3x03 The Invisible Hand of Fate

9.3/10. Holy cow, that was a lot of backstory falling into place in a really interesting way. I have to admit, I didn't laugh all that much (though there were certainly moments, most of them involving Gathers and the OSI), but man, in terms of plot and story arc and easter eggs and references and the other cornucopia of riffs and parodies that Venture Bros. does of superheroes, Hanna Barbera cartoons, and beyond, this was amazing.

Just in terms of references, making the OSI a lethal-force using pastiche of G.I. Joe (replete with a Village People squad), and connecting Phantom Limb to The Phantom are pretty inspired and amusing moves. And the reveals! After the episode where everyone offered conflicting narratives about how Phantom Limb and Billy Quizboy came to their respective states, the way the episode managed to tie together Billy meeting up with Mr. White whilst losing his eye and gaining his robotic hand, Phantom Limb becoming the supervillain we know and love, Brock and Gathers getting split up for going after The Guild with Brock getting punished with "Operation Rusty's Blanket," not to mention Myra's ignominious exit was nothing short of epic.

In the episode with the college flashback, I felt like the show was leaning into the "small universe" problem that plagued the Star Wars prequels, where every major character being so connected felt implausible and too convenient. But this was the exact opposite, where these backstories felt entirely natural and fit with the character motivations and backstory details we've been privy to so far, to where it felt like getting a big piece of the puzzle was just put into place rather than something lumpy made out of whole cloth.

There were a lot of fun smaller continuity details too, like the reference to Billy's arm having been made by Mike, or Dr. Impossible's name being scraped off of Phantom Limb's office, or Dr. Girlfriend showing up as one of his students, or even baby Hank and Dean being carried by Helpr! It was mildly exhilarating just to see it all coming together, with even more teases like the head of OSI being part of The Guild (paging Senator Pearce).

And, god help me, there was even the tiniest bit of pathos with Billy (in a nice Quiz Show reference), never wanting to cheat, and having everyone from Mr. White, to Brock and Gathers, to Phantom Limb himself endorse the practice, and leave the poor deformed quizboy to suffer on their account. Like I said, not as many laughs as the funniest episodes of the show, but some crackerjack storytelling and plot reveals.