My friend John Hefner live-blogged this episode here.

So, what did *I* think of it all?

Let's put on the proper soundtrack, just to give you an idea ...



... Because in a word? Wow.

It's interesting that Gary basically pulled a Brock with this season finale, by triangulating himself (albeit inadvertently in Gary's case) between the two sides, and then telling both sides to go fuck off as he stormed out.





Between Gary's newfound unemployment and Dean's rejection of the Outrider's advice, I feel like we're actually leaving this season on an odd kind of emotional cliffhanger.

Both Dean and Rusty seem to have regressed significantly in this episode, don't they? After the feint toward Orpheus possibly fixing his insides, Rusty has become more decisive but also more sociopathic than we've seen him since we found out that he used an orphan's heart to power the dream can, whereas Dean's self-assertiveness in New York and parting on good terms with Triana before were basically wiped out by their reunion here.

I'm wondering how much of the OSI/SPHINX subplot here was intended as a deck-clearing exercise to streamline the organizations of the Ventureverse, but it was still a remarkably well-executed tribute to that whole corner of the characters' world. At the same time, while Molotov's apparent demise works well as a send-off for her and as a capstone to her and Brock's relationship, this is too much of a comic book reality for me not to notice that we never saw her body.

Speaking of which, I actually really loved the Schrödinger uncertainty that was imposed on 24's true nature here, because the fact that he interacts with other ghosts outside of Gary's perception shows that he can't just be a figment of Gary's imagination, and yet, the fact that "Mr. Wendal" is still alive (holy shit, an Arrested Development reference that wasn't about the TV show instead) shows that 24 can't be telling the truth about his true nature, either.

It wasn't especially subtle that, regardless of what he might actually be, 24 in this episode represented Gary's need to let go and move on with his life, but there was something so profoundly moving about the whole scene where Gary sees that 24 has disappeared, and he just breaks down into tears in Orpheus' arms, and what's so weird is that it was all the more beautifully heartfelt because Orpheus and Jefferson thought he was grieving the breakup of Arrested Development.



... Huh. Wow. I just realized; not only the first "Go, Team Venture" in a very long time, but also the first one EVER with all THREE of the Venture brothers.

And while I suppose I can understand me being the first person on my F-list to point out that the appearance of Triana's boyfriend was obviously modeled after Robert Pattinson as Count Sparklepenis, since the rest of you might have considered it too obvious to mention, why is no one else noting that Hank has officially become a SERIAL MILF-hunter? Not only did he lose his virginity to the girl that his dad impregnated with his half-brother, but he did his good and goddamnest to tap his mail-lady's awesomely broad 47-year-old ass, even after she pointed out that her kids are older than he is. Nice passing nod to Kim in the dialog, too.

I'm not even gonna lie, though; the moment where Shore Leave tells Gary to suit up? Best of the episode for me, especially when Shore Leave points out to Gary that he stopped being a villain and started being a hero a long time ago.





It was one of many reasons why Gary's rant to The Monarch was a long time coming, and so very much deserved.



Treister forcibly passed the baton of leadership on to Hunter, but out of all of them, Gary was the only one in this episode who, of his own volition, chose to GROW UP.

And that deserves a cheer.



The Onion offers its own insightful review here. I didn't even notice it until they pointed it out, but Dean closed out the episode with the first honest-to-God swear word he's ever uttered on the air. They also provide the exact lines exchanged by Shore Leave and Gary:

"Dude, I'm not a good guy."
"Oh yes you are. Now scoot.

... Jesus Christ, am I actually crying over this? I totally am.

Looking ahead to Season 5, which I'll be astonished if it doesn't happen? Holy SHIT that Cocoon is going to FALL THE FUCK APART without Gary there.

What struck me most about the scene immediately following Gary finally having it out with The Monarch was that, perhaps for the first time ever, The Monarch seemed even more pathetic than Rusty. Yes, Rusty resorted to date-rape drugs with horrifically inhumane consequences just to try and get laid, but the fact that he was even bothering to stage a home-school prom in the first place, while an embarrassingly out-of-touch gesture, still demonstrated more genuine concern for his family and friends than anything The Monarch seems to be capable of anymore.

In a sense, The Monarch's half-assed attempt at salvaging a "win" from this scene is arguably his worst failure EVER, since not only does his number-one henchman quit in disgust, in a highly public and deeply humiliating fashion, but his sworn arch-enemy doesn't even care — and indeed, barely even notices — when The Monarch makes a desperate bid for a big dramatic speech declaring his "victory."

As bad as Rusty is (and he's pretty awful throughout this episode), it's telling that he's ultimately surrounded by relatively decent people who stick up for him (even when he arguably doesn't deserve it), whereas The Monarch's last scene in this episode sees him and Sheila choking in a noxious cloud of his own making, utterly alone.