| The Venture Bros. episode | |||||||
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| Assisted Suicide | |||||||
| Season 4 | |||||||
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| Orig. Airdate | October 17, 2010 | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Doc Hammer | ||||||
| Director | Jackson Publick | ||||||
| Create Quote Page | Transcript | ||||||
| Episode Guide | |||||||
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Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Monarch invades Rusty's mind, trying to drive him insane and to the point of suicide, but Dr. Orpheus comes to the rescue.
[edit] Rundown
[edit] Synopsis
The episode begins with several characters (including Brock, Sgt. Hatred, Shore Leave, Hank, Dean, and Dr. Orpheus) playing touch football. The game is interrupted when Brock senses someone is in his car. It turns out to be Dr. Venture's apparent attempt at suicide (albeit a poor one as he tried to asphyxiate himself in a fully electric car). In quick succession, he tries to kill himself with a road flare, shaving creme, Brock's combat knife, and Dr. Orpheus' tie. After being taken into the compound and examined by Dr. Orpheus, it is determined that Dr. Venture is not truly suicidal but in fact possessed. Preparations are quickly made for an exorcism. Orpheus casts a spell of binding which effectively puts Dr. Venture in a locked-in state. It is revealed that the Monarch has entered Dr. Venture's mind via a device not approved by the Guild. The Monarch's disembodied psyche has set up shop in the "Master Control Room" of Venture's brain, and is driving his suicidal urges. With the help of the greatest treasure Dr. Venture values (but notably not his children), Dr. Orpheus enters into Dr. Venture's mind, where he meets the personification of the two greatest forces in the human psyche: Eros (who manifests as Billy Quizboy) and Thanatos (who manifests as Pete White). Together, they cross the levels of Dr. Venture's mind, passing by the Id, Ego, and Superego. Meanwhile, the Monarch's tamperings inside Dr. Venture opens the floodgates of Venture's horrific past, revealing more of his traumatic childhood. Meanwhile, Henchman #21 and Dr. Mrs the Monarch bond while watching over The Monarch's physical body (unable to forcibly remove him from Dr. Venture's mind at the risk of "turning him into a vegetable"). When the murderous moppets show up for a routine safety inspection, Dr. Mrs the Monarch and Henchman #21 cover the Monarch's condition from the moppets, to avoid Guild repercussions, since these kinds of mental attacks aren't allowed. They go so far as to fake a threesome which causes the moppets to quickly leave; and later share a drunken kiss. Finally the Monarch, after Dr. Orpheus confronts him with the horrible memories of all Hank and Dean's deceased clones, flees from Dr. Venture's mind. Awakened and released from the control of the Monarch, Rusty goes out side to see mild chaos as Hatred and Brock argue over how to deal with Dean (who had sat on an anthill and was now nearly stripped and being hosed down). Dr. Venture declares that his children are "his problem" and not the responsibility of the two feuding bodyguards. The episode concludes with a brief conversation between Dr. Venture and Hank where he relates a story of how he was humiliated yet again at the hands of both his father and the original Team Venture, and he implies it was this, among numerous other incidents caused by his father and his associates, that are responsible for turning him into the person he is today.
[edit] Fun Facts
- When Orpheus correctly identifies Eros and Thanatos, Thanatos said "good going, Count Freurd," a portmanteau of Sigmund Freud, who came up with the theory of Eros vs. Thanatos, as well as Count Floyd, the horror-movie host from SCTV (referring to Orpheus' "Dracula" outfit)
- While 21 is giving his short monologue about all the different things he remembers, he quotes the android Roy Batty from Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?) when he says that he has "seen attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion." At this point, he is interrupted by Dr.Misses-The-Monarch.
- The doors in the hallway of Dr. Venture's mind are referred to as "the doors of perception," referencing a book of the same name by Aldous Huxley - the same book that Jim Morrison named The Doors after.
- The hallway with many doors might be a reference to the scene where the heroes are looking for The Architect.
- You can spot wooden models of Helper and the X-1 in Ego's workshop, and a degree from State University in Superego's prison cell. As well, when the clock chimes a clockwork Brock hits a clockwork Monarch on the head with a hammer.
- The Id's voice was inspired by both Balok (who is mentioned in the episode) and Master from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
