Futurama - Game of Tones is OVERRATED

Everyone told me this was one of the best episodes of Futurama. Well, I have a few words for those people...
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[@littenfire3563]

I like to think the mom is this way because she realized she took Fry for granted. So that's why she's more nice to him now and that's why she dreamed of Fry more often

[@camelthegamer7165]

But, she dreamt about him in his dream...

[@dimsumboy22]

also, it could be her subconcious, rather than herself. But I still agree with SD

[@VideoEssayWatcher5484]

Dude wdym she literally didn't even care WHEN HE DISAPEARED

[@dcbeats1624]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. After he was gone she realized what she truly had. Itll take that to happen. I remember the cold nights spent homeless after mine had cast me out so I guess I feel for fry on this one.

[@Impalingthorn]

Well, the thing is this isn't an inaccurate depiction of how family members just... ARE with each other. We're used to seeing idealized depictions of family units and projecting ourselves onto that, but that's just not the case. Being a "family" means being so used to and inundated by each other's bullshit that it becomes easy to ignore and accept in your regular daily life. Doesn't mean you don't know each other, you're just incredibly familiar and are at ease; there is no tension to behave beyond who you are or how lazy you wanna be. ... Except that wasn't the case with Fry's mom. Fry's mom was not only dismissive, but completely indifferent to Fry's assumed death in every episode she appeared in up until this point. She was not depicted as a working class woman who didn't realize what she had, she just didn't care. This came in the later seasons of the show where several things got retconned for the sake of emotional story telling and this was just one of them.

[@boogitywoogity248]

Uhh I understand what you’re thinking, but the reason Fry fixated on his mother is for closure. This episode is about closure. For every other member of his family Fry had a previous episode that gave him Closure with them. The realization that his dad and brother truly loved him already gave him everything he needed emotionally from them. The realization that Seymour had lived for years after he was gone, let him know that he didn’t need to unnaturally bring him back, they had their time together and that was okay. Even his girlfriend had been given closure, his mother was the only family member he’d never gotten closure with, so therefore it’s natural that he’d seek closure from her. Fry has had no reassurance through memory or discovery that his mother loved him even after he was gone, subconsciously he desperately wants that. His dreams are mostly subconscious, and therefore his mind doesn’t feel the desire to bond with people he’s already received closure with. His mother was aloof and often focused elsewhere, but he loved her dearly and wants reassurance basically that she never forgot him.

[@elisecairo4496]

Yes! And I also believe it to be the same for the “continuity error” of his mom’s behavior. Lots of people shove serious things deep down to where only their subconscious will allow it expressed. I can see his mom acting tough and aloof but she does care. And a lot. She just wont show it

[@origialtych]

@@elisecairo4496 This and @Boogity Woogity's comments are valid but we and Shady are forgetting about something equally important and stupid at the same time we all things considered only receive very sparse and focused screen time of Fry's Family and his interactions with them the rest of it is second hand information from Fry or people that were around them we have never received actual long term observations of these characters yes Nancy Jr.(?) was a Atypical Older Brother always trying to take his younger siblings things and show he is better than him, but we don't know if that was all there was to his character of if he had a much deeper character, Nancy Sr. was a Tough and Distance Man but Fry has for the most part been able to deal with most challenges that have come his way in life we don't know how he did this other than Nancy Sr. must have done something that stuck in Phil's head and helped him to overcome those challenges., I uh don't really know what to say about Seymour I mean I add the whole Lars is Canon even to the episodes that Pre-date him so yeah not commenting about it, And as I stated in the beginning we Never get to see what a full picture of Philip's Relationship with his Mom was really like only focused precise Snippets from the show the woman was overly obsessive with sports particularly (American)Football but given her using of a golf club and a novelty mug it is safe to say she was probably a sports nut furthermore I would argue she was a lot more softer and caring in comparison to her husband but was just as surface level emotionally distant towards her children so its not really clear if her actions were really forced or not cause again we don't know what the true nature of their relationship was

[@fredyphoenix]

You’re absolutely right. Fry is fixated on his mom BECAUSE she is his mom. He never felt her love when she was alive. It was always missing.

[@theredheadwiththread1275]

@@origialtych *Yancy. Nancy is a woman's name.

[@origialtych]

@@theredheadwiththread1275 I made that comment 3 months ago at I believe 3 am and my eyes were giving out I believe spellcheck and exhaustion might have fucked me over on those and I don't want to correct them but I am aware I screwed up Yancy Jr. and Sr.'s names I hope everyone is smart enough to know what I meant when I wrote that brick of a comment

[@G_Okr]

Well, perhaps Fry's mother, some weeks or months after he disappeared, wished she'd cared more. Perhaps she realised his loss and how distant she had been all these years, and wished to fix that, but couldn't since Fry had gone missing, and dreamed about all the things she could have said to him if they could see each other one more time. Perhaps...

[@crossleb]

If they gave the real mom more screen time; she could have apologized for being so distant.

[@sparda9060]

That's way too far of a reach for audience to justify her actions.

[@sonoskay]

@@sparda9060 is it? The regret of missed opportunities is real. Nearly every parent and child experiences this at some point. Shoot entire sitcoms are a premise for this feeling.

[@1x4]

@@sonoskay but they didn't even hint at the possibility of it.

[@thesun5275]

​@@sparda9060 imagine that you had a child you were distant with just for them to someday die or disappear without a trace and for all you know they are dead. You would reflect and likely regret your actions or inaction and wish you could just do or say something more .

[@Threadnaught]

"I'll never forget the day Philip disappeared, Wisconsin won the Rose Bowl 17-9." Her recurring dream was about that exact day, the day she lost her son. It may not have been as obvious as with the rest of his family, but she never stopped thinking about him.

[@ivanagustinortiz5237]

She relates her life to sports, plus on Bender's Big Score we've seen Fry's mom caring about the time remanent Fry (who eventually became Lars).

[@POIUYTREWQ62]

Why would Fry want to bond with his mom? Well, one time when he went back in time; he bonded with his grandmother, so.......

[@hectornonayurbusiness2631]

😳😳😳😅😅😅

[@pastorcodymitchell1456]

bow chicka bow bow

[@ianfinrir8724]

He did do the nasty in the past-y.

[@Saltedroastedcaramel]

At least his dad was still alive back then, and Fry didn't kill him indirectly

[@Activesilver97]

His grandmother was his father's mom

[@madmintentertainment6268]

instead of going " i dreamt about you a lot when you dissapeared " It would have been an absoloute tear jerker if she took the oppertunity in her dream to tell fry that she was sorry and she always took him for granted.

[@moneygrabber6720]

I don’t think that she did take him for granted. I think she just had ADD, and had trouble giving him the attention that he craved. That doesn’t make her a bad person, that just means that she had a problem that she had to deal with. I really like this episode, and I think the genuine love that Fry had for his mother is beautiful and I love this episode for it 😁

[@iwantmynametobeaslongaspos7194]

@@moneygrabber6720 ADHD doesn’t explain ignoring the fact your son has a 109 degree fever. That’s life threatening ADHD doesn’t make you stupid you just can’t focus. Also ADD isn’t an official medical diagnosis anymore it’s all under ADHD now

[@superior_nobody07]

Honestly not really. That kinda feels like something you would expect to happen. The dream thing is a bit of a subversion and a very effective one

[@Goremejy]

That IS what she’s telling him though. Otherwise why would she be constantly dreaming about him? It’s not a stretch to say that she misses her son who, in her mind is dead/missing for a while now. She’s telling him that he is constantly on her mind now and she always wishing how things could have been different, manifesting in lots of dreams about him. At least that was my interpretation

[@Parcha64]

I think Fry's mom definitely had flaws that were played up for comedic effect, but there were clues through the series that she might have been regretful for neglecting her son. For example, she coldly tells Yancy that Fry's "crap" is still in the basement. Why would she keep it, untouched, until Yancy's wedding day? If she was so unloving, wouldn't she throw it all away? To me, it seems like she has an avoidant personality but still cares deep down. Another way she reveals her affection is through referencing specific memories with sports games. On the surface it looks like she's totally preoccupied, but she actually has a strong sense of how time passes because of it. She dreams of the 2000 Rose Bowl because she knows that game marks Fry's disappearance. She probably realized she watched that game like any other only to find out she should have been worried about Fry. She probably came up with an excuse not to search for him because she couldn't face what happened to him. It's messed up, but I know people who had to identify a deceased son/brother and they were never the same. I think she "earned" her hug because Fry forgave her during the montage. He revisits his last day knowing there was more to it than he remembered. I think he consciously fixated on her because he wanted that closure. This is Fry's character arc, not hers. He can't change how she treated him, but he can find ways he may have taken her for granted. Each flashback has a comon theme where Fry or the audience are mistaken about his flawed loved ones and it feels natural that the writers would save the worst offender for last. Not because they had to give Mom an episode, but because Fry had to face his greatest challenge after forgiving everyone else. I like that they didn't write a grand redemption for her, because closure isn't really about redemption, it's about acceptance.

[@user-pi3hd2bt3f]

I agree with everything you said, except it's likely that Yancy Sr. decided to keep Fry's things since when the mom said "his crap sure isn't" she looks over at her husband and he looks down as if in shame. It's still most likely to show their different approaches to their grief. Yancy hoarded everything that reminded him of Fry possibly even telling himself Fry might need it when he comes back. While the mom would have likely thrown it all away if she could. Maybe because it was just too painful to see them

[@Parcha64]

@@user-pi3hd2bt3f You know, I never put that together 'til now. Yancy Sr. is a lot like my own father right down to being a huge pack rat, so you've definitely added another layer to that relationship for me... I'm not crying... you're crying

[@unviewerrandom4792]

Beautifuly says

[@Valerie-nm1gr]

In particular I think the line about searching for Fry being "a waste of public resources" seems to imply that his family probably assumed he wasn't a victim of foul play but rather took his own life. From their perspective it would make sense, since his girlfriend had left him which is a big trigger for people and it was around the holidays (New Years) which is a common time for that sort of thing. Not wanting to have a big search for Fry doesn't necessarily show none of them cared, but moreso that they pragmatically assumed the most likely scenario and knew he was unlikely to be found alive.

[@bethanyvarre9142]

Apparently, in 'Jurassic Bark' Fry's mom was the one to be found fossilized instead of Seymour. So instead of Seymour in these situations, Fry's mom would have been the one in the lava and waiting for her son to return. The studio felt that was too dark, so they went with Seymour instead. I'm guessing 'Game of Tomes' was scraps of that idea.

[@GrayD_Fox]

Thats a weird idea in the first place

[@williamdaviddiazcuchimaque7511]

Si imagina que bender hubiese tratado de matar a la madre de fry

[@dannydorito2954]

Frys memories of his family look like a montage because he only remembers the good times with them.

[@hariman7727]

In my opinion, Nibbler lied. It's not his mother's dream. It's an artificial dream created by Nibblonian technology to give Fry something he would never get otherwise.

[@snaketooth0943]

Wow. That makes the ending even sadder.

[@hariman7727]

@@snaketooth0943 it's a sad truth that sometimes parents just don't care about their children.

[@WideGrin00]

They should’ve went with that.

[@nobodybroda3826]

Idk man, the reason this episode hits home to me is that after my own dad passed, any time he shows up in my dreams, no matter the context most of the time or what mindset I'm in, I always remember him and hug him and cry. This episode gives me the same feelings, it hurts to watch cause it reminds me of my own lost parent, even a vision of them brings me to tears.

[@voiceofreason2691]

@Herman Cillo l´m pretty sure it´s up to the *writers* themseIves to decide that.

[@arnold20139]

As someone who holds this episode in the special place of my heart. I still respect the opinion that it's overrated. Good on you Shady. 👏

[@dominicunderwood4911]

"Despite completely disagreeing with you & the overall point of this video, I am going to deliver a dramatic slow-clap in front of a false smile" If youre going to go that far to mask your condending disagreement without presenting any arguement, why not just leave a dislike and move on. I even do that withvideos of his I disagree with...of course I actually *make* a case instead of like-farming with a lukewarm you-do-you paragraph finisher.

[@EinSilverRose]

It would have been much more impactful if the episode focused on Fry's mom. Like she's still a sports nut but gradually realizes how much she misses her son to the point she stops watching sports and spending more time in his room thinking about how she missed her chance to be a mother for him. Somehow the dream plot happens and Nibbler helps her and Fry share one last moment together in a dream. Episode ends with Fry's mom getting back into sports knowing Fry is alive and well.

[@sirraf23]

Jutassic Bark is still the one that crushes my heart every single freakin time I see it. My dogs hold a special place in my heart and the very thought of disappearing one day and them not knowing where I went is horribly depressing.

[@loganjennings6991]

I just noticed in this, when Leela walks into the dream, she pats Seymour on the head. It was such a small gesture but it was nice

[@DracoPadilla]

That happened to me. Why you gotta make me feel bad?

[@willcox7202]

Bender's big score Pt 3 It's small, it's subtle. But when Fry becomes Lars then it's shown that he does miss the past and wanted to be around his family, even kissing his mom on the cheek. I agree that the Niblonians weren't handled at all, but Fry in Season 5 on is shown to be much more human in that regard to his family

[@cameronspalding9792]

I think that his mom realised that she took him for granted and loosing him made her realise she didn’t know what she had until it was gone There should have been a bit more build up to it

[@elizabethhurlbut1475]

One could also argue that the touching goodbye between Fry and his Mom was genuinely touching because it showed a part of her character we didn’t see before. The person we show others is often not the full identity of who we are. Dreams being of the subconscious, both Fry and his mother would be free to be their truer selves. If the dream was Fry’s it could be argued it was his wish to see his mother that loving but because the dream was his Mother’s, her words and actions can be seen as genuine. (you’re are also correct; the audience’s love of their mothers will cause everyone to tear up at this episode’s end) :'(

[@Savariable]

Honestly this episode could've been better if they removed the entire nibblonian scenario, and the story was purely about the professor's new invention and fry using it to revisit his past, maybe have things happen fairly similar to that montage, with occasional breaks to the real world as time passes, until the professor manages to create another thing to insert the others into fry's dream, as it could've been a month by that point and they are worried about him. But fry still hasn't gotten a real chance to socialize with his mother by that point (it could have only been a few days in the dream but a month in real life), so he doesn't want to go, and the others manage to get fry to leave before he has that chance. And then to give that last moment, some character, maybe still nibbler manages to do something crazy to give fry that moment. I still don't think that would be that good of an episode but all the "conflict" of the episode does is draw it out and cause conflict. But either way, fry doesn't need the moment with his mother. It could just have been an episode of fry revisting his past via the dream thing and nothing else happening that is major and it would be better

[@SuperDarwinFAN]

I feel like the problem of wanting a moment with his mom would be solved simply if he fessed up on the meta-reasoning, by saying he's gotten to spend time with every other member of his family after going to the future, now wanting a moment with her

[@mymyrrah]

12:00 Another point, how did the car stay there for 1000+ years? It's NYC, it would have been stolen after being there for 3 days.

[@jestonrademaker2430]

Well the radio was stolen

[@dwarflord420]

Yeah about that. A question how was the ship even on the surface? If it was parked in NYC back in 1999,wouldn't the ship be underground? As The Pilot episode shows the NYC that Fry knew was now part of the sewer system.

[@mymyrrah]

@@dwarflord420 thought about that too. Also how was the applied cryogenics building still on the surface? It should be a ruin, or at least have its bottom, in the NYC underground.

[@dwarflord420]

@@mymyrrah Yeah you're right. This could turn into a real rabbit hole.

[@k-leb4671]

@@mymyrrah Maybe all the cryogenics stuff was moved to a new building on the surface?

[@RaidBu13]

You can see nibblers shadow in the pilot episode

[@justinsixdee30]

And?

[@sgtvirus6696]

@@justinsixdee30 That's it.

[@therealdyl4167]

@@justinsixdee30 And... it shows that in the pilot they had already planned a reveal that wouldn't be coming until seasons later

[@mrnobody6447]

@@therealdyl4167 or was it retroactively added later?

[@chefofthejungle179]

@@therealdyl4167 they came up with the plan later. The shadow was there in the original pilot episode, they just didn’t have a plan for the nibblonian yet. They did have the foresight however, to put the shadow in there so that we could go “oh wow, they planned every season before the first episode came out.” So while it wasn’t retroactively added in later, it was not a genius plan that they held onto for a decade.

[@carrastealth]

I think that his mom may have realized how much she took Fry for granted. Also, maybe the reason they didn't go searching for Fry was because his mom got closure in the dream with him where he tells her everything. Time can be wibbly wobbly. But if Fry from the Future was able to enter his Mom's dream in the past when she was missing him and telling her everything. She would likely not feel the need to go searching for him now, especially when she's made aware of his destiny.

[@moneygrabber6720]

I like to think that the girlfriend was lying about them not looking for him. She was a bad person just trying to make fry feel bad, which makes sense to her character.

[@EAFFAEEAF]

Just so everyone knows, the full line is "I'll never forget the day Phillip disappeared, Wisconsin won the Rose Bowl 17-9... oh, I miss him!". She didn't dislike Fry, she was just easily distracted when it came to sports. Notice how she actually apologized to Fry when she got distracted by the game, while taking his temperature. Fry canonically has ADD, so maybe his mom does too. Honestly the only time she really seemed apathetic to Fry, was when she let his dad choose his name, because she "picked dinner last night", and that was the one clip SD didn't show. All the clips here just show her focusing on sports more than her kids. I'm not saying that isn't still a problem, but it's not the same thing as "not caring". Another important bit that wasn't included in the video, was in the last scene of the episode, she says to Fry "You're the most important thing in my life, once this game is over." which sums up their relationship, beautifully and consistently. To be clear, most criticisms here are valid. The "Fry's flashback" episodes are usually top-tier in this series, but this episode isn't. (I know it's technically not a flashback, but still) I think that's why so many recommended this episode to SD, they kind of lumped it in with the others.

[@rickyray2794]

To be fair she was blasted on Morphine during the name thing.

[@greatrieck]

I am so glad someone else feels the way I do about this episode. Especially because of what you bring up about Fry's mom. I get it's because we already had an episode on his dog (Jurassic Bark), his brother (Luck of the Fryrish), and his dad (Cold Warriors) but it could have been a much better set up for a Fry's mom story.

[@jaimevalencia6271]

Oh yeah? What could they have done better? 😂 dick riding this KZbin channel is all you’re doing just wait till you lose your mom and you understand how much of a good episode this is.

[@flyingsky1559]

@@jaimevalencia6271 What a weird mess of a comment, insulting and deflective but still trying to appeal to rational thought.

[@rtyable]

This episode has a heart felt story for a mother and son that takes the mother and son out of character to tell that story. That isn’t how his mom acts and that’s not how we’ve seen fry act with out a sudden realization.

[@justinlynch3]

Shouldn't Fry hate his mom? We seen scenes in past episodes showing Fry's father and brother both cared about him, but Fry's mom never gave a rats about him. All Frry's ever cared about was sports. This episode should of had nothing to do with aliens at all. Fry's mom needed character building and justification, this episode needed to go in a mom Luck Of The Fryish route to make sense things. Fry should hate his mom for never caring about him, only to uncover something by the end that adds more depth to her character. I agree with Shady. There is no reason for Fry and his mom to have a touching hug in the end. Fry's mom only cares about sports and didn't even care when Fry disappeared, and Fry really should hate her for it.

[@alexanderguerrero347]

Fry obviously takes from his mother. I think that frys mother was a housewife for most of his childhood. So while he was an adult he and his mother weren’t talking but it’s not the basis for him missing his mom. It’s his whole past life with her not just the final days. After all there is the saying a parents love doesn’t need to be said. Fry knows his mothers loves him. He just misses her.

[@UnholyWrath3277]

As I commented previously it's a actual human response. People often have shitty parents but people have a biological and psychological need to try and get love from their mothers. Mothers are almost universally the first person to give people love. Babies connect and rely on their mothers more then any other person in their lives. While it does happen it often is extremely hard for people to actually hate their mom even if they deserve it

[@1x4]

I don't think that's a reason to hate. To be indifferent maybe, but I think to go straught to hate implies more went on or feelings were overly easy to damage.

[@BossMr51]

I understand your points on "why would fry want to bomd with his mom?" But my counter point is. Why wouldn't he want to? Look at all those episodes. Good. Interesting points where fry is shown to at least have a relationship with most of his family. Except his mom This dream is a way for him to fix that, finally have a connection to someone he never could. Granted yes he still is a dumbass for nearly nuking the universe...again. but its in character. Frys always around toxic somewhat abusive people and tries to love them. I agree tho. This episode could've been better.

[@austintheamerican3784]

Game of thrones was a popular fantasy TV show based on a unfinished book series that a fat old man refuses to finish because- Game of tones? Man did I miss read the tittle

[@wolffire5421]

I think the writers wanted this episode to originally be like frys last family flash back episode and it be just about family as a whole, but also wanted to make a episode entirely about frys mom before this one, but this being the last season they decide to fuse the two and it ended feeling force.

[@corbingross919]

I wish I could see or read the original Jurassic Bark because it was supposed to be about his mom and I wonder how the episode would have played out

[@Savariable]

Honestly I've never liked game of tones. It doesn't deserve to be ranked alongside the other flashback episodes.

[@mcfry13]

I still like it, but it is the weakest of all those flashback episodes. I guess I like the overall theme of the story even if the episode is highly flawed.

[@sanddagger36]

I'm really gonna have to disagree with the complaint's about this being a mom episode. No one needs a reason to want to spend time with their mom. You don't need to be spoon fed the knowledge that he had already spent time with everyone else. Futurama is good at showing more than telling. I don't need someone to spell out for me why he chose to fixate on the mother. everything else about the episode making no sense is true. When I first saw it the fact that nibbler was there from the start of the episode set it up for not being him or his people causing the problem and then it still was him. why?

[@seangray6131]

Leela's Homeworld is how you do a parent's episode

[@magicspellincorporated199]

Ya know, maybe a good reason they could have (and in my opinion should have) is because he had moments with everyone else. He knew his brother loved him since he had his kid after him. His dad bonded with him several times. He spent years with his dog. He bonded with his old boss but they weren't entirely close. But his mom... well, what if he never got that kind of moment with his mom and feared she would just forget him. But that's just my thought

[@jhonjhonmcgee4677]

I remember watching this episode and feeling so weird about it. The show hit me in the feels, but everything I remembered about Fry's mom was that she kinda sucked. Watching this it turns out my memory was correct, she did kinda suck and the writers wanted me to forget that.

[@kenmorashade7943]

but they do show him bonding with his brother... you showed it several times... the bath seen. i know its weird, but that is a bonding moment. it shows them haveing fun even though fry typically gets bullied by him.

[@clonetf141]

Far from the best episodes, but the ending is just something special.

[@renamon5658]

The episode where farnswoth spends time with his parents is a good episode

[@regularlegsc1376]

Yeah I never new this was an overhyped episode, I thought it was sweet, but nowhere like luck of the fryish or jurassic bark. I don't think it's a bad episode, but it was nice.

[@erikbrock5444]

Dreams change after you lose someone. Plus we've gotten like five, maybe ten combined minutes of Fry's parents, including mentions by other characters, and it's mostly been as comedic relief, so you don't really need to play with continuity to believe he had a better home life than what we've seen might suggest.

[@SlyfyGummy]

God if I can see my dad again....but to return to the sound of heavy coughing....no thank you be at rest

[@goat4298]

If I had guess because this was the final season of the series, they probably rushed fry's mom in to give her closure as well since it hasn't happened yet. But didn't think to look back at the past episodes so they could get a better understanding a Fry's mom's personality. If they did, then they didn't doing good job at it.

[@valeriegonzalez3117]

4:06 THANK YOU. This plot point bothered me in this episode. Especially when some of the KZbinrs praise this episode. As well as the point you made later. And to add to the overhype explanation: it seem as though no one acknowledge this mess up when praising the episode, while to me and others, it stands out badly.

[@EZ33377]

I think the dream was still artificial. Basically giving fry some closure. We all want to feel those closest to us care. Wether true or not it allowed fry to move on.

[@Original-Yellow]

All the continuity episodes are slightly messed up by them doing benders big score and knowing Lars was in fry's place

[@buddybud3404]

"So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good-bye" and the door blocks Fry's mom XD

[@Quatrixjs1]

Always felt this one was too saccharine and the emotion wasn’t earned.

[@AldentheBlue]

I can't think of them right now, but I want to say there were a few like this. They received some great reception for their more sincere episodes; and felt obligated to continue to try. I wish they would have just let those moments happen more naturally.

[@TheForhekset]

I feel like the appeal of this episode was fry bonding with his family. It doesn't really matter that mystery plot doesn't make sense, because thevepisode hits you in the feels.

[@xoire9754]

It's atonishing how close you got to the point without having the penny drop. "His mom hasn't done anything in the episode that would make him want to prioritise her." The episode is entirely built on his memories - his mom never, in his entire life, indicated that she cared about him. In turn, he never expressed any of his feelings for her. She's the only one he never had a resolution with. All of Fry's relationships in the 20th century are affected by the flaws present in the personalities involved in each relationship. Each episode unpacks these, and Fry tries to resolve his feelings about the past he left behind. This episode was no different - his mother is not a very emotional woman, and she doesn't have the capacity to overtly display the feelings she has. Half the time, she doesn't even realise that she has them. At the end of the episode, Fry discovers that she dreams about the day he left - not just once, but regularly. She does care about him, and his disappearance affected her greatly. Fry is desparate the entire epsiode for those unspoken feelings to finally become real. "The past episodes give Fry reasons to want to talk to everyone but his mother." No - those past episodes are the reason he doesn't need to speak to them. He's resolved all of his feelings about them. He wants to, but he doesn't need to. There is something missing in his heart until Nibbler gives him those final moments with his mother. It's more than just the writers phoning it in and trying to force a touching moment for the last family member - there is a reason she was the last one to begin with. Of course she would be, she's the one who seemed to fixate on him the least. The fact that he had to spend so much of the episode fixating on her is a deliberate choice - it juxtaposes her indifference to highlight the main issue in their relationship. In doing so, the final scene is a revelation: she might not have the tools to show it, but she does care about him, maybe more than anyone.

[@philip1557]

Actually Fry got closure with everyone else making him want to bond with his mim

[@soupythecat]

I'm sure Fry's mom cared about him to a degree even if the show only ever showed moments where she didn't seem to care at all. And even if she didn't, Fry would still miss her and want to spend time with her, especially if they never bonded.

[@snaketooth0943]

I like this episode but I wouldn't call it one of my absolute favourite episodes of Futurama.

[@sakurashy8492]

I think with Futurama finally ending they felt the need to finally give an episode to Fry's mother. It's been stated they tried to do it before but those episodes were given to his ex-girlfriend and pet dog instead. At the very least we got to see Fry share a long awaited moment with his mother.

[@ballsyninja417]

Benders big score shows time duplicate Fry spent 12 years in the past. mayhaps him spending time with his mother combined with her having a grandson could have made her more maternal. Her missing him could be a reference to duplicate Fry's leeloo search in the artic or bender blowing him up his parents thinking he died in the explosion could be why they thought searching for him was a waste of tax payer money. Then there is the multitude of temporal matters happening at that moment from future lost fry trying to strangle nibbler to the multiple time code duplicates and the unfreezing and refreezing of original fry. Not to mention that the scenes with his dog searching for him could also be during during duplicate Fry's leeloo search since he left for the artic out of nowhere his family probably didn't learn of his whereabouts till later

[@simplyconcerned06]

Banger of an episode the opening section had me rolling. " I might as well be a turkey cause I'm so based." Should be the channel motto

[@leviacronym6770]

I've never been a fan of this episode, but I can't pretend that the end of it doesn't tug at my cold, dead heartstrings. I think the reason is as you said it, it pulls at us because of our own feelings towards mother and child. I believe they could have executed the episode better, true. My only thought on why Fry's mom cares is because we tend to take for granted what we have *until* we lose it. Perhaps, after losing Fry, his mother came to realize what she'd lose and began regretting how much she neglected Fry over the years. As for Fry's girlfriend, she often tended to say heartless, cold things to him so I'm not sure how credible she is as a person. What I mean to say is, it's from *her* point of view. She may have come to the opinion that Fry's parents didn't care about him because she herself didn't care about Fry. She could be wrong, and they could have been worried about him. If you look at previous episodes about Fry's brother and dad, it is revealed that they cared about him in their own ways. Fry is a bit of...well, he's an idiot, and he tells things from his view, so we watch things from his view, which means that anything he believed was neglect or hate, was just something he misunderstood. He was wrong about his dad, and his brother, and he learns that eventually, so the next step is to think he may be wrong about his mother, too. Again, they should have set the episode up better to explore that. I'm guessing they wanted is to read between the lines and see what we see. I guess? I dunno, but my takeaway from it was that Fry's mother regrets not being there more for her son and misses him.

[@Santacart]

All great points and makes so much sense now that I think about it buuuttttt the end still gets me. I think it's one of the TV moments that will always make me tear up.

[@tokendragon291]

Hey love your videos. Was wondering since Futurama is coming back, how do you truly feel about fry and Leela's relationship

[@devildogkogg8353]

I'm not justifying ANY of the episode's plot, in fact I felt this way too, but I think I can explain why they thought the search wasnt worth the taxpayer money: His father might have believed that Philip left on purpose to pursue a better life and left everything from his old life, including his family. He and Yancy searched for him with the (futile) help of Seymour, and I think the fruitless result of that translated to his father as if his disappearance was no mishap. If we go off of what he said to him in Cold Warriors, his father believes that he will be okay wherever his new life takes him, and he is proud that he was bold enough to chase it. As for his mother suddenly dreaming about him a lot after he disappeared, I think she was facing the reckoning of taking him for granted. She never imagined that he would suddenly be gone and she would never see him again, but it happened without warning. I think that is why, even in that dream, she is more interested in the game than him; her dreams are punishing her for her misplaced priorities.

[@onyxd6270]

It has a great payoff, like Luck of the Fryrish. The only problem I have is that the plot train for the episode itself is kinda meh. But on a psychological level, the ending of the episode is as deep and emotional as any other great episode

[@bordomsdeadly]

Fry was born August 14, 1974. I checked, the Mets did in fact win that game 3-2 over the Dodgers. Can't even be mad at Fry's mom for that.

[@radmom4612]

THANK YOU SO MUCH! This was cathartic for me, no joke. I have been saying the rewrite of Fry's Mom makes no sense, and it really bothered me because I would have really liked to see Fry get to confront his real Mom, maybe ask her WTF, you know? Admittedly, I don't have the greatest relationship with my own (red-haired, lol) Mom, so it would have been extra fun for me to see him get in her face about literally anything. But they failed so spectacularly at that! And, to add insult to injury, they slipped us this character who acts like a loving mother and deprives us and Fry of any actual closure there. So Frustrating. THANK YOU for being literally the only other person on Earth to notice this, apparently!

[@raptirboy180]

Bro I'm sure you've seen it but I would love if you talk about Wilfred I've only ever seen one other guy talk about the show It's so underrated and so good with gut punches and twists that leave you on the edge of the seat

[@LauraGrrrr5370]

This episode falls flat for me because we know a time-duplicate of Fry lived for another 12 years until apparently being killed in an explosion. And I prefer that timeline because at least that gave the rest of his family some kind of closure, instead of there being this missing brother/son/uncle who they never found and always wondered about until they died.

[@fabulouszombie8848]

Personally I miss my mom so this episode hits close to home

[@willlindell8904]

feel free to dislike this episode (i've never seen it) but that joke about sound not traveling through space made me laugh hysterically

[@teacookieYT]

Shady, I haven’t even watched the episode yet, but dude, I’ve always felt the same way!! It was like they wanted the sweetness of another Luck of the Fryrish without enough actual heart behind it. Futurama’s heart-wrenching episodes are probably my favorite thing about the series, but I remember watching it the night it aired and feeling waaay underwhelmed. Yes yes, okay now after watching, I have been validated and then some. Smashing analysis.

[@sparda9060]

You feel underwhelmed because all the other times you saw his mom, she was very dismissive of fry and was mean to him. The writers could have executed it in so many different ways where it would be more natural for fry to include his mom in the episode. It seemed too pieced up together with 3 ideas going around for this one episode where the writers fighting each other over the story of the episode. It seemed like it's a half assed compromised between 3 differe t story for this episode. It came out very mediocre. Shouldve been 3 separate episodes.

[@guitarbass22]

Like with a lot of other shows I’ve watched over the years, I don’t just take the episode/show at face value, which is a LOT of what this video is based on; the episode itself is a 5/10, maybe a 6, so average, typical Futurama, but the ending…it hits you in the feels similar to how Jurassic Bark pre ret con (and for some people still now post ret con) did/does, not because of the story but because of the feelings behind the sentiment. Take away all the context of the show, and just look at it for what it is: a final goodbye between a mother and son, deserved or not, and it definitely tugs at the heartstrings. Especially for those of us who lost someone very close to us and can no longer have this opportunity with them.

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

Am I against a KZbinr having a different opinion from mine? No. If anything, I encourage it. What I'm NOT okay with is a KZbinr carrying that opinion around like a badge of accomplishment that everyone should envy. I'm glad I waited until the punchline of that joke.

[@Hotwingsmaster]

So because he got closure with everybody else in his family he can’t have closure with his mom is really your logic bud

[@dr.atheist3087]

I enjoy the episode personally but i can respect your opinion I'm currently in the middle of the video just wanted to say fry didn't learn he abandoned seemore(?) He believed he lived a long full life.

[@grimreminder5038]

The thing about this episode made me question why Fry's mom fixated on sports games so much because it's where she's at her happiest, meanwhile without it she just seems...down? Like she's always stuck in her own head and the games just take her mind out of all that stuff going on. Seemed more like she was less neglectful but was always stuck in her own head too much. It's like a handicap some addicts have where the outside medium keeps their minds off their problems, or in Fry's mom's case, her problem being that she could literally be doing ANYTHING else but here she is preoccupied with another sports game resulting in a vicious circle that she trapped herself in and in that clarity with Fry, game aside, she could finally reconcile with her son that she thinks about him a lot but couldn't really put it into words considering how jampacked her thoughts and insecurities were to the point that the games she used to take her mind off those issues were contributing to them. Just seems way more tragic when that's all anyone, Fry, we the viewers, those around her could remember as a fond memory. Shit's sad and amidst the car alarm from Hell plot-point, I feel bad for Fry's mom. Just took a lot of episodes and many years of living to realize just how far she's separated herself to keep her mind preoccupied and not facing the present, untelevised truth that she's letting time pass, just not in the way it should.

[@wholesomecomment45]

This episode low key reminds of the Uncle Iroh segment of Tales of Ba Sing Sae from Avatar the Last Airbender. Because the first thing people talk about is his "Leaves from the Vine" near the end when it was in honor of Mako, the original voice actor. Remove the singing part and it's (still good) not as memorable, kinda like how this futurama episode is mostly remember for the ending

[@KittyMonk]

I’d argue it’s still memorable without the song. Even as a seven year old who didn’t totally grasp Avatar, it was a total gut punch how Iroh spent the day helping people, asking nothing in return and then went to mourn his son, alone, likely without even telling Zuko where he was going. Iroh is the kind of person that never shows his sadness, after all. And we’ve seen in previous episodes that Iroh holds great guilt that his war campaign got Lu Ten killed.

[@hereandthere8157]

I love the clover episode. I have an older brother and I love him. You can see why I love this episode.

[@enamis1]

tru. a lot of futurama's most beloved eps are overrated (looking at you jurrasic bark) but they're still good though, of course.

[@DrewLSsix]

The whole concept of deciding something is "over rated" is bizarre to me, are you saying to many people like the show? Is it only good enough for some people to like? If is it that people like the show to much? Or they don't actually like it as much as they think they do?? While discourse will tend to break down something into measurable components when discussing its merit thays not a reliable way to determine how liked it is.

[@enamis1]

​@@DrewLSsix to that extent i suppose the concept of 'overrated' has some mixture of personal bias and general quality. shady clearly has issues with story stuff and it is something people could agree on as being a solid criticism. combine an issue like that with something that is, in general, highly praised and you end up with 'overrated' as a shorthand. it is over rated. rated too highly for its overall quality

[@TheRealUnkn0wn_289]

@@enamis1 Like marvel stuff these days or the snyder cut or the suicide squad but of course thry can't handle the criticism

[@forgottenredemption4970]

What would of been better would be if they had his mom show a lot of regret and pain after he was missing and tried to hide it from everyone even lying to herself unable to truly confront the mistakes she had made. And that this dream was her way of dealing with it and having some closure. Have her and him give an honest heart to heart

[@Benjami.n567]

I thought his focus on his mom was because he was trying to get a moment like that with her.

[@leavemealone802]

Try to see it at this angle. In the previews episodes, like the one with his brother, Seymour and his Dad, Fry made peace with not seeing then again. My learning new informations of those relationships, he automatically bounded with them Knowing his brother respect him enough to name his own son after him, made him feel less bitter and forgive their rivalry By knowing that Seymour lived a full life, gave him peace that maybe Seymour didn't suffer once he disappeared (when in reality we know he did, but Fry doesn't) And by acting calm in a intense situation, Fry understood how his father showed loved. He doesn't have this with his mom. He never got closure on leaving her. So he is desperate to connect to his mom now, bc that is the only one he still needs to let go If we look at The previous episodes as a form to experiencing Grief, Fry's Mom is the only one that Fry didn't got any closure. That is why this episode is so amazing. Bc is important to the development of Fry's Character and his quest to accept he will never see his family again You are seeing this episode in a mor analytical way, and sure, you can do that. But once you see it as important moment for Fry to connect with his family and find closure to his own loneliness, you understand how special this episode is, and why it isnt overrated. But hey, what are the chances of you to read this? None. I just hope more people that think like you sees this, and understand why this episode is so important

[@jesuslinaresguevara9279]

I feel the same way as you man, this episode remind me something I've always hated about North American TV and is the fact that more often than not, everything is written on the spot without a plan or general idea were it's going, characters personalities and backstory can and will be change when needed for the story even if it doesn't fit the characters personality, backstory or attitude. I'm very glad that you even point it out how several times throughout the show (not a single season or episode, throughout the entire show) we seen Fry's flashbacks about everyone, family and friends not giving a shit about him but now all of the sudden this episode changes Fry's past to make it fit the storyline and be more emotionally relatable. the only reason so many people like this episode is not because of Fry relationship with his mom such a relationship never existed to begin with, but the audience and their moms relationship do and there's were the audience makes the emotional connection and fills the huge blanks in Fry's and his mom (non)relation.

[@TheBlueLink3]

Well, these are his memories in dream form, and at this point of the series Fry has come to appreciate more of what he left behind, so it makes sense that his memories are more positive here. They are not necessarily what exactly happened.

[@IIIIIVEERATIIIII]

I've never seen this episode so I'll just repeat your opinion to everyone until I forget I haven't actually seen it and think I saw it and thought this.

[@SaberKittyZero]

I don't think the moment is an unreasonable turn about in the payoff. It makes more sense when you think about the way it's presented. His link with his mother at the end is her after he went missing. At one point she got the moment of not realizing what she had till it's gone. Fry's motivation is pretty simple. He misses his family, his life, everything that was taken away from him. No mater the relationship he would still yearn for that moment to be with those who were close in his life, even if they were dicks. Now is it poorly presented? Yeah, definitely. The take away can be completely different if you think of the (poorly rushed) context they've given.

[@connorperkins2686]

"Whatchu gonma do about it" Good job bud...

[@TheOnilink1230]

I disagree with it being a bad episode but I’ve also never thought it was great I just thought it was an OK episode was a nice ending.

[@Hotwingsmaster]

I think the answer to all of your questions is the same answer to why didn’t the oldest brother go over the bridge first in the three billy goats gruff, cause them there wouldn’t have been a story

[@Tinandel]

I like to think that the consistent message of Fry's family is that they grew over time, and only realized too late all the things they'd been taking for granted. A copout, maybe.... but in a way, it makes Yancy's actions, in particular, all the more impactful to me. To quote Shakespeare... "For it falls out That what we have we prize not to the worth Whiles we enjoy it, but being lacked and lost, Why, then we rack the value, then we find The virtue that possession would not show us While it was ours." One of the great tragedies of life is often that we don't recognize the best things in our lives until they're gone.

[@p.diddykong5047]

I don't care what you say I love this episode because I have mommy issues. Subbed. Lmao

[@WickedFireBird69]

I always felt this was the "recap" or "flashback" episode of the final season. The main reason this episode exists is to remind the fans of how far they've come. Frankly without having seen any of those episodes none of the connections to Fry means much of anything to a casual viewer. Your analysis is SPOT ON as usual! Fry's mom was...never painted as being a very good mom in any other episodes, except this once.

[@Ranluinar]

Dude, recently came across your channel. Got a lot of stuff I need to binge.

[@wimsylogic65]

I think there's also the possibility that nibbler was lying to fry. Wouldn't be the first time. By lying I mean that it wasn't actually fries mother's dream that they were connected in. It was just fry's dream but what nimbler said got him to accept in order to see closure.

[@jamestolbert1856]

11:36 that would’ve been so funny. He touches the key vob and he says,”Oh crap.” Then the entire Earth blows up, along with Nibbler and his chauffeur

[@anarchiferbelial4964]

I don’t wholly agree with you on this one. I get what you’re saying; and his mother was often depicted as being uncaring toward him, but there’s one big detail I think you’re missing. Almost every-time you see her, it’s from before Fry disappeared. Her dream in this episode however was set to take place after he disappeared. (It doesn’t tell you exactly how long after, but I’m not sure if that matters) My point is; a loved one disappearing would inevitably be a major event, and the idea that her attitude toward her now missing son would change drastically doesn’t really seem far fetched to me when you take that detail into account. Not saying it would absolutely go how it did in the show, but I just don’t think that part is as unrealistic as you’ve concluded. The rest of the plot about the ships and Nibbler’s people I 100% agree with you on.

[@frankensteinmonster1931]

Fun fact: you can actually see Nibbler’s shadow in the pilot episode of Futurama when Fry gets frozen. So yeah, he’s always been there.

[@caleb1413]

5:14 holy shit, that quote is me to a T earlier this month regarding pre-COVID life, after a year of falsely convincing me that my pre-pandemic life was no better than today

[@raultapia6933]

I was disappointed by how hyped up this episode was but I still enjoyed it

[@dr.atheist3087]

Alright finished the video and again all fair points but for the reasons you stated i still enjoy the episode. The main plot can suck it though hahaha.

[@lmaodarkhumour1109]

Do Homer and Grampa Simpson's relationship

[@maxxhill1069]

I agree with your opinion but there is a saying." You don't appreciate something until it's gone."

[@env0x]

the reason Fry cares so much about getting to spend time with his mom is because he feel like he never got a chance to growing up because she never paid any attention to him, so he never got to know her. her dream version actually care about spending time with him and he feel like he never got that.

[@cyboyentertainment92]

I feel like the Niblonian spaceship segment of the episode should've been it's own episode and not tied in with Fry and his mom. For instance, Fry wants to see his mom again because he never felt like he had memorable moments with him but his mom is so focused on football games that she doesn't acknowledge that Fry wants to bond. That would've been a good start to the episode. I think Game of Tones is okay but I was supper confused towards the end. Every point made at the end of the video I questioned myself.

[@bvl.commanderwinter9023]

I think I have a different opinion the character fry is acting that way towards his mom because they had a bad relationship if you look at all the episodes they are in together and the sad thing is fry wants to have a good relationship with his mom and it's also sad for the mom she did not appreciate her son until he went missing but that's just my opinion

[@dylanelliott565]

“Why does Fry fixate on his mom specifically” I love my mom and I love my dad and I love my brother but if I only could only spend 5 minutes with one of them before they were all gone forever I’m picking my mom

[@DustyPurple24]

@Shady Doorags, Jurassic Bark is most feels engaging of course