History YMMV / MoralOrel

** In spite of Clay being an abusive, [[AlcoholicParent booze-guzzling]] train wreck, this was largely thanks to him being abused by his father and being duped into alcoholism by his wife. These events, as well as his off-hand comments, reveal he's a sad, lonely man who recognizes he's a terrible person, but lacks the consistent willpower to change course. He promptly loses all sympathy after [[MoralEventHorizon shooting Orel in the leg on a hunting trip]], especially after he flat out tells Orel that he’s glad he shot him.

** Is it Bloberta's fault why Clay is the way he is? Did she manipulate him into drinking? Or Clay is the one responsible for his actions? Or both of them are at fault?

* AngstAversion: Season 3 managed to be ''so'' pitch-back that it got sent to cancellation (largely thanks to "Alone" and the script of "Raped"). At the very least, [[spoiler:Orel [[EarnYourHappyEnding does receive his well-deserved happy ending]] despite his TraumaCongaLine]].

* {{Anvilicious}}: It's hard to miss the show's attitudes about religious fundamentalism and 50's-brand conservatism.

** Britta Phillips singing "Closeface" at the end of the season 3 episode of the same name.

* TearDryer: "Sundays" ends with Rev. Putty's sermon on hope being replaced with hoplessness in front of a depressed crowd. The following episode reveals that he turns it around to focus on the bright side of seeing nothing in store.

** In spite of Clay being an abusive, [[AlcoholicParent booze-guzzling]] train wreck, this was largely thanks to him being abused by his father and being duped into alcoholism by his wife. These events, as well as his off-hand comments, reveal he's a sad, lonely man who recognizes he's a terrible person, but lacks the consistent willpower to change course.

** [[AbusiveParents Clay]] crossed the line in "Nature: Part 2" the moment he shot his own son in the leg and is remorseless about it. This is effectively the point where Clay stops abusing Orel through mere neglect and misdirection and becomes actively obsessed with destroying the boy's innocence, just so he can prove to himself that his own misery is natural and not because Clay himself is horribly twisted inside.

* AngstAversion: Season 3 managed to be ''so'' pitch-back that it got sent to cancellation (largely thanks to "Alone" and the script of "Raped"). At the very least, [[spoiler:Orel [[EarnYourHappyEnding eventually receives his well-deserved happy ending]] despite his TraumaCongaLine]].

** [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/B_FtGJsIiUA/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEcCOADEI4CSFXyq4qpAw4IARUAAIhCGAFwAcABBg==&rs=AOn4CLDOjdATTpdwhHISkKgtkP8XEaroIA These]] [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FVnzFIXakAA4u-M?format=jpg&name=medium faces]] have become popular [[ReactionShot reaction images.]]

** The Choir Practice's cover of Failsafe originally by Music/TheNewPornographers.

* FauxSymbolism: The way Orel lays in his hospital bed in ''Grounded'' is reminiscent of Jesus' pose in ''Art/TheLastSupper'', but the episode in question has little to do with the it outside of it being Christian.
%% ** "Love" is blatantly about Bartholomew being the second coming of Jesus. He's to be taken to the Calvary Hill Hospital to be put down. On the way, he's thrown a stick which looks suspiciously cross-like, which he carries all the way there. He even suggests his name be Jesus! This is symbolic and is incorporated properly into the narrative, so it's likely not an example.
* GrowingTheBeard: The show inches out of an episodic, purely comedic format starting with "Maturity," breaking free for a moment with "The Best Christmas Ever!" and throughly burying it with "Nature." While doing this, the show gets more ambitious with its themes and narrative (Season 3 is almost completely nonlinear, and the characters' struggles are treated seriously).

** Invoked by Doughy in "Orel's Movie Premier," possibly lampooning this.
** [[WordOfGod Dino]] has admitted this is one of his pet peeves, saying "You don't call [[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS Dennis "Menace."]]

** In spite of Clay being an abusive, [[AlcoholicParent booze-guzzling]] train wreck, this was largely thanks to him being abused by his father and being duped into alcoholism by his wife. These events, as well as his off-hand comments, reveal he's a sad, lonely man who recognizes he's a terrible person, but lacks the consistent willpower to change it.

** Shapey appears to be nothing more than a spoiled and violent brat, until it's revealed that [[spoiler: he equates wanting Bloberta's milk with feeling lonely, and his parents' neglect may be why he so pushy in the first place.]]
** Ms. Censordoll is a joyless, authoritarian despot with a peculiar obsession with slimy eggs. "Alone" reveals that this is a result of [[spoiler: having her ovaries removed by her mother at a young age for no clear reason, which caused her rapid aging, god complex, and obsession with eggs.]]

** Quoting Music/TheMountainGoats, especially "No Children," in ''Moral Orel'' discussion[[labelnote:Explanation]]''Morel Orel'' features plenty of their songs, with "No Children" being part of a SignatureScene. It's especially popular to do this on Website/FourChan.[[/labelnote]]

* RainbowLens: Ms. Secondopinionson has a deep voice, especially for a woman, but masks it out of shame and/or fear. Fans often read this as a transgender allegory.

** [[spoiler:Clay shooting Orel in the leg]] in "Nature: Part 2", the precise moment the show turned pitch black.

** In "Loyalty," he was right in that Orel should not have neglected his other friends in the devotion of one.
** In "Turn the Other Cheek," he's right in that Orel should stand up for himself when threatened.

* TheWoobie: Nurse Bendy initially appears to be little more then the local BrainlessBeauty town sexpot. It's revealed in "Alone" that she's regressed into a childlike mental state as a result of constant abuse by male superiors, [[spoiler: being molested by Joe [=SecondOpinionson=]'s father at 13.]] She's now taken to a delusional childlike illusion of a loving family through literal teddy bears, but even that doesn't work. Thankfully, [[EarnYourHappyEnding she gets better.]]

** Quoting Music/TheMountainGoats, especially "No Children," in ''Moral Orel'' discussion[[labelnote:Explanation]]''Morel Orel'' features plenty of their songs, with "No Children" being part of a SignatureScene. It's especially popular to do this on 4chan.[[/labelnote]]

* AngstAversion: Season 3 managed to be ''so'' pitch-back that it was sent to cancellation (largely thanks to "Alone" and the script of "Raped"). At the very least, [[spoiler:Orel [[EarnYourHappyEnding eventually receives his well-deserved happy ending]] in spite of his TraumaCongaLine.]]

* AngstAversion: Season 3 managed to be ''so'' pitch-back that it was sent to cancellation (largely thanks to "Alone" and the script of "Raped"). Though at the very least, [[spoiler:Orel [[EarnYourHappyEnding eventually receives his well-deserved happy ending]] in spite of his TraumaCongaLine.]]

** This trope is invoked during Putty's sermons for obvious reasons, and parodied with Clay's speeches that give the entirely wrong lesson Orel was supposed to learn.
* {{Asspull}}: [[spoiler:The timeskip ending]] was rushed out because Adult Swim pulled the plug during Season 3's production, denying the writers their chance to wrap things up properly.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: One of the most memorable things about the show is its use of music including:

** Music/TheMountainGoats No Children, Old College Try, and Love Love Love in the season 3 episodes Numb, Help, and Passing, respectively.
** Io Perry's Valentine, played at the start and end of the series finale, Honor.

** Of particular note is the episode "Innocence" which blows ''way'' past the line. The episode opens with the entire Church congregation singing a jaunty, catchy song about how much they hate Jesus and ends with Orel literally bathing in the blood of all the town's children.
** "Trigger" and Orel bringing his dad's revolver to school for show and tell.

* CultClassic: Not one of Adult Swim's most popular shows, but you'll still see people talking about it to this day, and with shows like WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman[[note]]Coincidentally, both Bojack and Moral Orel were produced by the same company, [=ShadowMachine=].[[/note]] and WesternAnimation/FIsForFamily also getting similar critical praise, places like [[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3bjymk/moral-orel-is-the-most-depressing-adult-swim-show-of-all-time-456 Vice]] and [[https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/moral-orel-paved-way-depressing-142821894.html Vulture]] mentioning that Moral Orel arguably helped plant the seeds for those types of shows.
* CryForTheDevil: Make no mistake, Clay is an [[{{Jerkass}} awful]], [[FauxAffablyEvil awful]], ''[[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk awful]]'' human being, who turns down [[NeverMyFault chance after chance]] to atone for his sins and become a better person, and yet it's impossible not to feel pity for him at times. For all his cruelty, it's clear that Clay is little more than a sad, pathetic bully, who deeply despises the person he is at heart but lacks the strength of character to become anyone better. This is probably best shown in "Sacrifice", when he mocks Potterswheel, Papermouth, and Putty in [[KickTheDog incredibly heartless ways]] but they eventually all realize that his cruelty is just the only way Clay knows how to get any attention from anyone else.

** Clay has his share of admirers, with many acknowledging his hideous traits, but choosing to overlook them due to his tragic history, as well as the fact that he’s a handsome man.
** Bloberta also has many defenders, who often argue that she’s tragically trapped in an awful marriage and is Orel’s only good parent. While she is trapped in an unwanted marriage, many forget to mention that she trapped herself in one, essentially ruining Clay’s life for the worst and forcing him to marry her and start a family, so she really only has herself to blame. Not to mention that while not as abusive as Clay, she is still incredibly neglectful of both Orel and Shapey (and later Block), by constantly ignoring whatever insane situation he gets into until it’s far too late, and letting Shapey and Block play with items that could hurt or kill them just a few feet away from her. That’s to say nothing on how complicit she can also be when Clay abuses Orel.
** Coach Stopframe also has his share of devoted fans, who wanted him and Clay to get together and felt he made Clay happier. However, while this was true, he also indulged Clay’s abusive habits, and was certainly no angel, doing things such as burning down the Figuerelli’s house, which inadvertently caused nearly the entire town to fall into flames, all just to impress Clay, tried to sacrifice Orel to Satan to get Clay to love him, engaging in satanic rituals in an attempt to make the track team run faster and most notoriously, impregnated Bloberta with Shapey as another excuse to have Clay be in his life. To be fair, [[spoiler: he did have a HeelRealization about Clay’s true nature, but this is still bad news to those who wanted him and Clay together, since he decided to officially call it off with Clay once he realized just how much of a monster Clay truly is.]]
* GrowingTheBeard: The show inches out of an episodic, purely comedic format starting with "Maturity," breaking free for a moment with "The Best Christmas Ever!" and throughly burying it with "Nature." While doing this, the show gets more ambitious with its themes and narrative (Season 3 is almost completely nonlinear, and the characters' struggles being treated seriously).

** The episode Trigger (about Doughy and Orel individually becoming fed up with their neglectful families and taking solace in shooting and guns, then getting attention for it when they're good) is incredibly uncomfortable years later now that the US has been going through an increasing number of shootings as of a little more than ten years later.

** It's a bit weird watching the show after hearing Scott Adsit as the "non-threatening, huggable" Baymax in ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6''.
** Similarly, Carolyn Lawrence voicing the main character of one of the darkest (if not ''the'' darkest) animated shows ever created when her most famous voice-acting role is Sandy Cheeks, a major character on [[WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants one of the most popular children’s shows currently on television]].

** Invoked by Doughy during Orel's movie.

** Clay Puppington is the [[AbusiveParents abusive]], [[AlcoholicParent alcoholic]] father of Orel. [[FauxAffablyEvil keeping a thin mask of affability]], Clay constantly abuses, demeans and belittles everyone around him. Completely incapable of empathy, when his own son was shot in the leg by him, he was simply angry at Orel himself for being neglectful. In spite of this, it's gradually established through the series that Clay is nothing more than an incredibly sad, lonely man who recognizes he's a terrible person, but lacks the consistent willpower to change it, he was constantly beaten by his father for accidentally causing his mother to have a heart attack, and he was duped into alcoholism by Bloberta due to her own feelings of loneliness.
** Bloberta, Clay's wife, is stuck inside a depressing, isolated marriage that she only went into due to fear of becoming ChristmasCake, as well as her singing family that isolated her for her lackluster skills, and even mutilates herself with power tools in an attempt to please a perverted doctor in an attempt to feel less alone. Despite this, she's an incredibly [[ParentalNeglect neglectful]] and mean-spirited woman who intentionally took advantage of Clay's susceptibility to addiction, and generally ignores her husband's treatment of Orel as long as she can keep the thin veneer of a happy family life.
** Ms. Censordoll is a joyless, authoritarian despot with a peculiar obsession with slimy eggs, until "Alone" reveals that this is a result of [[spoiler: having her ovaries removed by her mother at a young age for no clear reason, which has lead to her having an obsession with slimy eggs as a direct result of this, and caused her to age at a significantly accelerated rate.]]
** Joe Secondopinionson is the resident bully who steals, damages other people's property, and acts like a BrattyHalfPint whenever his older half-sister attempts to discipline him. He also has a deep-seated fear of growing old and dying due to his elderly, Alzheimer's-stricken father, and he didn't know that his mother [[spoiler: (Nurse Bendy)]] was alive due to his dad claiming she died in childbirth. You can't really blame Joe for [[CallingTheOldManOut wailing on his dad]] after finding out the truth.

* {{Moe}}: In "Beforel Orel," Orel is a small and innocent child with a huge head and pair of eyes. Who wouldn't want to give him a hug?

** [[AbusiveParents Clay]] crossed the line in "Nature: Part 2" the moment he shot Orel, his own son, in the leg. Not only does he show no remorse for it, but he later admits he's ''proud'' of what he did. Even if there are two episodes showing of how did he become the bad father to be, there is no sympathy. The shooting is effectively the point where Clay stops abusing Orel through mere neglect and misdirection and becomes actively, maliciously obsessed with destroying the boy's innocence, just so he can prove to himself that his own misery is natural and not because Clay himself is horribly twisted inside.
** Cecil Creepler is considered to be the show's biggest monster after it's revealed that he [[SerialRapist raped countless women]], which includes Agnes Sculptham whom was impregnated by him.

** And post-WhamEpisode example is the ending of "Numb", with [[Music/TheMountainGoats "No Children"]] playing.
** Clay's breakdown from "Nature: Part 1."

** Also Clay's "dream" sequence showing his OedipusComplex; it's so [[NauseaFuel digusting]] that it becomes NightmareFuel.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: Typically, Orel's father's arguments for why his actions were wrong highlight something completely harmless while ignoring some much larger harm Orel had done. The episode "Loyalty" is an exception in the sense that, while he ignores the fact that Orel beat up gays, he does have a legitimate point that Orel should not ignore his other friends in the name of mindless devotion to one.
** The same goes for "Turn The Other Cheek". While it's not really a good idea to beat other people up because they might be violent, the phrase doesn't mean just let people beat you up. This, along with Clay being beaten up by Orel, may be one of the reasons Orel didn't have to "learn a lesson" at the end of the episode.
* TrueArtIsAngsty: Season 3 is considered by numerous critics and fans to be a masterpiece of animation. It's also unfathomably bleak and depressing, more so than anything Adult Swim had ever produced before or since.
* VindicatedByHistory: The show, while it was successful enough to get three seasons, was eventually cancelled because it was getting too depressing. Eventually, the show did well enough on reruns that the Beforal Orel special was produced; and in the following years shows like WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty and WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman would become adored critically and commercially. This led to places like Vice and Vulture arguing that shows like these likely wouldn't have come to exist without Moral Orel planting the seeds to begin with.
* TheWoobie: Nurse Bendy initially appears to be little more then the local BrainlessBeauty town sexpot, before it's revealed in "Alone" that she's regressed into a childlike mental state as a result of constant abuse by male superiors, [[spoiler: being molested by Joe [=SecondOpinionson=]'s father at 13.]] She's now taken to a delusional childlike illusion of a loving family through literal teddy bears, but even that doesn't work. Thankfully, [[EarnYourHappyEnding she gets better.]]
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic: Blatantly obvious when Orel agrees to give up his dog. He's to be taken to the Calvary Hill Hospital to be put down. On the way, he's thrown a stick which looks suspiciously cross-like, which he carries all the way there.
** However, the dog was ''very'' clearly meant to be a reference to Christ's second-coming, but since Jesus in the form of a non-human would undoubtedly be considered blasphemous by [[TheFundamentalist the citizens of Moralton]]...
** The way Orel lays in his hospital bed in ''Grounded'' is very reminiscent of Jesus' pose in ''Art/TheLastSupper''.

** When Clay refuses to reconcile with his father is he merely being childish, or has he become too bitter over the years? Or both? Made more complex by even Arthur acknowledging that Clay has good reason to hate him.
** Is Orel extremely naive, TooDumbToLive as seen in "Beforel Orel", or both?
* AngstAversion: Season 3 managed to be ''so'' pitch back that it was sent to cancellation because of how morbidly depressing the show was getting at that point, especially with the episode "Alone". Though at the very least, [[spoiler:Orel [[EarnYourHappyEnding eventually receives his well-deserved happy ending]] in spite of his TraumaCongaLine.]]
* {{Anvilicious}}: It's obviously about critiquing religious fundamentalism and conservative culture.

* {{Asspull}}: [[spoiler:The ending]], though this is mostly due to ExecutiveMeddling denying the writers their chance to wrap things up properly.

* GrowingTheBeard: By the end of the first season (starting with "Maturity" and ''especially'' the Christmas special) the show starts to grow out of its episodic, pure-comedy roots and starts to show more and more how utterly miserable everyone in Moralton really is.
** This is taken further in the "Nature" two-parter, where the show fully embraces its dark side for Season 3, showing ''why'' people in Moralton are miserable, exploring dark themes such as trauma, cycles of abuse, and homosexuality, while taking them seriously. Season 3 is also more ambitious with its narrative, with its episodes being non-linear, which all revolve around what happened before the events in "Nature" and its impact.

* IAmNotShazam: The episode synopses on adultswim.com repeatedly refer to Orel as "Moral".
** Funnily enough? So did Doughy once during Orel's movie.

* RainbowLens: Ms. Secondopinionson has a deep voice for a woman, but masks it out of shame and/or fear of retribution from Moralton's citizens. Fans often read this as an allegory for being transgender.

* AcceptableReligiousTargets: White, conservative, Middle American Christians. It's like an orgy of target acceptability -- but when the whole point is to deconstruct these targets, it makes a little more sense. In fairness, Orel himself qualifies as the above, as does Christina -- and Reverend Putty's love for his daughter shows that he's not to be considered a strawman. For that matter, Clay Puppington -- for all his monstrous actions -- had such a thoroughly miserable life that he literally doesn't know how good he could have it if he just tried. All in all, the cartoon digs into white, conservative, ''hypocritical'' Middle American Christians. And while the show pokes fun at some of the hypocrisy of said hypocrites, it actually goes out of its way to show the positive side of ''faith'' as well. Case in point: Not only does Orel's [[EarnYourHappyEnding well-earned happy ending]] ''not'' [[spoiler:involve him turning his back on his beliefs, but also shows that his faith played a huge role in him growing up to be a good and loving family man]].
* {{Adorkable}}: Orel Puppington, the main character of the show, is just an overly enthusiastic sweet child trying to be a good Christian and trying being helpful to others. It's a shame that no one in his town makes the attempt to properly lecture him, so he takes everything he learns to a dangerous extreme [[GoneHorriblyRight with disastrous consequences]].

* AngstAversion: Season 3 managed to be ''so'' pitch back that it was sent to cancellation because of how morbidly depressing the show was getting at that point, especially with the episode "Alone". What saves it is that [[spoiler:Orel [[EarnYourHappyEnding eventually receives his well-deserved happy ending]] in spite of his TraumaCongaLine.]]
* {{Anvilicious}}: This is not done in regards to Christianity itself, surprisingly enough; the show is actually more of a critique of those who don't practice what they preach.
** Many episodes provide dark parodies of this trope, thanks to Clay's "study" speeches.

* MemeticMutation: Quoting Music/TheMountainGoats whenever you talk about the third season, especially on Website/FourChan's /co/ board.
* {{Moe}}: Little Orel from "Beforel Orel"

** Clay Puppington is the [[AbusiveParents abusive]], alcoholic father of Orel. [[FauxAffablyEvil keeping a thin mask of affability]], Clay constantly abuses, demeans and belittles everyone around him. Completely incapable of empathy, when his own son was shot in the leg by him, he was simply angry at Orel himself for being neglectful. In spite of this, it's gradually established through the series that Clay is nothing more than an incredibly sad, lonely man who recognizes he's a terrible person, but lacks the consistent willpower to change it, he was constantly beaten by his father for accidentally causing his mother to have a heart attack, and he was duped into alcoholism by Bloberta due to her own feelings of loneliness.

** Bloberta also has many defenders, who often argue that she’s tragically trapped in an awful marriage and is Orel’s only good parent. While she is trapped in an unwanted marriage, many forget to mention that she trapped herself in one, essentially ruining Clay’s life for the worst and forcing him to marry her and start a family, so she really only has herself to blame. Not to mention that while not as abusive as Clay, she is still incredibly neglectful of both Orel and Shapey (and later Blocky), by constantly ignoring whatever insane situation he gets into until it’s far too late, and letting Shapey and Blocky play with items that could hurt or kill them just a few feet away from her. That’s to say nothing on how complicit she can also be when Clay abuses Orel.

* HilariousInHindsight: It's a bit weird watching the show after hearing Scott Adsit as the "non-threatening, huggable" Baymax in ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6''.

* CultClassic: Not one of Adult Swim's most popular shows, but you'll still see people talking about it to this day, and with shows like WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman[[note]]Coincidentally, both Bojack and Moral Orel were produced by the same company, ShadowMachine.[[/note]] and WesternAnimation/FIsForFamily also getting similar critical praise, places like [[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3bjymk/moral-orel-is-the-most-depressing-adult-swim-show-of-all-time-456 Vice]] and [[https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/moral-orel-paved-way-depressing-142821894.html Vulture]] mentioning that Moral Orel arguably helped plant the seeds for those types of shows.

** Io Perry's Valentine at the start and end of the series finale, Honor.

** IoPerry's Valentine at the start and end of the series finale, Honor.
** TheChoirPractice's cover of Failsafe originally by Music/TheNewPornographers.

** Music/IoPerry's Valentine at the start and end of the series finale, Honor.
** Music/TheChoirPractice's cover of Failsafe originally by Music/TheNewPornographers.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: When Clay refuses to reconcile with his father is he merely being childish, or has he become too bitter over the years? Or both? Made more complex by even Arthur acknowledging that Clay has good reason to hate him.

* VindicatedByHistory: The show, while it was successful enough to get three seasons, was eventually cancelled because it was getting too depressing. Eventually, the show did well enough on reruns that the Beforal Orel special was produced; and in the following years shows like WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty and WesternAnimation/BoJackHorseman would become adored critically and commercially and as mentioned above, places like Vice and Vulture argued these couldn't exist with Moral Orel planting those seeds to begin with.

* VindicatedByHistory: The show was moderately obscure upon release, and remained such for several years into the latter half of the new 10's, when it was rediscovered and heavily praised for its incredible emotional brutality.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: One of the most memorable things about the show is its use of a music including:

* DracoInLeatherPants: That said, Clay does have his share of admirers, with many acknowledging his hideous traits, but choose to overlook them due to his tragic history, as well as the fact that he’s a handsome man.
** Bloberta also gets many defenders, often saying that she’s tragically trapped in an awful marriage and is Orel’s only good parent. While she is trapped in an unwanted marriage, many forget to mention that she trapped herself in one, essentially ruining Clay’s life for the worst and forcing him to marry her and start a family, so she really only has herself to blame. Not to mention that while not as abusive as Clay, she is still incredibly neglectful of both Orel and Shapey (and later Blocky), by constantly ignoring whatever insane situation he gets into until it’s far too late, and letting Shapey and Blocky play with items that could hurt or kill them just a few feet away from her. That’s to say nothing on how complicit she can also be when Clay abuses Orel.
* Coach Stopframe also has his share of devoted fans, who wanted him and Clay to get together and felt he made Clay happier. However, while this was true, he also indulged Clay’s abusive habits, and was certainly no angel, such as burning down the Figuerelli’s house that inadvertently caused nearly the nature town to fall into flames, all just to impress Clay, tried to sacrifice Orel to Satan to get Clay to love him, and most notoriously, impregnated Bloberta with Shapey as another excuse to have Clay be in his life. To be fair, [[spoiler: he did have a HeelRealization about Clay’s true nature, and even seems to start reforming by the end of the show. But this is still bad news to those who wanted him and Clay together, since he decided to officially call it off with Clay once even he realized just how much of a monster he truly is.]]

* CultClassic: Not one of Adult Swim's most popular shows, but you'll still see people talking about it to this day, and with shows like WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman[[note]]Coincidentally, both Bojack and Moral Orel were produced by the same company, ShadowMachine.[[/note]] and WesternAnimation/FIsForFamily also getting similar critical praise, places like [[https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3bjymk/moral-orel-is-the-most-depressing-adult-swim-show-of-all-time-456 Vice]] and [[https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/moral-orel-paved-way-depressing-142821894.html Vulture]] mentioning that Moral Orel arguably helped plant the seeds for those types of shows.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: In "The Lord's Prayer," Clay and Art Posabule listen to a comedy album by what is clearly a Creator/BillCosby pastiche. Considering that Moralton is a {{Stepford Suburbia}}, and considering [[BitchInSheepsClothing what we now know]] about Bill Cosby, it's [[HarsherInHindsight disturbingly]] [[HilariousInHindsight appropriate.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: The episode Trigger (about Doughy and Orel individually becoming fed up with their neglectful families and taking solace in shooting and guns, then getting attention for it when they're good) is incredibly uncomfortable years later now that the US has been going through an increasing number of shootings as of a little more than ten years later.