Venture Bros – Two ton 21? The guy’s a living legend!

“Return To Malice” was a tricky bit of business. Taken on its own, it’s clearly my least favorite of the first four installments. It is, however, one that is going to age very well, and will improve greatly when taken as a part of the entirety of season four. Months from now, when we’re all burning through the grooves on the DVD set, the saga of 21 will be a stand out moment.

While a lot of other characters got some good play, 21 stole the show for me. Learning how the 21 we knew at the end of season three became General 21 of season four was both welcome, and fascinating. With the death of 24, 21 could have just disappeared into the background. The two were always a great tandem, and it probably would have gone unnoticed if 21 just toiled in anonymity. This though, was so much better.

It’s not exactly a happy story, as he has been completely warped by the loss of 24, to the point of having conversations with 24’s skull and plotting revenge against the Ventures, Brock Samson, the Moppet, OSI, or possibly a shape-shifting night-shade. Having Hank and Dean first on the list was perfect. The ‘torture’ scene was everything that is great about all three of them. And it carried him straight through to the revelations in his later meeting with The Monarch. It all went a long way to establishing 21 as a major character, all on his own.

21 wasn’t the only one having a rough go of it. Things were not going well for The Monarch or Hatred either. Hatred really is growing on me. I like his over-involved attempts at training the boys, and the way their failures play on his emotions. His own personal ‘return to Malice’, and the unseen actions of his wife, made for a scene that was simultaneously hilarious for us, and crushing for him.

The Monarch’s allergic reaction was disgusting, but paid big dividends as he dealt with the henchmen, the moppets, and 21. It was interesting how his confidence continued to grow throughout the endeavor. He was in the dumps as he sat, unrecognized, in the bar. Imagine, people fearing General 21 more than the mighty Monarch. Some of the old spark returned as he, thankfully, put the moppets in their place. And, despite the face, he was back to his old self after his heart-to-heart with 21.

One other great scene worth a mention came from Rusty and Dr. Mrs. The Monarch. I always like the two of them together, but this was slightly different. There was still a bit of the smarmy — bordering on creepy — Rusty there, but it was a much friendlier exchange than we have seen in the past. I doubt it would happen, but it did leave me thinking that a Rusty/Dr. Girlfriend pairing at some point would be outstanding. The Monarch would absolutely flip his wig.

All things considered, episode 4 really slowed things down, and it lacked a lot of the laughs the previous episodes had. The silver lining though, is that it does go to show that the worst Venture Bros episode you’ll see is still pretty damn awesome.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Nov 10, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT