It always ends with Fry and Leela, as it always should. Like “The Devils Hands Are Idle Playthings”, Into the Wild Green Yonder, “Overclockwise” and “Meanwhile” before it, “Otherwise” was likely written as another potential series finale -before it was confirmed Futurama would indeed be getting more episodes (at least two more seasons on Hulu). Like three of the aforementioned episodes, it was written by the series’ VIP writer Ken Keeler (still under a bizarre pseudonym though), and like those same episodes it is a particular highlight of the season, even if it probably wouldn’t have made for a good series finale (“Meanwhile” just left gigantic shoes to fill in that regard).
Perhaps a part of it is that, though it is a good episode -potentially the best of the season- it does feature a lot of one of this revival’s crutches in its callbacks to the past. Specifically, it feels like an episode in part written to get around the now awkwardness of “Meanwhile” not being the show’s final episode. In the context of this revival, that whole episode is kind of nullified -obviously, it featured Fry and Leela growing old together, an experience that needed to be wiped from their consciousness for the show to continue. And so, “Otherwise” is essentially a sequel to that episode, validating it in spite of the universal reboot, even if much of how it is done is also in a context that doesn’t much matter.
The “finale” vibes hit early as the Planet Express ship finally crashes back to Earth so badly it seems to be permanently damaged, and so a funeral is held for it before it is sunk in the multiverse river of a spaceship graveyard. As the crew are saying their goodbyes, Fry becomes overwhelmed by his memories on the ship including some flashes (from “Meanwhile”) that he doesn’t seem to recall and passes out. The rest of the crew rush aboard to save him, but it is apparently too late and the ship is blown into the river. Then we see Fry awaken, having seemingly been rescued just in time.
The game is pretty easily given away here that this is not the show’s standard reality, and it perhaps could have been disguised better -but then I don’t believe Keeler intended it to be a twist necessarily. In the meantime, Fry continues to experience paranoid deja vu as he sets about proposing to Leela in light of their near-death (as was the case before).
While the episode replays some of the earlier finale’s contexts, it doesn’t repeat that episode apart from the loose thematic tie of the biggest step in Fry and Leela’s romance being circumvented by a major issue arising for Fry. Once again he plans it out at the Vampire State Building, but Leela is actually able to make it and he just avoids falling off the tower. The proposal goes through, but he’s still shaken by deja vu, and resolves to reconcile it before they get married. And yet even as crazy and impassioned as he gets in this, convinced that a reported ghost ship is actually the old Planet Express ship, Leela never doubts or distrusts him -as she unquestionably would have earlier in the series. There is a sweetness to their every scene together in the episode, even in just the fact she’s seen to be wearing the engagement ring (her reaction to which is priceless) for the rest of the story. The relationship is so lived-in by this point, the writers don’t have to work hard to keep it endearing.
The episode moves at a harried pace, but it leaves room for humour. There are a handful of jokes in this episode that though simple, feel in construct on par with when the show was operating at its peak; and I feel like I have to attribute that to Keeler. Of particular note are things like the tiny hat underneath Scruffy’s regular hat, every line from János, the Vampire State Building maitre’d, and the subplot of Bender’s feud with the can opener -which starts as just another classic callback, but gets more absurd as the episode goes along.
Eventually, Fry convinces Leela to go back to the graveyard to retrieve something that Fry believes was lost on the old ship -doing so in their slick new Planet Express ship that seems modelled off the Defiant from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. At the graveyard they wind up in a three-way fire-fight while cloaked with the Nimbus and the mysterious ghost ship. After the Nimbus is sunk, Zapp and Kif come aboard, swiftly exhausting all of the ship’s missiles and escape pods alike in vain effort to locate the ghost ship. The ship now a sitting duck, ready to be destroyed, Leela has Zapp impulsively marry her and Fry -which he does reluctantly. The show finally gives us a Fry and Leela wedding, seconds before they are all blown up by the ghost ship, and the long-awaited other shoe drops: it was the Planet Express ship from the primary universe, having survived the river and been refurbished by the crew -and who had mistaken both the other ships as ghost ships themselves attacking them. Everybody is alright, though Fry still wonders about that subconscious memory, sketching out an image for Leela he recalls from it of the two of them old together. “We look awful, but happy” says Leela. “What does it mean?” “I don’t know,” replies Fry. “Let’s find out.”
Exactly the kind of sentimental moment I’m a sucker for as the outro to a Futurama episode. The ending is a bit shoddy though, with a very clunky explanation from the Professor detailing their experience in the multiverse river since they attempted to rescue Fry . And it does leave the bulk of this episode not particularly mattering, possibly using up the Fry and Leela wedding card on an alternate universe story. Yet, I think Keeler meant it to be taken as just that: a glimpse at a possible version of the end of Fry and Leela’s story. The end conceit is not bad as a get out of jail free card, and the episode is a good mix of funny and earnest while paying homage not just to “Meanwhile” but to the fans’ desire for its catharsis. I liked getting to see it, but I hope Fry and Leela will eventually get a worthy real ending too.
One more time, some stray observations:
- “We’re not out of networks yet” Best subtitle gag of the season.
- Wow, they’re really milking those first two episodes for returning catchphrases for the Professor -here he is going on about lengths of wire again.
- I appreciated the ship’s funeral had that air of the crew of the Enterprise mourning its destruction in Star Trek III. And I appreciate Zoidberg acknowledging that “some of those three-part adventures were kind of sloppy”. Indeed you’re right Zoidberg, maybe you all should give them a rest.
- Leela apparently has Fry’s name tattooed somewhere really private from a previous relationship with another guy called Fry. Is she sure it wasn’t Lars?
- János, trying to lift an unconscious Fry: “You know, he’d be a lot easier to handle if he had less blood, just saying”
- Tress LaMarche is cute, but she should have been voiced by an amalgam of Tress Macneille AND Maurice LaMarche.
- That News of the Supernatural bit came just in time for Halloween.
- The end of that can opener feud with Bender shooting it and then becoming all mournful, was much too laboured. But the introduction of Bender One-Hand worked as a pretty good capper.
- “Running away from ghosts only encourages them -the classic Jerry Lewis mistake.” Futurama, still writing jokes for the Boomers I see. I have absolutely no idea what this means…
- This season goes out on Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires’ cover of Warren Zevon’s “Mutineer”. I was convinced it was Dolly Parton at first. A very sweet note to go out on for Fry and Leela committing in their own way to a future together.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/JordanBosch
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jordan_D_Bosch
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/jbosch
Comments
Post a Comment