Hey there, fans of Futurama! Get ready for some mind-bending news, because the season 12 finale just dropped a major multiverse bomb that's rewriting the show's history!
Multiverse Madness
The episode "Otherwise" introduced the idea of a multiverse to the show's official timeline. This is a big deal, since it retroactively affects a bunch of older episodes and introduces all sorts of possibilities for the future! This isn't just about time travel—it's a whole new level of wacky sci-fi shenanigans for our favorite animated characters!
Professor Farnsworth's What-If Machine
Remember Professor Farnsworth's What-If Machine? We first saw it way back in season 2, episodes 20 ("Anthology of Interest I") and season 4, episode 3 ("Anthology of Interest II"). These were originally considered mostly stand-alone, fun episodes, exploring crazy alternate realities that don't always match up with what normally happens in the show's primary timeline. These were funny little what-ifs that many assumed were just quirky non-canon additions. But the multiverse twist totally changes things! What seemed like quirky, detached storylines can now be considered different dimensions of the Futurama universe!
What-If Became Where-If
With the multiverse officially canon, those “What If?” episodes now appear to be showing glimpses into actual alternate realities within the Futurama universe. Instead of just creating images or simulated futures like we first thought, Professor Farnsworth’s device appears to be a real portal of sorts through different dimensions!
Since a multiverse contains infinitely many realities. What a fun device!
Anthology of Interest Episodes
Let's look back at those now-iconic episodes to understand their changed implications!
- Anthology of Interest I (Season 2, Episode 20) Explored what if Bender was 500 feet tall, Leela was impulsive, and Fry never went to the future.
- Anthology of Interest II (Season 4, Episode 3) Looked at what if Bender were human, if life was a videogame and Leela found her real home.
The Farnsworth Parabox
Adding fuel to the fire, the existence of the multiverse was kinda foreshadowed all along! This new twist wasn't completely out of the blue.
Back in season 5, episode 10 ("The Farnsworth Parabox"), Professor Farnsworth had already built some kind of reality-hopping device (which unfortunately didn’t work perfectly.)
Retconned Reality
So now, everything seems to make sense with the new changes!
- This retcon isn't about completely trashing old stories. The What-If Machine has the potential to create brand-new storylines and introduce tons of new crazy ideas.
- Think of those "what if" episodes! These stand alone now can just as easily be considered alternate realities. That’s an insane plot device that opens up even more fun for viewers.
- The multiverse may be fun for writers and create fun stories! But remember, any kind of story twist like this one risks losing the cohesiveness of the storyline!
What a crazy conclusion for a classic animated series! While some might worry about consistency. It opens doors to explore even more “what-ifs,” that never occurred in the past! Only time will tell just how the writers plan to take advantage of their crazy new storytelling device.
