In which Klaus maybe isn’t’ the worst?…

Klaus is designed to be the punching bag. The one everyone hates because it’s easy to be mean to a man in a fish. The show and its characters can score easy jokes like kicking over his bowl or telling him he sucks. And that has been Klaus’s lot in life essentially since the show began (or at least since it rounded into form). But what happens when we learn maybe Klaus doesn’t suck.

Francine is planning a dinner party but worries Klaus is going to ruin by being Klaus. She attempts to separate him from the rest of the group but he manages to win people over through conversation. This angers Francine who has long held the belief that Klaus sucks and can’t accept otherwise. Feeling her dinner party is ruined, she tries to throw another one, only to get drunk and injure herself.

When Francine awakens in the hospital, Klaus tells her he improved himself with the help of Mark Wahlberg’s self-help books. Francine tries this but still thinks Klaus sucks. Upon returning the books, she finds Klaus in a lair. There, he reveals that he has secretly put everyone under hypnosis so that everyone will love him. He hypnotizes Francine and throws her out of town.

Waking up months later and far from Langley Falls with Roger, the two attempt to get back in to town. Francine and Roger are caught and Roger turns on her. Francine escapes with the help of minor character who I didn’t even know had a name Parker. He has gathered an army of cats and discovered the phrase that will break the hypnosis. Francine attempts to use it on the family but Klaus reveals that even though the hypnosis is gone the affects still last.

In the end, Francine is able to break the hypnosis by reminding everyone that Klaus does indeed suck, playing one of his awful podcasts. She broadcasts this to the town and everyone is free. Thus, Klaus’s glory is lost again.

Stray Observations

• Hayley’s friend Nerfer is voiced by Rachel Dratch
• A video of Klaus’s rap video is viewable when Steve is discussing Klaus with Francine.
• One of the cats looks like Simon, the cat that loved to attack Steve
• They Live and 1978s Invasion of the Body Snatchers are both visually referenced when Francine and Roger return to Langley Falls. And the title of the episode is a reference to Dr. Strangelove

Thoughts: I enjoyed this one. Klaus is almost always good for some laughs.