Last week, the big question was “why do super-scientists and archenemies still put up with this stupid cycle of aggression and reaction?” This week, Rusty realizes the answer: because we’re children. We’re petty and self-centered children that are more interested in seeing our team win than figuring out why we’re fighting in the first place. If we actually stop and think, we have a second chance to right our ship.
Recap (With the Big Idea)
Rusty’s unseen diplomatic skills (probably coupled with his sense of fatalism) get the “good guys” and “bad guys” to see the big picture. (Sorry for using those loaded terms, Shiela.) Each faction has become more interested in the bureaucracy and ranking of agents than actually working together to stop civilian casualties. (Remember, the Guild was set up so costumed criminals would only attack protagonist targets instead of the mass population.) Rusty’s life as both a boy adventurer and a super-scientist gives him some perspective about organized aggression. Rusty might actually have saved a lot of people’s lives by forcing these two quarreling teams into coming into some kind of “fairer” compromise.
Ben’s red H.E.L.P.eR MOD-2 (voiced by Rhys Darby!) has come to the same conclusion, albeit in a roundabout way. MOD-2 has accepted that his half-electronic, half-meat brain is an abomination to science and God, but he’s also accepted that he has the agency to enjoy life his way. The recall and possible witch hunts keep MOD-2 fearful enough to stay on the Venture estate, but he’s complete and content with his small happy life. That’s MOD-2’s form of happiness.
(Oh yeah, MOD-2’s form of happiness also involves assisting Ben in cloning. From A Very Venture Halloween, we know that Ben helped Jonas Sr. with clone technology. Ben also said he helped Dean’s father (Rusty) clone the boys. In this episode, MOD-2 thinks Dean is Rusty. MOD-2 doesn’t know if the Venture he’s talking to knows his clone past and drops the revelation that Rusty might have been cloned several times over. This would give credence to The Monarch being a clone of Rusty – all Jonas had to do was fire up the old vats and add a pinch of the Blue Morpho so the new kid would kinda look like his dad.)
The secret relationship between OSI Agent Karen McManus and Guild Stranger S-464 has continued since last season’s “Red Means Stop.” How much of their relationship is built upon the taboo of them hooking up from opposing sides can’t really be figured out, but their breakup involves both organizations. The “pee pee” on S-464’s belt marks him as a Peril Partnership agent. While the OSI and the Guild were busy arguing about rules, a new group of organized aggression seems to be making its move.
Notes
- Dermott’s back! It seems Rusty got the OSI to recruit him as a private – second class in exchange for not mentioning that he’s Rusty’s son. I imagine Rusty also wanted Dermott in a high-fatality occupation in order to possibly wipe out any evidence of Rusty’s affair with Dermott’s mom.
- Dermott also seems like the kind of guy to justify his inability to get to second base with talk of how “difficult” it is to get a female OSI agent’s sports bra off. Hank manages to blow Dermott’s mind by asking what second base is for women. Way to avert the typical male mindset, Hank!
- Ward’s inability to sound the horn gets progressively worse, albeit in different ways, the more he tries.
- Rusty refers to both the OSI and the Guild as “organized aggression.” Maybe the good guy/bad guy dynamic isn’t as clear-cut as we thought?
- Red is just another example of the Venture associates using human body parts when building machines. Put him in the same category as the PRO.B.L.E.M., Venturion, and the Joy Can.
- Is peeing on your belt a real problem? As a man, I’ve never heard of it. I’ve heard of backsplash at the urinal causing a stain on your crotch, but not pissing all over your belt.
- Finally, a H.E.L.P.eR designed for us!
Quotes:
Dr. Venture: “It’s history I’m crafting here! You think I could pull a Gettysburg and use the number “score”? Like “two score and ten years ago?”
Dean: “’Quinquadgeneary’ – it’s the 50th anniversary! Quinquadenary!”
Hank: “You quinga-dinga-dorko.”
Dr. Venture: “My college boy! I’m using that. Eat it, Lincoln!”
Dean: “Why doesn’t my dad tell me stuff like that?
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch: “Beside the fact he’s a petty little asshole?”
Dean: “Including the fact he’s a petty little… what you said.”
Hank: “Let me introduce myself! Hank’s the name. Venture’s the game. It’s also the name.”
“That’s a hot lick!”
General Gathers: “Mad scientists! They’re mad! They’re antagonists! Mad. Scientists. They’re your problem, registered or not.”
Dr. Mrs. The Monarch: “They’re not angry scientists. They’re mentally ill scientists. Why are they automatically our problem when they’re mad? Aren’t they all a little nuts?”
Dr. Venture: “Scientists invented cellphones, ziplocks, and every cool thing you own, thank you.”
S-464: “My amygdala has been rerouted through my cerebral cortex. You could kill my dog and I wouldn’t get upset. But don’t. Bailey is a good boy.”