Two weeks ago, I made a list of the five saddest Futurama episodes ever — or at least the ones that made me cry the hardest. The response was overwhelming, and many of you wondered how I could have possibly left out your favorite Futurama tear-jerker. Well, the answer to that was that it was only a five-episode list, so a few were bound to be left out. But after thinking it over, I figured there were at least five more misery-inducing episodes to discuss here. So, without further ado, I present with five MORE Futurama episodes that left every fan in tears.
5. “Near-Death Wish” – Original Air Date: August 15, 2012
While we gradually learned more abut Fry’s life in the 20th century, we know very little about the Professor’s backstory. This episode went along way in changing that, however, as we find out that as a gifted-yet-disturbed child, he had a lot of anger at his parents when they moved him to a farm, and, in his mind, stifled his creativity as a budding scientist. As the episode goes on, we find out that the Professor actually spent 25 years of his life in a mental institution (“It felt like a second compared to grad school!”), a fairly disturbing fact that actually isn’t touched upon all that much. The ending is the kicker, however, when Fry creates a virtual reality of the farm the Professor grew up on, and he gets to have to one last day with his parents, which means a lot more now that he appreciates their reasons for moving him there in the first place. This episode taught us more about the Professor than any other, and in true Futurama form, left us sobbing at its conclusion.
4. “Time Keeps On Slippin'” Original Air Date: May 6, 2001
When we reached the end of Season 3, it was well-known that Fry had serious feelings for Leela. And up to that point, those feelings were entirely unrequited. That’s why this episode just seems needlessly cruel at times. When an abnormality leads to time randomly skipping from place to place, we find out that Fry and Leela eventually get married. But before Fry can get any enjoyment out of this, we immediately skip to their eventual divorce (but hey, at least Fry gets to keep the AFC dinner plates). Just went you think this episode is done toying with your emotions, we get to the painfully depressing ending, in which Fry makes a beautiful message of love for Leela, only to have it wiped out just before she can see it. Even knowing what would happen with Fry and Leela in future episodes, this one is too depressing to re-watch. Bender’s misery over not getting to join the Globetrotters is the only comic relief in a truly dreary episode.
3. “Lethal Inspection” – Original Air Date: July 22, 2010
When this one aired, the initial reception to it was a bit lukewarm. Futurama had just returned to TV after a seven-year hiatus, and the presence of a tearjerker ending involving the unlikely tandem of Hermes and Bender seemed like a shameless attempt to generate another “Jurassic Bark.” But as the years have gone by, this one works a lot better. Bender’s misery over learning he is mortal is an understandable pain, but it’s also interesting to watch the friendship between Hermes and Bender develop over the course of the episode. At first, Bender despises Hermes as nothing more than a dull, useless bureaucrat, but at the episode’s end, he respects him as a true friend, and the two share an undeniable bond. When we get to the ending, and see that Hermes was the fabled Inspector #5, we discover that Hermes cared about Bender long before any of this went down.
2. “Leela’s Homeworld” – Original Airdate: February 17, 2002
Much like “Jurassic Bark,” this is a relatively light episode until it gut punches you with a brutally sad ending. What starts out as a goofy romp about Bender starting a terribly dangerous toxic waste removal business ends up with Leela finding out her true identity. As with “The Sting,” the viewer is essentially put in this same place she is, following every clue until the truth is finally revealed. When we see that even when Leela was at the Orphanarium, her parents were actually looking out for her at every turn, it’s hard not to get a little choked up. Everything we knew about Leela — and everything she knew about herself — was wrong.
1. “Game Of Tones” – Original Airdate: August 14, 2013
Out of all the episodes missing from the original list, this one received the most outcry. And I can see why. Fry finally getting a chance to say goodbye to his mother, even if in the form of a dream, was a devastating moment. The show had just a few episodes left, and you get the feeling that the writers were looking to explore any aspects from Fry’s past that hadn’t been touched on yet. When the episode closes with Fry and his Mom saying their final goodbyes, the viewer is reminded of just how much Fry lost when he got frozen, a topic which until that point, hadn’t been discussed all that much. Yes, Fry has a great life in the year 3000. But he also lost everyone he cared about in the 20th century, and that has to hurt sometimes.
