After 12 seasons, Futurama must finally reverse its biggest Planet Express story problem before it’s too late

The following contains spoilers for Futurama season 12 episode 9, “The Futurama Mystery Liberry,” now streaming on HuluFuturama has steadily turned one classic way of raising tension into a punchline, and it could have a negative impact on the way the show approaches stakes going forward. Futurama has always had an interesting relationship to stakes, because the sci-fi setting and comedic tone could theoretically make anything possible as episodes required. This flexibility was a real strength of the show, allowing FuturamaSci-fi comedy to blend philosophical musings and epic storytelling with weird, dark and often consistently goofy comedy. The show can even take on other genres with ease, as seen in Futuramas horror episodes.

However, that versatility has impacted the stakes in the universe and the subjects the show takes seriously. As a result, there are some common dangers in stories that are not treated with nearly the same gravitas Futurama. in FuturamaThe emotional heart of the characters is at the focus of each great. This approach produced some fantastic episodes. However, some episodes of Futurama Season 12 has highlighted as a fundamental way to raise tension and raise the stakes of any adventure story has become a much more thrown concept in FuturamaOften used for a quick gag rather than a genuine moment.

How many Futurama characters die in Season 12 “The Futurama Mystery Library”

The latest non-canon anthology hints at a series-wide issue

FuturamaThe latest anthology episode kills off most of the cast multiple times, highlighting how the show has turned death into a pure punchline. “The Futurama Mystery Library” is the latest example of Futuramas anthology episodes, with a non-canon set of rules for the show’s creatives to play with. As with many previous anthologies, this episode is a three-part parody of different types of stories. This time, the focus is on famous literary characters targeted at children. The three segments reimagine Leela as Nancy Drew, Frey as Tintin, and Bender as Encyclopedia Brown (and recast them in new roles in other segments).

Each short fuses their sci-fi riff on the stories with a lot of dark comedy, including the deaths of several characters. The first short even ends with the entire world being sucked into a dimensional rift except for Amy and Zoidberg, the latter of whom is later executed by electric chair while a different character in the third segment. The episode’s non-canon status means there is no consequence to the deaths, but it highlights how death has changed from a mortal stake in the early seasons of Futurama And has evolved into a punchline more than anything else.

Futurama was much more careful with death

Early seasons of Futurama Has much more mortal stakes

striking, Futurama Used to know a lot more about the danger of death. During the early episodes of the animated comedy, the possibility that an unwitting Frey might get himself killed was one of the only consistent sources of tension and genuine stakes. Concepts like the suicide booth in “Space Pilot 3000” or running out of air on the moon in “The Series Has Landed” established the life-threatening elements that casually fill the 31st century. It was a great way to naturally add stakes to the cartoon comedy, with the fatal nature of the danger bringing tension to Futurama.

In the first episodes, The danger was emphasized with a tone shiftHighlighting the threatening nature of the situations. Even when the deaths were fake-outs (like in season 3’s “The Day the Earth Stood Stupid” and season 5’s “The Sting”), they carried real emotional weight. Death was a very real element of the stakes. This helped raise the tension when it was needed, and you could often succumb to a laugh. However, over time, the series has become more overtly silly and emotionally resonant. This may be why death has changed Futurama And stopped being used to stop the tension.

Death stopped becoming a legitimate fear and problem in Futurama

Death became a punchline or an emotional turn – but not a way to raise the tension

There is no clear exact point when death stopped matter as much Futurama. It could have been when the direct-to-video movies that comprised season 6 casually reversed the most tragic element of the dog’s death from season 5’s “Jurassic Bark,” or when the movies repeatedly took the scope of the series to a galactic level. Apparent deaths are quickly undone, as seen with Kif’s death and exact resurrection in season 6’s “The Beast with a Billion Bucks.” By the time of Comedy Central’s season 7 revival, apparent deaths (and their subsequent reversals) were becoming increasingly common on the show.

This was especially true in the anthology episodeswho always utilized their non-canon status to send the main cast off in creatively brutal ways. This became steadily more pronounced, with later anthologies like season 11’s “The Prince and the Product” killing off the entire cast several times. Death has become just another punchline of the show, which can undercut any danger the crew finds themselves dealing with. This means that when there is a threat, as in season 12’s “Cuteness Overload,” there is no genuine tension or fear. The stakes have been rendered by the overall goofier tone of the show.

Futurama cannot completely ignore the importance of death in the future of the show

Futurama Needs to rediscover the balance between dark comedy and genuine stakes

The stakes usually associated with mortal danger is something Futurama Can still mine for dramatic effect when it wants to. Season 10 “Meanwhile” and season 12 “Quid Games” have apparent fake-out deaths That further explored the impact the fatalities had on characters. However, the assurance of resurrection (courtesy of time travel or alien technology) still removes the tension that naturally comes from this kind of situation. Even the dark comic element of seeing regular characters brutally killed loses some of its luster over time, as seen with many of the sudden and blunt decisions of “The Futurama Mystery Library.”

If Futurama Stop using death as a punchline instead of a threat, The show risks losing active tension in stories. Some episodes of Futurama Still exploring death as a genuine danger, these episodes are usually among the most emotionally resonant. However, it is worth considering if Futurama Can find the proper balance between the stories and the more dark comedic sensibility where the characters are casually killed without any real consequence. It might even be a tonal trick that the show could never quite replicate, given the sci-fi rules of Futurama have developed over the past twenty-five years.