“This show is getting awfully self-referential” said “Venture Bros” writer Doc Hammer to show creator Jackson Publick while watching the one-hour special fourth season finale, “Operation: P.RO.M.” via a low-res feed before a commercial break. This title would be perfect for a nasally, sarcastic Sarah Vowell story about the regimentation of one suburban New Jersey high school dance where teachers enforcing puritanical rules become like covert agents. Instead we get covert agents acting like suburban high school students, mulling about in a dance arguing over which elicit sex act is referred to as the “Rusty Venture.”
From the beginning the show has followed dialectic patterns in advancing the plot. New characters are introduced and cause tension until they are confronted and altered sufficiently to fit within the status quo while ultimately shifting it slightly. This has never been more obvious than in “Operation: P.R.O.M.” where every running plot is a conflict between two individuals: Dean vs. Triana (and her new boyfriend), Henchmen #21 vs. The Monarch, Brock Samson vs. Molotov Cocktease and Col. Hunter Gathers vs. General Treister.
What makes this an action show is that the oppositional forces aren’t theoretical trends like technology or civil rights, but flesh and blood people who duke it out time and again. The lessons learned each time accumulate into depth and character development which in turn form a basis for the show’s authentic core. As an exercise in post-modernism, Hammer and Publick have purposefully made the point that they can kill anyone or do anything they want and will never give in to fanboys. The two-part season three finale “The Family That Slays Together, Stays Together” saw Samson quit his role as the guardian of the family while the robot H.E.L.P.eR and Henchmen #24 died, both theoretically marginal to the larger plot but seemingly integral to the show. But Hammer and Publick don’t really intend to arbitrarily sabotage their show—that’s why when Shore Leave and Sgt. Hatred find 21 creeping around the Venture compound (attempting to bury the skull of 24 and free himself from the haunting of his best friend) they shoot him. Even without hints as it was the audience could have half guessed they were rubber bullets.
Ever since the end of season three the show has been adding convoluting characters and plots, stretching the core realism to near its breaking point. The entire secret agency S.P.H.I.N.X. was unnecessary, and it wasn’t satisfying for Samson to be living on the compound but not taking care of the family. Twenty-one grew to be an awesome hero, but he was still serving as just another henchmen. In “Operation: P.R.O.M.,” these and other unstable issues snap back into a position of low potential energy like a relaxed rubber-band. Is that boring? No, it’s just the opposite, and it’s returning to a new synthesis position unlike hitting the reset button on a sitcom.
In the last few moments of the show Samson discovers he has only one minute to race back to the compound and save everyone he cares about from mercenary agents posing as escorts at Hank and Dean’s homeschooled prom. The action hero tropes are knowingly played up, but if it sounds ridiculous, it didn’t come off as such. We’ve been waiting for Samson to be reunited with the family the entire season. His James Bond action sequence complete with 3D graphics and special effects works because it mirrors the intensity of the emotions involved. There are some loose ends, but nothing emotionally dissonant. This very special episode will be like comfort food for appreciative fans.
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