TVSquad

(S05E03) "...and how was your fix? Did you ride the white horse?" - Markula

Wait just a second. Last week was mind-boggling enough, but did we just witness the completion of a trilogy? An actual episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force that required you, the viewer, to have seen the previous two episodes to know what was going on? Inebriated college students around the country are surely cursing at their TVs in an effort to understand why their favorite drunken hobby has suddenly required them to think.

That being said, I loved it. The only thing missing now is the prequel explaining exactly how Markula was able to kidnap the Aqua Teens in the first place. Yeah, I know he used military spiders (or piñatas or whatever) but I want details.

So once again, picking up where we left off last week, Carl is still dealing with the fallout of Markula trying to rent out the Aqua Teen's house to someone new. This time, it's a giant, tentacled monster named Paul, who happens to be going through a bad custody battle with his wife. Markula seems content with him as a tenant though.

Fed up with the noise, Carl finally calls Frylock (woo hoo!) to see when they're coming back. They're not, unless someone can release them from their spider-web cells. Since Carl is way too busy watching porn, he can't help. Fortunately, Markula plans on having a birthday party for himself (he's 4040) and he's going to release the Aqua Teens to use them as party games. Carl shows up too, and with the help of Frylock's garlic wine, they defeat Markula by dumping it all over his face.

A happy ending! This bodes well for the rest of the season though. Carl by himself can be fun, but a whole season with no Aqua Teens would have been terrible no matter how you slice it.

More thoughts...

• I could be wrong, but was the DJ at Markula's party the same guy that hosted trivia night from the episode "Super Trivia?"
• For anyone that checked, "greatdanger.org" isn't a real website unfortunately.
• It's good to hear Shake's voice again: "Well, he sounds like a good father... from the phone."
• If you're confused about the title of the episode, it referred to the very last scene when the DJ announced it was now time for "couples skate." Paul, the monster, had on his roller skates. He grabbed Carl and popped his head. They never skated together.
• We found out why Markula kidnapped the Aqua Teens in the first place. They wouldn't pay October rent until Markula fixed the gas leak. He wouldn't.

So from here on out, things will hopefully be back to normal: individual episodes with no previous knowledge required. Although, I hope we haven't seen the last of Markula. He's one of the better recurring characters this show has had.