Futurama has long had the prototypical “Bender Episode” down to a formula. It goes like this: Bender winds up in some grand new venture -wrestler, TV actor, folk singer, Pharaoh- becomes ensconced in that world in the second act and in the third act comes to some revelation where he usually tries then to subvert that space or weasel out of it. “Beauty and the Bug” represents the show coming to a self-awareness of that -ultimately it subverts the subversion but in a very predictable way given the track of the episode -which struggles even in its novel context to be spontaneous.
It’s not so novel a context, indeed it’s the second episode this season to put Bender in a Latin cultural milieu. Mars has represented everything from the Ivy League to the Monument Valley frontier on Futurama, and here it takes on the identity of classical Spain with the Running of the Buggalo, a traditional festival that who else but the Wongs oversee. Amy, with her love of the Buggalo (and we do get a return of Betsy) finds the institution barbaric, but everyone else enjoys it and Bender’s expert dodging sees him hired as a matador under the tutelage of an attractive Spanish robot Marquita (voiced by Ana Ortiz). But as the sport involves the killing of buggalo he starts to become conflicted.
Even for a Bender story it’s a quick shift from his enjoying the fame to feeling some ounce of sympathy for creatures even the Professor determines don’t have a brain -which he does in conjunction with Leo purely to upset Amy. But it’s another instance of an animal in the Futurama universe that nobody cares much for, ultimately proving themselves more substantive than initially appeared. But the buggalo already got a pretty good showcase in “Where the Buggalo Roam”, and there comes a time when world expansion feels superfluous. I know that the buggalo only get this treatment because somebody -possibly writer Patric M. Verrone- got the idea to make Bender a bullfighter for an episode- but it doesn’t feel like anything new is being brought to the show by taking what was essentially just a neat livestock analogue and giving them gender dimorphism and a hive mind.
There are limits too on the environment the episode constructs -an interesting visual, but not a whole lot beyond that. Under the dressings, it’s just the same story Bender’s played before, both in the flashy new job and in the romance. The episode even lampshades this a touch by having the box of Bender’s fans filled with fembots he had past relations with -including the always welcome Crushinator. Some good jokes are had related to the theme, mostly to do with the irony of these violent traditions’ esteemed legacies. Others are rather lazy, such as Marquita’s long Spanish name that is just a more tired variation on the similar Animaniacs bit and which is repeated a few times. This is an episode that is sporadically funny but awkwardly so. The Fulu Premium ad is a decent bit, mocking the hand that feeds the show, but drops in the episode forcefully; and while I liked the evolution of the gag of the commentator not actually being invested in the full fight and for example, offering insight from his car on the way home to beat traffic, it too doesn’t feel very organic to the subject.
Next to these, Hermes limboing through the Running or Fry’s jacket becoming a red flag don’t stand out so much. Also, too often the script goes to a well of ‘forgetting they’re a robot’ jokes, like when Bender worries about being able to breathe for a second while under a bunch of buggalo or Marquita distressed over apparently killing Bender by accidental stab through the head when of course he is fine. And what about that dumb joke of Bender wishing he had sword then all of a sudden remembering one stashed under his antenna -where there had never been one before. A series of lazy contrivances meant to stretch the episode out, which again they shouldn’t have to worry about on a streaming platform.
The episode ends after Bender’s failed attempt to foil the bug-fighting in lieu of his new-found love of the buggalo results in he and Marquita declaring the end of this inhumane sport on Mars -only for the buggalo to reveal their collective intelligence and beg that the practice continue to be honoured actually, as it one of their traditions as well. It’s in the same spirit as that reveal of their brainlessness to Amy -a way to make fun of animal rights conscientiousness. And certainly there is a fair target in that, but the show doesn’t have anything more to say with that statement. It feels like just pure contrarianism, both to the issue and to Futurama’s conventions. Which is ironic, because the episode feels very conventional. It’s got some good jokes and a decently distinct aesthetic, but it’s really just an echo of those episodes that used its formula better and funnier.
And here are some stray observations:
- "What a sick and unnecessary exercise" says the commentator over people being loaded into the 'Soylent Ambulunch'. I think this is the writers equating the Running of the Bulls with the same kind of warped shit they would think up.
- Bender and Abner Doubledeal reunited again. Given this run is often so much about referencing the series’ Golden Age I was surprised there was no specific callback to Bender joining the Robot Fighting League. Though the show does acknowledge Doubledeal has his hands in virtually every business of the Futurama universe.
- Honestly the funniest joke this episode came from that Decapodian dresser: "my family has been making matador outfits for seven generations -my father died yesterday, you're my first customer."
- A background character for this episode, Leela is never seen not voraciously eating a buggalo leg. Granted every shot at the Wong ranch sees everybody but Amy chowing down on various buggalo meats.
- "Fulu Premium: The same old shows for an exciting new price" -and as if on cue Disney+ is upping its prices and cracking down on password sharing right around the time this episode comes out.
- The 'Bender cannot be heard through the costume’ gag is another that is funny until it becomes the centre of a plot beat. It's a bummer that Futurama is finally approaching that contemporary Simpsons habit of taking a good joke but ruining it through overuse.
- Given the specificity of his look and his role as a commentator, which has almost always been taken up by either a celebrity impression or a celebrity guest in the past, I assumed Don Cunningham (clearly voiced by Maurice LaMarche) was another. But no, he appears to be a modestly original character.
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