The Venture Bros.: “Maybe No Go” Review

The good ship Venture goes on a Nantucket Sleigh Ride.

It’s often been discussed how “failure” is the predominant theme of The Venture Bros. The show features a huge cast of characters who spoof all corners of pop culture, yet most of them are united by the fact that they’re not very emotionally well-adjusted or very good at what they do. “Maybe No Go” succeeded by placing an even bigger emphasis on failure than usual and reminding viewers that no one’s problems have vanished in the transition to the New York setting.

There was certainly a lot going on in “Maybe No Go.” The one flaw with this episode is that it perhaps tried to juggle too much at once. With different subplots focused on everything from Billy and Pete renewing their rivalry with Augustus St. Cloud to Dr. Venture trying to salvage his already ailing company to the Monarch and Henchman 21 crawling their way back up the arching ladder to Brock and Sergeant Hatred dealing with their first brush with Wide Wale’s henchmen to the Pirate Captain struggling to kick his tranquilizer addiction, the conflict was very crowded this week. The good news is that only one of these storylines felt like it didn’t quite receive the attention it deserved.

Of these many threads, the Billy/St. Cloud rivalry was easily the most entertaining. This episode opened with a fun throwback to old-school spy adventure TV before moving into downright bizarre territory as St. Cloud unleashed his latest master plan. Any sense that St. Cloud’s hatred of Billy might have cooled since Season 5 was instantly wiped away when the villain began tormenting his nemesis by using the Henrietta Pussycat puppet as an inappropriate washcloth. Then things got weirder when Billy and Pete were held hostage in a recreation of the Duran Duran music video “Is There Something I Should Know?”. You have to love how deep and esoteric Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer are willing to go for their pop culture parodies.

While this conflict certainly had the weird factor going for it, it really worked because it offered a surprisingly heartfelt look at Billy’s psychology. Throughout this episode Billy tried to live up to his dreams of being a heroic super-spy, but thanks to his ineffectual grappling arm and general history of failure he never managed to outwit his arch-enemy. In the end, he had no choice but to sacrifice his company in order to retrieve the red ball from St. Cloud. That may sound goofy, but St. Cloud’s monologue about the way pop culture would have been irrevocably changed without that ball lent a real sense of gravitas to his threat. These things matter to Billy, as they clearly do to Publick and Hammer themselves. There’s a reverence to the show’s brand of humor and pop culture spoofs that makes it feel that much more genuine.

Elsewhere, it was funny to see just how quickly Dr. Venture managed to torpedo his new company. At the rate things are going he may not even need Wide Wale to wipe VenTech off the map. Speaking of which, Wide Wale was the one element of this episode that didn’t quite deliver. The attack on the Venture building felt a little anticlimactic in the end, with his henchman making off with a one measly artifact and Brock and Hatred knocking out a few goons before parachuting off into the night. Hopefully Publick and Hammer have something a little more ambitious in mind for the next clash between Team Venture and Wide Wale’s forces.

Still, there were several fun developments over the course of this storyline. Seeing Brock and Hatred strike up a friendly partnership was a welcome change of pace. It would have been so easy to cast Hatred as the pathetic loser who has no purpose after accidentally letting his employer’s house be destroyed. Instead, while his stock may be down this season, Hatred still has something to offer the venture family. This storyline also offered a hint of what to expect from Dean this season. It seems he has the business savvy his father and brother sorely lacking. As for the Pirate Captain, that was another case where the show could simply have treated him as pitiful comic relief, but there was a clear love for this oddball character as he hit rock bottom and fought his way back up. Plus, any chance to cram in a good Trainspotting parody is worth taking.

Finally, the Monarch and Henchman 21 were hilarious as they began the long process of regaining their old status as the Guild-designated arches to the Venture family. Clearly it’s going to be an uphill battle. Along the way they butted heads with Redusa (another of the show’s many amusing minor villains) and made a surprising discovery in the bowels of the Monarch’s old home. This episode dispelled any notion that Gary has simply fallen back into his old role since re-joining the Monarch. There’s a clear sense that he and the Monarch are more peers (possibly even buddies) than henchman and master at this point. It should be fun to see how that relationship has evolved by the end of the season.