Is 'The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings' the best Futurama Episode
It's the true series finale
The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings is the original final episode of Futurama. The episode is officially listed as the last episode of Season Four out of seven seasons, aired in August 2003 on Fox. Shortly thereafter, the show was canceled by Fox and not brought back for a fifth season until Comedy Central resurrected the series in 2007. The show would go dormant again in 2012 only to rise from the dead once more in 2023, this time with Hulu charging the defibrillator.
Therefore, the show will have at least 3 separate endings. Each one effectively acting as the finally when it aired. Personally, I prefer the original run and therefore view The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings as the show’s true ending. This context is important when looking at what could possibly be the show’s best episode, especially since the staff thought there was about a 50 percent chance for the show to return. It debatably gives the episode higher standards and certainly gives it loftier goals.
The episode needed to fully encompass the feelings of the series while simultaneously being a seamless part of the overall flow of the cyclical narrative that most episodic comedies follow while also giving enough of a window for a possible return. It had to be both outstanding while also elegantly fitting in. In other words, perfect.
The main plot follows our main characters Phillip J. Fry and Turanga Leela, two characters that were always on a ‘will they won they’ trajectory that leaned hard towards ‘won’t they’ up until this point. In this episode, Fry is trying to learn a futuristic, exceptionally difficult instrument, the holophonor. It’s basically a clarinet that generates holograms, telling a story visually as much as musically. Fry’s pursuit of holophonor mastery stems from his one-time ability to play it. A few episodes prior, his body was infested with parasitic worms that improved him in nearly every way, including dexterity and musical ability. And, for that brief time, Leela was interested in him romantically. So Fry just thinks if he can learn the instrument once more he can win Leela’s heart.
To achieve this Fry takes lessons, which he fails out of. He’s frustrated because he has the music in his head, his hands just can’t keep up. He possesses the will and inspiration, he struggles with the dexterity and skill it takes to play the instrument properly. To remedy this he decides to make a deal with the Robot Devil, spinning a giant wheel with every robot on it, whomever it lands on will switch hands with Fry. Coincidentally (not ironically), it lands in the Robot Devil himself. The plot lifts off from here, Fry writes an opera for Leela, and the Robot Devil schemes to get his hands back. He makes several deals with other characters trading various body parts among other things, up until the episode’s climax. It’s all very well done with the proper wit and comedy that fans had come to expect from the series.
There is of course way more to it so it still pays to watch the episode. So I’ll provide an opportunity for that here (it’s on Hulu).
I wanted to give you a chance to watch it, not because I was worried about spoiling it, but because I want to focus on the ending and I think it’s important to feel what the ending makes you feel. For those that didn’t watch, I’ll give a brief summary anyway.
The Robot Devil manages to swindle Leela into a marriage engagement after she loses her hearing because Bender, our third main character, blasts her in the face with an air horn he also acquired from the Robot Devil (not ironic, just coincidental). In desperation to hear Fry’s opera she trades her hand for the ability to hear, not knowing what she is trading. The only way Fry can stop the wedding and save Leela is to trade the Robot Devil his hands back, leaving him unable to perform the opera he wrote for Leela (properly ironic).
Of course, Fry makes the deal, but now with Fry being unable to perform, the audience vacates. Defeated, Fry stops playing and starts to leave the stage. He is stopped by Leela, the only one still in her seat, who delivers the resolving beautiful line, “Please don’t stop playing Fry. I want to see how it ends.” Fry sits back down and continues to play. The holophonor shows a crudely drawn hologram of Fry and Leela together, they kiss, hold hands, and walk off into the distance. And the credits roll.
There are a few things to hone in on here. First, technically everything is more or less back to normal. Things are back where they started, as they often are in sitcoms. Everyone has their own body parts once more, for the most part, and everything else is negligible enough to be resolved offscreen. The cyclical nature of the show is preserved so it can continue if need be. It’s not an obvious ending.
Secondly, is the simplicity of the final line of dialogue. “Please don’t stop playing Fry. I want to see how it ends.” The show didn’t know if it would return for another season, and for all intents and purposes, it didn’t, at least not under the same circumstances or without a long hiatus. Leela’s final line elegantly expresses not only what she was feeling but what the show was feeling about itself. It accepted that it was probably ending even though didn't want to. It was perfect.
Third, and most importantly, the beauty of the final scene. Leela and Fry both know Fry can’t play the music he wants to but they also both know he has the deep emotions that inspired what he wrote. Without all the intricacies, extra performers, and robot hands, Fry can still express those emotions. And Leela, his original intended audience, still wants to hear it.
This is beautiful on its own, but there is added nuance when we take a look back to when Fry originally played the holophonor when he had the worms. The parasites were the most desirable parasites Fry could have asked for, they made him smart, strong, and talented. In fact, Leela fought to preserve them because she liked this new version of Fry that much more. But eventually, Fry forces the worms to leave. Yes, Leela appeared to love him but did she love him for him or for what the parasites made him into? “Leela, I had worms. I had to know who you loved, me or them.” He eradicates the worms and Leela isn’t interested anymore. Fry could have kept them and been with Leela but he wanted things between them to be genuine. And now, with everything stripped away–robot hands, parasites, everything–all that is left is Fry’s genuine feelings. He can’t perform the intricate opera he wrote but he can still express his love for Leela as it is, and Leela wants to hear it. Their love is now sincere, as Fry wanted it to be.
So, all things considered, is The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings the best Futurama episode? Yes. It accomplishes what it set out to accomplish perfectly and with added nuance. It resolved itself as an episode and the show after everything it had built up over its original run. And it did it within the context of itself. Futurama is a show that seems to never officially be put to bed, but for me, it properly ended with the end of Season Four.