.
This formulaic structure continued throughout the majority of Season 1. While Moral Orel had proven itself to be funny, vulgar and subversive, the show’s darker and more human themes wouldn’t appear until Episode 10. Intended to be the season’s final episode, “The Best Christmas Ever!” was aired first in order to coincide with Adult Swim’s holiday programming block. While this was to the initial run’s detriment, fans praised the episode for its both somber ending and its unflinching look at toxic family dynamics.
As Orel looks forward to Christmas, his parents Bloberta and Clay have an eerily real fight in the next room. They’ve often fought before, giving viewers a glimpse into their loveless marriage with little comedic payoff, but this argument in particular centers around Orel’s little brother Shapey. After hearing that Clay isn’t Shapey’s father, Orel interprets this as the second coming of Jesus. Often neglected by both parents, Shapey is characterized as an unruly brat with little regard for others or his own safety. When the brothers tear through Moralton, Shapey destroys a Nativity scene — much to the approval of his older brother, who believes the “new Messiah” can do no wrong. After learning of his parents’ failing marriage, a crestfallen Orel finds his father in a bar, being intimately comforted by Shapey’s real father, Coach Daniel Stopframe.
Heartbroken, alone and horribly worried, Orel prays for a miracle. The camera moves farther and farther from Orel’s hopeful face, toward the sky and into the end credits. Orel’s expression grows more and more somber until the character is barely visible. While this isolating final scene indicates that there would be no miracle, it also hints at the dark and complex tonal shift ahead.
Moral Orel’s second season placed less of an emphasis on its titular character and more on the troubled, sad and deeply hypocritical citizens of Moralton. True to his name, Orel’s best friend Doughy Latchkey is horribly neglected by his parents Kim and Karl, who — still behaving like hormonal teenagers — are far too wrapped up in their physical relationship to extend any love to their son. Stephanie, an atheist and lesbian who runs the local sex shop (and serves as a kindly older sister of sorts to Orel) works to build a relationship with her dad, Reverend Putty.
Season 2’s final episode brings the focus back to Orel. Despite his seemingly unshakable optimism, “Nature” sees Orel lose complete faith in his father. Orel and Clay embark on a long-anticipated father-son hunting trip. Far from the light-hearted antics of a family-based Chris Farley vehicle, this trip is the stuff of nightmares. During, Clay gets horribly drunk, and repeatedly pushes the gentle Orel to kill. Later, he rants about the misery of his life and marriage while covered in flies and leaches. Tensions escalate to such a degree that Clay shoots Orel, leaving him to bleed among nature while he passes out. After returning home, Bloberta tells Orel that Clay’s drunken behavior is merely his father’s “true nature” — cementing Clay as a horrid, dishonorable man in his son’s eyes. (Clay might be among network tv’s worst fictional fathers, not unlike the terrible Konstantin from Killing Eve.)
This plot point is further illustrated at the end of Season 3. A flawless parallel to “The Best Christmas Ever,” Season 3, Episode 13, “Honor,” is also set at Christmas. In an effort to once again honor his father, Orel approaches Coach Stopframe, believing that he’ll provide answers. The episode painstakingly highlights the tragically amorous nature of Clay and Coach Stopframe’s relationship. Both men are closeted bisexuals, with the former only conceiving Shapey in order to be close to Clay. As Coach Stopframe bonds with Orel, the jaded child feels a joy he hasn’t in a long time.
After coming to terms with his father’s horrid nature, Stopframe reassures Orel that his father made him, and that this is an honorable thing. While once again ending on Orel’s somber expression, the episode reveals a bright future for the smart, loving and wholly good young man. Despite its premature ending and often disturbing content, Moral Orel ultimately left viewers with feelings of warmth, joy and a powerful lesson about what it means to be truly moral.