Review: The Venture Bros. “The Terminus Mandate”

I don’t think Red Death could get any more terrifying.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

The Guild of Calamitous Intent has undergone a heavy restructuring lately, and during this time it seems a few things were overlooked in the formation of the new Council of Thirteen.  The Sovereign explains to the other council members that they must be “reborn” into the guild council and give up arching. To that end, The Sovereign has had “final arches” made for each of the council members, so they may have a last hurrah facing down their old foes.

This opens up a montage of sequences of the different council members facing down their greatest enemies, with hilarious results. Some council members arches are just funny gags, while others are more personal, like Dr. Z meeting up with Johnny Quest in a rehab clinic. Eventually, the arches are all resolved to varying degrees, while Dr. Mrs. The Monarch ends up receiving an awkward hug from her personal arch.

Meanwhile, Dr. Venture tries to go on a date without a femme fatale who aims to seduce him. He doesn’t seem at all worried that this woman specializes in gold digging rich men, and is in fact excited by the idea. Brock and the boys try to explain to Dr. Venture that this is a terrible idea, but their words fall on deaf ears.

Our Take:

The Venture Bros has been going steady for a few weeks this season, now, putting out episodes that carry the series’s expectations with wit and creativity. Yet, the last few episodes haven’t been able to elevate to this iconic Venture Bros episodes that stick with you. I’m confident in saying that this is the most memorable episode of the season so far (Sans the three-part season opener) once again proving that there is still lots of room to explore and play around in the sandbox supervillain world of The Venture Bros.

What’s really special about this episode is that we’re treated to an excellent use of a story scenario to expand the connections between the guild council members and their personal lives. Most of the guild council is made up of characters who have a funny shtick, so we don’t get to see too much of them. By giving the individual members their own little sequences, there’s a lot of fun small moments that make each of the council members more fun and interesting. Red Death, in particular, gets a fantastic sequence of tying his personal arch to a railroad track and monologuing about the virtues of the “Gentleman Villain.” Of course, this doesn’t come at the expense of good comedy, either. My personal favorite gag was seeing “Radical Left” argue with his other half, “Right Win”, and try to beat him in a game of clue that goes on for way too long.

The “b” story with Dr. Venture trying to go on a date with a femme fatale is certainly the less interesting story we’re met with this week. Dr. Venture, while funny for his sardonic ways, is basically reciting the same old gag of him being an arrogant loser-weirdo that the series has had since its beginning. Its a hit and miss sequence, sometimes funny but not reaching the character comedy heights of the “a” story in this episode.

This episode is an absolute joy. It’s just pure unabashed fun from start to finish, crafting an episode that keeps things with enough variety to give the widest breadth to the story that it can, using the Venture Bros trademark witty dialogue and unique characters to engage your attention and keep you chuckling until the very end. This episode is equal parts story and comedy, joining together in a swimming comedy that continues to delight and amazes with its ability to stay fresh.