Maybe it's cheating to write about "All This and Gargantua-2"; after all, it's a standalone special episode of The Venture Bros., not a long-awaited new season (which is teased at the end of "Gargantua-2"). But I've waited almost two years for new episodes of The Venture Bros., and when they come back with something this satisfying, funny, exciting, engaging, and just great, well, you can believe I'm not going to miss the chance to write about this show when I can. Trying to describe the plot of "All This and Gargantua-2" is a bit of a struggle; suffice to say, a massive number of characters from the show have been invited to a new space station, a batch of villains plans on attacking, the Villain's Guild deals with some internal betrayal, The Monarch gets a new house, a major character reveals that he's dying...and that's not even scratching the surface. What matters more than the story (which all makes sense while you're watching it, even if it's impossible to summarize later) is how it's all executed, and it turns out that The Venture Bros. hasn't missed a beat in its long hiatus. The show has always excelled at mixing comedy, sci-fi, action, and character work seamlessly, and "All This and Gargantua-2" is no exception, somehow making time for both a light saber battle against a murderous Mary Poppins homage and bonding moments amongst the notoriously prickly Venture family. There's jokes that pay off on storylines we've watched for years, and lines of dialogue that nearly break your heart, and jokes about everything from pop culture to obscure 80's magicians, and it all somehow lands and all somehow works. In other words, it's pure Venture Bros., and my hope is that this special and the tease for season 6 (which was done in a must-watch epilogue released on adultswim.com, which also contains maybe my favorite moment of the whole episode) means the show will be back soon, because there's nothing quite like it anywhere else. And while that's understandable, it just means that "All This and Gargantua-2" reminds me that I need this show back in my life, and soon.
- Josh Mauthe
- Josh Mauthe
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