The following contains spoilers for Futurama season 13 episode 10, “Otherwise,” now streaming on Hulu
Futurama’sseason 12 ending gives Fry and Leela a perfectly tragic ending.Futuramaseason 12 has pushed the show into some surprising directions. This has highlighted the scope of the show’s supporting cast and the emotional potential of the series. Many ofFuturamaseason 12’s best episodesmined the tragic elements that have always been at the core of the otherwise goofy sci-fi comedy. This has maintained a healthy balance between the show’s more emotional elements and goofy approach to sci-fi.
However, the season 12 finale “Otherwise” took a more dramatic approach. While the episode still contains plenty of comedy, it’s also one of the most overtly sci-fi episodes in the show thanks to a majorret-con ofFuturama’s multiverse. However, the emotional story at the core of the episode is a far more tragic one, taking Fry and Leela’s romance to one bittersweet possible conclusion. It’s a reinforcement ofFuturama’s themes andgives the show’s central relationship a powerful ending— even while allowing them to continue appearing in seasons 13 and 14.
Futurama Season 12’s Tragic Ending, Explained
FuturamaGives Fry & Leela A Tragic Finale
The ending ofFuturamaseason 12’s “Otherwise” reveals the tragic but moving way Fry and Leela would spend their final moments together. “Otherwise” follows the crew of the Planet Express as they decide to lay their broken ship to rest in the Graveyard of Ships. A multiversal tear in the universe, the crew ends up racing back onto the ship to rescue an unconscious Fry right before it drops. The episode splits into two timelines at this point, following a universe where the crew all safely escaped. Fry’s uneasy reliving of other realities leads the crew’s new ship into a battle with a mysterious ghost ship — a battle they lose,dying in the process.
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Even in the face of death, the pair choose to focus on one another. As a result, while Zapp is screaming in terror and a dismissive Bender seems non-plussed by his oncoming demise, Fry and Leela perish in each other’s arms, happy to be together. The tragic ending is only mitigated by the reveal that the ghost ship is actually the main Planet Express Crew, who were still on the ship when it fell into the multiverse.This allows the show to give Fry and Leela an ending, but allows fundamentally identical characters to continue driving the show forward.
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FuturamaReveals How Fry And Leela’s Final Fate Could Give The Show A Tragic Ending
Even ifFuturamaimmediately reveals a backdoor so that Leela and Fry can remain at the center of the story, the deaths of the variant Fry and Leela are stilla powerful reminder of the show’s emotional core. They were functionally the same characters fans have been following since season 1 in 1999, and a single unlucky battle ends it all. However, they accept this so long as they’re together, a defiantly romantic way to confront death. Fry and Leela’s demise in the episode underscores howdeath needs to have stakes inFuturama, imbuing potentially throwaway variants with bittersweet gravitas.
The deaths of the variant Fry and Leela are still a powerful reminder of the show’s emotional core.
It’s far fromFuturama’s only sad moment, but it’s among the most bittersweet. The show has mined plenty of tragic stories for pathos over the years. Flashbacks to Fry’s lost life in the 20th century in episodes like season 3’s “Luck of the Fryish,” season 5’s “Jurassic Bark,” and season 11’s “Game of Tones” are heartbreaking. Leela’s bittersweet upbringing and family reunion in season 4’s “Leela’s Homeworld” pulled at heartstrings. “Otherwise” plays on the bittersweet romanticism at the heart of Fry and Leela’s story, giving it emotional heft similar to season 3’s “Time Keeps on Slippin'” or season 10’s “Meanwhile.”
Why Fry & Leela’s Multiverse Ending Is Quietly Perfect
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A big consistent theme ofFuturamahas always been purpose and peace in a chaotic universe through one another. Each character in the main cast has been isolated in some fashion, whether from their family, home, or time. However, they’ve come together to form a new kind of family with each other. Fry and Leela’s romance is one of the most prominent examples of this overarching theme, finding love together despite the dangers and complications of a bizarre universe. Seeing thatlove prove resilient in the face of deathitself is a strong showcase ofFuturama’s central thesis.
Futurama Season 12 Just Reversed The Hulu Revival’s Biggest Retcon Of Original Season 10 Ending
Futurama season 12 just retconned a retcon, with it changing the Hulu revival’s solution to the show’s original series finale, “Meanwhile.”
In effect,Futuramauses “Otherwise” to giveFry and Leela a sense of potential closure. The crew survives and goes on more adventures in seasons 13 and 14, but the story of a Fry and Leela that are more or less the versions audiences have always known is done. It reinforces their previous endings where they face the potential end together, like in season 6’s “Into the Wild Green Yonder” and “Meanwhile.” It’s a powerful reminder ofFuturama’s best emotional arc, and a vivid illustration of the show’s central theme.
Futurama
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Futurama is an animated science fiction series that follows Philip J. Fry, a pizza delivery boy from late-20th-century New York City. He is accidentally cryogenically frozen for a thousand years and becomes an employee at Planet Express, a delivery service in the retro-futuristic 31st century.
