Episode Recap: Into the Wild Green Yonder Pt1

In Mars Vegas it’s out with the old and in with the new. From a floating grandstand, Fry and the gang watch as Amy’s parents Leo and Inez Wong blow up old Vegas to make way for their brand new New Vegas casino. At a construction site the Greeniorita Eco Feminist Collective arrives to protest Wong’s desecration of the land. Leo blows them up. The explosion sends the feminists flying; their leader Frieda lands on Fry, knocking him out. He wakes to find a femi-necklace symbol sticking out of his forehead. Leo asks Fry not to sue, and gives him a fifty-thousand-dollar token for a seat at the upcoming Universal Poker Championship as a payoff; Leo also offers the gang free rooms once New Vegas opens.

Sometime later, at the Grand Opening for the Wong Hotel & Casino, Fry hears voices in his head. Everyone agrees he is acting strangely. Even Bender is worried, but not enough to stop cheating the slot machines. Driven by the voices, Fry wanders outside the casino and meets Hutch, a homeless man wearing tinfoil on his head. Hutch gives Fry a tinfoil hat, and the voices stop. He explains that Fry has the ability to hear peoples’ thoughts; a shocked Fry thinks the revelation is obvious in retrospect. Hutch says he has the same ability, and the two “mind-talk.” Hutch tells Fry the tinfoil hat will keep the voices quiet and protect him from the Dark Ones. He warns Fry to keep his new power a secret.

At the Circuit Du Soleil “Gearotica” show, Bender watches the sexy robots dance. He becomes enamored of Fanny, a dancer who also happens to me the wife of the Donbot, head of the Robot Mafia. After the show Bender goes backstage to meet the object of his affection. Despite her marriage, the two quickly start kissing. Donbot is oblivious. Meanwhile, Fry tries to get a handle on his newfound powers. Thinking he will have a distinct advantage over the non-mind-reading players, he uses the chip Leo gave him to enter the poker tournament. As the gang has dinner in a fancy Vegas restaurant, Donbot and his two robot mafia thugs discover Bender and Fanny kissing passionately. The obtuse Donbot remains oblivious. Later, Fanny gives Bender her turquoise-encrusted bra worth fifty grand. She wants them to use the money to run away together, but Bender has other ideas, and uses the bra to buy entry into the big poker tournament. Doubtful he is lucky enough to win, despite his assertion that he’s forty-percent horseshoe-metal, Fanny gives Bender the Donbot’s lucky robot’s foot. She is seen by Clamps, who reports back to Donbot. Admitting he is puzzled by the recent disappearance of his lucky foot, but still unconvinced that Fanny and Bender have betrayed him, Donbot decides to allow the outcome of the tournament to determine his next move.

At the Universal Poker Championship, hosted by the head of Penn Jillette with the dead head of his partner Teller, a tinfoil-visor-wearing Fry finds himself at a table facing off against Bender and three other players. While Bender relies on his luck to win, Fry uses his ability to read his opponents’ minds to take pot after pot. Eventually only he and Bender remain. The cards are dealt. Without looking at what he has, Bender makes an all-in bet. Fry calls the bet, and shows his four aces. Bender reveals his previously unseen cards: he has five kings. The crowd gasps. Penn notices that one of the cards is actually a drink coaster advertising the King of Beers, but then adds: “it still counts.” Bender wins; he and Fanny start to leave. Watching them go, Donbot sees Bender discard his lucky robot’s foot; he finally admits he’s becoming suspicious. In the desert outside Vegas Fanny and Bender dig two graves under the watchful eyes of the mafia robots. Once finished, Bender asks if they can leave. His question is answered by automatic-weapons fire. The mobster robots drive away, leaving two filled graves.

To Be Continued…