Venture Bros – HENCH4LIFE

I’ve made note before about how I think Supernatural is the best show on TV. I’m not ready to bump the Winchester Bros from the top spot, but after seeing the big fall finale to Venture Bros, the show is a solid number two, and knocking on the door. Again this week I find myself just a little more amazed at how great this show is. The only negative is that now we all have to wait months (MONTHS!) for more new episodes. Balls. I’d trade every show on that AFI Best of 2009 list for just 12 more episodes of Venture Bros to fill in the gap. Missing Party Down would be tough, but Kristen Bell isn’t a series regular yet anyway, so I’d manage.

Where to begin? There was so much right with the big finale that I can’t possibly fit it all into one brief review. Let’s start with the return of the 21/24 dynamic. As strange as the idea for 24 to return as a ghost sounds on paper, it worked amazingly well. His death brought a sharp focus to 21’s path, and has turned him into a great character. I am also crazy about the idea that, with 24 lurking about and tipping him off, 21 now has a real-deal power. Could it be that we’ll one day see 21 as his own super-villain? Possibly battling The Monarch for the hand of Dr. Girlfriend?

Okay, I’m really reaching for that last bit, but they certainly made a big play of 21’s fascination, between the “special software folder” and the leaning over the shoulder. What we don’t have to use our creative little imaginations for is the big showdown between Brock and 21. It was perfect, in that 21 held his own, but still eventually got his ass handed to him by Brock. It called to mind a quote from Snow Crash.

“Until a man is twenty-five, he still thinks, every so often, that under the right circumstances he could be the baddest motherfucker in the world. If I moved to a martial-arts monastery in China and studied real hard for ten years. If my family was wiped out by Colombian drug dealers and I swore myself to revenge. If I got a fatal disease, had one year to live, and devoted it to wiping out street crime. If I just dropped out and devoted my life to being bad. Hiro 21 used to feel this way, too, but then he ran into Raven Brock. In a way, this was liberating. He no longer has to worry about being the baddest motherfucker in the world. The position is taken.”

And speaking of Brock… he’s back! And not just on the show, but back as the Venture bodyguard… I think. I didn’t really realize just how much I have missed Brock over the last few episodes until we saw him busting skulls (literally) with Shore Leave. “See… if you could pull that trigger, you totally wouldn’t wanna.” The entire return of S.P.H.I.N.X was fantastic, right down to them being located on the Venture compound the whole time.

The S.P.H.I.N.X. revelation is just the start of so many questions as we move forward. Will they stay at Venture Industries? Will everyone be mind-wiped? Does the absolutely perfect scene at the end with Brock and Hank mean Brock is back to bodyguard duty? Will that be in addition to his missions with S.P.H.I.N.X? Or will we just be off on a whole new tangent next year and forget all of this? Somehow, the reappearance of Speedy suggests we shouldn’t forget anything. The devil is in the details here.

All this and I haven’t even come to the best revelation of all. Dr. Girlfriend is turning on the Moppets. My long held dream of seeing the annoying little pupae roasted over a spit is one step closer to coming true! I will acknowledge that Tim-Tom did have one of my favorite lines ever in “Tears Of A Seacow.” “They were white panties, Kevin. White.” Still, it’s long past time to grill those little bastards. My favorite bit from the Monarch came with his reaction to 21 going rogue. He liked the idea because 21 actually might be able to pull it off. And with that, the transformation of 21 is complete.

I know, I’ve left a lot out. I just can’t believe how much they were able to jam into one half hour episode. While it’s disappointing to be saying goodbye to our Venture Bros pals for a while, it is nice to know that the show is heading into the hiatus in top form.

Clacked by Brett Love
on Dec 15, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT