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Subtlely undercutting concepts established in previous episodes, the season 12 opener of Futurama presents several major retcons to Bender's backstory and his relationship to the wider world. After Bender sells an NFT of himself, the episode tracks him through an existential crisis that drives him back to Mexico. There he meets his link to an old tribe of robots sheltering from the contemporary world. Eventually leaving her family to work at the Mom Factory in Tijuana, his mother was an extender arm.
This new past runs counter to formerly accepted narratives. Early episodes, for example, showed that Bender was "born" in a Mom's robotics factory just a few years before the show's events, consistent with what currently known about his mother. But the newest season brings an old lineage of robots and a secret family, which affects his connection with Mom, Professor Farnsworth, and Hermes.
Futurama has altered Bender's past before this as well. The "Mother's Day" episode from Season 2 set Bender as a creation of Mom's robotics business. Later narratives such season 4's "Crimes of the Hot" and season 7's "Free Will Hunting" exposed Bender's direct descent from robots created by Professor Farnsworth. While season 12 links Bender to robots from thousands of years past before the show's events, these episodes presented robots from the past century.
Bender's links to ancient robots, his secret life spanning thousands of years, challenge his already established relationships with Hermes and Professor Farnsworth. In "Lethal Inspection," season 6, Hermes was instrumental in preventing a young Bender from being thrown aside. Moreover, earlier episodes showed Bender's direct ancestry to robots created by Professor Farnsworth. The additional history implies inconsistency by suggesting a gulf between Bender's ancient lineage and these known relationships.
Although the idea of growing Bender's family is enticing, the addition of these covert robot communities challenges accepted wisdom and runs against current character relationships. From the customary method of juggling throwaway gags with steady character development, it feels like a startling change. Though the series frequently depends on complex world-building with interconnected themes, these shifts seem jumbled and throw off the established consistency.
Fans are annoyed since the new narrative ignores once-established components that are absolutely vital for Bender's evolution. The new narrative seems to minimize earlier episodes like "Free Will Hunting," which looked at Bender's background and relationship to Professor Farnsworth. The show has always flourished on a mix of old knowledge and fresh concepts, hence these developments seem like a mistake in that sense. Many viewers believe that the new narrative lacks the cohesion and consistency that have been trademark of Futurama's world-building.