Episode Recap: The Luck of the Fryrish

In flashback, inside a Brooklyn hospital, Mrs. Fry gives birth to her son. Her communist-hating husband, Mr. Fry, decides to name the child “Philip ” in honor of the screwdriver. Later that day, the couple introduce the baby to his two-year-old brother, Yancy. Jealousy erupts almost immediately. Back in the future, Fry and his Planet Express colleagues spend the day at the racetrack. Fry curses his bad luck, which leads to loss after loss. Meanwhile, Bender sneaks inside the stables and drugs horses, ensuring a winning ticket. Fry realizes he has only one dollar left. Suddenly, a gust of wind blows it from his hand. It lands on a nearby telephone wire. Using a rake, Fry attempts to retrieve the bill, but he makes contact with the wires and is jolted by electricity. Shortly thereafter, he is struck by lightning. In flashback, a young Fry happens upon a seven-leaf clover while playing basketball with Yancy. He places the stem under his wristband, shoots an outside shot…and wins the game against his brother. Back in the future, Fry tells Amy that the clover always brought him good fortune (the luck of a four-leaf clover combined with a normal clover). He soon realizes that the clover may still be in the ruins of Old New York, in the same hiding place he left it all those years earlier. Accompanied by Leela and Bender, Fry enters the mysterious world. The threesome make their way through the underground ruins of Old New York. They eventually find Fry’s old Brooklyn neighborhood and locate his old house, which is now dirty and decayed. In flashback, Fry accuses Yancy of stealing his possessions. Certain his lucky clover is next, Fry hides it inside his father’s Ronco Record Vault (in the record jacket for the soundtrack to The Breakfast Club). Back in the future, Fry makes his way to the storage room-bomb shelter and finds, to his amazement, that the Ronco Record Vault it still there. But when he opens the record jacket, he discovers the clover is missing. He tells Leela and Bender that Yancy stole it. Later, while walking along the street, the threesome happen upon an impressive statue resembling Yancy. Fry believes it’s his brother…and reacts with anger when he sees the seven-leaf clover on the statue’s lapel. He grows even more angered when he realizes the inscription on the statue reads, “Philip J. Fry,” which is Fry’s name. Fry concludes that his brother ditched his own “goofy” name and stole his. To add insult to injury, Fry realizes his brother became the first person on Mars…and stole his dream of going into outer space. When the threesome return to the Planet Express office, they view a documentary on “Philip J. Fry’s ” life. At the conclusion of the movie, the narrator describes how Fry’s brother was buried in Orbiting Meadows National Cemetery with his trademark clover. In flashback, after Fry’s unexplained disappearance, Yancy breaks into the Ronco Record Vault and finds the clover hidden inside the album jacket. Later, Yancy’s wife, Julie, gives birth to a baby boy. Yancy gives the child the lucky clover. He also names the child “Philip,” in honor of his brother. Back in the future, Fry and his friends begin to dig up Yancy’s grave. While doing so, they uncover an inscription on the monument, which reads, “Here lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit.” Tears form in Fry’s eyes. Shortly thereafter, Bender recovers the clover. Leela and Bender leave to give Fry a moment to himself. Fry then places the clover back in the grave.