Moral Orel / YMMV - TV Tropes

Adorkable: Orel qualifies thanks to his infectious enthusiasm for practicing his faith and his attempts to help through Biblical wisdom (albeit with dangerous consequences).
Alternative Character Interpretation:
- When Clay refuses to reconcile with his father, is he being childish? Has he just become too bitter to care? Or is he justified, given what his father did to him?
- Clay didn't teach Orel about God (or anything at all) until he was four years old because he didn't feel confident enough to teach him. Did he actually wanted to be a good mentor/parent figure at first before giving up or was he too indifferent to care about teaching him anything?
- And why did he give up and let him be brainwashed by Moralton's corrupted methodology? Was it anger-motivated after discovering the things Orel was learning from his grandfather? Pressure from Ms. Censordoll? Did he no longer cared about making right for his son after coming to the obvious realization Shapey wasn't his?
- Interpretations of Orel vary between "extremely naive" and Too Dumb to Live.
- Bloberta knitting banners to help support Orel in Miss Censordoll's campaign. Was it a legitimate rare Pet the Dog moment for her, or was she just doing it to spite Clay?
- Does Orel really love Clay in the end or is he still traumatized?^note
Angst Aversion: Season 3 managed to be so pitch-black that it got sent to cancellation (largely thanks to "Alone" and the script of "Raped"). At the very least, Orel does receive his well-deserved happy ending despite his Trauma Conga Line.
Anvilicious: It's hard to miss the show's attitudes about religious fundamentalism and '50s-brand conservatism.
- 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.
Ass Pull: The timeskip ending where Orel married Christina was rushed out because Adult Swim pulled the plug during Season 3's production, denying the writers their chance to wrap things up properly.
Awesome Music: The show is fondly remembered for its music selection, including:
- Britta Phillips singing "Closeface" at the end of the Season 3 episode of the same name.
- the Mountain Goats' "No Children," "Old College Try," and "Love Love Love" in "Numb," "Help" and "Passing," respectively.
- Io Perry's "Valentine," played during "Honor."
- The Choir Practice's cover of Failsafe originally by The New Pornographers, which is played in "Dumb."
- Savoy's "Bottomless Pit" playing at the end of "Sacrifice", compliments the melancholy atmosphere that episode gave us.
Broken Base: The Infamous "God's Chef" is rather divisive. To many fans is hilarious and not worse that the show's usual dose of Black Comedy, while other fans find it disgusting and feeling it crosses a line. Even those who like it are divided whatever or not it should be considered as part of the larger continuity, given many fans despise the idea of someone as innocent as Orel becoming a Serial Rapist even if it was his usual Innocently Insensitive behaviour.
Catharsis Factor: A retroactive example, given it happens before he is shown at his worst. But Orel beating the crap out of Clay in "Turn The Other Cheek" is extremely satisfying given everything Orel has passed through (and will pass for), because of him.
Complete Monster: Cecil Creepler was the local ice cream man of Moralton who was in truth immensely depraved. After failing to lure 12-year-old Doughy Latchkey into the back of his van, Creepler became a prolific Serial Rapist who targeted dark-haired women. Assaulting seven women, Creepler's last victim was schoolteacher Miss Agnes Sculptham when she dyed her hair black to compel him into entering her apartment. Despite his death, Miss Agnes suffers a psychological breakdown upon hearing the news, making it self-evident how broken she had become because of his actions.
Crosses the Line Twice:
- Most episodes depict Orel doing atrocious things to people, which should be horrifying...until Clay chastises him for comically minor offenses, wrapping these situations back to humorous territory.
- Most of the Activist-Fundamentalist Antics fall into this, with an Establishing Character Moment from Ms. Censordoll in the first episode being a protest of The Wizard of Oz and her burning the Bible.
Ms. Censordoll: Only the Jewish parts.
- "Innocence" opens with the entire Church congregation singing a jaunty tune about how much they hate Jesus and ends with Orel bathing in the blood of the town's children.
- In "Trigger," Orel brings his dad's pistol to show and tell. The scene's capped off with this:
Orel: Who would've thought that bringing a loaded gun to school could be such a disaster?
- Orel spanking his little brother? Not funny. Orel spanking his little brother while being visibly drunk and yelling "Shut up, woman!"? ...Okay, it's a little funny.
Cult Classic: While it wasn't a ratings smash, Orel has a strong following of fans years after it aired. With the rise of "sadcoms" such as Bojack Horseman and F is for Family, critics argue that Orel laid the foundation for them.
Cry for the Devil: Clay may be an awful father with few redeeming qualities and a penchant to turn down any chances at improvement, but this was largely thanks to his upbringing. Because he was constantly told he was special by his mother and associated his father's abuse with worth, Clay grew up as an entitled Attention Whore who uses abuse, physical or verbal, to get what he wants. After being introduced to alcohol, Clay uses it to cope with his ailing marriage and grim realizations about himself while not exercising strength of character to be anything better. "Sacrifice" demonstrates it best, with Clay provoking the bar's patrons to fulfill his sense of worth until they realize how pathetic he's really being.
Diagnosed by the Audience: Many fans headcanon Orel as someone on the autism spectrum. He is way too trusting, takes whatever people say to him very literally, and despite his good intentions he doesn’t realize that what he’s doing is prejudicing to others. Even his grandfather remarks that he is not dumb but rather he just learns in different ways.
Draco in Leather Pants:
- Some fans ignore or forgive Clay's hideous traits because of his upbringing or looks.
- Bloberta is often excused for trapping herself in a toxic relationship because of cultural and parental pressures, and claim that she's Orel's only good parent despite ignoring his dangerous misadventures and being complicit in Clay's abuse. And then there's her neglect toward Shapey and Block.
- Coach Stopframe gets this reaction from fans who want to see him and Clay together, claiming that they would both be happier for it. This glosses over how he tends to enable Clay's gross habits and is far from angelic himself (to the point where he almost sacrificed Orel at a Satanic altar and impregnated Bloberta to get to her husband). Even his Heel Realization about Clay's true nature is bad news for shippers.
Ensemble Dark Horse:
- Nurse Bendy only appears in a handful of episodes, but her roles in "Alone" and "Dumb" made her one of the most popular characters on the show.
- Ms. Secondopinionson's only major appearance was in "Dumb," where her patience, voice and last moment with Joe gave her a lot of fans.
Fandom-Specific Plot:
- Clay Puppington Accusation Fic: This settles around Clay Puppington getting some sort of Laser-Guided Karma for how he had mistreated Orel. Sometimes, Orel himself is the one to administer the punishment. Fair warning though: some of them are very NSFW/NSFL.
- Backstory Fic: A lot of these will center on the backstory of one or more of the adults in Moralton, usually Clay and Bloberta.
- Orel's Misfortune Fic: These center on Orel suffering some form of affliction, whether health or spiritually-related. Similar to the Clay Puppington Accusation fics, some are NSFW.
- Adult Orel AU: These center on what Orel and his family are like in the Distant Finale after the episode "Honor".
  - Puppington Family Curse Fic: A subsection of the Adult Orel AU that explores what happened if Orel and Christina were doomed to repeat the awful marriage that Orel's parents had endured.
- Culture Fic: Especially common on Tumblr. These will have the same events, but they take place in a different country with a different religion (i.e. the Philippines, where the dominant religion is Roman Catholicism).
- Unreleased Episode Fic: A lot of them take inspiration on the unreleased episodes and concepts for the show, including how Orel was supposed to go through an emo phase and lose his faith in God.
Fanon Discontinuity: Some fans pretend "God's Chef" never happened due to Orel impregnating women without consent.
Faux Symbolism: The way Orel lays in his hospital bed in Grounded is reminiscent of Jesus' pose in The Last Supper, but the episode in question has little to do with the it outside of being Christian.
Friendly Fandoms: With Big Hero 6 due to both franchises having a character played by Scott Adsit. Quite a few fans have even drawn fanart of Clay and Baymax meeting with hilarious results.
Growing the Beard: The show inches out of an episodic, purely comedic format starting with "Maturity," breaking free for a moment with "The Best Christmas Ever!" and thoroughly 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).
Harsher in Hindsight:
- In "The Lord's Prayer," Clay and Art Posabule listen to a comedy album by what is clearly a Bill Cosby pastiche. Considering that Moralton is a Stepford Suburbia, and considering what we now know about Bill Cosby, it's disturbingly appropriate.
- "Trigger," specifically the scene where Orel brings a gun to school, only gets more disturbing with the rise in US school shooting cases in the 2010s.
- The Season 1 episode "Maturity" begins with Orel getting shot in the face with a BB gun by Shapey, with Clay and Bloberta more concerned that Orel tried to "take away Shapey's toy." Overall, the situation is Played for Laughs. The next time Orel is around another family member with guns, in "Nature," it's very much not Played for Laughs.
He Really Can Act: Nature Parts 1 and 2 does a great job of showing the acting chops of both Carolyn Lawrence and Scott Adsit.
- The tearful expression Lawrence gives Orel in part one sounds completely genuine; and later in part two when Orel moans in pain over getting shot by Clay, it's as dramatic and realistic as it sounds.
- Scott Adsit also shows his worth during Clay's scathing, nightmarish rant prior to shooting Orel.
Heartwarming in Hindsight: In "Elemental Orel", Orel contributes to the collection plate with money his grandpa gave him in his birthday. The special "Before Orel" revealed that his grandpa ended up being one of the few positive presences in Orel's life before Clay forbid him from seeing him again, meaning that despite Clay's reclutance and Orel being brainwashed by Moralton's dogmatism, Orel still managed to keep contact with his grandfather.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Did you expect Orel's horrible father to share the same voice actor as non-threatening, huggable Baymax?
- Orel is Carolyn Lawrence's other big role, her most iconic one being Sandy Cheeks, hailing from a far less cynical production.
I Am Not Shazam: The episode synopses on adultswim.com repeatedly refer to Orel as "Moral."
- Invoked by Doughy in "Orel's Movie Premier," possibly lampooning this (as Dino admitted this was one of his pet peeves).
Iron Woobie: Orel is an adorable, precocious and deeply religious young man who is nevertheless constantly beaten down by his father and the world for failing to live up to their expectations, and goes through hell before finally being married to Christina and having a fulfilling life. He also fends off a bear by himself.
Jerkass Woobie: As this show takes place in a Dysfunction Junction, you can expect that it is absolutely jam-packed with these types of characters.
- In spite of Clay being an abusive, booze-guzzling train wreck, this was largely thanks to him being abused by his father. 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 shooting Orel in the leg on a hunting trip, especially after he flat out tells Orel that he’s glad he shot him.
- Bloberta may be a far cry from a good mother, putting up with anything Clay does to Orel and neglecting her children's needs as long as she keeps up a thin veneer of a happy family. She wasn't ready for marriage, however, only wanting it out of fear of becoming an Old Maid and being The Unfavorite of her family. And her attempts to find love outside of it in "Numb" ended in complete disaster.
- Shapey appears to be nothing more than a brat, until it's revealed that he's constantly 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 having her ovaries removed by her mother at a young age.
- Joe seems little more than a standard bully who does things like beating up gay kids or calling Orel stupid, but "Dumb" reveals that he's afraid of growing as old and weak as his elderly father, and not only does he feel insecure for not having a mom, he was lied to about her fate by his own father.
Love to Hate: Clay Puppington is a narcissistic, abusive, remorseless, sadistic sociopath whose melodramatic tendencies make him as memorable as he is despicable and terrifying.
Memetic Mutation:
- "What a funny little show, I hope it doesn't traumatize me!" ^Explanation
- Quoting the Mountain Goats, especially "No Children," in Moral Orel discussion^Explanation
- "Look Samson, crack! Hooray!"^Explanation
- These faces have become popular reaction images. ^Explanation
Moe: In "Beforel Orel," Orel is a small and innocent child with a huge head and big bulbous eyes. Who wouldn't want to give him a hug?
Moral Event Horizon:
- 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. He finishes off any potential sympathy he could have after he flat out tells Orel that he’s glad he shot him.
- Cecil Creepler is considered to be the show's biggest monster after it's revealed that he raped countless women, which includes Agnes Sculptham, whom was impregnated by him.
Obscure Popularity: The show gained popularity online in the late 2010s/early 2020s after being praised by several review channels, but remains largely unknown to anyone who doesn’t spend a lot of time on the internet.
Rainbow Lens: Ms. Secondopinionson has a deep voice, especially for a woman, but masks it. Fans often read this as a transgender allegory. Adding to this is the fact that she's barren by her own admission.
Retroactive Recognition: Behind the scenes, the show was edited, and later written and directed by Chris McKay in one of his very first jobs in Hollywood. He'd go on to direct The LEGO Batman Movie, The Tomorrow War, and Renfield (2023)
Ships That Pass in the Night: Stephanie x Nurse Bendy is a popular one because fans want them to have nice things, despite the two never interacting.
Signature Scene:
- Clay shooting Orel in the leg in "Nature: Part 2", the precise moment the show turned pitch-black.
- The ending of "Numb", with "No Children" playing.
- Clay's mental breakdown from "Nature: Part 1."
Squick: The close-up of Ms. Censordoll sucking down "under-fried, extra-slithery" eggs.
- Clay's "dream" sequence showing his Oedipus Complex; it's so digusting that it becomes Nightmare Fuel.
- Reverend Putty being romantically interested in his daughter (before he knew), Doctor Potterswheel's fetish for wounds and diseases, the closeups of eggs being laid...
- Dr. Chosenberg's Jesus-shaped wound, especially as a woman with tuberculosis kisses and coughs on it.
- The townspeople drinking Orel's pee in "Waste."
- Orel impregnating the women of Moralton in "God's Chef."
Strawman Has a Point: Despite Clay missing the bigger picture every time, he brings up some valid points on occasion:
- In "Loyalty," he's right in that Orel should not have neglected his other friends in the devotion of one.
- In "Turn the Other Cheek" Orel should stand up for himself when threatened.
- While Reverend Putty refuses to allow Principal Fakey to confess out of jealousy in "Repression", he isn't wrong that the whole exercise is just a pointless way for Fakey to lie to himself, given he's not even attempting to stop.
Tear Dryer: "Sundays" ends with Rev. Putty's sermon on hope being replaced with hopelessness 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.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
- As a result of the series being cancelled, we only just started to see the effects Orel's compassion had on other people when he was able to reignite Reverend Putty's faith and brought out a kinder side in Coach Stopframe. Considering some of their worst actions, as well as Stopframe coming across as too Easily Forgiven due to his affairs with Clay and Bloberta'', it would've been interesting to see the people positively influenced by Orel having to face the horrible things they did in the past.
- Likewise, the aftermath of the Nature two-parter is only explored in three episodes before the series ends, despite how much of a game changer that event happened to be for the whole series and Orel no longer respecting or liking his dad isn't fully explored besides the Grand Finale.
Trans Audience Interpretation: Ms. Secondopinionson is widely believed to be a trans woman due to her masculine deep voice that she covers up and the fact that she's infertile.
Vindicated by History: The show, while it was successful enough to get three seasons, was eventually cancelled because it was getting too depressing. However, the show did well enough on reruns that "Beforel Orel" was produced, and it's often credited for inspiring other successful animated dramadies.
The Woobie:
- Nurse Bendy initially appears to be little more than the local Brainless Beauty 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, being molested by Dr. Secondopinionson at 12. She's now taken to a delusional childlike illusion of a loving family through literal teddy bears, but even that doesn't work. Thankfully, she gets better.
- Stephanie in Closeface, when her feelings were toyed with by Kim just to get a rise out of people.
- Doughy, because his parents care so little about him that they pay him to leave them alone.
- Dr. Chosenberg from "Holy Visage" is a surgeon that gets a Jesus-shaped wound. Rather than being treated, the town of Moralton think the wound is a holy symbol leaving him in pain and dying. Sick people pray to the wound, getting him infected with dozens of diseases.

YMMV / Moral Orel

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