The following contains spoilers for Futurama season 12 episode 3, “The Temp,” now streaming on Hulu
Summary
Futuramaseason 12’s “The Temp” is quietly a sequel to a 23-year old storyline that has become one of the more controversial episodes in the show’s history. While many episodes ofFuturamafunction just fine as stand-alone storylines, there are some overarching plots that factor into multiple season long arcs of the show. The character relationships have evolved across the course ofFuturama, while the events of some episodes can come back to haunttheFuturamacastin surprising ways. This is at the heart of “The Temp,” which reveals the Planet Express Crew previously had another member.
“The Temp” focuses on his return and his genuinely diabolical plan. While the titular temp is largely removed from the actual history of the show, his original connection to the Planet Express Crew is set in motion by the fallout of a season 3 episode. It’s an interesting choice, as it does connect the new episode to the established continuity while also referencing an Emmy-nomiated episode that has become increasingly divisive within the fanbase. It all highlights toFuturama’s Hulu revivalcleverly using past episodes and history to build future stories.
Futurama’s Revival Kills Off Every Character For The Second Time In 14 Years
Futurama season 12 just did a parody of Netflix’s Squid Game, but it also manages to continue a dark trend from Futurama’s past episodes.
“The Temp” Is A Sequel To Futurama’s Divisive Season 3 Episode “Amazon Women In The Mood”
Flashbacks In “The Temp” Directly Connect It To Fry’s Fate In “Amazon Women In The Mood”
Futuramaseason 12’s “The Temp” is quietly a sequel to season 3’s “Amazon Women In The Mood,“a controversial episode fromFuturama’s third season. Most of “The Temp” focuses on Frank, a temp worker who tries to take over Fry’s life after using hypnosis on the rest of the crew. It turns out they actually briefly worked with Frank twenty-three years previously when he replaced Fry in the aftermath of “Amazon Women In The Mood.”
A flashback in “The Temp” reveals that after the physical trauma of surviving that episode’s plot,Fry ended up going on a brief vacation. Frank was hired to briefly fill his role, until he was left behind during a delivery and forgotten about. By the time the rest of the crew returned to Earth, Fry’s vacation was finished and he quickly slid back into his role as delivery boy. This places a chunk of “The Temp” during the events of season 3, and brings attention back to one of the more controversial episodes in the show’s original run.
Why “Amazon Women In The Mood” Is One Of Futurama’s Most Controversial Episodes
The Initial Popularity Of The Problematic Episode Has Transformed Into A More Divisive Reception
“Amazon Women In The Mood” was the season 3 premiere ofFuturama, and is quietly an important episode for Kif and Amy within the show’s overarching continuity. After a double-date between Amy, Leela, Kif, and Zapp crash lands on a world populated by giant amazonians, Fry and Bender’s attempts to save them only get them captured too. As punishment for trespassing on the world, Fry, Zapp, and Kif are sentenced to death by “snu-snu” and forced to have painful sex with many of the inhabitants.When it was initially released, the episode was popular and even earned an Emmy nomination.
However, retrospections on the show has called into question some of the more questionable elements of the episode.Aspects of the episode like the consent of the characters in the event and the trivialization of sexual assault against Kif(who is shown clearly trying to escape the Amazonian’s attempts to copulate) gives it many elements that modern audiences find distasteful. Coupled with the episode’s constant jokes about gender norms and stereotypes, “Amazon Women In The Mood” has grown more controversial in the years since it first aired.
Futurama Season 12 Just Made The Show’s Grossest Fry Twist Even Darker After 23 Years
Fry’s family tree has been affected by time travel, and while this storyline has been weird for years, Futurama season 12 just made it even weirder.
Futurama Season 12 Is Continuing The Hulu Revival’s Sequel Episode Focus
Futurama Season 12 Is Building Off The Past And Bringing Back Surprising Storylines
Notably,this isn’t the only time season 12 ofFuturamaseems to be pulling from past episodes and storylines. “Quids Game” built upon Fry’s personal family history in some effectively tragic ways, while “The One Amigo” retconned some of Bender’s backstory and expanded his family. Other teases for season 12 have suggested audiences will also be getting a follow-up to the critically-acclaimed “Meanwhile,” as well as a possible return of thegolden alternate universe Benderfrom season 4’s “The Farnsworth Parabox.”
Even the initial delivery assignment for the Planet Express Crew in the episode’s opening is building on previous plot threads. The marriage between the Omicronian rulers Lrrr and Ndnd has been a factor in episodes like season 4’s “Spanish Fry” and season 6’s “Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences.“It’s been interesting to see the newest season ofFuturamaexplore previous storylines and characters, especially in something like “The Temp” where a minor ret-con sets the stage for a new story. It’s an exciting way forFuturamato continue charting its future forward, without forgetting the memorable (and controversial) turns of previous seasons.
Futurama
Cast
Futurama is an animated science fiction series that follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from late-20th-century New York City. He is accidentally cryogenically frozen for a thousand years and becomes an employee at Planet Express, a delivery service in the retro-futuristic 31st century.
