This review contains spoilers. These are my immediate thoughts after finishing the show and seeing the online discourse. I just need to get this off my chest.

The idea of telling a story about heliocentrism in 15th-century alternate Poland is quite challenging, but the mangaka “Uoto” manages to tell an insightful, thought-provoking and entertaining story with an amazing cast of characters. Studio MADHOUSE also makes an excellent and faithful adaptation. 
The OP is absolutely incredible, becoming one of my favourites. Both the EDs are also good. 

CHARACTERS
The idea of having multiple protagonists carry out the story throughout various stages as time goes on fits really well with the story’s themes and is also executed incredibly. From Rafal, who grabs your attention within just 3 episodes and leaves an ever-lasting mark on both the audience and the story all the way to Draka, who’s smart and always questioning things that sometimes even we as audiences may have let slip. Nowak is also an incredibly well-written antagonist in the story. His faith and the assumption that he’s in the right make him do horrible things to others without even questioning those things or carrying the weight of his actions. Add in his ability to deduce and strategise, and you have an antagonist who truly strikes fear in the heart of both the audience and his opposition. His voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda gives an amazing performance. On a side note, Anna Yamaki also gives an incredible performance as the heretic woman tortured by Nowak and the 2 rookies he took in during EP 11.  Other characters like Hubert, Count Piast, Schmitt and many more are also well-written.

Badeni was the most entertaining character for me, who carried the first half of the show along with Oczy. I liked that his voice actor is Yuuichi Nakamura because that’s the guy you hire to voice an arrogant character who’s the strongest(or the second strongest lol). 

> "Hey! How you doin'? My name's Bademi. But after one look at this hairdo, you can call me "Bald-emi". Can I get your address? By the way, I don't believe that everyone should be taught to read and write." -Bademi, if he had Gojo's goofiness

The closure or final acts/moments of many characters were done incredibly well. Be it from Rafal in the beginning, to Count Piast, Badeni and Oczy in the middle, to Jolenta, Schmitt,  Nowak and Dreka at the end. They all felt tragic and poetic. 

THEMES
I really liked the themes of human curiosity transcending time and passing on, even as inspiration or a coincidence which you may not even be aware of. The pursuit of “truth” and what it would take to realise it. The strength of the human spirit and human curiosity is shown constantly through different times by different individuals, especially in the face of torture and death. Antoni’s conversation with Nowak which completely broke his worldview was also a very important theme. People’s lives are governed by societal norms and the situations prevalent at that particular time. So what may be blasphemous at one place at a time, may be acceptable or encouraged at the same time in another place or at another time in the future or past. 

THE ENDING
The ending has provided polarising opinions and affected the enjoyment of various fans. Personally, I really liked the final 2 episodes because after 23 episodes of seeing how the Church was in the wrong for suppressing people’s ability to think and question things through various methods like torture and public/private execution, we see a different spin on the acquisition of knowledge and the pursuit of truth which recontextualises the entire series. It all comes back to the question posed in the very first scene of the show: What do you have to offer to know the truth of this world? And this question is asked to the audience, by stabbing the audience’s heart, when the previously beloved Rafal, now in the real canon historical period, murders Albert’s father in cold blood and tries to rationalise the situation to a traumatised little Albert as just the way things had to be because Albert’s father was hoarding knowledge. Curiosity and the search for answers is a good thing but the story puts a twist on this simple, innate and pure quality that exists in every human to be a warning that even strong convictions behind righteous ideas can lead to tragedies and disasters if we let it run unchecked. 

This also gives a different perspective to Nowak's character as just like Rafal, if he had been born in different circumstances with different influences he might have been the protagonist of the story, just like how the original protagonist of the story Rafal could easily have been an antagonistic figure as shown in the finale.

The story about the human spirit and curiosity poetically ends with Albert thinking about the idea of the Earth moving represented by “?”. 

CRITICISM 
Now, there are a few criticisms that I have of the show which are addressed below :
There are points in the story when the events that are about to unfold become easily predictable . The story does not keep you guessing at all times about what's going to happen next. That may be because of the way the manga has been adapted or simply the way the story is told.
I. Issues with the adaptation
a) Jolenta’s conversation with her father at the start fits perfectly for the manga but not at all for the anime because we can recognise him through his voice. The anime kinda ruined this moment. 

Jolenta meeting her father at the bar when she’s sitting with Badeni and Oczy DOES NOT payoff as the plot twist that it would’ve originally in the manga because we already know who her father is. 

b) The opening scene already reveals Oczy and Nowak’s fate to come. This scene is completely faithful to the source material but maybe if it was slightly changed in the anime, it would’ve been better. 

II. Issues regarding the “predictable” storytelling
a) When Nowak sits at the table, has a proper conversation with the two and leaves IT IS OBVIOUS that he hasn’t gone and lo and behold, just when Oczy is about to say who he is he’s interrupted mid-sentence. 
On a side note, Nowak’s character is so good that his terror is palpable even when he leaves Badeni’s house appearing to not have suspected anything from the characters but we, as the audience, know he’s seen the necklace. There’s this lingering feeling that he might just be outside the door listening and waiting for them. But I guess that way of catching them would’ve been too cheap.

b) Oczy’s fight with Nowak is good but it’s already clear that Oczy will not die at this moment as we know where the story will end up because of the first scene literally being Oczy’s torture scene. 

c) Frei is also way too suspicious with his dialogue(constant questioning) and dialogue delivery which easily gives away that he might be a traitor. 

There is predictability in some parts, as stated above. Still, there are other parts that are unpredictable and shocking like Rafal’s or Jolenta’s sudden suicide, Badeni not burning the chest and succumbing to Nowak’s pressure to give info, the appearance of Rafal in the final 2 episodes etc.

The dialogue can at times feel like a long and dragged-out rambling, as pointed out by the characters themselves, which could’ve been said in a little shorter way. Also because of the nature of the show, there are times when some characters’ motivations are not shown through their actions, rather they go into long monologues and literally just explain their motivations first and then go into action.
e.g. Lewandowski and Draka’s interaction felt a little jarring because she basically said,” Hey! What’s your backstory and character motivation? Spell it out for me.”

Also, the majority of the show takes place at night time. Because of that, it’s sometimes not clear what is happening and that may be a hindrance to some people.

Overall, even though I have minor complaints here and there, Orb: On The Movements Of The Earth is a really good show and definitely worth watching.