Recap

At the beginning of the episode, Dr. Venture is running around his compound, being chased by the Monarch's cocoon fortress. The Monarch actually manages to catch Dr. Venture, but Venture has an appointment with his therapist. Due to new Guild rules, the Monarch has to let him go to his group therapy session.

In the therapy session, Dr. Venture is attempting to overcome issues stemming from his father essentially forcing him to become a boy adventurer. The other patients -- Action Johnny, formerly Jonny Quest; Wonderboy, a former sidekick of Captain Sunshine; Lance and Dale Hale, two former boy detective siblings; and "RoBoy," a loose riff on Astro Boy -- were former boy adventurers as well. During their session, the therapist suddenly keels over dead, bitten by a snake planted in the office. Naturally, the patients set out to find who killed their therapist.

In the meantime, Hank and Dean are at the movies with Sergeant Hatred. Unfortunately for Hatred, a recovering pedophile, the Lord of the Rings-esque film features characters that do not age beyond thirteen years, and it is being watched by an audience of primarily pre-adolescent children. Hatred excuses himself to find refuge in the restroom. However, upon entering the restroom, he is confronted with what are to him more titillating events and images. Unable to handle the situation, he leaves the Venture boys at the movie, goes back to the compound, and locks himself in the panic room. Hank and Dean see Henchman 21 at the theater, and 21 gives them a ride home.

Dr. Venture and the other former boy adventurers eventually find themselves at the house of Dr. Z, believing it is he who killed their therapist. Upon being accused of the murder, Dr. Z denies involvement, providing the sufficient explanation that if he had killed the therapist, he would have done so with a giant robot crab and suicide assassins. While chatting with Dr. Z and the former boy adventurers, Dr. Venture realizes that he does not belong in therapy and decides to get back to work at the compound.

Back at the Venture compound, Hank and Dean try to persuade Hatred to come out of the panic room. Hatred, no longer able to handle his intensifying relapse, plans to take the X-1 to Thailand to buy a "beautiful brown little boy girl" to live with him at the compound. Finally, in order to entice Hatred out of the panic room, Dean dresses up as Hatred's former lover, Princess Tinyfeet, and walks around outside the door. Hatred exits the room and heads for Dean, at which Hank shoots a net at Hatred, and a group of the Monarch's henchmen, working with the Venture boys, tranquilize him in the net. The show ends with the revelation that the Monarch was the one who planted the snake at the therapy session, doing so so that Dr. Venture would have no more excuses for escaping his clutches.

Review

This was a slow episode of The Venture Bros., and to make things worse, there are few happenings of importance until the end of the episode. Granted, the theme of Dr. Venture and Sergeant Hatred dealing with their inner demons may be setting the ground for future developments, but the episode is essentially pointless beyond that. There are certainly a few laughs to be had (such as RoBoy's postmortem fondling of the therapist, thinking it will "reboot" him), but there is little substance overall. At an optimistic best, this may be the calm before a storm. With Hatred progressively falling out of the picture and Dr. Venture apparently required to return to the Monarch's clutches, it would seem the conditions are perfect for a triumphant return of Brock Samson. We can only hope.