When I first started this show I found it to be a really awkward mix of comedy and seriousness. It had some jokes thrown it at the most inopportune times as some kind of comic relief from a really serious situation. Perhaps the first half of the first season was actually a bit rough or maybe the show just grew on me, but by season 2 I found myself loving this show.
To me it seems as every bit as comfy, intellectually interesting and even funny as some classic Star Treks while still clearly being its own thing. I wish more comfy space shows like this would get made.
What are your thoughts on The Orville? Also I miss Alara.
Malloy's line delivery in Season 3 when he confesses to killing and eating animals really goes a long way to show how far the ethical mores of future society have moved. He basically felt like a murderer because, to him at least, that's exactly what he felt like. Contrast that against his prior characterization as the goofy, prankster guy and you get so much more depth of character from him.
It's like Marty McFly admitting to Doc Brown that he killed and ate Biff because the Doc left the two on a desert island and timey wimey weirdness meant he showed back up two months later than he expected. Heavy stuff.